Southern golden boy dies
He attended the Commonwealth games in Vancouver in 1954 where he won a gold medal in his weight division.
LEONARD John Leisching (84), better known to his friends and family as Len or Lenny, died of a heart attack on February 25.
Born and bred in the South of Johannesburg, he attended Sir John Adamson and Forest High Schools and was a keen and extremely talented sportsman, who played hockey, football, squash, golf, boxing, tennis and competed in athletics.
Len played cricket for Southern Suburbs Cricket Club and also played cricket in England. He was the first batsman to score a cricket century at his England club, which saw him assist the team to move from relegation to the top of their league in one season. Len also played with Springbok greats such as Hugh Tayfield and Tiger Lance.
Football was his first love and he was an ardent Everton supporter. In his younger days, he played for Rangers, tried out for Liverpool at Anfield and played for Wigham Athletic in England. He also marked Sir Stanley Matthews in the English 11.
Len also competed in boxing and represented South Africa at the Helsinki Games in the featherweight division and he boxed against Agassini (Andre Agassi’s father) in the semi-finals to take the controversial bronze medal.
He attended the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver in 1954 where he won a gold medal in his weight division. He also boxed in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.
Len owned Leisching Sports in Rosettenville and later on became a keen golfer, playing his last game three days before his passing.
Survived by his three children, four grandchildren and two siblings, he will be very sorely missed.
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