No 131: The forgotten star on skates (1937-48)
You might not have heard of Roy Blair.
That would be a shame - he was one of the great characters of Otago sport. He was a star on wheels, on ice and on the cricket field.
Blair played a solitary first-class cricket match for Otago at the age of 32, opening the batting against Canterbury at Carisbrook in February 1954. He scored 0 and 2.
Later, the Blair name became very prominent, when Blair's sons Bruce (90 games for Otago) and Wayne (81) starred for the province.
But cricket was merely an additional string to Roy Blair's bow. His real talent was skating.
Between 1937 and 1940 he was New Zealand roller skating's superstar. He was only beaten once in that span, winning nine national titles (over 440 yards (402m), 880 yards and a mile) out of 10.
He then transferred his skating ability to the ice, becoming national speed champion over the quarter mile in 1947 and 1948.
Blair, who had served in the air force in World War 2, was also a handy golfer. He was a teacher, and died in 2002.
Yesterday would have been his 90th birthday.