Snippets from the MUC's Centenary Souvenir

The Madras United Club pavilion in the 1980s.

The Madras United Club is one of the oldest Indian clubs in the city. It was founded in 1888 to foster outdoor and indoor games as was being done in the Madras Cricket Club and the Madras Gymkhana Club of the British. Prince Ranjitsinjhi, the great cricketer, was one of its Patrons and enabled outstanding cricketers like Chari to travel to England and play in representative cricket matches there.

Among the Club's members were several outstanding sportsmen. Buchi Babu Naidu, one of the founders, and his sons. Venkataramanujulu, M. Baliah and C. Ramaswami, were distinguished names in early Madras cricket as were B. Subramanian, Vasu Naidu and B.S. Ramulu. Along with C. Ramaswami (also a Cambridge Tennis Blue and a double internationalist), C.R. Ganapathi, M.J. Gopalan (also a Hockey international), C.R. / S.R. Rangachari and V.V. Kumar took part in representative cricket in India and abroad. S.A. Aleem, represented India in the World Cup Billiards Championship in Melbourne. And N. Nagappan was a National Bridge Champion.

In the early days, members were enrolled solely on the basis of sporting abilities. The Club's focus was on promoting outdoor sports.

In Cricket, the Club was in the 'A' Division league. Unfortunately this eminence gradually faded and it played in lower divisions.

In Hockey, the Club had a team that was most feared by many leading teams as it had excellent players, outstanding among whom was M.J. Gopalan.

Tennis was patronised by many members and the Club conducted annual tournaments inviting top players from other States.

When football came to be played regularly at the MUC, enthusiasm for hockey, tennis and cricket waned. The popularity of the Club's football tournament was so great that the MUC, which was financially in the doldrums, came back to stability.

Many All-India and international bridge and billiards tournaments were conducted in the Club.

Of prime importance, the Club's cricket and hockey grounds and tennis and badminton courts are the sole lung for North Madras, stretching from the Medical College to Tondiarpet and Ennore. More than half the population of the City is packed in this area. The Club has bravely striven to maintain this open area for the past century amidst many trials and tribulations and crippling economic factors.

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The contribution of the Madras United Club in the promotion of football in the South is significant. In 1933, the Madras Football Association, with jurisdiction for the whole of the original undivided State of Madras, including the present Andhra and Kerala States, was formed in the MUC. An Advisory Committee consisting of H.C. Buck, W.A. Wales, Ranga Rajulu Naidu, A. Thomas. J. Subbusamy, O.E. Windle, R.M.T. Orr and C. Krishnaswami Pillai, met on October 26, 1933 in the MUC premises to decide on the formation and a draft Constitution. The first general body meeting of the Association was held on January 5, 1934 at the MUC. For nearly twenty years thereafter, the office of the Association functioned at the MUC which also made its premises available for functions of the Association.

A lot of players nurtured by the MUC ultimately turned out to be outstanding footballers on the national scene. They included Kittu and Simon Sunder Raj, both from Tanjore and both Olympians.

J. Subbusamy, a Barrister, soon after his arrival from England, sowed the seeds for the football section in the Club against stiff opposition from both the Club and outside. But a determined Subbusamy, with the help of other members like A. Ramasamy (Comet) and Dr. V.N.C. Rao, not only established the section in the Club, but also paved the way for organised football in the city by assisting A.M. Kanniappa Mudaliar, prime founder of the Madras Football Association, and P.V. Muthukrishnan, one of the founder-members of the Madras Football Association. After the Association was started, most of the big football matches in the city were played on the Club's grounds.

The Madras United Club team in the early games of the League included J. Subbusamy, A. Ramasamy (Comet), Dr. V.N.C. Rao, K.R.S. Mani, V.P. Raghavan, P. Krishnasamy, G.K. Duraisamy, Ahemed Mohideen, C.K. Venkatapathy and Sivaraman.

As the average age of the Club team was on the high side and inclusion of guest players was not looked upon with favour, it was found rather difficult to run a team. Having failed to attract enough playing members, the Club embarked on a new venture when it started making arrangements to conduct a knock-out touranment, which was played in 1937. J. Subbusamy was the first member-in-charge and continued till 1941.

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The Club's hockey team was once one of the major teams in the South. Dhyan Chand, the 'Wizard of Indian hockey', played for the Club in a couple of tournaments along with his team-mate Manna Singh. M.J. Gopalan was a regular player in the team at different times. Other players who had represented the State at different times included Masilamoney, Richtor, J. Ramakrishnan and University Double Blue (Hockey and Football) P.C. Ganapathy, a Club stalwart.

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Prominent tennis players of early years in the Club were Rao Bahadur N.R. Balakrishna Mudaliar, M. Venkataramanujulu Naidu, C. Ramaswami, M. Baliah, and Justice K.P. Lakshmana Rao. R. Narayanaswamy, T.B. Balagopal, N. Krishnaswamy, T.K. Ramanathan and his son R. Krishnan also played on the MUC courts at one time or another. Prominent among women players in the open tournaments were Miss Mullen, Miss Moberly, Mrs. Gompertz, Miss Leela Rao Naidu, Mrs. C.V.N. Sastri, Miss Woodbridge, and Miss Thuraisingam.

J.G. Ramaswamy Naidu and Rao Bahadur N.R. Balakrishna Mudaliar were regular umpires for the open tennis tournaments. The Club had the services of an able marker, Palayam, who was the top-ranker amongst tennis markers in the city and who was winner of the Open Markers' Tennis Tournament title in Madras for many years – in fact, till his death.

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In the 1960s, players like S.A. Aleem and a few others brought a high standard to the game of billiards. The MUC decided to conduct the first MUC Open Billiards & Snooker Tournament in 1971. Both events were won by Savoor, but Club member S.A. Aleem and Nagoji Rao were runners-up in billiards and snooker respectively.

Aleem represented India in the World Billiards Championship at Melbourne in 1976-77 as India No. 2, to Michael Ferreira. Later, in 1986, Aleem was elected the President of TNBA.

S.A. Saleem, Aleem's son, played in the Nationals at Pune in 1987. He was the youngest member to get a ranking in the All India National Snooker Championship.

T.M. Srinivasulu represented Tamil Nadu in the Inter-State Championship at Cochin in 1983 and was ranked India No.4.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Thangavelu Mudaliar, as member-in-charge, and Balu Pillai maintained decorum in the billiards hall, while at the same time improving standards.

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Founded in 1888 by an ardent band of young men who worshipped field games in general and cricket in particular, indoor games naturally had to take a back seat. In fact, in the early days, a 'penchant' for billiards or cards was sufficient to bring down the wrath of the elders. But as the age of the members, old and new, continued to rise sharply and as most of them could not find a place in the then strong Club cricket sides, billiards and cards gradually acquired their quota of adherents. In 1933-34, the first 'Open Pairs' event was held for the Club members.

Then, in 1939, more as a dress rehearsal, a 'Duplicate Pairs' event was attempted by the enthusiasts of the Club. M.K. Srinivasa Mudaliar of Manali was the presiding deity who held a benign and watchful interest over bridge in the Club. In 1963, amiable, pleasant, indefatigable and, above all, devoted to the game and to the Club, K.S. Selvarajan, became the figure behind whom the bridge forces in the Club rallied. Club members have figured many times in the S.I.B.A. finals and also won it on occasions. "Points System" was devised by, and named after him in club circles, by T.K.N. Panni-ker. This was to make the game more popular.

The first South Zone Championship (in the 1960s) was won by Madras, with Club members D. Punnoose, Hinduja Gopi, and N.K. Nachiappan figuring in the team. After 1967, the promoting and improvement of the Bridge Section was under the stewardship of K.S. Selvarajan.

In 1972, N.K. Nachiappan had the distinction of leading Tamil Nadu against Ceylon in Ceylon. Manikanth J. Shah and A.R. Jagannathan of Coimbatore narrowly missed selection for the Indian team for the World Olympiad.

N. Nagappan, one of the Club's top players, was a member of the team which won the main event at the 15th Nationals in Coimbatore in 1974. In the 'Progressive Duplicate' event (15th Nationals), the team in which D. Punnose, N.K. Nachiappan and Manikanth J. Shah played was runners-up. N.K. Nachiappan partnering T.C. Krishna in the national event, they were winners in the Mixed Pairs Event.

In 1980, the Club's team won the Madras City League Championship. C.R. Ananta-narayanan, K.S. Prakash Rao, N.R. Kribakaramurthy, M.J. Shah and A.R. Jagannathan of the Club were chosen to represent Tamil Nadu in the Summer Nationals held in Kodaikanal in 1982. And Club members Kribabkaramurthy and Jagannathan gave a good account of themselves at the selection competition for the Indian team for the world Olympiad.

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Sports for the Club's members are conducted every year. For members, the events are held in four different groups, apart from two groups for ladies and three groups for children.

The Club also has an art section. Dramas and dances are arranged for members through this section. Normally the dramas are staged in the Raja Annamalai Mandram.

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The Club's Reading Room has been functioning from the 1930s. It was started with one almirah of books and some dailies and weeklies. Today, it has 3000 books and numerous journals. The reading room is under a thatched roof renovated every two years and is surrounded by an an airy compound. The room is always cool, providing ideal reading conditions round the year.

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The Bar was started in the Club in February 1976 with H.G. Varu as the first member-in-charge. The Bar was fully air-conditioned in 1980 and it was fully renovated in 1986. The vacant space to the south of the Cards Hall was made a lawn with tables and chairs for the members' convenience. The lawn was opened by P.C. Gajapathy in April 1988.

Other facilities and amenities include a canteen to cater to the vegetarians and the non-vegetarians separately. This section has been working for the past 50 years and its products have earned a famous name especially the "M.U.C. Briyani". It will be no surprise if you are told that Briyani is "Sold out" at 1 p.m., i.e. within one hour from the start of supply.

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'Good evening, Gentle-men,' he'd say when he entered the Club every evening, and 'Good night, see you tomorrow,' he'd say as he left. This well-mannered member was J.A. Rozario, affectionately called 'Rosey', the Chief Administrator of the Club for a decade or so. During his period the Bar (Permit Room) was opened.

'Rosey' was responsible for spreading football in Madras by conducting regular football tournaments. He was a member of the Club's cricket team. And he toured with Madras Hockey Association teams as an official to Japan, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

He was not only an all-round athlete but also an all-round administrator. He was one of the founders of the Don Bosco Youth Centre.

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Several leading political figures have been members of the Club. They include: C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar, Diwan of Travancore; C.R. Pattabhi Raman, Ex-Central Minister; Dr. U. Krishna Rao, Speaker and Minister, Madras; V.K. Ramaswamy Mudaliar, Member of the Legislative Assembly; N. Sivaraj, Member of the Legislative Assembly and President, All India Republican Party; Deiva Sigamani, Member of the Legislative Assembly; and Jeppiyar, Member of Legislative Council.