The bizarre ‘hippo leaping world championships’ in Walsall in the 1970s - where locals leaped over iconic statue
In March 1979 the “Hippo Leaping World Championships” took Walsall by storm with locals leaping over the iconic statue.
In March 1979, a bizarre local event took place in Walsall which saw residents leap over an iconic hippo statue.
Those who took part were sponsored to jump repeatedly over the concrete hippo statue on Bridge Street. The statue today is now an iconic and a beloved landmark to Walsall locals.
The event in 1979 was named the "Hippo Leaping World Championships", and it was a quirky, tongue-in-cheek charity event held in Walsall to raise money fro the town’s summer festival.
An Express & Star archive picture from 1979 shows Goscote Boys Club member Carl Stringer, aged 15, getting in some practice and leaping over the statue.
The event was organised by Walsall Festival to publicise their programme of cultural activities. The hippo was also adopted as the emblem for the festival.
John Simpkiss, aged 16, took the title of "World Champion" by clearing the sculpture 1,111 times, raising £300 for the town's summer festival.
The then-Mayor of Walsall, Councillor Wilf Clarke, joined in on the fun and was even sponsored to jump over the hippo himself.
Walsall's concrete hippo has been in the town centre ever since 1972. It has consistently been moved by the council but locals fondly remember the statue as being a ‘meeting point’ for those heading into the town centre.
It remains a mystery on why a hippo was chosen as a piece of public art, but the iconic statue has added to the town’s claims to fame and has attracted a cult following.
The statue was never officially named but over the years it has been called 'Hoppy' and George' after the character on TV show Rainbow.
It has also found its way onto Facebook, with a Walsall Hippo Statue Appreciation page set up.
Thousands of visitors have posed for pictures with the statue over the years and it continues to hold a special place in the heart of Walsall locals.
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