The Hawks' Club is a members-only social club for sportsmen at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. Founded in 1872, the club represents the best sportsmen in the University of Cambridge. Membership is by election only, and the usual criterion is that the candidate should have his

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

. Many famous sporting names have been, or are, members, including Rob Andrew, Mike Atherton,

Chris Brasher Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon. Early life and education Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, Brasher went t ...

Ted Dexter Edward Ralph Dexter, (15 May 1935 – 25 August 2021) was an England international cricketer. An aggressive middle-order batsman of ferocious power and a right-arm medium bowler, he captained Sussex and England in the early 1960s. He captai ...

Gavin Hastings Andrew Gavin Hastings, (born 3 January 1962) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 ...

Tony Lewis Anthony Robert Lewis CBE (born 6 July 1938) is a Welsh former cricketer, who captained England, became a journalist, went on to become the face of BBC Television cricket coverage between 1986 and 1998, and became president of the Marylebone C ...

and George Nash.

History

The Hawks' Club was formed in 1872 when a proposal to allow members of other colleges into the ''St John's College Eagles'' club was rejected. This led to the Hawks' being set up as an equivalent club university-wide. In its early history, it was primarily a cricket club, but by the turn of the century, other sports were well represented. As is common with student-run organisations, records are patchy in places and old lists of presidents and members have long been lost. The record is better for the period 1889–1963, as during this time a picture of each year's president was added to a display in the clubhouse, and these have survived to the present day. During the 1950s a number of subsequently notable sportsmen were presidents, and several are listed below. It is not known whether a Blue was originally a prerequisite for membership; some early presidents do not appear to have competed against Oxford in any sport. However, the personal 'suitability' of candidates for membership does not appear to have changed since the Club was founded. The Club website states that ''"Candidates have to be clubbable"'' (i.e. "clubbable" in the sense of a traditional gentlemen's club) and ''"the Hawks' Club remains unashamedly elite"'', claiming to include only ''"the top one per cent"'' of University sportsmen.

Membership

Eligibility criteria

Application for membership is open to any man who is either a member of any college at the University of Cambridge or who has been admitted ''

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'' to the University. He must have spent at least one term in residence, and should have earned a Full

, Half Blue or Second Team Colours (in a full blue sport) by representing the University against

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in a

Varsity Match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayf ...

Election process

A prospective applicant must be proposed, seconded, and have six further members sign their application form. The proposer is normally the team captain for the relevant sport and the seconder must be a member of the Hawks' Committee. The application is then reviewed by the committee: two " no" votes will reject an applicant, and he may not be proposed again at a later date. Members are admitted for life. The number of ''Hawks-in-residence'' at the University is limited to 230, not including MAs; there are several thousand members worldwide. Occasionally, individuals are admitted as an ''Honorary Hawk'' without fulfilling the above criteria (for example

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, who did not study at Cambridge).

Dining Rights Club

Since 1993, individuals have also been elected to The ''Hawks Dining Rights Club''. Members may use the clubhouse but do not become Hawks. Neither the Cambridge-only nor the men-only restrictions apply in this case, and the majority of Dining Rights members are local business people and professionals who contribute to the costs of running the Club, and to ''The Hawks’ Trust'' which is a charity supporting all sportsmen and women at the University. There are slightly fewer dining rights members than Hawks-in-residence, and the number peaked at 160 in 1998.

Regalia

The Club colours are maroon and gold; members may wear the Club tie. Honorary Hawks and Dining Rights members wear a plain tie with a gold Hawk.

Committee

The Club's Committee consists of a President, Honorary Secretary, Junior Treasurer and seven ordinary members, and is elected each academic year by the Hawks-in-residence. There is a Management Committee of the Trustees, the President and the Secretary of the Club, the Steward and the DRC President, who guide the Club's development.

Clubhouse

The clubhouse was originally on Trinity Street, but by the 1890s it had moved to a St John's College property in All Saints' Passage. It remained there until 1966 when financial troubles meant the property had to be sold, despite surviving through both world wars, during which the Club was closed. After this, it briefly occupied the same premises as the

Pitt Club The University Pitt Club, popularly referred to as the Pitt Club, the UPC, or merely as Club, is a private members' club of the University of Cambridge, with a previously male-only membership but now open to both men and women. History The ...

, until conflicts of interest regarding the differing objectives of the two clubs made this no longer possible. There was no clubhouse until 1986 when a four-storey building at 18 Portugal Place became available. This property was bought by a group of members, who restored it from its previous existence as a dilapidated hotel staff hostel. The restored clubhouse was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in October 1992. It consists of a bar, members' lounge, dining room space for some 25-30 people, and the Club steward's flat on the top floor. Resident Hawks voted in advisory votes in 2017 (85% in favour) and January 2019 (89% in favour) on the question of allowing resident ''Ospreys'' (Cambridge women's sports club) to pay for access arrangements to the Hawks’ clubhouse. 1,400 non-resident Hawks (out of 4,480 members) voted 89% in favour of the proposal in an online ballot run by

Electoral Reform Service The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is an independent campaigning organisation based in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It seeks to replace first-past-the-post voting with proportional representation, advocating the single t ...

s in February and March 2019.

The Club Today

Hawks' Charitable Trust

The Club actively supports students who have financial difficulties keeping up their sport. Each year the Club awards a number of bursaries to members of the University under the auspices of the ''Hawks' Charitable Trust''. These awards are equally available to both men and women, and total around £40,000 each year.

Events

The Club promotes ''Rumboogie'' and ''La Vida Lola'', events each Wednesday and Sunday evening at the Cambridge nightclubs ''Revolution'' and ''Lola Lo''. At the end of each Michaelmas term, the London Dinner is hosted by the club, usually at one of the large hotels, the night before the Varsity Rugby Match. The Committee also hosts an event each June during

May Week May Week is the name used in the University of Cambridge to refer to a period at the end of the academic year. Originally May Week took place in the week during May before year-end exams began. Nowadays, May Week takes place in June after exam ...

in the style of a Cambridge

May Ball A May Ball is a ball at the end of the academic year that takes place at any of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. They are elaborate and lavish formal affairs, requiring black tie or sometimes white tie, with ticket prices ranging fro ...

- "The Hawks' Event", at Fenner's Cricket Ground. In recent years a "Hawks' Charity Dinner" has been held in Lent term and a "Charity Ball" in Michaelmas in conjunction with the Ospreys. in 2012, the Club raised £4000 for a local charity that aims to help disadvantaged children access sporting initiatives.

Club Awards

In 2004 two Club awards were introduced: ''Hawk of the Year'' and ''Team of the Year'': In 2010, the ''International Honours Book'' was created to record and detail the Olympic and International achievements of its members. There are currently full internationals in residence in fencing, squash, rifle shooting, rowing and rugby union.

''The Hawk''

''The Hawk'' is published biannually. The newsletter includes, among other things, news of current University teams and results, obituaries of notable members, and Club notices.

Reciprocal clubs

Members have reciprocal rights with a number of similar clubs around the world. United Kingdom *The Bury St Edmunds Farmers Club, Suffolk *Cardiff and County Club, Cardiff * The City of London Club, London * City University Club, London * The Clifton Club, Bristol * The Gridiron Club, Oxford * The Harrogate Club, Harrogate * Leander Club, Henley-on-Thames * Manchester Tennis & Racquet Club, Salford * National Liberal Club, London *The New Club, Cheltenham * The New Club, Edinburgh *The Norfolk Club, Norwich * The Northern Lawn Tennis Club, Manchester *Nottingham Club, Nottingham * Oxford and Cambridge Club, London * Royal Ocean Racing Club, London *The St James’s Club, Manchester * The Travellers Club, London * Vincent’s Club, Oxford *The Winchester House Club, London Overseas * The British Club Bangkok, Thailand *BrodyLand, Budapest, Hungary *DO7 Eco Club House, Milan * Durban Club, Durban, South Africa *Embassy Club, Iowa, USA *The Graduate Club, New Haven, USA * Melbourne Savage Club, Melbourne, Australia *Pretoria Country Club, Waterkloof, South Africa * The Princeton Club, New York, USA * Rand Club, Johannesburg, South Africa *University Club of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Notable members

Monarchs: * King George VI - CULTC *

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

- CUPC Members of the Royal Family: *

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was the third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary. He served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the only memb ...

- CUPC * Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma *

* Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon - Former husband of Princess Margaret, CUBC Sportsmen: * Rob Andrew - England rugby player 1985-1997, CURUFC, CUCC * Mike Atherton - England Cricket Captain 1993-1998, CUCC * Bunny Austin - Davis Cup Winner and Wimbledon,

Roland-Garros The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

Finalist, CULTC *

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "Hi ...

- England cricketer 1949-1959, CUCC * Mike Biggar - Scotland Rugby Captain, CURUFC *

Karan Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria Karan Faridoon Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria, (born 26 November 1961) is a British Indian businessman, life peer in the UK House of Lords, and a university chancellor. Bilimoria founded the global beer brand, Cobra Beer and is the company's chai ...

- Founder of Cobra Beer Ltd, CUPC *

Henry Blofeld Henry Calthorpe Blofeld, OBE (born 23 September 1939) nicknamed Blowers by Brian Johnston, is an English retired sports journalist, broadcaster and amateur ornithologist best known as a cricket commentator for ''Test Match Special'' on BBC Ra ...

- Cricket commentator, CUCC *

- Olympic Gold 1956, CUAC * Godfrey Brown - Olympic Gold 1936, CUAC * Sir Ralph Kilner Brown - High Court Judge, WWII

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

, CUAC *

John Butterfield, Baron Butterfield William John Hughes Butterfield, Baron Butterfield, (28 March 1920 – 22 July 2000) was a leading British medical researcher, clinician and administrator. Early life and education Butterfield was educated at Solihull School, an historic inde ...

- Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

(1971-1975) and University of Cambridge (1983-1985) Universities, Master of

Downing College Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

1978-1987, CURUFC, CUCC, CULTC, CURTC, CUHC *

Sir Adrian Cadbury Sir George Adrian Hayhurst Cadbury, (15 April 1929 – 3 September 2015) was an English businessman who served as the chairman of Cadbury, Cadbury and Cadbury Schweppes for 24 years. He was also a British Olympic rowing (sport), rower. Cadbury ...

- Businessman,

CUBC The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primarily ...

, CUSSC * Bernie Cotton - GB Hockey player and Olympic Gold winning coach, CUHC * Mark Cox - Davis Cup finalist,

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

and US Open quarter-finalist, CULTC *

James Cracknell James Edward Cracknell, (born 5 May 1972) is a British athlete, rowing champion and double Olympic gold medalist. Cracknell was appointed OBE for "services to sport" in the 2005 New Year Honours List. Biography Cracknell began rowing whilst ...

- Olympic Gold 2000 & 2004, CUBC *

- England Cricket Captain 1961/2-1963 & 1964, former MCC President, CUCC *

Richard Dodds Richard David Allan Dodds OBE (born 23 February 1959) is an English former field hockey player. He was captain of the gold medal-winning Great Britain squad in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Four years earlier, he won Bronze at the 1984 S ...

- Olympic Gold 1988, GB Hockey Captain, CUHC * R. K. von Goldstein - Headmaster of the Bishop Cotton School, India * Mike Gibson - Ireland rugby player, CURUFC *

- Scotland Rugby Captain, CURUFC *

James Horwill James Horwill (born 29 May 1985) is an Australian former rugby union player, who has played for the Australian national side, with 61 caps to his name. He captained the Wallabies a number of times, including during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Hor ...

- Australian Rugby Captain, CURUFC * Steve James - England Cricketer 1998, CUCC, CURUFC *

Tom James Thomas James MBE (born 11 March 1984) is a British rower, twice Olympic champion and victorious Cambridge Blue. In a British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2021. Background and early life James was bor ...

- Double Olympic Gold 2008 & 2012, CUBC *

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in ...

- Actor, CUBC *

Laddie Lucas Percy Belgrave Lucas, (2 September 1915 – 20 March 1998), commonly known as Laddie Lucas, was a Royal Air Force officer, left-handed golfer, author and Member of Parliament (MP). Early life and family Lucas was born on 2 September 1915 in the ...

- Distinguished wartime RAF pilot, MP, International golfer, CUGC * John Lecky - Chairman of '' Canada 3000'' airline, Olympic Silver 1960, CUBC, CURUFC *

- England Cricket Captain 1972/3, Presenter BBC Cricket 1980 - 1999, CUCC, CURUFC * Douglas Lowe - Olympic Gold 1924 & 1928 - CUAC * George Mann - England Cricket Captain 1948/9-1949, CUCC *

Christopher Martin-Jenkins Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins, MBE (20 January 1945 – 1 January 2013), also known as CMJ, was a British cricket journalist and a President of MCC. He was also the longest serving commentator for ''Test Match Special'' (TMS) on ...

- Cricket commentator, CUCC, CURFC * Peter May - England Cricket captain 1955-1959/60 & 1961, CUCC *

Richard Meade Richard John Hannay Meade (4 December 1938 – 8 January 2015) was Britain's most successful male equestrian at the Olympics. He was a triple Olympic gold medalist and the first British rider to win an individual Olympic title. He also won ...

- Triple Olympic Gold 1968 & 1972, CURC * George Nash - Olympic Gold 2016, Bronze 2012, CUBC * John Pritchard - Olympic Silver 1980, CUBC *

David Sheppard David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool (6 March 1929 – 5 March 2005) was a Church of England Bishop of Liverpool who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth. Sheppard remains the only ordained minister to have played T ...

- Bishop of Liverpool, England Cricket captain 1954, CUCC * Ed Smith - England Cricketer 2003, CUCC *

Ken Scotland Kenneth James Forbes Scotland (29 August 1936 – 7 January 2023) was a Scotland international rugby union player and a Scotland international cricket player. He played at full-back in rugby union.Bath, p157 Rugby Union career Amateur career ...

- Scotland rugby player, CURUFC * Sir Peter Studd - 643rd

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; CUCC, CURUFC *

Bruce Tulloh Michael Swinton "Bruce" Tulloh (29 September 1935 – 28 April 2018) was a long-distance runner from England. Athletics career He won the European title in the men's 5000 metres at the 1962 European Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia with a ...

- Olympian and European Champion, CUAC *

Bob Tisdall Robert Morton Newburgh Tisdall (16 May 1907 in Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon ''now'' Sri Lanka – 27 July 2004 in Nambour, Queensland, Australia) was an Irish athlete who won a gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics in L ...

- Irish Olympic Gold medallist 1932, CUAC *

Tony Underwood Tony Underwood (born 17 February 1969 in Ipoh, Malaysia) is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a wing three-quarter back. He is of Malaysian-English parentage. Rugby career His rugby talent was first nurtured at Barnard Castl ...

- England rugby player 1992-1998, CURUFC, CUAC *

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- South African rugby player, CURUFC * Kieran West - Olympic Gold medallist 2000, CUBC *

Max Woosnam Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

- Britain's Greatest Sportsman, Olympic Gold and Silver medallist 1920, Wimbledon Champion, Davis Cup captain,

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and

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captain, CUAFC, CUCC, CULTC, CURTC, CUGC

Bibliography

* ''The Hawk'', editors Kolbert, C. and Hyde, A., No. 9 (October 2005), published by The Hawks Club. * ''Rules of the Hawks' Club'' (May 2003).

References

External links

Hawks' Club websiteOspreys website
— an equivalent club for the sportswomen of the University
Blue Bird website
- the Hawks' Club newspaper for comprehensive coverage of all Cambridge sporting matters {{University of Cambridge Organizations established in 1872 Clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge Gentlemen's clubs in England St John's College, Cambridge 1872 establishments in England