American President Theodore Roosevelt and his friend General Leonard Wood were fond of this sport and used to emerge from a contest quite bruised from their rounds.
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Thomas Hughes's story Tom Brown's School Days contains a spirited description of cudgel-play during the first half of the 19th century.
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Under Kings George I and George II, backsword play with sticks was immensely popular under the names cudgel-play and singlesticking, not only in the cities but in the countryside as well, wrestling being its only rival.