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THE    MEMORIAL    BIOGRAPHY    OF 
DR.  W.   G.   GRACE 


This  Edition  is  limited  to 
150  copies  for  sale. 


W.  G.  GRACE. 

From  a  miniature  by   Mrs.   Frank  Townsend. 
Exhibited  in  the   Royal  Academy,   1915. 


58844  THE        • 
MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY 

OF 
DR.  W.  G.  GRACE 

ISSUED 

UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  OF 
THE  COMMITTEE  OF  M.C.C. 

AND 

EDITED    BY  56844 

LORD  HAWKE,  LORD  HARRIS 
AND  SIR  HOME  GORDON,  BART. 


LONDON 

CONSTABLE    &    COMPANY,    LTD 
1919 


First  published 


G/ 


Preface 

NEVER  was  such  a  band  of  cricketers  gathered 
for  any  tour  as  has  assembled  to  do  honour 
to  the  greatest  of  all  players  in  the  present  Memorial 
Biography.  That  such  a  volume  should  go  forth 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Committee  of  M.C.C.  is  in 
itself  unique  in  the  history  of  the  game,  and  that  such 
an  array  of  cricketers,  critics  and  enthusiasts  should 
pay  tribute  to  its  finest  exponent  has  no  parallel  in 
any  other  branch  of  sport.  In  itself  this  presents 
a  noble  monument  of  what  W.  G.  Grace  was,  a 
testimony  to  his  prowess  and  to  his  personality. 

The  initiative  is  due  to  Sir  Home  Gordon,  who 
conceived  the  scale  on  which  the  work  has  been 
planned,  wrote  over  five  hundred  letters  and  had 
nearly  one  hundred  personal  interviews.  On  learn- 
ing that  the  Committee  of  M.C.C.  desired  to  be 
associated  with  the  book,  he  handed  over  all  the 
material  he  had  collected  and  accepted  their  invita- 
tion to  be  co-editor  with  Lord  Hawke  and  Lord 
Harris.  Of  that  triumvirate  he  has  been  the  active 
partner,  the  others  proving  critical,  advisory  and 
helpful  in  every  possible  way. 

Something  must  be  added  about  the  unusual  form 
that  this  Memorial  Biography  has  been  allowed  to 
take.  It  was  felt  that  the  testimony  of  those  who 
had  played  with  and  loved  W.  G.  Grace  would  be 
of  far  more  interest  and  value  to  contemporaries  and 
'posterity  than  a  categorical  and  formal  monograph. 
The  human  note,  it  is  hoped,  will  proclaim  what 
manner  of  cricketer  the  champion  was.  The  editors 
are  conscious  that  by  adopting  this  policy  a  certain 


vi  PREFACE 

amount  of  divergence  of  opinion  will  find  expression 
in  these  pages  and  a  certain  amount  of  repetition 
prove  unavoidable,  however  scrupulously  cut  down, 
whilst  some  overlapping  must  occur  when  the  valued 
reminiscences  of  a  comrade  in  big  games  may  extend 
over  some  thirty  years  of  friendship.  These  draw- 
backs to  the  method  have  been  recognized  from  the 
outset,  but  it  has  been  felt  that  the  cumulative 
effect  of  the  testimony  immeasurably  outweighed 
them  because  the  desire  of  the  editors  is  to  provide 
the  impression  of  what  manner  of  cricketer  W.  G. 
was  and  that  is  what  the  reader  of  the  younger 
generation  will  want  to  know. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  following  pages  about  the 
private  life  of  Grace.  Alike  as  son,  as  brother,  as 
husband,  and  as  father,  in  every  relationship  of 
family  existence  he  was  exemplary.  Those  cherished 
memories  are  not  for  the  general  reader,  because  the 
honoured  privacy  of  his  domesticity  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  public  career  of  the  great  sportsman. 

Too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  on  the  extra- 
ordinary desire  to  be  helpful  shown  by  countless 
correspondents.  Not  only  have  those  who  were 
appealed  to  given  of  their  best,  but  hundreds  who 
were  personally  unknown  to  the  editors  volunteered 
assistance  which  was  often  valuable  and  would  have 
been  far  more  freely  drawn  upon  if  the  present 
volume  could  have  been  permitted  to  attain  double 
its  size.  The  severest  restrictions  have  had  to  be 
enforced,  but  they  in  no  way  diminish  the  feeling  of 
gratitude,  which  is  hereby  all  too  inadequately 
expressed.  If  any  whose  help  has  been  utilized  do 
not  find  their  names  enumerated  in  the  lists  in 
this  preface,  will  they  accept  thanks  with  the  assur- 
ance that  the  omission  is  inadvertent  ?  It  must  be 
added  that  a  number  sent  in  the  same  anecdotes 
which  were  contributed  by  various  writers  in  their 
reminiscences. 

To  many  who  will  read  these  pages,  the  memory 


PREFACE  vii 

of  the  late  Sir  Spencer  Ponsonby-Fane  will  be  as 
dear  as  that  of  Grace  himself,  and  the  following 
letter  in  his  own  handwriting  written  less  than  a 
month  before  his  death  in  his  ninety-second  year 
must  not  be  omitted. 

BRYMPTON,  YEOVIL, 
November  6,  1915. 
DEAR  SIR  HOME  GORDON,— 

I  was  glad  to  see  that  you  had  undertaken  the 
task  of  writing  the  Memorial  of  W.  G.  It  was 
natiral  that  you  should  ask  me  to  send  you  some 
notes  of  him,  as  I  had  been  so  much  connected  with 
him.  I  had  indeed  proposed  to  do  so  before  I 
received  your  letter,  but  I  find  I  must  abandon  the 
task.  I  have  been  suffering  for  some  time  with 
weakness  of  my  heart,  and  in  the  last  few  days  it 
has  attacked  my  head  and  filled  it  with  porridge 
or  some  deleterious  compound — so  much  so  that  I 
feel  qiite  incompetent  to  bring  my  senses  together 
to  write  anything  of  interest  on  so  important  a 
subject  as  a  memorial  of  the  finest  cricketer  that 
ever  existed,  so  simple,  straightforward  and  some- 
what eccentric  in  character.  Please  therefore  excuse 
me  and  accept  my  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  your 
book. 

Yours  truly, 

S.  PONSONBY-FANE. 

The  editors  realize  that  the  loss  of  Sir  Spencer's 
recollec:ions  of  W.  G.  leaves  an  irreparable  gap. 
They  were  fortunate  to  secure  those  of  the  late  Lord 
Alverstcne,  of  the  late  C.  E.  Green,  and  of  the  late 
Henry  Perkins  before  those  three  so  eminently 
associated  with  M.C.C.  also  passed  away.  Horan, 
the  "  Felix "  of  Australian  criticism,  was  also 
invited,  but  death  reached  him  before  the  letter 
could  have  arrived  at  the  Antipodes.  Owing  to  his 
unexpected  departure  for  India,  the  Jam  Saheb  of 


Vlll 


PREFACE 


Nawanagar  could  not  fulfil  his  promise  to  furnish 
Ms  reminiscences,  and  to  extract  a  lengthy  com- 
munication from  him  when  in  his  own  State  is  even 
more  difficult  than  it  was  to  dislodge  him  from  the 
wicket  when  in  his  prime. 

The  warmest  appreciative  thanks  must  be  ex- 
pressed to  each  of  the  following  who  have  furnished 
-extended  reminiscences  of  W.  G.  : — 

H.R.H.   the  late   Prince   Christian  of  Schleswig- 

Holstein 


Ashley  -  Cooper, 

F.  S. 
Barlow 

Beldam,  G.  W. 
Burls,  C.  W. 
Carter,      Canon 

E.  S. 

Clarke,  C.  C. 
Cobham,  Lord 
Croome,    A.    C. 

M. 

Francis,  C.  K. 
Gale,  P.  G. 


Hirst 
Leveson-Gower, 

H.  D.  G. 
Lilley 

Lubbock,  Alfred 
Lucas,  A.  P. 
Lyttelton, 

Canon  Edward 
Miles,  R.  F. 
Page,  H.  V. 
Paravicini,  P.  J. 

de 


Pardon,  S.  H. 
Rice,  R.  W. 
Robinson,  C.  J. 
Sewell,  E.  H.  D. 
Shuter,  J. 
Spofforth,  F.  R. 
Studd,  C.  T. 
Taylor,  A  D. 
Thornton,  C.  I. 
Walker,  R.  D. 
Warner,  P.  F. 
Webbe,  A.  J. 


Grateful  acknowledgments  are  also  tendered  to — 


Bell,  Canon 
Bradley,  A.  G. 
Brown,  Ernest 
Coxon,  H. 
Ferris,  S. 
Hall,  James 
Hamilton,  A.  H. 
Hawkins,    Rev. 

Walter 
Howard,  R.  E. 


Leigh,  T.  A. 

McArthur,  J.  A. 
S. 

Pearson  -  Greg- 
ory, T.  S. 

Riddell,  Sir 
George 

Rogers,  J.  A.  R. 

Shaw,  Arthur 

Scott,  Dave 


Tathan,  Canon 
Thomscn,  H.  A. 

C. 

Troughton,H.C. 
Townsend,  C.  L. 
Warrer,  A. 
Warren,          Sir 

Herbert 
Whitetead,  Rev. 

A.  Goram 


To  F.  S.  Ashley-Cooper  a  deep  debt  is  due  apart 
from  his  important  contributions,  for  he  was  good 
enough  to  allow  many  points  to  be  referred  to  him, 


PREFACE 


IX 


and  he  also  read  through  the  proofs,  making  invalu- 
able suggestions.  A.  D.  Taylor  generously  put  his 
fine  library  of  works  on  cricket  freely  at  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  editors,  and  others  who  took  exceptional 
pains  to  assist  were  C.  K.  Francis  and  C.  I.  Thornton. 
Two  who  by  tact  and  help  rendered  valued  service 
in  the  early  stages  were  Sir  George  Riddell  and 
C.  L.  Townsend,  whilst  the  Secretary  of  M.C.C., 
F.  E.  Lacey,  proffered  all  the  aid  in  his  power. 
To  the  following  indebtedness  cannot  be  omitted : — 


Bassett,  R.  G. 
Bennett,  H. 
Bleackley, 

Horace 
Blyth,  H.  M. 
Brice,  B. 
Briscoe,  W.  A. 
Buckingham,  C. 

S. 

Chandler,  J.  H. 
Chiesman,  C.  S. 
Clarke,  H.  H. 
Cobbold,  C.  S. 
Colman,      Sir 

Jeremiah 
Cox,  F. 
Davis,  Alfred 
Disney,  T. 
Dorehill,  Major 
Duckit,  F. 
Gibson,  H. 
Greaves, Miss  G. 
Griffiths,  H. 
Hardwick,  J.  H. 
Hilder,  T.  P. 
Hope,  P.  H. 
Homer,  C..  E. 
Hullett,  R. 


Humblecrofts, 

Preb. 

Huxham,  J.  W. 
Jay,  J.  W. 
Jones,  W.  H. 
Kernahan, 

Coulson 
Lewis,  Mrs. 
Lodge,  W.  G. 
Mclvor,  R. 
McPherson,     J. 

A. 

Miles,  J.  A.  H. 
Millard,  A. 
Mitchell,     Rev. 

A.G. 
Muller,  J. 
Myers,  T. 
Noakes,  W.  F. 
Norris-Elye,    L. 

C   R 

Orlebar,  B.  O.  C. 
Overton,  J.  H. 
Parker,  R.  J. 
Pearson,  J.  H. 
Preston,  H.  J. 
Ramsay,  B.  M. 
Ratcliffe,  E.  A. 


Raynor,  Rev.  G. 

H. 
Rhys  -  Jones, 

Rev.  E: 
Sampson,  S.  N. 
Sankey,  C. 
Sawyer,  C.  J. 
Sherburn,  T. 
Shuter,  L.  A. 
Smith,  C.  J. 
Stacy,  Rev.  P. 
Tandy,  J.  H. 
Taylor,  T.  Pryce 
Taylor,  T.  L. 
Thomas,  Mrs. 
Villiers,  Mrs. 
Warren,  H. 
Ward,  C.  S.  M. 
Watson,  J. 
Weidemann,   C. 

H.  R. 

Wells,  L.  S. 
Williams,  F.  W. 
Williamson,  D. 
Wreford-Glan- 

ville,  H. 
Wright,  C.  W. 
Wright,  Ernest 


x  PREFACE 

It  has  proved  impossible  to  trace  all  sources  of 
information,  especially  as  many  were  culled  from 
scrapbooks  kindly  loaned,  but  wherever  ascertainable 
permission  has  been  asked  and  freely  given.  The 
warmest  acknowledgments  must  be  given  to  Messrs. 
Wisden,  for  the  annual  Cricketers1  Almanack  has 
not  only  proved  invaluable,  but  permission  has 
been  accorded  for  the  article  by  Lord  Harris  and 
many  of  the  statistics  by  F.  S.  Ashley-Cooper. 
Grateful  thanks  are  due  to  Lord  Burnham  for  allow- 
ing the  reproduction  of  the  letter  from  W.  G.  Grace 
to  the  Daily  Telegraph ;  to  Mr.  John  Murray  for  the 
use  of  portions  of  the  article  in  the  Quarterly  Review 
contributed  by  Sir  Home  Gordon ;  to  H.R.H. 
Princess  Christian  for  permission  to  use  an  extract 
from  the  Life  of  Prince  Christian  Victor  ;  to  Messrs. 
Blackwood  for  leave  to  quote  from  Old,  English 
Cricketers  ;  to  Messrs.  Cassell  from  Alfred  Shaw, 
Cricketer ;  and  to  Mr.  Arrowsmith  from  Kings  of 
Cricket.  The  proprietors  of  Punch  most  kindly 
permitted  the  whole  of  the  noble  tribute  to  W.  G. 
by  E.  V.  Lucas  to  be  quoted,  and  the  editor  of  the 
Spectator  was  good  enough  to  allow  the  lengthy 
contribution  by  Canon  Lyttelton  to  be  used.  It  has 
not  been  feasible  to  trace  any  owner  of  copyright 
in  the  defunct  Lillywhite  annuals,  green  and  red,  or 
permission  would  have  been  solicited. 

With  regard  to  the  illustrations,  our  selection  had 
to  be  made  from  an  enormous  number  and  from  a 
host  of  suggestions.  Mr.  G.  W.  Beldam  generously 
allowed  the  reproduction  of  Mrs.  Frank  Townsend's 
miniature,  which  was  exhibited  in  the  Royal 
Academy,  and  allowed  a  selection  from  his  photo- 
graphs, acknowledgment  being  due  to  Messrs.  Mac- 
millan  for  leave  to  extract  from  Great  Batsmen. 
Messrs.  Mawson,  Swan  &  Mawson  gave  leave  for  the 
insertion  of  a  copy  of  the  engraving  from  the  portrait 
by  the  late  Mr.  Stuart  Wortley  which  hangs  in  the 
pavilion  at  Lord's.  The  Committee  of  M.C.C.  allowed 


PREFACE 


XI 


their  collection  to  be  drawn  upon,  the  late  H.R.H. 
Prince  Christian  presented  some  photos,  and  there 
are  a  couple  in  the  volume  the  owners  of  which  are 
not  traced,  but  who  are  hereby  warmly  thanked. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

PREFACE         v 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS xv 

I    INTRODUCTION.    By  LORD  HAWKE  i 

II    A  TRIBUTE.      By  LORD  HARRIS       ...  5 

III  THE  GREATNESS  OF  W.  G.    By  SIR  HOME  GORDON, 

Bart .         .         .13 

IV  EARLIEST  CRICKET 24 

V  THE  YOUNG  CHAMPION.  With  Reminiscences  by 
LORD  COBHAM,  CANON  E.  S.  CARTER,  R.  D. 
WALKER  and  HENRY  PERKINS  ...  32 

VI    APPROACHING  His  PRIME.    With  Reminiscences 

by  R.  F.  MILES 45 

VII    A  YEAR  OF  TRIUMPH.     With  Reminiscences  by 

C.  K.  FRANCIS  and  C.  E.  GREEN  ...      57 

VIII  SUPREMACY  IN  ENGLAND  AND  IN  THE  WEST.  With 
Reminiscences  by  C.  K.  FRANCIS  and  ALFRED 
LUBBOCK  .......  74 

IX  AT  HOME  AND  UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS. 
With  Reminiscences  by  C.  K.  FRANCIS  and 
F.  R.  SPOFFORTH 92 

X  THE  END  OF  THE  OLD  REGIME.  With  Remini- 
scences by  C.  I.  THORNTON  and  A.  J.  WEBBE  107 

XI    THE  NEW  ERA.    With  Reminiscences  by  CANON 

EDWARD  LYTTELTON  and  F.  R.  SPOFFORTH   .     128 

xiii 


idv  CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

XII  TESTS  AND  TRIUMPHS.  With  Reminiscences  by 
A.  P.  LUCAS,  J.  SHUTER,  S.  H.  PARDON  and 
C.  W.  BURLS  .  .  .  .  .  144 

XIII  MATURE  PROFICIENCY.    With  Reminiscences  by 

the    late  LORD    ALVERSTONE,  C.   T.    STUDD, 

P.  J.  DE  PARAVICINI,  and  BARLOW       .         .     166 

XIV  A   WONDERFUL   REVIVAL.    With  Reminiscences 

by  H.  V.  PAGE  and  C.  I.  THORNTON    .         .189 

XV  PROWESS  IN  Two  HEMISPHERES.  With  Remini- 
scences by  C.  C.  CLARKE  .  .  .  .209 

XVI    THREE  STERLING  SEASONS.    With  Reminiscences 

by  A.  C.  M.  CROOME  and  C.  J.  ROBINSON     .     223 

XVII  MOST  MARVELLOUS  OF  ALL.  With  Reminiscences 
by  R.  W.  RICE,  H.  D.  G.  LEVESON-GOWER 
and  P.  F.  WARNER 248 

XVIII  GRACE'S  JUBILEE  AND  THE  END  OF  HIS  COUNTY 
CRICKET.  With  Reminiscences  by  F.  S.  ASHLEY- 
COOPER,  HIRST  and  LILLEY  .  .  .  271 

XIX    THE  CLOSE  OF  HIS  FIRST-CLASS  CAREER    .        .     293 

XX  HAPPY  LONDON  COUNTY  MEMORIES.  By  E.  H.  D. 
SEWELL.  With  Reminiscences  by  P.  G.  GALE 
and  G.  W.  BELDAM 300 

XXI  FINAL  GAMES  AND  MANY  ANECDOTES.  With  Re- 
miniscences by  H.R.H.  PRINCE  CHRISTIAN,  etc.  318 

XXII  GRACE  AT  OTHER  SPORTS.  With  Reminiscences 
by  SIR  GEORGE  RIDDELL,  G.  W.  BELDAM,  C.  K. 
FRANCIS,  etc 330 

XXIII  THE  CLOSING  SCENES       .        ...        .        .    349 

XXIV  STATISTICS  OF  W.  G.  GRACE'S  CRICKET.    By  F.  S. 

ASHLEY-COOPER 356 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE.    By  A.  D.  TAYLOR      .    377 
INDEX  OF  NAMES    .        .        ....        .     381 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

Miniature  by  Mrs.  F.  Townsend     .         .         .        Frontispiece 

TO  FACE 
PAGE 

Forward  Push  Stroke    .......      16 

The  English  Twelve  in  Canada 86 

Back  Stroke 112 

Square  Cut  .........     128 

Pull-Drive 160 

Pencil  Sketch  by  T.  Walter  Wilson,  R.I.        .         .         .177 

Portrait  by  Archibald  Stuart  Wortley    .         .         .         .208 

A  Punch  Caricature       .         .         .         .         .         .         .215 

Facsimile  of  Letter  to  the  Daily  Telegraph    .         .         .254 

On  his  Fiftieth  Birthday 272 

With  A.  G.  Steel 320 

With  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales          .         .         .         .322 
As  a  Golfer 330 


xv 


CHAPTER  I 
Introduction 

BY  LORD  HAWKE  (President  of  M.C.C.,  1914- 

1918) 

WHAT  can  be  said  of  W.  G.  which  is  not  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  pages  ? 

Although  it  falls  to  my  lot  to  open  the  innings  of 
the  great  side  that  has  been  gathered  to  do  justice 
to  the  champion's  memory,  as  generally  happens  the 
Introduction  is  the  very  last  portion  of  the  book  to  be 
written.  Therefore  it  seems  to  me  that  everything 
has  been  stated,  and  yet  it  behoves  me  to  contribute 
my  share  when  others  have  so  generously  given  of 
their  best. 

Ever  since  I  can  remember,  cricket  was  my  greatest 
hobby,  and  looking  back  to  my  earliest  boyhood  it 
seems  to  me  that  cricket  and  Grace  were  synonymous. 
For  nobody  ever  spoke  of  cricket  without  alluding  to 
W.  G.  He  symbolized  cricket  for  every  one  who 
began  to  play  after  he  became  champion.  He  even 
attracted  many  to  watch  him  who  under  no  other 
circumstances  would  have  thought  of  witnessing  a 
match. 

When  I  came  to  know  him,  the  man  proved  as 
attractive  as  the  cricket.  W.  G.  was  highly  indivi- 
dual, like  no  one  else,  just  as  his  cricket  did  not 
resemble  that  of  any  other  player.  I  have  heard  it 
observed  that  he  had  just  the  figure  for  cricket. 
I  do  not  think  so.  I  regard  his  exceptional  skill 
in  his  zenith  as  all  the  more  remarkable,  because 


2          THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

he  overcame  physical  difficulties.  That  big,  burly 
frame  was  slow  to  move,  there  was  a  tendency  to  put 
on  weight,  only  overcome  by  strenuous  exercise  :  he 
conquered  such  obstacles  as  he  conquered  opposing 
bowling  and  as  he  conquered  anno  domini  to  an 
unparalleled  age.  As  years  went  by  one  marvelled 
more  and  more  at  his  skill.  The  Old  Man  became  a 
perennial  in  first-class  cricket.  Personally  I  enjoyed 
an  exceptionally  long  career  in  county  matches. 
But  W.  G.  was  playing  for  the  Gentlemen  before  I 
was  five  years  old,  and  he  was  still  scoring  centuries 
only  a  little  before  I  resigned  the  captaincy  of  York- 
shire. It  does  seem  so  wonderful  that  one  is  in 
doubt  how  to  allude  to  such  exceptional  success. 
"  Take  him  all  in  all,  we  shall  not  look  upon  his  like 
again,"  appears  the  one  true  quotation  with  which 
to  commend  his  memory  to  those  who  will  never 
enjoy  the  good  fortune  to  watch  his  complete  mastery 
at  the  wicket. 

Individually  I  am  the  very  worst  possible  to 
provide  reminiscences  of  the  champion.  I  always 
played  cricket  for  cricket's  sake,  very  seriously 
without  giving  thought  to  anything  except  the 
actual  game.  I  never  noticed  what  may  be  termed 
bye-parts,  those  pleasant  side-lights  which  are  so 
illustrative  when  one  looks  back.  Whenever  W.  G. 
was  against  me — and  we  chiefly  met  in  Yorkshire 
v.  Gloucestershire  matches — I  found  him  absorbed 
in  the  encounter  with  none  of  the  playful  episodes 
occurring  such  as  are  recalled  by  other  contributors 
to  this  volume.  That  earnestness  made  for  good 
cricket,  but  not  for  amusing  recollections. 

He  generally  seemed  to  love  the  Yorkshire  bowling, 
and  I  think  that  was  because  our  bowling  was  just  a 
bit  better  very  often  than  others  that  he  had  to  play, 
and  therefore  he  tried  just  a  little  more  than  usual  to 
get  runs — and  certainly  made  them.  We  possessed 
a  succession  of  wonderful  left-handed  bowlers,  and 
J  always  thought  that  W.  G.  played  left-handed 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  3 

bowling  more  easily  than  he  did  right-handed,  that 
is  to  say,  I  believe  he  liked  the  preliminary  direction 
imparted  to  the  flight  of  the  ball  by  the  left  hand, 
just  as  I  did.  Personally  I  never  saw  two  finer 
efforts  than  his  double  century  against  us  at  Clifton 
in  1888.  He  hit  the  very  first  ball  for  four,  plumb  in 
the  middle  of  the  bat,  and  I  felt  we  were  out  for  a 
real  "leather  hunt."  He  never  looked  like  being 
out.  If  Georgie  Hirst  never  bowled  him,  as  he 
relates,  Bobby  Peel  only  did  so  on  six  occasions 
and  Peate  on  nine ;  and  they  must  have  opposed 
him  a  number  of  times. 

He  could  be  baffling  on  occasions.  Once  at  Scar- 
borough on  the  last  day,  it  was  a  North  v.  South, 
he  and  Abel  were  in  at  lunch  time  and  the  boys 
wanted  to  catch  an  afternoon  train  home,  so  they 
did  their  best  to  get  W.  G.  to  have  an  extra  glass  of 
champagne  in  the  hope  that  it  would  help  to  get  him 
out.  The  Old  Man  well  knew  what  they  were  up  to. 
"  No,"  said  he,  "I  will  have  the  other  bottle  at  five 
o'clock."  Sure  enough,  he  was  still  in  and  had  his 
"  afternoon  tea  "  and  the  boys  missed  their  train. 

I  never  had  a  word  with  W.  G.  in  my  life  which 
was  not  cheery,  pleasant  and  sportsmanlike.  Only 
once,  I  think,  did  I  shoot  with  him,  and  that  was  at 
Ranji's.  The  Old  Man  shot  with  a  would-be  pair  of 
guns  ;  one  given  by  Purdy  ;  the  other  was  as  unlike 
it  as  two  sticks.  Still  he  was  in  good  form,  and  it 
was  delightful  to  note  his  accuracy  and  his 
own  pleasure  in  bringing  down  some  really  high 
birds. 

I  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  I  have  always 
been  splendidly  supported  by  the  Press  in  all  my 
efforts  on  behalf  of  cricket.  I  also  think  that  Grace 
owed  not  a  little  to  the  constant  appreciation  of  his 
prowess  shown  in  print.  From  the  beginning  the 
cricket  critics  recognized  his  supreme  mastery  of  the 
game,  and  they  never  lost  sight  of  that  even  when  he 
was  out  of  form  now  and  again.  This  steady  mainte- 


4          BIOGRAPHY  OF  DR.  W.  G.  GRACE 

nance  of  his  skill  to  the  public  gave  him  opportunity 
to  recover  his  form  instead  of  his  being  subjected  to 
erroneously  short-sighted  suggestions  that  he  ought 
to  be  left  out  of  a  big  match  just  because  he  had  made 
a  few  small  scores.  The  monument  to  W.  G.  is  not 
only  in  what  he  has  done,  but  in  the  consistent  way 
in  which  it  was  recorded.  In  whatever  class  of 
sport  that  can  be  named,  I  doubt  if  there  ever  was 
one  who  shone  so  brilliantly  above  his  fellows.  No 
one  was  ever  more  popular,  and  still  we  can  say,  with 
the  real  depth  of  truth,  that  one  of  his  greatest 
charms  was  that  he  was  always  the  same  and  never 
had  his  head  turned.  Indeed  there  were  so  many 
that  one  is  tempted  to  sum  it  all  up  thus  : 

W.  G.  b.  1848,  d.  1915  :    well  played. 

Yes,  that  is  the  truth  :  he  played  life's  innings 
well,  as  this  book  goes  to  prove.  A  memorial  to  him 
is  to  be  perpetuated  at  Lord's,  just  as  this  Memorial 
Biography  is  intended  to  give  permanent  testimony 
to  what  he  was.  Yet  no  monument,  no  portrait, 
no  book  can  adequately  represent  either  the  vitality 
of  W.  G.  or  his  superb  skill  in  the  game  he  loved. 
They  had  to  be  seen  to  be  realized,  and  now  we  can 
look  at  them  no  more. 


CHAPTER  II 
A  Tribute 

BY  LORD  HARRIS  (Treasurer  of  M.C.C.} 

IT  is  thirty  years  since  I  ceased  to  play  regularly 
with  W.  G.,  and  a  period  such  as  that  plays 
havoc  with  one's  memory  of  particulars ;  but  as 
one  of  the  few  left  who  played  with  him  in  the  great 
matches  of  the  seventies  and  eighties  I  feel  that 
though  one's  thoughts  are  concentrated  on  a  far 
different  field,  I  ought  to  try,  before  it  is  too  late,  to 
leave  on  record  my  recollections  of  him  and  his 
play. 

I  suppose  it  has  been  difficult  for  the  present 
generation,  who  have  seen  occasionally  at  Lord's  or 
in  some  country  match  his  massive  form,  to  realize 
that  in  the  seventies  he  was  a  spare  and  extremely 
active  man.  My  old  comrade,  Mr.  C.  K.  Francis, 
reminded  me  when  we  attended  his  funeral,  that  in 
1872,  when  Mr.  FitzGerald's  team  of  Gentlemen 
visited  Canada  and  the  United  States,  W.  G.'s 
playing  weight  was  no  more  than  12  stone  7  Ib.  ;  he 
was  a  magnificent  field  in  any  position,  but  more 
especially  in  fielding  his  own  bowling  he  was  unsur- 
passed. For  a  long  time  during  his  career  he  fielded 
regularly  at  point,  and  though  those  who  had  seen 
both  considered  his  brother  E.  M.  far  the  better  of 
the  two  in  that  place,  he  was  quite  first-rate.  He  was 
a  long  thrower  in  his  earliest  days,  but  quite  early 
in  his  career,  when  he  sometimes  went  long  field, 
preferred  to  bowl  the  ball  up  to  throwing  it.  He 

5 


6          THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

was  always  when  at  point  on  the  look-out  for  a  bats- 
man being  careless  about  keeping  his  ground,  and 
you  would  see  him  occasionally  face  as  if  about  to 
return  the  ball  to  the  bowler,  and  instead  send  it 
under  arm  to  the  wicket-keeper,  but  I  never  saw  him 
get  any  one  out  that  way.  He  was  originally  a 
medium-paced  bowler  without  peculiarity,  meeting 
occasionally  with  considerable  success,  but  in  the 
seventies  he  adopted  the  delivery,  slow  with  a  leg 
break,  by  which  he  was  known  for  the  rest  of  his 
great  career,  and  added  to  his  otherwise  extra- 
ordinary capacity  as  a  cricketer.  He  must  have 
been  by  nature  a  great  bat  and  field,  but  he  made 
himself,  by  ingenuity  and  assiduity,  a  successful 
bowler  :  and  though  I  never  knew  any  one  keener 
on  having  his  innings,  I  am  by  no  means  sure  he  did 
not  prefer  the  other  department  of  the  game  ;  at 
any  rate,  it  was  very  difficult  to  take  him  off  once  he 
had  got  hold  of  the  ball.  It  was  "  Well,  just  one 
more  over  "  or  "I'll  have  him  in  another  over  or 
two,"  when  one  suggested  a  change.  The  chief 
feature  of  his  bowling  was  the  excellent  length  which 
he  persistently  maintained,  for  there  was  very  little 
break  on  the  ball,  just  enough  bias  to  bring  the  ball 
across  from  the  legs  to  the  wicket ;  not  infrequently 
he  bowled  for  catches  at  long  leg,  and  when  his 
brother  Fred  was  playing  was  often  successful  in 
trapping  the  unwary,  for  with  a  high  flight  and  a 
dropping  ball  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  skying  a  hit  to 
leg.  Fred  Grace  was  as  sure  a  catch  as  I  ever  saw : 
he  caught  the  celebrated  skyer  hit  by  Bonnor  at  the 
Oval,  certainly  a  very  high  one.  But  a  better  still  I 
thought  was  one  he  caught  one  very  cold  September 
day  at  the  Oval  in  a  match  played  for  the  benefit  of 
"  The  Princess  Alice  "  Fund.  G.  F.  was  bowling 
and  a  tremendous  skyer  went  up,  which  obviously 
belonged  to  mid-off  where  I  was  standing.  I  was 
not  particularly  keen  about  it,  and  there  was 
plenty  of  time  for  me  to  say  "  Who's  going  to  have 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  7 

this?  "     "I  will,"  said  G.  F.,  and  he  held  it  sure 
enough. 

The  success  of  W.  G/s  bowling  was  largely  due  to 
his  magnificent  fielding  to  his  own  bowling.  The 
moment  he  had  delivered  the  ball  he  took  so  much 
ground  to  the  left  as  to  be  himself  an  extra  mid-off, 
and  he  never  funked  a  return  however  hard  and  low 
it  came.  I  have  seen  him  make  some  extraordinary 
catches  thus ;  he  had  also  the  additional  chance  of 
the  umpire  making  a  mistake  over  an  appeal  for 
l.b.w.  He  crossed  over  to  the  oft  so  far  and  so 
quickly  that  he  could  not  possibly  see  whether  the 
ball  would  have  hit  the  wicket,  but  he  generally  felt 
justified  in  appealing.  On  one  occasion  at  Canter- 
bury with  a  high  wind  blowing  down  the  hill  he  was 
having  much  success,  and  asking  every  time  he  hit 
the  batsman's  legs.  He  could  not  get  me  caught  at 
long  leg  for  I  always  hit  him  fine,  but  he  asked  every 
time  I  missed  the  ball ;  I  kept  remonstrating,  and 
he  kept  responding  indignantly  until  at  last  I  put 
my  left  leg  too  far  to  the  left,  the  ball  passed  through 
my  legs  and  hit  the  wicket,  upon  which  he  argued 
that  all  the  previous  balls  would  have  done  the  same, 
whilst  I  argued  that  that  and  all  the  others  had  not 
pitched  straight.  He  always  had  his  mid- on  very 
straight  behind  him  to  make  up  for  his  crossing  ta 
the  off.  He  seemed  quite  impervious  to  fatigue,  and 
after  a  long  innings  would  gladly,  if  allowed  to,  bowl 
through  the  opponents'  innings.  It  is  right  to  dwell 
thus  much  on  his  bowling,  for  though  not  a  brilliant 
he  was  a  decidedly  successful  bowler,  and  with  a 
wind  to  help  him  actually  difficult.  But,  of  course, 
he  will  go  down  to  fame  as  the  greatest  batsman  that 
ever  played,  not  as  the  greatest  bowler  ;  and  I 
should  judge  that  that  description  of  him  is  justified. 
I  happen  to  have  seen  and  played  on  the  average 
wickets  we  had  to  play  on  before  the  days  of  the 
very  heavy  roller,  and  also  on  the  wickets  batsmen 
now  enjoy  and  bowlers  groan  over.  I  was  too  long 


8  THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

after  his  time  ever  to  see  Fuller  Pilch  bat,  but  I 
fancy  it  would  be  a  very  fair  comparison  to  pit 
W.  G.'s  performances  against  Fuller's,  and,  great 
batsman  as  the  latter  was,  I  cannot  believe  he  was 
as  great  as  W.  G. 

I  have  elsewhere  dilated,  at  such  length  as  to 
prohibit  repetition  here,  on  the  difference  between 
the  wickets  of  my  earlier  and  of  my  later  experience. 
The  far  lower  level  of  batting  averages  in  the  seven- 
ties, as  compared  with  those  of  the  nineties  and  subse- 
quently, is  ample  proof  of  the  improvement  of 
wickets,  for  the  bowling  has  certainly  not  deterior- 
ated, and  it  should  be  remembered  that  W.  G. 
was  making  as  huge  scores  on  the  more  difficult 
wickets  as  his  successors  have  done  on  the  easier. 

The  great  feature  of  Fuller's  batting  was  his  for- 
ward play.  He  used  a  bat  with  a  short  handle  and 
abnormally  long  pod,  so  that,  whilst  he  could 
smother  the  ball,  and  drive  and  play  to  leg,  he  could 
not  cut ;  whereas  W.  G.  could  hit  all  round,  he  used 
every  known  stroke  except  the  draw  which  had  be- 
come all  but  obsolete  when  he  commenced  first-class 
cricket ;  and  he  introduced  what  was  then  a  novel 
stroke,  and  one  more  adaptable  to  the  break-back 
bowling  which  he  had  as  a  rule  to  meet,  than  the  leg- 
break  bowling  which  was  common  in  Pilch's  time, 
viz.  :  the  push  to  leg  with  a  straight  bat  off  the 
straight  ball,  and  his  mastery  of  this  stroke  was  so 
great  that  he  could  place  the  ball  with  great  success 
clear  of  short  leg  and  even  of  two  short  legs.  It 
was  not  the  glide  which  that  distinguished  cricketer 
Ranjitsinhji  developed  so  successfully,  or  a  hook, 
but  a  push  and  a  perfectly  orthodox  stroke.  In  his 
prime  he  met  the  ball  on  the  popping  crease,  neither 
the  orthodox  forward  nor  the  backstroke  ;  it  was 
a  stroke  entirely  unique  in  my  opinion  needing 
remarkable  clearness  of  eye  and  accurate  timing  :  it 
is  easy  enough  to  play  thus  when  one's  eye  is  in, 
but  when  at  his  best  he  commenced  his  innings  with 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  9 

it.  He  stood  very  close  to  the  line  from  wicket  to 
wicket  and  made  great  use  of  his  legs  in  protecting 
his  wicket,  not,  be  it  understood,  by  getting  in  front 
of  the  wicket  and  leaving  the  ball  alone,  for  no  bats- 
man left  fewer  balls  alone,  but  bat  and  legs  were  so 
close  together  that  it  was  difficult  for  the  ball  to  get 
past  the  combination.  So  much  so  that  the  un- 
fortunate umpires  of  those  times  were  constantly  being 
grumbled  at  either  by  the  bowlers  for  not  giving  him 
out,  or  by  him  for  being  given  out.  J.  C.  Shaw,  in 
particular,  who  remarked  once  :  "I  puts  the  ball 
where  I  likes,  and  that  beggar  he  puts  it  where  he 
likes,"  was  constantly  appealing  to  heaven — as  he 
had  failed  in  his  appeal  to  the  umpire — 'that  he  had 
got  him  dead  leg-before  ;  and  W.  G.  remonstrating 
in  that  high-pitched  tone  of  voice  "  Didn't  pitch 
straight  by  half  an  inch."  I  cannot  remember  his 
ever — when  in  his  prime — -slogging  :  he  seemed  to 
play  the  same  watchful,  untiring  correct  game  as 
carefully  towards  the  close  as  at  the  commencement 
of  a  long  innings  :  and  there  was  no  need  for  he  had 
so  many  strokes  and  could  place  them  so  clear  of 
the  field,  and  with  such  power  that  when  runs  had 
to  be  made  fast  his  ordinary  style  was  enough  to 
secure  all  that  was  wanted. 

He  was  quite  untiring  during  the  longest  innings, 
and  just  as  anxious  and  watchful  for  every  possible 
run  whether  he  had  got  to  save  his  duck  or  had 
already  made  200,  and  he  was  very  fast  between  the 
wickets,  and  just  as  reluctant  to  leave  the  wicket 
whatever  his  score  was  as  was  Harry  Jupp,  but  more 
observant  of  the  rules,  practice  and  etiquette  of  the 
game  than  that  stolid  player,  of  whom  a  story  was 
told  that  playing  in  a  country  match  he  was  bowled 
first  ball.  Jupp  turned  round,  replaced  the  bails, 
and  took  guard  again.  "  Ain't  you  going  out, 
Juppy  ?  "  said  one  of  the  field.  "  No,"  said  Jupp, 
and  he  didn't.  I  may  repeat  another  story  I  have 
recorded  elsewhere  how  I  caught  Jupp  once  at  point 


io        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

close  under  his  bat  and  close  to  the  ground,  that 
he  showed  no  inclination  to  go  and,  so  it  was  declared, 
that  I  said  in  a  voice  so  thunderous  :  "  I  am  not  going 
to  ask  that,  Jupp,  you've  got  to  go,"  that  he  did 

go- 

W.  G.  was  desperately  keen  for  his  side  to  win,  and 

consequently  was  led,  in  his  excitement,  to  be  occa- 
sionally very  rigid  in  demanding  his  full  rights,  but 
he  was  so  popular,  and  had  the  game  so  thoroughly 
at  heart,  that  such  slight  incidents  were  readily  for- 
given him  and  indeed  more  often  than  not  added  to 
the  fund  of  humorous  stories  about  him.  When  the 
luck  of  the  game  went  against  him  his  lamentations 
were  deep,  and  his  neighbourhood  to  be  temporarily 
avoided,  except  by  the  most  sympathetic.  Alfred 
Lyttelton  used  to  tell  a  delightful  story  of  how  in  a 
Middlesex  v.  Gloucestershire  match  W.  G.,  having 
been  given  out  for  the  second  time  caught  at  the 
wicket  for  a  small  score,  he  retired  to  the  dressing 
tent  with  his  shoulders  so  humped  up  and  his  whole 
aspect  so  ominous  that  the  rest  of  the  Gloucestershire 
XI  were  to  be  seen  sneaking  out  of  the  back  of  the 
tent  to  avoid  an  interview.  His  ability  to  go  on 
playing  in  first-class  cricket  when  age  and  weight 
had  seriously  increased  was  quite  remarkable.  He 
was  a  most  experienced  and  skilful  anatomist  of  his 
own  body,  and  knew  how  to  save  the  weak  points, 
but  in  addition  he  was  always  a  most  plucky 
cricketer.  Standing  up  as  he  had  to  to  the  fiercest 
bowling  sometimes  on  most  fiery  wickets,  and  put- 
ting his  hand  to  everything  within  reach  no  matter 
how  hard  hit,  he  had  of  course  at  least  his  share  of 
painful  contusions,  but  I  cannot  in  the  years  that  I 
was  playing  with  him  remember  his  ever  standing  out 
or  flinching  :  and  I  have  seen  him  playing  with  badly 
bruised  fingers. 

He  was  so  immeasurably  above  every  one  else  for 
many  years,  that  the  lines  about  Alfred  Mynn  natur- 
ally occurred  to  one  as  appropriate  also  to  him, 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  n 

substituting  batting  for  bowling  and  Gloucestershire 
for  Kent  : 

"  But  the  Gentlemen  of  England  the  match  will  hardly  win 
Till  they  find  another  bowler  such  as  glorious  Alfred  Mynn  " 

and 

"  Till  to  some  old  Kent  enthusiasts  it  would  almost  seem  a  sin 
To  doubt  their  county's  triumph  when  led  on  by  Alfred  Mynn."' 

I  am  sure  it  seemed  to  us  who  played  with  him  in 
the  great  matches  of  the  seventies  and  eighties  that 
with  W.  G.  to  start  the  batting  both  the  Gentlemen 
and  England  must  be  invincible,  but  Australian 
bowling  took  down  our  pride  somewhat  and  taught 
us  some  useful  lessons.  When  the  Gentlemen  of 
England  were  playing  in  Canada  and  the  States  in 
1872  we  used  to  grumble  because  W.  G.  and  Cuthbert 
Ottaway  used  generally  to  put  up  100  before  a 
wicket  went  down,  leaving  some  of  us  who  fancied 
we  could  also  do  well  if  we  had  the  chance,  little  to 
do  when  our  time  came.  He  was  then  and  always 
a  most  genial,  even-tempered,  considerate  com- 
panion, and  of  all  the  many  cricketers  I  have  known 
the  kindest  as  well  as  the  best.  He  was  ever  ready 
with  an  encouraging  word  for  the  novice,  and  a  com- 
passionate one  for  the  man  who  made  a  mistake. 

The  sobriquet  "  Old  Man,"  and  it  was  a  very 
affectionate  one,  was  an  abbreviation  of  "  Grand  Old 
Man,"  copied  from  that  given  to  Mr.  Gladstone  by 
his  admirers,  and  indeed  he  was  the  Grand  Old  Man 
of  the  Cricket  World  and  the  Cricket  Field.  It  is,  I 
suppose,  natural  if  the  present  generation  who  have 
never  seen  him  play  cannot  realize  what  he  was  to 
the  cricketers  of  mine.  He  was  a  landmark,  a 
figure  head,  a  giant,  a  master  man,  and  to  most  of 
those  who  are  left  I  imagine  it  must  be  as  difficult 
as  it  is  to  me  to  imagine  cricket  going  on  without 
W.  G.  He  devoted  his  life  to  it,  and  was  perhaps 
as  well-known  by  sight  to  the  public  as  any  man  in 
public  life ;  for  he  played  all  over  England,  in  his- 


12      BIOGRAPHY   OF  DR.   W.   G.   GRACE 

younger  days  with  the  United  South  of  England 
XI — managed,  if  I  remember  right,  by  Jim 
Lilly  white — .against  odds  ;  later  as  county  cricket 
increased  the  Gloucestershire  matches  took  him  to 
all  the  great  cricketing  counties ;  but  I  think  he 
would  have  said  that  his  home  in  first-class  cricket 
was  Lord's  ;  he  was  a  most  loyal  supporter  of  M.C.C. 
cricket,  and  the  admirable  likeness  of  him  by  Mr. 
Stuart  Wortley  shows  him  batting  on  that  historic 
ground,  the  combination  of  man  and  place  surely 
most  appropriate  :  the  greatest  cricketer  in  the 
history  of  the  game  batting  on  the  most  celebrated 
ground  in  the  world. 

He  has  gone  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  a 
combination  so  remarkable  of  health,  activity,  power, 
-eye,  hand,  devotion  and  opportunity  will  present 
Itself  again  ;  if  not,  then  the  greatest  cricketer  of  all 
time  has  passed  away,  and  we  who  saw  his  play  were 
•encouraged  by  his  invariable  kindness,  and  gloried 
in  his  overwhelming  excellence,  may  well  think 
ourselves  fortunate  that  a  few  of  our  cricketing 
years  fell  within  his  long  cricketing  life.  It  was  a 
shock  to  hear  that  W.  G.  was  no  more ;  the  crowd 
.at  his  funeral,  at  a  time  when  many  of  his  greatest 
admirers  were  occupied  with  war  work,  was  the  best 
proof  of  the  respect,  admiration  and  affection  he  had 
won.  The  well-known  lines  in  remembrance  of 
Alfred  Mynn  pray  that  the  Kentish  turf  may  lie 
lightly  on  him  ;  it  now  provides  a  calm  and  honoured 
home  to  the  remains  of 

W.  G.  GRACE. 


CHAPTER  III 

Why  W.  G.   Grace  remains  the  Greatest 
Cricketer  that  ever  was  or  ever  will  be 

BY  SIR  HOME  GORDON,  Bart. 

EVERY  young  cricketer  of  to-day  and  every 
cricketer  of  future  generations  will  ask  :  "  Why 
was  W.  G.  Grace  the  greatest  of  cricketers  and  was 
he  so  very  wonderful  after  all  ?  "  It  is  to  answer 
that  very  natural  question  that  this  memorial 
biography  has  been  compiled.  Why  should  our 
descendants  take  our  word  for  anything  ?  They 
demand  proof,  and  it  is  believed  that  the  present 
volume  will  provide  it  on  behalf  of  the  deceased 
champion.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  praises  of  bygone  heroes  of  the  cricket-field 
often  sound  a  little  dull.  Some  of  us  may  regard  the 
famous  Hambledon  men  much  as  we  think  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Round  Table.  We  are  not  enthralled 
by  Old  Clarke,  we  are  left  unstirred  by  the  once 
renowned  prowess  of  Fuller  Pilch,  and  neither  William 
Ward  nor  Lord  Frederick  Beauclerk  arouse  a  thrill. 
Better  the  next  county  match  that  is  to  be  played 
than  the  greatest  test  match  that  was  ever  played. 
Whether  this  latter  contention  is  right  or  wrong 
depends  on  the  power  of  memory,  or  the  links  of 
association.  Cricket  memories  are  among  the  most 
fragrant  of  all  to  many  devotees  of  the  grand  game. 
Anyhow,  here  is  the  emphatic  statement  once  again  : 
there  can  be  no  one  else  like  W.  G.  Grace. 

Far  be  it  from  those  of  us  old  enough  to  have  seen 

13 


14        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

several  generations  of  cricketers  to  lay  stress  on  the 
superiority  of  those  who  have  played  their  last  big 
game.  There  are  just  as  fine  cricketers  coming 
to-morrow  as  ever  batted  yesterday.  Charles  Buller 
was  not  a  better  bat  than  Andrew  Ernest  Stoddart  ; 
Richard  Daft  was  not  more  difficult  to  dislodge  than 
Tom  Hay  ward  ;  C.  I.  Thornton  as  a  glorious  hitter 
was  succeeded  by  H.  T.  Hewett  and  Francis  Ford ; 
J.  T.  Tyldesley  and  Victor  Trumper,  Hobbs  and 
George  Hirst  will  have  their  counterparts  in  the  next 
decade  ;  after  A.  G.  Steel  came  F.  S.  Jackson  ;  we 
may  again  see  such  a  super-vitalized  cricket  genius 
as  George  Lohmann.  What  about  K.  S.  Ran- 
jitsinhji  ?  Well,  the  popular  Jam  Sahib  of  Na- 
wanagar,  when  the  present  writer  was  his  guest  for 
the  Delhi  Durbar,  said  that  he  himself  had  only 
begun  as  a  bat  where  the  Grand  Old  Man  had  left  off, 
.and  certainly  he  was  never  compelled  to  play  on  the 
abominably  difficult  wickets  on  which  the  senior 
acquired  his  well-earned  reputation.  At  the  cen- 
tenary dinner  of  Lord's  cricket  ground,  C.  E.  Green 
proposed  the  health  of  W.  G.  as  "  the  greatest 
cricketer  that  has  ever  lived  or  ever  will  live." 

Why  ?  Young  England  justifiably  asks.  Let 
it  not  surprise  those  of  us  who  have  been  born  and 
bred  under  the  shadow  of  W.  G.  Grace's  incomparable 
supremacy  that  already  have  arisen  those  junior  to 
us  who  inquire  why.  They  have  the  right  to 
Icnow ;  they  want  reasons  for  our  positiveness  on 
the  subject.  Few  people  to-day  dogmatize  with 
complete  confidence  ;  why  should  all  the  generations 
of  spectators  and  players  for  forty  years  agree  on  this 
one  point  ? 

The  answer  is  not  difficult  to  give.  W.  G.  Grace 
is  virtually  the  creator  of  modern  cricket  as  we  know 
it.  He  came  into  cricket  when  it  was  the  most 
delightful  of  all  contests,  and  by  his  amazing  prowess 
lie  lifted  it  on  his  own  massive  shoulders  to  be  the 
finest  of  all  games,  which  it  is  to-day  and  will  be 


DR.    W.   G.   GRACE  15 

to-morrow.  The  part  he  played  was  so  unique  that 
so  long  as  England  to  herself  is  true  the  fame  of 
W.  G.  Grace  will  be  preserved  among  the  greatest 
imperial  traditions. 

In  the  realm  of  sport — that  peculiarly  British 
preoccupation — no  other  player  ever  towered  so 
colossally  over  all  other  players  in  any  game.  Thou- 
sands who  never  saw  a  match  nor  felt  the  faintest 
interest  in  the  antagonism  of  bowler  and  batsman 
were  aware  of  him  familiarly  by  repute.  To  the 
British  public  W.  G.  was  almost  as  well  known  as 
W.  E.  G.  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  over 
the  first  Home  Rule  Bill,  a  distinguished  diplomatist 
observed  that  there  was  only  one  man  more  talked 
about  in  England  than  Gladstone  and  that  was 
Grace.  This  unique  reputation  will  have  to  be  con- 
sidered when  the  social  and  moral  history  of  the  past 
fifty  years  comes  to  be  written,  for  the  investigator 
will  be  compelled  to  ascertain  how  it  came  about 
that  one  who  never  forced  himself  into  publicity, 
except  by  his  paramount  skill  in  a  game,  should 
have  held  so  remarkable  a  place  in  the  popular 
regard. 

The  explanation  seems  to  be  that  he  embodied  in 
a  particular  way  so  much  that  appealed  to  his 
fellow-countrymen.  Beyond  all  others  he  stood  out 
as  the  typical  example  of  absolute  supremacy  in  his 
own  sphere.  In  the  best  sense  he  was  an  individual 
gifted  with  amazing  aptitude,  emerging  from  the 
middle  classes  to  be  foremost  in  a  game  dear  to  all 
ranks  of  English  society.  It  is  but  a  truism  to  say 
that,  to  all  intent  and  purpose,  Grace  personified 
cricket  to  the  whole  Empire  for  successive  genera- 
tions of  cricketers — he  played  with  the  grandsons  of 
those  who  had  called  him  champion,  and  could  still 
merit  that  proud  title.  It  was  not  only  what  he 
achieved,  it  was  also  the  individuality  of  the  man, 
his  massive,  unmistakably  British  personality  which 
exercised  a  spell  over  the  crowd  and  caught  the 


16        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

imagination  of  those  who  never  saw  him  to  such  an 
extent  that  in  his  own  lifetime  he  entered  the  rank  of 
traditional  popular  heroes  ;  and  the  testimonials 
collected  for  him  gave  substantial  evidence  of  how 
large  he  loomed  in  general  estimation. 

It  became  a  commercial  enterprise  to  arrange  for 
his  appearance  at  such  towns  for  example  as  Cork, 
Inverness,  Aberdeen,  Lincoln,  Wakefield,  Darlington, 
Grimsby,  Durham  and  Exeter,  where  no  crowds 
otherwise  could  be  induced  to  watch  cricket.  He 
alone  among  Englishmen  proved  an  attraction,  from 
the  gate-money  point  of  view,  as  lucrative  as  that 
which  the  Australians  subsequently  became  ;  and 
the  silver  testimony  of  the  turnstiles  forms  an  unmis- 
takable indication  of  what  interests  the  public.  In 
the  seventies  a  newspaper  observed  that  the  clubs 
emptied  and  a  stream  of  cabs  dashed  towards  St. 
John's  Wood  when  it  was  known  that  he  was  playing 
at  Lord's.  More  than  twenty  years  later,  on  his 
fiftieth  birthday,  twenty  thousand  people  were 
packed  round  the  same  ground;  excursion  trains 
were  run  from  the  West  of  England  :  and  "  much  to 
their  annoyance,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  not  in  twos 
and  threes  but  in  hundreds,  had  to  be  turned  away." 
No  other  votary  of  any  sport  has  even  a  tithe  of  the 
references  to  WT.  G.  Grace  that  are  to  be  found  in  the 
pages  of  Punch. 

It  was  appropriate  that  so  many  of  the  greatest 
achievements  of  the  Old  Man — as  he  was  familiarly 
called  in  his  veteran  days — should  have  been  associ- 
ated with  the  headquarters  of  the  game  in  which  he 
excelled.  Countless  are  the  occasions  in  which  he 
descended  the  steps,  first  of  the  old,  then  of  the  new 
pavilion  at  Lord's,  always  to  be  greeted  with  acclama- 
tion, often  with  positive  enthusiasm.  Even  to  look 
at,  Grace  had  no  parallel.  That  huge,  ponderous 
form,  those  tremendous  arms — their  hairy  strength 
revealed  by  the  upturned  sleeves — the  big,  familiar 
head,  invariably  wearing  a  red  and  yellow  cap,  the 


W.    G.    GRACE. 
The  beginning  of  his  forward  push  stroke 

(From  an  action -photograph  by  G.   W.   Beldam.) 


DR.   W.   G.    GRACE     „  17 

swarthy  complexion,  the  thick  black  beard — later, 
"  a  sable  silvered" — all  revealed  a  man  physically 
somewhat  apart  from  the  type  usually  associated 
with  cricket. 

When  he  reached  the  wicket  and  took  guard,  he 
invariably  marked  the  spot  on  the  ground  with  one 
of  the  bails.  Then  he  would  adjust  his  cap  and  take 
a  careful  look  round  to  ascertain  the  placing  of  the 
field  before  confronting  the  bowler.  Naturally,  as  a 
veteran,  with  increasing  years  and  bulk,  he  leant 
more  heavily  on  his  bat,  but  in  his  prime  his  position 
was  particularly  easy.  The  weight  of  the  body 
rested  entirely  on  the  right  leg,  the  left  foot  being 
generally  cocked  up.  He  met  every  ball  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  bat,  and  whilst  at  the  wicket  inspired  a 
curious  confidence  in  his  capacity  to  stay  there. 
The  late  A.  G.  Steel — as  great  a  master  of  the  theory 
as  of  the  practice  of  cricket — observed  that  it  was 
waste  of  time  on  hard,  dry  wickets  to  put  on  fast 
bowlers  when  Grace  was  at  his  best.  The  runs  that 
came  from  bowlers  like  Martin  Mclntyre  were 
astonishing  ;  cuts,  pushes  through  any  number  of 
short-legs,  big  drives  and  colossal  leg-hits — all  were 
alike  to  the  great  batsman.  No  warmer  verbal 
tributes  were  ever  paid  to  Grace  than  by  that  master 
of  the  ball,  Alfred  Shaw — the  bowler  who  most  fre- 
quently obtained  his  wicket  and  was  admitted  by 
Grace  himself  to  be  the  one  he  found  most  difficult 
to  play.  That  his  very  repute  itself  exercised  a 
detrimental  effect  on  bowlers  pitted  against  W.  G, 
seems  to  have  been  contemporaneously  recognized 
and  admitted  by  many. 

With  reference  to  a  sentence  which  has  become 
classical,  the  one  uttered  by  J.  C.  Shaw — but  erro- 
neously attributed  on  occasions  to  Alfred  Shaw — 
W.  G.  Grace  himself  must  be  quoted  : 

'  My  experience  of  J.  C.  Shaw  was  that  at  first  he 
tried  all  he  knew  to  get  me  out,  but  after  I  got  set  he 


i8        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

was  not  quite  so  keen  and  gave  me  repeatedly  a  ball 
to  hit  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  get  me  to  the  other 
end  so  that  he  '  might  have  a  try  at  some  one  else,' 
as  he  said.  And  over  after  over  he  bowled  a  wild 
ball  in  the  hope  of  getting  me  caught ;  giving  as 
his  reason  for  doing  it :  'It  ain't  a  bit  of  use  my 
bowling  good  'uns  to  him  now  ;  it  is  a  case  of  I  can 
bowl  where  I  likes  and  he  can  hit  where  he  likes.' ' 

All  the  same,  the  version  of  the  phrase  given  by 
Lord  Harris  in  Chapter  II  is  the  correct  one. 

Considering  that  he  was  such  an  aggressively 
rapid  run-getter,  it  may  seem  surprising  to  assert 
that  the  chief  characteristic  of  Grace's  batting  was  his 
watchful  defence.  Nevertheless  it  is  a  fact  that  his 
magnificent  punishing  powers  were  only  a  superstruc- 
ture on  a  foundation  of  solid  impregnability.  It  was 
that  reserve  of  protectiveness  which  stood  him  in 
such  wonderful  stead.  Recollect  how  he,  and  he 
alone,  systematically  stopped  the  dangerous  "  shoot- 
ers "  at  Lord's  in  the  seventies,  when  Jem  Mace  the 
pugilist  said  he  would  rather  stand  up  for  ten  rounds 
than  keep  wicket  on  that  pitch.  It  is,  however, 
remarkable  that  Grace  told  A.  C.  M.  Croome  that 
there  never  was  such  a  ball  as  "  a  yorker  "  bowled 
to  him  :  "  they  were  nothing  more  than  full  tosses." 

Grace  had  no  pet  stroke  as  other  batsmen  had.  He 
was  master  of  every  stroke  and  used  the  one  best 
suited  to  the  ball  he  was  playing.  Not  only  did  this 
give  great  power,  but  an  extraordinary  appearance  of 
security.  There  never  seemed  in  his  great  days  any 
reason  why  W.  G.  should  get  out.  The  spectators 
watched  the  master  of  his  art  and  saw  all  the  wiles  of 
the  cleverest  bowlers  reduced  to  the  level  of  being 
apparently  easy  to  play.  He  took  the  semblance  of 
sting  out  of  bowlers  with  consummate  ease.  Bowler 
after  bowler  of  tremendous  local  repute  was  brought 
up  to  dismiss  W.  G.,  but  went  back  having  largely 
swelled  the  champion's  aggregate.  It  has  often 


DR.    W.   G.   GRACE  19 

been  pointed  out  that  a  clever  young  bowler  enjoys 
success  by  reason  of  the  novelty  of  his  delivery  until 
the  idiosyncracies  become  known.  This  was  never 
the  case  against  W.  G.  He  summed  up  each  man  at 
once  because  he  always  concentrated  the  whole  of 
his  attention  on  the  ball  then  being  delivered.  That 
was  why  no  one  ever  saw  him  flustered  at  a  crisis  : 
he  was  merely  doing  his  job,  which  was  playing  the 
next  ball.  Ranjitsinhji  told  the  writer  the  secret  of 
his  own  success  was  that  he  saw  the  ball  a  yard  nearer 
the  bat  than  any  other  cricketer.  One  secret  of 
Grace's  success  was  the  unparalleled  union  of  eye 
and  hand  :  in  other  words,  no  one  else  ever  ap- 
proached his  perfect  timing  of  the  ball.  To  this 
must  be  added  Richard  Daft's  opinion  that  he  owed 
much  to  his  self-denial  and  constant  practice.  G.  W. 
Beldam  has  emphasized  to  the  writer  that  one  cause 
of  Grace's  mastery,  which  he  discovered  by  his  action 
photographs,  was  that  the  champion  saw  the  bowler 
deliver  the  ball  with  both  eyes,  whereas  by  the  old 
method  with  the  left  shoulder  forward,  only  the 
left  eye  of  the  batsman  was  actually  on  the  delivery. 

Again  and  again  he  was  scoring  his  century  with 
ease  when  others  were  scraping  about  for  twenty 
or  were  out  for  forcing  the  game.  W.  G.  played  so 
hard  on  every  ball  and  scored  with  such  steady 
rapidity  that,  until  the  modern  telegraphs  were 
instituted,  registering  each  run  as  scored,  spectators 
did  not  recognize  with  what  powerful  precision  he  was 
piling  on  runs ;  as  a  rule  it  would  be  safe  to  assert 
that  in  his  prime  he  was  responsible  for  nearly  two- 
thirds  of  the  runs  scored  whilst  he  was  at  the  wicket. 
So  far  as  results  go,  Ranjitsinhji  in  1896  scored 
forty-one  more  runs  than  W.  G.  in  his  best  year,  1871, 
but  in  sixteen  more  innings  ;  Shrewsbury  in  1887 
•equalled  W.  G.'s  best  average,  but  was  dismissed 
four  fewer  times. 

In  one  respect  only  I  think  that  less  than  justice 
was  done  to  the  champion,  namely  that  not  enough 


20        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

tribute  was  paid  to  the  ease  of  his  style.  Admitted 
he  had  not  the  delightful  elegance  of  W.  Yardley  or 
A.  P.  Lucas,  of  Lionel  Palairet  or  R.  H.  Spooner,  but 
people  were  too  apt  to  regard  idly  the  heavy  physique 
of  W.  G.  and  to  talk  of  him  as  being  powerful  without 
anything  approaching  attractiveness  This  was  not 
the  case.  Such  innings,  from  personal  memory,  as 
his  delightful  partnership  with  J.  Shuter  against 
the  Australians,  his  125  against  Kent,  some  of  his 
efforts  against  Yorkshire  and  his  century  against 
the  Players  in  1895  go  to  prove  that  on  a  good  wicket 
under  congenial  circumstances  Grace  could  add  con- 
summate ease  to  unparalleled  skill.  Of  course  he 
made  more  of  his  runs  in  front  of  the  wicket  than 
some  distinguished  batsmen  because  of  the  aforemen- 
tioned habit  of  meeting  each  ball  plumb  in  the  centre 
of  the  bat.  His  skilfulness  in  placing  he  himself 
attributed  to  playing  so  much  against  twenty-two's 
for  the  United  South  XI,  though  old  men  tell 
me  he  possessed  this  quality  from  the  very  outset  of 
his  career.  ' '  He  was  strictly  orthodox  in  his  batting, 
improving  and  standardizing  (so  to  spea.k)  the  strokes 
of  George  Parr,  Tom  Hayward  the  elder  and  Robert 
Carpenter. "  There  were  great  cricketers  before  W.  G, 
Grace  and  great  ones  will  come  again  ;  but  it  was  he 
who  must  be  regarded  as  supreme  because  he  took 
the  old-time  game  and  by  his  surpassing  prowess 
made  it  spectacular,  therefore  more  widely  popular — 
and  personally  caused  most  of  the  various  develop- 
ments which  have  crystallized  into  what  is  known  as 
first-class  cricket.  So  far  back  as  1871,  it  was 
seriously  proposed  to  alter  the  laws  of  cricket  solely 
on  his  account,  so  baffling  was  the  mastery  he 
exhibited. 

Moreover  he  was  endowed  with  abnormal  power 
to  resist  fatigue.  The  longest  day  in  the  field  or  the 
lengthiest  innings  left  him  fresh  until  increasing 
bulk  rendered  running  between  the  wickets  an  ex- 
hausting strain.  True  tales  are  related  of  his  being 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  21 

up  all  night  at  the  call  of  professional  duty,  and  then 
making  a  huge  score  ;  of  his  rising  before  six  a.m., 
to  shoot  or  fish  energetically,  prior  to  a  long  day's 
cricket ;  of  his  leaving  a  match  at  the  Oval  to  win  a 
sprint  at  the  Crystal  Palace.  Moreover — -the  point 
most  emphasized  by  the  elders  vaunting  Grace's 
supremacy  as  a  cricketer — .every thing  had  to  be  run 
out.  It  was  common,  before  the  war,  to  read  that  a 
batsman  "  visibly  tired  as  he  approached  his  cen- 
tury"; he  would  have  been  more  fatigued  when 
getting  fifty  under  the  conditions  prevailing  when 
Grace  made  his  first  notable  scores.  But  who  ever 
saw  Grace  tired  until  he  had  passed  the  age  of  forty- 
five  ?  It  was  this  perennial  faculty  of  endurance 
that  assisted  to  make  him  so  remarkable.  Time 
after  time  we  were  informed  that  "  Grace  was 
finished,"  that  "he  was  done  at  last,"  that  "even 
he  could  not  be  expected  to  go  on  for  ever  "  ;  and 
shortly  after  he  would  play  a  succession  of  marvellous 
innings  such  as  no  other  cricketer,  young  enough  to 
be  his  son,  could  emulate. 

As  we  turn  over  the  pages  of  old  cricket-books  or 
papers,  traces  can  be  found  of  that  discussion  which 
seems  to  have  continued  through  the  seventies  when- 
ever two  or  three  cricket-lovers  were  gathered 
together,  and  which  will  be  echoed  many  times  in 
the  ensuing  chapters  of  this  biography  :  was  Grace 
a  good  bowler  ?  His  fine  results  seem  to  answer 
that  question  in  the  affirmative,  especially  as  they 
would  have  been  far  better  had  he  been  more  ready 
to  relinquish  the  ball.  It  seems  to  have  been  for- 
gotten that,  in  his  early  days,  he  bowled  fast  medium, 
with  his  arm  nearly  level.  His  cunning  slow  bowl- 
ing, which  so  often  baffled  batsmen  because  it  looked 
as  though  the  ball  were  going  to  do  much  more  than 
it  actually  did,  was  a  later  development- — another 
proof  of  the  amazing  pains  he  took  with  his  cricket. 
That  leg-ball,  which  recurred  in  every  over,  was  a 
legacy  from  the  time  when  his  younger  brother 


22       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

G.  F.  seemed  able  to  catch  well-nigh  anything  hit 
on  the  leg-side.  Further,  no  one  estimating  W.  G. 
Grace  as  a  bowler  should  forget  that  he  was  entirely 
indifferent  to  what  punishment  was  meted  out  to 
him,  just  as  he  was  unperturbed  when  his  county  in 
its  weakness  lost  an  aggregate  of  matches  greater  in 
number  than  the  victories  acquired  in  its  zenith. 
Nobody  (it  has  been  said)  could  ever  bustle  W.  G.  ; 
and  he  owed  much  to  that  imperturbability.  Though 
he  never  for  a  moment  took  the  game  lightly,  he 
never  made  it  more  than  a  game.  Others  go  in  grim 
and  pallid  at  a  crisis  :  he  invariably  had  a  jest  and  a 
passing  word  for  some  acquaintance  as  he  came  down 
the  steps  of  the  pavilion.  Not  that  he  lacked  keen- 
ness ;  far  from  it.  No  one  ever  played  cricket  with 
more  enthusiasm,  an  enthusiasm  which  sometimes 
led  him  too  far,  but  which  was  pardoned  because  of 
its  very  ingenuousness. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  among  all  the  famous 
families  associated  with  the  game,  the  Lytteltons, 
Walkers,  Graces,  Steels,  Studds,  Fords,  etc.,  in  no 
single  case  was  the  eldest  brother  the  most  distin- 
guished cricketer,  nor  yet  the  best  field.  Owing  to  the 
length  of  his  career,  the  pristine  excellence  of  W.  G. 
Grace  in  the  field  has  been  somewhat  lost  sight  of. 
In  his  prime,  he  was  regarded  as  almost  the  equal  of 
his  brothers  in  a  department  in  which  the  latter  were 
sensational ;  and,  to  the  very  end,  if  a  ball  came 
near  his  hand  it  seemed  to  stick  in  it.  W.  G.  dropped 
uncommonly  few  catches,  and  he  also  possessed  an 
uncultivated  aptitude  for  keeping  wicket.  As  a 
captain  he  demonstrated  many  qualities  that  make 
for  good  leadership,  such  as  not  grumbling  at  the 
weakness  of  sides  he  had  to  direct,  and  always  show- 
ing himself  kind  and  encouraging  to  young  players, 
while  never  abating  his  personal  efforts,  no  matter 
how  hopeless  or  how  inevitably  drawn  a  match  might 
be.  In  those  respects  he  set  an  admirable  example. 
But  when  he  directed  a  team  in  the  field,  he  did  not 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  23 

avail  himself  of  all  the  resources  at  his  disposal  nor 
sufficiently  adapt  his  tactics  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
moment.  Hence  it  happened  that  another  was  occa- 
sionally selected  to  be  captain  even  when  Grace  was 
the  strongest  player  on  a  representative  side. 

That  he  has  never  been  equalled  as  a  cricketer 
is  an  axiom  to  all  who  have  contributed  to  the  present 
memoir  and  to  every  one  who  has  seen  him  play. 
That  he  will  never  have  an  equal  in  the  future  of 
cricket  is  to  us  equally  an  axiom  because  never  again 
will  the  conditions  under  which  it  is  played  be  so  diffi- 
cult as  they  were  when  he  built  up  his  reputation  by 
demonstrating  his  superiority  alike  over  them  and 
over  his  contemporaries,  a  position  he  held  for  whole 
decades.  Amid  the  deepening  gloom  caused  by  the 
best  and  bravest  giving  their  lives  in  the  noblest 
cause,  a  light  of  a  happy  past  was  extinguished  when 
W.  G/s  time  came  all  too  soon.  It  is  certain  that 
thousands,  who  never  felt  the  crushing  grip  with 
which  he  shook  hands,  realized  an  irreparable  gap 
when  they  learnt  that  he  had  gone.  Something  of 
the  part  he  played  is  what  the  present  pages  are 
intended  to  portray. 


CHAPTER  IV 
Earliest  Cricket 

WILLIAM  GILBERT  GRACE  was  born  at 
Downend,  near  Bristol,  on  July  18, 1848,  and 
christened  in  the  parish  of  Mangotsfield  on  August 
8,  1848,  whilst  Eton  was  playing  Winchester  at 
Lord's  and  England  being  defeated  by  XIV  of  Surrey 
at  the  Oval.  He  was  the  fourth  son  of  Dr.  Henry 
Mills  Grace,  who  brought  up  all  his  male  issue  to  be 
medical  men,  four  becoming  fully  qualified,  but  the 
youngest,  G.  F.,  died  before  he  had  passed  his  final 
examination. 

The  father  was  a  well-built  man,  standing  five  feet 
ten,  who  all  his  life  showed  himself  enthusiastic 
about  cricket,  and  from  their  earliest  years  his  sons 
were  systematically  and  assiduously  coached  in 
every  department  of  the  game.  W.  G.  has  related 
that  it  was  as  natural  for  all  the  family  to  stroll  out 
on  to  the  practice  ground,  prepared  in  his  orchard 
by  the  father  for  his  sons,  as  for  the  average  boy  to 
stroll  into  the  nursery  ;  whilst,  in  order  to  increase 
the  number  of  available  fielders,  a  retriever  and  two 
pointers  were  pressed  into  the  service.  Long  before 
he  was  old  enough  to  join  in  the  sport,  W.  G.  looked 
on  as  his  elders  developed  their  prowess.  They  must 
have  been  a  happy  family  of  rather  rough  and 
tumble,  very  jolly  and  remarkably  vigorous  children, 
not  overburdened  with  lessons,  but  leading  a  merry 
out-of-door  life. 

At  an  age  when  most  boys  are  amusing  themselves 

24 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  25 

with  toy  bricks  or  rocking  horses,  the  small  Gilbert 
was  acquiring  the  rudiments  of  batting.  Care  was 
taken  he  should  not  use  a  bat  too  heavy  for  him,  and 
he  was  not  allowed  to  hit  until  he  had  acquired  a 
sound  knowledge  of  defence.  No  doubt  this  coach- 
ing was  made  all  the  more  drastic  because  of  the 
amazingly  unorthodox  methods  with  the  bat  of 
E.  M.,  who  was  always  a  law  unto  himself  in  the 
way  that  he  "  pulled  "  the  straightest  professional 
bowlers. 

To  a  large  extent  this  tuition  of  all  the  Graces  seems 
to  have  been  due  to  their  mother,  Mrs.  Martha,  who, 
as  an  old  lady,  will  be  remembered  by  very  many  now 
only  in  middle-age,  with  her  hair  in  ringlets,  watch- 
ing Gloucestershire  matches,  whilst  her  sons  hovering 
about  her  seat  heard  pretty  direct  criticisms  of  their 
form.  When  unable  to  attend  an  important  match, 
the  score  sheet  was  posted  to  her  by  her  sons  night 
by  night,  and  often  she  received  a  telegram  stating 
what  they  had  done.  She  collected  newspaper 
extracts  about  W.  G.,  which  were  pasted  into  huge 
scrapbooks,  much  prized  by  him  after  her  death. 
He  himself  has  repudiated  the  statement  of  George 
Anderson  that  she  could  throw  a  cricket  ball  pro- 
perly seventy  yards,  but  Richard  Daft  is  responsible 
for  the  statement  that  "  she  knew  ten  times  more 
about  cricket  than  any  lady  I  ever  met."  It  has 
now  become  a  matter  of  historic  lore  that  when,  over 
sixty  years  ago,  she  wrote  to  George  Parr  asking  him 
to  include  her  son  E.  M.  in  his  England  eleven,  she 
added  that  she  had  a  younger  son,  W.  G.,  who  would 
in  time  be  better  still  because  his  back-play  was 
sounder  and  he  always  played  with  a  straight  bat. 

When  Lansdowne  were  playing  Gentlemen  of 
Philadelphia  in  July,  1884,  a  member  of  the  home 
club  seeing  an  old  lady  intent  on  the  game,  near  the 
pavilion  on  the  first  morning,  took  out  a  chair  for  her. 
She  thanked  him  and  inquired  if  he  were  fond  of 
cricket,  and,  on  an  affirmative,  she  replied  :  "I 


26       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

taught  my  sons  to  play.  I  used  to  bowl  to  them." 
On  returning  to  the  club-house,  he  learnt  she  was  the 
mother  of  the  Graces.  She  must  have  been  rewarded 
that  day  for  her  pilgrimage,  because  E.  M.  Grace 
put  up  149  for  the  first  wicket  with  E.  Sainsbury,  his 
own  share  being  a  very  hard-hit  89. 

W.  G.  bore  a  striking  physical  resemblance  to  her. 
She  was  a  woman  of  magnificent  physique  and 
indomitable  will.  To  her  levee  in  the  centre  of  the 
grand-stand  at  Clifton  came  every  cricketer  of  note 
who  played  in  a  match  there,  and  the  fine  old  dame 
could  tell  them  pretty  characteristically  and  technic- 
ally what  she  thought  good  or  amiss  in  their  form. 
It  has  been  said  that  she  had  an  unconquerable 
dislike  of  left-handed  batsmen  and  never  failed  to 
comment  adversely  on  a  fieldsman  who  threw  in 
underhand. 

Even  in  a  volume  that  must  perforce  be  confined 
to  the  cricket  super-man  who  is  dealt  with  in  its 
pages,  something  must  be  tersely  stated  about  Dr. 
E.  M.  Grace,  for  the  elder  brother  materially  favoured 
the  rapid  development  in  cricket  of  the  younger  if 
only  because  he  himself  had  amazed  the  sporting 
community  just  a  little  earlier.  In  a  generation  of 
cricketers  who  played  in  strictly  orthodox  fashion 
under  restricted  rules  and  under  conventions  that 
were  more  binding  than  laws,  E.  M.  Grace  initiated 
a  method  that  has  had  no  imitators  despite  its  success 
in  his  own  case  ;  he  became  a  marvellous  player  and 
will  always  be  reckoned  the  most  unconventional  and 
original  exponent  the  game  has  ever  seen. 

His  association  with  cricket  was  as  lengthy  as  that 
of  his  yet  more  famous  brother,  though  he  did  not 
maintain  his  position  in  the  first-class  averages  for 
nearly  so  long.  Born  in  1841  and  dying  in  1911,  he 
played  in  matches  from  his  tenth  year  to  his  sixty- 
eighth.  In  his  career  he  is  stated  to  have  taken 
12,078  wickets  and  to  have  scored  76,760  runs. 
During  thirty-seven  seasons  his  average  capture  of 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  27 

wickets  each  year  exceeded  200,  and  in  1863  his 
figures  showed  339  wickets  and  3,074  runs. 

In  his  twenty-first  year  playing  as  emergency  man 
for  M.C.C.  v.  Gentlemen  of  Kent  in  Canterbury 
Week  he  took  all  ten  wickets  (a  feat  he  accomplished 
on  thirty-one  occasions)  and  scored  192  not  out. 
Previously  to  this,  on  his  first  appearance  at  Lord's, 
he  was  accountable  for  fifteen  out  of  the  seventeen 
wickets,  besides  scoring  51  not  out.  He  was  the 
accepted  most  successful  cricketer  in  England  until 
eclipsed  by  W.  G.  Like  him  he  was  never  at  his  very 
best  consistently  when  playing  at  the  Antipodes. 
Soon  after  the  creation  of  Gloucestershire  as  a 
cricketing  county  in  1871,  he  became  its  secretary 
and  held  the  post  until  1909. 

He  rarely  attempted  to  play  with  a  straight  bat, 
his  position  at  the  wicket  being  to  stand  perfectly 
upright,  to  grasp  his  bat  firmly  so  that  it  was  at  an 
angle  of  45°  between  the  stumps  and  the  ground  and 
then  to  show  a  profound  disdain  for  the  customary 
methods  of  treating  bowling.  Gifted  with  a  capital 
eye  and  great  punishing  powers,  he  placed  the  ball 
wherever  he  thought  judicious,  but  he  certainly 
indulged  more  in  the  pull  stroke  than  did  any  other 
prominent  cricketer. 

Few  seem  to  realize  that  he  began  his  career  as  a 
fastish  bowler  with  the  old-fashioned  round-arm 
action  with  the  hand  below  the  shoulder.  It  has 
been  stated,  but  is  not  here  vouched  for,  that  he 
adopted  his  more  familiar  method  of  bowling  lobs 
as  the  outcome  of  a  hunting  accident.  The  most 
notable  thing  about  him  as  a  cricketer  is  that  he  was 
without  exception  the  very  finest  point  that  ever 
fielded.  His  temerity  in  creeping  almost  up  to 
vigorous  batsmen  was  amazing,  but  it  was  if  possible 
excelled  by  his  quickness  of  eye  and  astounding  power 
of  holding  the  hottest  catches.  That  he  exercised  a 
baffling  and  cramping  effect  on  batsmen  was  a  thing 
that  entered  into  his  calculations  —few  things  did  not,. 


28         THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

for  he  was  always  out  to  win,  he  meant  winning,  and 
the  tales  that  have  been  told  of  him  are  for  the  most 
part  true.  Apart  from  his  vitality,  he  possessed 
inexhaustible  vivacity  and  never  allowed  a  game  to 
flag  in  which  he  was  participating.  His  tempera- 
ment led  him  into  controversies,  but  his  keenness 
was  as  great  as  his  mastery,  after  his  own  fashion,,  of 
every  department  of  the  game  he  loved  so  well.  An 
admirable  biography  by  that  master  of  cricket  lore, 
F.  S.  Ashley-Cooper,  provides  a  permanent  memorial. 

Yet  more  brief  must  be  the  separate  allusion  to  the 
youngest  of  the  great  triumvirate,  G.  F.  Grace,  who 
is  believed  to  have  died  in  'his  thirtieth  year  from  the 
effects  of  sleeping  in  a  damp  bed,  though  this  has 
t>een  disputed.  He  was  personally  most  popular  and 
in  appearance  exceedingly  handsome.  One  of  the 
very  finest  fielders  that  ever  covered  great  distances  in 
the  deep  field,  he  had  a  sure  pair  of  hands,  whilst  he 
was  an  effective  fast  bowler  and  a  capital  bat,  pos- 
sessing strokes  all  round  the  wicket,  thus  obtaining 
his  runs  in  attractive  fashion.  It  may  be  said  that 
his  personality  exercised  something  of  the  same 
fascination  over  the  cricket-loving  community  which 
that  of  George  Lohmann  subsequently  achieved. 
He  had  not  a  foe  in  the  world  and  for  nearly  a  dozen 
seasons  he  was  in  the  forefront  of  the  game. 

When  only  ten  years  old,  in  1860,  he  played  for 
Radcliffe  Alliance  v.  Lancastrian  Club.  When  fifteen 
and  a  half,  he  appeared  in  Canterbury  Week  as 
substitute  for  Bennett  for  South  v.  North  and  three 
days  later  made  17  for  Gentlemen  of  South  v. 
I  Zingari.  He  first  represented  Gentlemen  v.  Players 
at  Lord's  in  his  twentieth  year  when  he  claimed  seven 
wickets.  Against  Notts  in  1872  he  scored  115  and 
72,  both  not  out.  His  165  not  out  for  Gloucester- 
shire v.  Yorkshire,  a  year  later,  was  reported  to  be 
the  most  dashing  innings  of  the  season.  A  magnifi- 
cent 1 80  not  out  v.  Surrey  in  1875  was  his  highest 
score  in  first-class  matches.  For  Gentlemen  v. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  29 

Players  at  Lord's  in  1877,  he  and  W.  S.  Patterson 
being  the  last  pair,  made  the  46  required  to  win,  and 
on  the  following  day,  at  Prince's  against  the  Players, 
he  was  credited  with  134.  Though  he  failed  to  score 
in  either  innings  in  that  first  historic  test  match  at  the 
Oval  in  1880,  the  catch  by  which  he  disposed  of  the 
Australian  giant  G.  J.  Bonn  or  will  never  be  for- 
gotten. He  held  the  ball,  which  at  one  time ' '  seemed 
to  hang  in  the  air,"  115  yards  from  the  wicket  and 
two  runs  were  finished  before  it  came  into  his  hands. 
His  life  figures  in  first-class  matches  show  an  average 
of  25-81  for  6,815  runs  obtained  in  264  completed 
innings,  whilst  he  captured  309  wickets  at  a  cost  of 
5,937  runs,  averaging  10/21.  Still  it  was  in  combina- 
tion with  his  brothers  in  the  field  that  he  achieved 
his  finest  work.  As  an  instance  of  his  keenness  for 
sport,  it  is  related  that  on  one  occasion  he  started  off 
at  dawn  into  South  Wales  where  he  shot  ten  brace  of 
grouse,  returning  in  time  to  score  a  century  for  his 
county  on  the  same  day. 

Reverting  to  W.  G.  Grace  himself,  he  was  never 
sent  to  a  public  school.  His  education  began  at  a 
village  school,  then  at  a  more  ambitious  one  at 
Winterbourne,  followed  by  another,  at  Ridgeway 
House  until  he  was  fourteen,  when  he  was  coached 
by  a  private  tutor.  In  his  fifteenth  year  a  severe 
attack  of  pneumonia  arrested  lessons,  and  after  his 
recovery  he  shot  up  so  that  in  stature  he  towered 
over  the  rest  of  his  family.  Of  his  school  days  the 
traditions  are  those  of  happy  activity  not  of  bookish 
application  ;  invariably  he  bore  an  excellent  char- 
acter. 

His  first  innings  of  any  importance  was  for  West 
Gloucestershire  v.  Clifton  the  day  after  he  had  com- 
pleted his  twelfth  year,  when  he  went  in  eighth  and 
was  presented  with  a  bat  by  his  godfather  for  making" 
51.  F.  S.  Ashley-Cooper  has  furnished,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  this  biography,  an  exhaustive  table  of  all  the 
matches  in  which  young  W.  G.  Grace  played  from  the 


30        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

age  of  nine  to  thirteen,  many  of  which  had  not  been 
previously  discovered.  These  show  that  he  went 
forty-one  times  to  the  wicket,  being  on  nine  occasions 
not  out,  obtaining  an  aggregate  of  192,  which  yields 
an  average  of  6  runs  per  innings,  the  above  mentioned 
score  being  the  only  one  that  exceeded  16.  In  1862 
he  was  three  times  not  out,  batted  in  eleven  innings 
.and  scored  138,  his  highest  contribution  being  35 
for  Bedminster  v.  Lansdowne.  In  August,  1863,  he 
compiled  32  for  XXII  of  Bristol  v.  the  England 
Eleven,  the  earliest  occasion  on  which  he  met  promi- 
nent professional  bowling. 

It  was  in  1864,  when  in  his  sixteenth  year,  that 
the  future  champion  first  became  noteworthy.  With 
an  elder  brother,  Henry,  he  was  brought  up  to  the 
Oval  to  represent  South  Wales  against  the  Surrey 
Club,  obtaining  5  and  38.  The  captain  of  the  side, 
being  offered  a  more  experienced  player  for  the 
subsequent  match  at  Brighton  against  Gentlemen  of 
Sussex,  wished  W.  G.  to  stand  down.  But  his  elder 
brother  protested  :  "  the  lad  had  been  asked  to  play 
in  both  matches  and  in  both  matches  he  would  play, 
or  there  was  an  end  of  the  Grace  connection." 

So  he  went  in  first  wicket  down  and  scored  170 
out  of  an  aggregate  of  356,  whilst  in  the  second  innings 
he  again  furnished  the  largest  contribution,  56,  besides 
taking  a  couple  of  wickets.  Such  a  huge  innings  at 
his  early  age  was  considerably  more  remarkable  in 
those  days  than  now.  In  fact  it  attracted  almost  as 
much  contemporaneous  attention  as  did  A.  E.  J. 
Collins'  638  at  Clifton  College  in  1899.  ^n  tne  follow- 
ing week,  he  made  his  earliest  appearance  at  Lord's, 
still  on  behalf  of  the  same  touring  team,  going  in 
second  wicket  down  v.  M.C.C.  and  contributing  50, 
the  second  highest  score.  Next  came  the  earliest 
of  his  three  visits  to  Southgate,  where  he  obtained  14. 
Finally  he  wound  up  at  Lord's  again  with  34  and  47 
against  I  Zingari.  This  is  the  earliest  important 
instance  of  E.  M.  and  W.  G.  Grace  opening  an  innings 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  31 

— that  association  which  became  so  proverbial  and 
successful — and  this  first  partnership  produced  81. 
Thus,  on  his  first  excursion  into  Eastern  England, 
young  W.  G.  aggregated  417,  his  average  exceeding 
46.  That  summer  he  compiled  1,079  runs.  Lilly- 
white,  in  the  next  annual,  says  of  him  :  "  promises 
to  be  a  good  bat,  bowls  very  fairly."  He  was  already 
a  cricketer  to  be  noted  at  an  age  when  many  who  have 
subsequently  become  deservedly  famous  were  not 
even  in  their  school  elevens. 


CHAPTER  V 
The  Young  Champion 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  LORD  COBHAM,  CANON 
E.  S.  CARTER,  R.  D.  WALKER  AND  THE  LATE 
HENRY  PERKINS 

IT  was  in  the  following  year,  1865,  when  only 
sixteen,  that  W.  G.  Grace  came  into  his  own  and 
was  acknowledged  to  be  among  the  finest  players  of 
the  day.  At  first  it  seemed  as  though  he  were  going 
to  be  noted  chiefly  as  a  bowler.  He  performed  re- 
markably at  the  Oval  for  Gentlemen  of  the  South  v, 
Players  of  the  South,  bowling  unchanged  throughout 
the  match  with  I.  D.Walker  and  claiming  13  wickets 
for  84  runs,  winning  the  game  for  his  side  and  being 
presented  with  the  ball. 

A  fortnight  later  he  appeared  for  Gentlemen  v~ 
Players  on  the  same  ground.  A  veteran  spectator, 
T.  A.  Leigh,  has  forwarded  the  following  contempo- 
raneous note  that  he  took.  "  After  Jupp  and  Hum- 
phrey, who  went  in  first  and  put  on  98  runs,  causing 
numerous  changes,  W.  G.  Grace  bowled  with  marked 
success.  He  was  only  sixteen.  His  fielding  at 
cover-point  was  brilliant,  and  though  he  hardly  had 
a  fair  chance  to  distinguish  himself  with  the  batr 
going  in  eighth,  he  showed  excellent  form,  scoring  23 
and  12  not  out  against  the  best  bowling  in  England." 
His  analysis  showed  7  wickets  for  125  runs  in  a  game 
that,  for  those  days,  produced  heavy  scoring  (912 
runs).  Five  old  Harrovians  were  on  the  amateur 
side,  and  in  the  match  for  the  first  time  were  included 

32 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  33 

W.  G.  Grace,  I.  D.  Walker,  C.  F.  Buller,  Jupp,  T. 
Humphrey  and  Alfred  Shaw. 

Young  as  W.  G.  was,  he  was  sent  in  first  each  in- 
nings with  E.  M.  for  Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Lord's, 
his  scores  being  3,  run  out — a  very  rare  event  with 
him  at  any  period  in  his  career — and  34,  which 
included  a  hit  through  a  bedroom  window  of 
the  old  tavern.  This  latter  fact  is  vouched  for  by 
an  onlooker,  but  E.  M.  claimed  to  have  done  it. 
The  match  was  notable  as  being  the  first 
occasion  since  1853  that  the  Gentlemen  had  won, 
they  having  lost  19  matches  in  succession  to  the 
Players.  George  Parr  for  the  last  time  played  in  this 
match,  having  first  played  for  the  Players,  at  the  age 
of  twenty,  in  1846.  W.  G.  Grace,  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  first  played  for  the  Gentlemen  and  made  his 
last  appearance  in  1906  ;  so  two  participants  in  the 
chief  annual  representative  match  covered  a  period 
of  sixty  years. 

That  fine  ornament  and  enthusiastic  votary  of 
cricket,  R.  D.  Walker,  writes  : 

"  In  that  match  though  George  Parr's  batting 
powers  were  on  the  wane,  yet  he  scored  60  on  a 
wicket  that  would  be  described  by  players  of  these 
days  as  almost  unplayable.  Of  the  sides,  Lord 
Cobham,  F.  R.  Evans,  W.  F.  Maitland  and  myself 
with  G.  Wootton  are,  I  believe,  the  only  cricketers 
alive.  For  the  next  three  or  four  years  I  played 
several  matches  with  W.  G.,  and  such  was  his  keen- 
ness for  the  game  that  it  was  always  a  pleasure  to 
meet  him  on  the  cricket  field.  He  certainly,  for 
many  years,  occupied  a  similar  position  in  our 
national  game  to  that  of  John  Roberts  in  billiards, 
and  the  familiar  initials  G.O.M.  will  always  be 
applied  to  him,  whenever  the  history  of  cricket  is 
discussed." 

Here  it  is  appropriate  to  add  a  verbal  criticism 
by  the  late  I.  D.  Walker  made  in  the  seventies  : 


34       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

"  W.  G.  has  not  the  style  of  Mitchell,  Alfred  Lubbock 
or   Buller,  but  as  a  bat  he  is  worth  all  the  three 
put  together,"  possibly  the  biggest  compliment  ever 
paid  to  the  champion. 
Lord  Cobham  writes : 

"  My  recollections  of  W.  G.  Grace  are  chiefly 
confined  to  the  four  Gentlemen  v.  Players  matches 
at  Lord's  and  the  Oval  in  1865  and  1866.  I  can  very 
clearly  recall  his  physical  characteristics  when  I  first 
saw  him  at  the  Oval  match  in  1865,  just  before  he 
completed  his  seventeenth  year.  He  was  a  tall, 
loose-limbed,  lean  boy,  with  some  appearance  of 
delicacy  and,  in  marked  contrast  with  his  brother 
E.  M.,  quiet  and  shy  in  manner.  He  looked  older 
than  he  was,  and  indications  of  the  great  beard 
which  subsequently  distinguished  him  through  life 
were  even  then  apparent.  His  fielding  in  the 
outfield  in  the  early  part  of  his  career  impressed 
me,  if  anything,  more  than  his  batting  or  bowl- 
ing, for  he  was  a  beautiful  thrower.  [At  the 
athletic  sports  at  the  Oval,  during  the  visit  of  the 
Australian  Aboriginals,  W.  G.,  in  three  successive 
attempts,  threw  the  cricket  ball  116,  117  and 
118  yards,  and  also  threw  it  109  yards  one  way  and 
t>ack  105.  He  once  threw  it  122  yards  at  Eastbourne.] 
He  could  run  like  a  deer  and  had  a  very  safe  pair 
of  hands.  As  a  saver  of  runs  he  was  unsurpassed, 
and  I  have  always  regretted  that  increasing  bulk  and 
the  claims  of  bowling  later  on  necessitated  his  fielding 
near  the  wicket,  where  his  special  powers  were  not 
called  into  play.  At  point,  where  he  generally 
fielded,  he  was  never  equal  to  E.  M. 

If  he  did  nothing  phenomenal  in  the  four  matches, 
yet  he  had  a  substantial  share  in  the  victories,  after 
eleven  years  of  defeat.  He  averaged  21  runs  and 
took  22  wickets  at  a  cost  of  17  runs  each,  and  his 
cricket  was  of  so  sound  and  matured  a  character 
that  I  believe  had  he  been  selected  for  the  team  a 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  35 

year  earlier,  when  only  fifteen,  no  mistake  would 
have  been  made. 

At  the  Oval  in  1866,  after  following  our  innings, 
we  put  the  Players  in  to  make  205  to  win  and  W.  G. 
settled  the  matter  by  taking  7  wickets  for  51  runs, 
a  fine  performance.  At  that  time  his  bowrling  was 
almost  over  medium-paced,  the  ball  coming  with  his 
arm,  and  to  my  mind  he  did  not  improve  upon  it  by 
adopting  later  a  slower  and  higher  delivery.  The 
match  which  we  won  at  Lord's  in  1865  by  eight 
wickets  would  seem  on  paper  to  have  been  a  hollow 
affair,  but  to  get  75  runs  to  win  against  the  Players 
on  that  ground  was  far  from  a  certainty  in  those 
days.  Whatever  misgivings  may  have  prevailed, 
these  were  certainly  not  shared  by  either  E.  M.  or 
W.  G.,  who  were  sent  in  first.  They  hit  '  hard, 
high  and  often,'  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  the 
result  was  virtually  decided. 

In  the  next  ten  years  following  these  matches,  I 
saw  many  of  W.  G.'s  greatest  innings,  and  I  formed 
the  opinion  that  the  two  outstanding  characteristics, 
in  those  days,  of  his  batting  were  his  defence  and  his 
placing  of  the  ball.  His  hitting  was  well  timed  and 
powerful,  but  there  was  something  clumsy  and 
laborious  about  it  and  he  was  by  no  means  careful  to 
keep  it  along  the  ground.  But  whether  he  was 
dealing  with  a  difficult  ball  or  hitting  a  loose  one, 
the  way  in  which  he  steered  it  clear  of  the  fieldsmen 
was  almost  uncanny  and  enabled  him  to  score  with 
almost  equal  sureness  and  rapidity  off  any  kind  of 
bowling.  These  qualities,  coupled  with  a  grand 
physique,  unshakable  nerves  and  confident  '  will  to 
win,'  formed  an  unique  combination  and  made  W.  G. 
the  paramount  cricketer  that  he  was,  through  nearly 
the  whole  of  his  exceptionally  long  career." 

'It  seems  to  be  necessary  to  make  some  reference 
to  the  vexed  question  as  to  when  W.  G.  Grace  grew 
a  beard.  Lord  Cobham,  as  shown  above,  R.  D. 


36       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

Walker,  Henry  Perkins  and  other  veterans  agree  that 
he  had  a  stubbly  beard  at  seventeen.  A  print  show- 
ing a  group  at  the  Canterbury  Festival  early  in  the 
seventies  however  shows  him  clean-shaven,  and  that, 
for  a  year  or  two,  is  the  recollection  of  those  who 
played  with  him  at  that  time.  So  it  would  appear 
that  about  1870  or  1871  he  shaved  for  a  while  and 
then  allowed  his  salient  characteristic  to  acquire  the 
flowing  nature  so  well  remembered  later  on. 

Another  point  to  be  noticed — it  will  be  borne  out 
in  subsequent  testimony — is  that  overtures  were 
made  to  Grace  to  go  up  to  both  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge purely  for  the  sake  of  his  cricket,  but  that 
parental  opposition  prevented  what  would  probably 
have  been  congenial  to  himself.  Going  to  an  Univer- 
sity solely  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  cricket 
'blue"  is  not  unknown — Sir  Timothy  O'Brien 
furnishes  one  familiar  example — and  it  opens  a  wide 
field  of  conjecture  as  to  the  influence  on  the  Univer- 
sity match  of  such  a  phenomenal  player  as  the 
champion.  There  are  instances  of  a  single  cricketer 
entirely  dominating  such  an  encounter — P.  R.  Le 
Couteur  is  a  notable  one — but  none  theoretically 
could  have  exercised  such  a  preponderating  supre- 
macy as  W.  G.  would  have  achieved. 

The  reminiscences  of  Canon  E.  S.  Carter  may 
here  be  interposed,  as  they  introduce  this  topic, 
though  their  wide  range  covers  a  period  that  will, 
in  part  at  least,  not  be  reached  for  several  chapters. 
He  writes : 

"  My  acquaintance  with  W.  G.  began  at  Oxford  in 
May,  1866,  when  he  was  only  seventeen  and  G.  F.  but 
fifteen.  They  both  came  with  an  eleven  of  Gentlemen 
of  England.  I  clean  bowled  G.  F.  each  time,  and  the 
'Varsity  won  by  ten  wickets.  W.  G.  made  very  few, 
and  in  one  innings  he  was  caught,  I  think  at  short- 
leg,  off  a  '  half-cock  '  stroke.  On  his  return  to  the 
private  tent  on  the  ground,  his  mother  was  reported 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  37 

to  have  said  in  the  hearing  of  a  fielder, '  Willie,  Willie, 
haven't  I  told  you  over  and  over  again  how  to  play 
that  ball  ?  '  He  breakfasted  with  me  next  morning 
in  my  room  in  College  (Worcester)  and  I  tried  my 
hardest  to  get  him  to  Oxford  as  an  Undergraduate. 
We  walked  round  and  round  the  beautiful  garden 
after  breakfast,  talking  over  the  possibility  :  but  he 
was  sure  that  his  father  would  not  sacrifice  the  time 
from  his  study  for  the  medical  profession.  So  it 
turned  out  and  the  great  W.  G.  was  lost  to  Oxford. 
Prom  that  time  we  were  warm  friends.  He  always 
called  me  '  little  Tyke/  evidently  contrasting  me 
with  his  big  self,  for  I  was  close  on  five  feet  in  height 
and  twelve  stone  in  weight. 

After  leaving  Oxford,  I  took  Holy  Orders  and  had 
my  first  curacy  in  Ealing  and  used  to  go  to  Lord's 
whenever  I  could,  if  Yorkshire  were  playing.  One 
day  I  said  to  Tom  Emmet t :  '  Tom,  what  do  you 
think  of  this  young  W.  G.  Grace,  who  is  making  such 
scores  ?  '  (He  was  then  twenty  years  old.)  Tom 
replied  :  '  1 1'  s  all  very  well  against  this  South  Country 
bowling  ;  let  him  come  up  to  Sheffield  against  me 
and  George '  (Freeman) .  A  few  days  afterwards, 
July  26,  1869,  Grace  went  to  Sheffield  to  play  for  the 
South  v.  North  and  in  the  first  innings  he  scored  122 
out  of  173,  with  Emmett  and  Freeman  bowling.  When 
Tom  came  to  Lord's  shortly  afterwards,  I  said  to 
him  :  '  Well,  Tom,  you've  had  Grace  at  Sheffield 
what  do  you  think  of  him  now  ?  '  Tom  answered: 
quite  seriously  :  '  Mr.  Carter,  I  call  him  a  non-such  , 
he  ought  to  be  made  to  play  with  a  littler  bat.'  : 

I  went  once  to  Cheltenham  to  play  for  Yorkshire 
and  Gloucestershire  and  in  the  match  three  rather 
amusing  incidents  occurred,  two  of  which  showed 
W.  G.'s  skill  and  cunning  with  the  ball  and  in  laying 
a  trap  for  the  batsman.  I  was  fielding  as  substitute 
for  one  of  the  Gloucestershire  men,  who  was  away 
from  the  field  for  a  while,  and  I  was  standing  at  fine 
mid-on,  near  the  bowler.  Ephraim  Lockwood  came 


38        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

in,  took  his  guard  and  had  a  good  look  at  the  position 
of  the  fielders.  The  late  G.  F.  Grace  was  fielding 
deep  square-leg  and  Ephraim  took  a  second  look  at 
him.  W.  G.,  who  was  the  bowler,  turned  to  me  and 
said  very  quietly,  '  You  saw  old  Mary  Ann  look  round 
to  see  where  Fred  is.  I'll  make  him  drop  one  into 
his  mouth,'  and  he  bowled  a  lovely  half- volley  on  the 
leg-side.  Lockwood  could  not  resist  it  and  sure 
enough  he  hit  the  ball  right  into  Fred's  hands.  Then 
he  trapped  me  very  cleverly  when  I  went  in,  catching 
and  bowling  me  at  cover-point.  I  had  hit  three  balls 
in  succession  to  the  boundary  past  cover-point.  He 
bowled  a  fourth  precisely  similar,  and  immediately 
after  delivering  it,  he  ran  round  in  front  of  cover 
and  brought  off  the  catch.  His  cackle  was  something 
to  hear.  The  third  incident  was  that  W.  G.  returned 
the  easiest  of  catches,  a  regular  '  sitter,'  to  Emmett, 
who  dropped  it.  He  may  have  slipped,  as  the 
ground  was  very  wet.  However,  Tom  in  his  disgust 
threw  his  cap  down  in  the  mud  and  trampled  on  it 
savagely  before  giving  the  ball  a  kick  which  sent  it 
to  the  boundary  and  credited  the  champion  with  four 
runs.  Tom  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  apologizing  to 
W.  G.  Grace." 

Canon  Carter  had  some  further  cricketing  associa- 
tions with  W.  G.  Grace.  One  which  suggests  itself  is 
that  when  the  champion  made  his  first  appearance 
at  Scarborough,  both  A.  N.  Hornby  and  Canon 
Carter  were  acting  as  longstops.  Though  these  were 
two  of  the  finest  fields  in  England,  yet  there  were 
43  extras  in  a  single  innings,  mostly  byes,  owing 
to  the  terrific  speed  of  the  bowling  of  Walter  F. 
Forbes.  W.  G.'s  comment  was  that  he  was  glad  it 
was  always  his  good  fortune  to  field  in  front  of  the 
wicket. 

Another  old  friend  whose  association  ranged  over 
many  pleasant  years  must  here  be  given  what  is, 
alas !  a  posthumous  innings,  for  the  late  Henry  Per- 


DR.    W.   G.   GRACE  39. 

kins,  who  wrote  only  a  couple  of  months  before  he 
too  passed  over  to  the  great  majority,  commenced  his 
recollections  antecedent  to  those  of  Canon  Carter 
and  had  close  ties  with  Grace  during  the  time  that 
the  latter  was  making  so  many  appearances  at  Lord's. 
Once  more  it  must  be  observed  how  impossible  it  is 
to  keep  to  strict  biographical  chronology  if  the 
impression  that  the  champion  made  on  his  friends  is 
to  be  conveyed  to  readers. 

The  popular  ex-secretary  of  M.C.C.  stated  : 

"  I  was  introduced  to  W.  G.  Grace  on  July  ior 
1865,  the  occasion  of  his  first  appearance  for  Gentle- 
men v.  Players  at  Lord's,  he  being  then  within  eight 
days  of  his  seventeenth  birthday.  I  do  not  propose 
to  enter  into  details  as  to  his  skill  as  a  player  :  far 
abler  pens  than  mine  will  do  him  full  justice  in  that 
respect.  I  will  only  say  that  the  '  well  left  alone  ' 
practice  formed  no  part  of  his  programme,  and  what- 
ever the  length  of  his  innings,  a  ball  hardly  ever 
passed  his  bat. 

From  1865  to  1876,  I  made  a  point  of  going  to 
Lord's  when  W.  G.  was  down  to  play,  but  after  1876, 
when  I  became  Secretary  of  M.C.C. ,  I  was  naturally 
brought  into  closer  contact  with  him  and  able  ta 
form  an  idea  of  his  merits  not  only  as  a  player  but 
as  captain  of  a  side.  He  was  the  most  generous  man 
towards  all  other  players  who  ever  lived.  I  never 
knew  him  depreciate  any  one,  either  amateur  or 
professional.  The  matches  other  than  Gentlemen  v. 
Players,  South  v.  North  and  v.  Australians  in  which 
he  played  were  those  in  May  each  year  against  first- 
class  counties.  It  was  very  difficult  to  get  any  first- 
rate  amateurs,  whilst  those  who  put  their  name? 
down,  as  a  rule  had  no  claim  to  play  in  a  first-class 
match.  This  made  no  difference  to  W.  G.  I  used  to 
say  :  '  I  have  a  very  indifferent  lot  to-day.'  '  Oh 
well,  let  us  see  who  you  have  got,'  and  he  would  go 
through  the  list,  with  the  result  invariably  the  same  : 


40        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

4  We  shall  do  very  well,  they  will  all  try,'  and  try  they 
did  and  generally  with  success. 

The  M.C.C.  and  Ground  matches  against  the  first- 
class  counties  are  not  now  and  never  have  been 
well  patronized  by  the  public ;  but  if  W.  G.  was 
down  to  play,  then  there  was  a  good  gate  to  a  cer- 
tainty— the  match  against  Yorkshire,  in  particular, 
in  which  Grace  most  frequently  played,  was  always  a 
great  attraction. 

It  was  in  1878  that  W.  G.  first  came  to  shoot 
partridges  with  my  brother  on  the  Downing  Estate 
in  Cambridgeshire,  but  from  that  date  up  to  the 
time  of  my  brother's  death  in  1901  his  visit  was  an 
annual  one.  He  was  quite  a  good  shot  and  a  real 
sportsman,  always  in  the  same  high  spirits  wet  or 
fine,  good  sport  or  bad.  On  one  occasion  the  M.  F.  H. 
called  overnight  to  say  he  proposed  cub-hunting 
on  the  morrow  at  four-forty-five  a.m.,  the  meet  three 
miles  off.  W.  G.  said  he  would  be  there.  He  went 
on  foot  and  was  in  at  the  death  of  a  fox  five  miles 
from  his  quarters  ;  he  was  home  in  time  for  break- 
fast and  to  commence  shooting  at  ten.  The  party 
rested  at  four  for  refreshments :  after  this,  W.  G. 
said  :  '  Now  then,  boys,  round  again  once  more.' 
The  boys  did  not  respond ;  they  pleaded  fatigue. 
'  Well,'  said  W.  G., '  I  shall  go  round  by  myself,'  and 
round  he  went — not  a  bad  day's  work  for  a  man  just 
over  fifty  years  of  age.  I  never  heard  that  he '  rode 
to  hounds,'  but  he  ran  with  beagles  every  winter  up 
to  the  very  last,  and  whatever  sport  or  game  he 
followed,  he  followed  with  all  his  might,  so  that, 
taking  one  thing  with  another,  we  may  well  feel  that 
he  can  have  no  equal." 

Some  of  his  achievements  in  1 866  must  not  be  over- 
looked. Against  the  Players  at  Lord's,  he  and  his 
brother  sent  down  18  overs  for  only  3  runs  at  one 
period,  while  Hearne  and  Jupp  were  in,  whilst  at  the 
Oval  in  the  return  match  he  bowled  nearly  through  the 


DR.   W.    G.   GRACE  41 

first  innings  and  right  through  the  second,  in  which 
latter  he  claimed  7  opponents  for  51  runs.  In  each  case 
the  Players  batted  first.  A  month  later  for  England 
v.  Surrey,  he  contributed  the  then  enormous  innings 
of  224,  the  largest  ever  made  at  the  Oval  up  to  that 
time.  He  went  in  third  wicket  down  and  was  at  the 
wicket  whilst  431  was  scored.  '  The  innings  was 
steadily  played  as  well  as  finely  hit."  It  contained 
two  fives  and  only  eight  fours,  but  he  made  more  off 
his  own  bat  than  Surrey  in  their  double  effort. 
So  effective  was  this  victory  that,  with  one  exception, 
it  was  eleven  years  before  another  county  met  All 
England,  and  then  it  was  the  county  of  the  Graces 
that  undertook  the  heavy  task. 

For  a  cricketer  to  leave  a  match  for  any  save  a 
critical  purpose  is  in  the  twentieth  century  unknown, 
but  V.  E.  Walker  willingly  released  W.  G.  Grace 
irom  fielding  on  the  second  afternoon  in  order  that 
he  might  compete  at  the  National  Olympian  Associa- 
tion Meeting  at  the  Crystal  Palace  where  he  ran 
and  won  the  quarter  of  a  mile  hurdle  race  over 
twenty  flights  of  hurdles  in  the  then  fast  time  of  one 
minute  ten  seconds. 

An  interesting  memorandum  about  W.  G.  Grace 
as  a  runner  has  been  furnished  by  a  veteran  observer, 
Algernon  Warren,  as  follows : 

"  In  the  sixties  at  the  Zoological  Gardens,  Clifton, 
the  champion  cricketer  distinguished  himself  repeat- 
edly and,  according  to  the  standard  of  the  times, 
proved  a  very  fair  athlete.  In  fact,  in  1866  he  secured 
the  gold  medal  for  general  proficiency.  E.  M. 
was  acknowledged  to  be  one  foot  better  in  the  hun- 
dred yards,  but  that  year  W.  G.  managed  to  get  off 
the  mark  quicker  and  just  landed  himself  winner. 
E.  M.  was  decidedly  wrathful,  but  turned  the  tables 
by  winning  the  two  hundred  yards  which  was  re- 
garded as  a  certainty  for  W.  G.  E.  M.  ran  that  race 
as  he  never  ran  before.  Over  the  hurdles  W.  G. 


42        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

often  showed  to  advantage,  but  it  is  a  popular  and 
traditional  misconception  that  he  always  came  in 
first.  He  hardly  excelled  at  the  long  jump,  although 
he  occasionally  carried  off  a  prize  for  an  achievement 
of  under  eighteen  feet.  W.  G.  was  very  good  at  the 
half-mile  and  in  several  instances  came  in  an  easy 
first,  but  proved  nothing  like  so  successful  in  the 
mile  race.  Once  he  was  badly  beaten  in  this  by  Lane, 
a  little  fellow  who  had  been  given  a  start  of  twenty 
yards,  of  which  he  certainly  had  not  the  slightest 
need.  In  vain  did  E.  M.  shout :  '  Come,  Gilbert, 
spurt !  He  is  running  two  feet  to  your  one/  It 
was  no  good  and  Lane  won  just  as  he  liked. 

In  the  quarter,  one  of  W.  G.'s  most  formidable 
local  competitors  was  one  A.  Easton,  but  this  indivi- 
dual's condition  (he  ran  too  much  to  fat)  varied 
considerably.  He  was  a  pretty  runner  and  at  times 
would  win  easily,  but  at  others  was  discomfited 
through  lack  of  training.  He  and  W.  G.  were  on  one 
occasion  the  only  starters.  Easton  dashed  away 
with  the  lead,  but  W.  G.  caught  him  up  and  passed 
him  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  second 
hundred.  Halfway  through  the  distance,  £aston 
closed  up  again  on  Grace,  who  had  been  leading  by  a 
yard,  but  could  not  breast  him.  Then  W.  G.  got 
clear  again,  but  Easton  made  a  final  effort,  to  which 
the  other  responded  all  he  knew  and  won  by  a  yard. 
Both  had  run  so  well  that  it  was  announced  two 
prizes  would  be  given,  W.  G.'s  being  a  claret- jug 
and  East  on' s  a  cricket  bat,  the  latter  by  a  coinci- 
dence having  been  presented  by  Dr.  E.  M.  Grace. 

On  another  occasion  when  W.  G.  came  up  to 
receive  quite  a  lot  of  prizes  from  Mr.  Killigrew  Watt, 
then  the  Mayor  of  Bristol,  the  band  unexpectedly 
struck  up  '  See  the  conquering  hero  comes.'  The 
Mayor,  having  given  Grace  his  various  awards, 
turned  towards  the  other  competitors  and  said  : 
'  Never  mind,  gentlemen,  don't  any  of  you  be  dis- 
couraged, he  will  grow  old  and  stiff  some  day.'  That 


DR.   W.  G.   GRACE  43 

day  was  probably  more  remote  for  the  champion 
than  for  any  other  man  of  his  age  in  England." 

An  instance  of  his  athletic  versatility  is  provided 
by  another  correspondent  who  states  that  "  at  the 
Bedminster  Cricket  Club  Sports  in  1870,  W.  G.  Grace 
won  the  100  yards  flat,  ran  second  in  the  220 
yards  hurdles  (over  ten  flights),  won  the  quarter- 
mile  hurdles  (over  twenty  flights)  and  finished  third 
in  the  440  yards  flat.  All  were  handicap  events  and 
in  each  race  he  started  from  the  scratch  mark." 

On  one  occasion  Grace's  running  powers  were 
useful  in  a  good  cause.  He  had  attended  the  Berkeley 
Hunt  Steeplechases.  At  the  railway  station  a  lady 
gave  a  pickpocket  in  charge.  The  prisoner  managed 
to  escape  and  bolted  across  country,  quickly  placing 
a  whole  field  between  himself  and  the  astonished 
policeman,  who  had  regarded  himself  as  his  custo- 
dian. Grace  then  dashed  off  in  pursuit,  going  pell- 
mell  after  the  thief,  bounding  over  fences  as  though 
he  enjoyed  the  chase.  While  the  vagrant  crawled 
through  a  hedge,  Grace  leapt  over  it  and  was  actually 
seen  to  take  a  formidable-looking  iron  gate  with  the 
ease  with  which  he  would  clear  a  hurdle.  In  this 
way,  he  headed  his  man,  who  doubled  back  and  ran 
right  into  the  arms  of  the  constable,  who  had  joined 
in  the  chase  at  a  more  leisurely  pace. 

One  other  remarkable  innings  was  played  by  W.  G. 
Grace,  yet  again  at  the  Oval  at  the  very  close  of 
the  season  of  1866,  and  it  was  the  earliest  of  the  few 
that  he  himself  was  willing  to  recall  as  "  one  of  my 
best."  For  Gentlemen  of  the  South  v.  Players  of 
the  South,  on  a  very  weak  side,  he  first  bowled  clean 
through  the  opposing  innings  of  207,  taking  7  wickets 
for  92  runs,  and  then,  going  in  fifth,  was  not  out  with 
1 73  out  of  240  whilst  he  was  in.  This  effort  has  been 
described  as  "  absolutely  faultless  and  was  made  off 
Willsher  and  James  Lillywhite  in  their  prime."  It 
was  also  more  aggressive  in  character,  for  it  included 


44      BIOGRAPHY  OF  DR.  W.  G.  GRACE. 

two  sixes,  two  fives  and  six  fours  as  well  as  fifteen 
threes,  every  hit  being  run  out. 

It  was  subsequent  to  this  that  he  was  first  termed 
champion  and  further  was  mentioned  :  "his  fielding 
at  long-leg  magnificent ;  throw-in  terrific,  with  a 
peculiar  spin  that  often  baffled  the  wicket  keeper." 
Such  contemporary  tributes  are  testimony  of  unas- 
sailable character.  Again  must  be  emphasized  the 
remarkable  fact  that  he  was  only  just  entering  on  his 
nineteenth  year. 


CHAPTER  VI 
Approaching  His  Prime 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  R.  F.  MILES 

NATURALLY  in  so  prolonged  a  career,  there 
were  seasons  in  which  W.  G.  Grace  did  less 
than  in  others,  and  1867  may  appear  to  have  been 
a  comparatively  light  one,  judged  by  his  aggregate. 
Yet  this  was  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  for  a 
sprained  ankle  and  a  split  finger  handicapped  him  in 
the  earlier  months,  whilst  for  six  weeks,  soon  after 
the  commencement  of  July,  he  was  incapacitated  by 
an  attack  of  scarlet  fever.  Such  accidents  would 
have  marred  the  prowess  of  any  cricketer  of  less 
genius  than  the  champion,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
he  came  out  with  the  finest  bowling  average  of  his 
whole  career,  namely  the  amazing  one  of  only  7  runs 
each  for  39  wickets.  Lilly  white's  Companion  for  that 
season  describes  him  as  "  a  magnificent  batsman,  his 
defensive  and  hitting  powers  being  second  to  none  ; 
his  scoring  for  the  last  three  seasons  has  been  mar- 
vellous ;  a  very  successful  medium-paced  bowler  and 
a  magnificent  field  and  thrower  from  leg.  Plays  for 
Gentlemen  v.  Players  and  is  a  host  in  himself." 

The  truth  of  the  last  observation  can  be  illustrated 
by  a  few  examples.  A  new  fund  was  started  called 
"  The  Marylebone  Club  Cricketers'  Fund,"  for  the 
benefit,  primarily,  of  the  professionals  engaged  on 
Lord's  ground — the  staff  that  season  had  been 
increased  to  fifteen ;  in  1914  it  consisted  of  fifty-seven 

45 


46        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

— and,  secondly,  "  for  the  relief  of  all  cricketers  who, 
during  their  career,  shall  have  conducted  themselves 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Committee  of  M.C.C." 
For  the  benefit  of  this  charity,  a  match  between  the 
Metropolitan  County  and  England  attracted  four 
thousand  spectators  on  Whit-Monday.  W.  G.  Grace 
and  Alfred  Lubbock  contributed  a  brilliant  75  and 
129  respectively,  not  without  chances,  towards  a 
total  from  the  bat  of  254,  and  the  former  followed 
this  up  with  6  wickets  for  53  runs,bowling  unchanged. 
As  to  this  achievement  an  amusing  error  occurs. 
There  is  a  misprint  in  the  analysis  in  Lilly  white's  Com- 
panion giving  the  runs  scored  off  W.  G.  as  15  instead 
of  53,  and  a  flowery  biographer  of  the  champion  on  the 
strength  of  this  described  it  as  "  an  exceptionally  fine 
bowling  performance — in  fact  the  finest  he  has  ever 
done,"  whereas  a  glance  at  the  score  would  have 
shown  the  obvious  mistake.  Thus  is  history  falsified. 
South  v.  North  of  the  Thames  showed  what  the  old 
pitch  at  Lord's  could  provide.  The  sides  appeared 
so  well  balanced  that  "  on  paper  there  was  scarcely 
a  pin  to  choose  between  them,"  yet  the  game  was 
finished  by  lunch  on  the  second  day,  the  four  innings 
only  yielding  an  aggregate  of  241  runs.  The  South 
won  by  27  runs,  their  opponents  being  set  74  to  win 
and  being  dismissed  for  46,  W.  G.  Grace  taking  6 
wickets  for  28  runs,  five  of  which  were  caught,  after 
having  claimed  as  many  in  the  first  effort  for  five 
runs  less.  He  followed  this  up  by  a  devastating 
display  against  the  Players  for  the  Gentlemen  in  the 
finest  weather,  but  "on  wickets  decidedly  bad  even  for 
Lord's  ground."  He  began  the  second  innings  of  the 
professionals  by  making  Jupp  bag  a  brace  to  his 
bowling,  and  was  so  deadly  that  he  dismissed  every 
one  except  Humphrey  and  James  Lillywhite  at  a 
cost  of  only  25  runs.  This  he  followed  up  by  hitting 
in  such  a  plucky  manner  for  37  not  out  (by  far  the 
highest  score  in  the  match)  against  the  fine  bowling 
that  the  amateurs  won  by  8  wickets.  Finally,  to 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE     ^  47 

show  that  convalescence  had  not  weakened  his  skill, 
on  August  26,  for  England  v.  Surrey  and  Sussex  at 
the  Oval,  for  Tom  Lockyer's  benefit,  before  ten  thou- 
sand people,  by  what  was  termed  "  splendid  bowling," 
he  turned  the  fate  of  the  match,  claiming  5  for  31 — 
the  five  being  Humphrey,  Jupp,  Charles  Payne, 
£harlwood  and  James  Lillywhite. 

A  great  year  for  batsmen  was  1868 — it  was  abnor- 
mally hot — and  W.  G.  Grace  took  ample  advantage  of 
the  hard  wickets.  For  England  v.  M.C.C.  and  Ground 
— for  the  benefit  of  the  Marylebone  Cricketers'  Fund 
— he  opposed  the  premier  club  for  the  third  and  last 
time  in  his  career  save  when  representing  his  county, 
being  elected  a  member  in  the  following  season.  He 
set  his  mark  on  the  game,  for  in  each  innings  his  29 
and  66  were  the  largest  scores  and  their  aggregate 
enabled  the  national  eleven  to  win  by  92  runs.  This 
fixture  was  not  renewed  until  1877  when,  playing  for 
the  club,  W.  G.  Grace  scored  n  and  6. 

For  Gentlemen  v.  Players  his  performance  of  134 
not  out  he  himself  repeatedly  declared  to  be  one  of 
the  finest  innings  he  ever  played.  He  had  not  yet 
reached  his  twentieth  birthday,  be  it  remembered, 
and  his  effort  against  the  attack  of  Willsher,  Silcock, 
Wootton,  Grundy  and  Lillywhite,  including  one 
six,  two  fives,  eleven  fours,  was  a  "  terrific  hitting 
innings  "  ;  every  hit  too  in  those  days,  except  drives 
into  the  pavilion,  had  to  be  run  out.  He  went  in  first 
wicket  down  and  remained  undefeated,  his  com- 
panions making  59  between  them,  only  one — B.  B. 
Cooper — obtaining  double  figures.  Nor  was  this 
all,  for  the  Players  had  to  follow  on,  and  in  their  two 
innings  W.  G.  claimed  10  wickets  for  8  runs  apiece. 
Immediately  prior  to  this  achievement,  all  the  three 
Graces  had  taken  part  in  the  first  Gloucestershire 
match,  v.  M.C.C.  and  Ground  at  Lord's.  The  county 
won  easily  by  134  runs,  but  only  the  analysis  of  the 
first  two  innings  is  extant.  Apparently  only  the 
brothers  bowled,  anyway  they  divided  the  wickets 


48        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

and  were  accountable  for  113  out  of  270  from  the  bat. 

Once,  in  1817,  had  the  feat  of  scoring  a  century 
twice  in  the  same  first-class  match  been  accomplished, 
W.  Lambert  having  then  made  107  and  157  for 
Sussex  v.  Epsom  in  a  game  which  took  six  days  to 
play  at  Lord's.  W.  G.  Grace  now  emulated  this,  and 
though  the  feat  has  become  comparatively  common 
under  modern  conditions — there  are  eighty-three 
instances  up  to  1915  by  thirty-three  amateurs  and 
twenty-three  professionals — this  does  not  detract 
from  the  prodigiousness  of  the  achievement  of  the 
youth  of  twenty  in  1,868.  The  match  was  South  v. 
North  of  the  Thames  and,  after  a  prolonged  drought 
of  nearly  three  months,  1,018  was  scored  on  the  excel- 
lent wicket  of  the  St.  Lawrence  ground  at  Canter- 
bury, where  boundaries  were  established.  W.  G. 
Grace's  contributions  were  130  and  102  not  out,  off 
Wootton,  Grundy,  Howitt  and  Tom  Hearne,  whilst 
it  is  to  be  noted  that,  despite  this  great  effort,  he  was 
on  the  losing  side.  In  his  first  innings  he  saw  eight 
wickets  fall  and  ran  247  runs,  being  in  three  hours 
and  twenty  minutes  ;  in  his  second  he  also  saw 
eight  wickets  fall,  going  in  when  two  wickets  were 
down  and  running  180  runs  without  being  dismissed. 
A  curiosity  of  the  encounter  was  that  one-fourth  of 
all  the  wickets  were  secured  by  the  respective  wicket- 
keepers,  Pooley  and  Plumb.  W.  G.  Grace  was  the 
last  survivor, except  Wootton  and  Lillywhite,of  those 
who  participated  in  this  match. 

As  a  rule  he  wound  up  his  season  with  a  particu- 
larly good  achievement,  and  nearly  always  did  well 
in  a  benefit  match.  In  the  one  at  the  Oval  for  Julius 
Caesar, — England  v.  Middlesex  and  Surrey — Hum- 
phrey and  Jupp  scored  60  before  a  wicket  fell. 
Going  on  as  second  change,  so  effective  was  Grace 
that  the  side  was  out  for  97,  seven  wickets  being 
claimed  by  him  for  only  28  runs.  He  also  captured 
five  opponents  in  the  second  effort,  but  could  not 
win  the  match,  the  last  man  Howitt  joining  Souther- 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  49 

ton  when  eight  runs  were  wanted  for  victory  and  the 
pair  made  them.  This  was  the  first  match  in  which 
thoseold  friends  of  his,  C.  I.  Thornton  and  C.  E.  Green, 
were  both  engaged  with  him. 

In  the  following  year,  1869,  W.  G.  Grace  came  of 
age,  and  about  the  middle  of  that  season  it  was 
written  of  him  :  "  batting  so  triumphantly  superior 
to  all  kinds  of  bowling  brought  against  it  has  never 
been  witnessed  in  our  generation.  Not  merely  is 
Mr.  Gilbert  Grace  the  best  batsman  in  England  :  it 
is  the  old  story  of  the  race — '  Eclipse  '  first ;  the  rest 
nowhere."  This  was  the  earliest  summer  in  which 
he  obtained  over  a  thousand  runs  in  first-class 
matches. 

It  was  now  that  he  began  his  prolonged  and  distin- 
guished association  with  M.C.C.  He  was  proposed 
by  the  Treasurer,  T.  Burgoyne,  and  seconded  by  the 
Secretary,  R.  A.  FitzGerald.  In  his  whole  career  for 
the  premier  club,  he  averaged  37  with  an  aggregate 
of  7,780  runs.  That  first  season  for  it  he  averaged 
60,  scoring  724,  besides  taking  44  wickets  for  a  dozen 
runs  apiece.  He  led  off  with  a  century  in  his  earliest 
effort,  117  (with  two  sixes)  v.  Oxford  University,  there 
being  only  three  other  double-figure  scores  on  the 
side,  whilst  he  bowled  unchanged  almost  throughout, 
so  he  had  a  large  share  in  the  single  innings  victory. 
A  month  later,  against  the  rival  university  at 
Lord's,  he  took  eleven  wickets,  again  bowling  nearly 
through,  whilst  on  a  proverbial  St.  John's  Wood 
wicket  he  hit  with  tremendous  power  for  32  out  of  35 
and  31  out  of  41  while  in,  his  aggregate  of  63  being  a 
pretty  good  share  of  the  143  from  the  bat  of  the  club 
side. 

Opposing  the  counties  for  M.C.C. ,  he  made  51  out 
of  134  v.  Surrey,  when  the  ground  was  so  bad  at 
Lord's  that  the  visitors  won  the  toss  but  put  the 
home  side  in  and  lost  by  ten  wickets  in  consequence. 
He  was  even  more  severe  on  the  Surrey  attack  in  the 
return  match  at  the  Oval.  The  weather  was  so  cold 


50        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

on  that  July  i  that  the  umpires  wore  greatcoats. 
But  W.  G.  kept  himself  and  the  fielding  side  warm 
by  going  in  first  and  carrying  his  bat  for  a  magnifi- 
cent 138  out  of  a  total  of  215.  He  opened  his  shoul- 
ders with  two  tremendous  on-drives  on  to  the  racket 
court  off  Street  and  was  credited  with  thirteen  fours. 
He  then  settled  the  match  by  taking  half  a  dozen 
wickets  in  Surrey's  first  effort,  which  fell  twenty 
short  of  his  own  score. 

Notts  that  season  had  the  strongest  professional 
attack,  composed  of  Alfred  and  J.  C.  Shaw  with 
Wootton*  In  his  first  effort,  Grace  was  run  out — an 
unusual  incident  with  him — after  hitting  finely  for 
48,  there  being  only  two  other  double-figure  contribu- 
tions in  the  innings  of  112.  Richard  Daft  then 
scored  a  fine  103  not  out  and  W.  G.  wagered  he  would 
beat  that  achievement,  although  the  wicket  on  fourth 
hands  was  pretty  dreadful.  He  won  his  bet  with 
an  impetuous  121  compiled  in  about  three  hours  out 
of  1 86  whilst  at  the  wicket,  being  bowled  off  his  pads, 
after  giving  some  chances,  the  missing  of  which 
must  have  sorely  annoyed  Daft,  who  was  apt  to  be 
irascible  under  such  circumstances.  Meeting  Lanca- 
shire, Grace  was  twice  cheaply  dismissed  by  Hick- 
ton,  but  took  9  wickets  for  34  runs,  and,  at  Canter- 
bury, gave  a  generous  display  against  Kent.  The 
club  played  a  purely  amateur  side,  and  going  in  first 
he  was  pre-eminent  with  127, "  being  as  finely  put 
together  as  ever." 

Earlier  in  the  Festival,  for  South  v.  North,  a  sensa- 
tion had  been  created  by  his  being  bowled  all  over 
his  wicket  by  J.  C.  Shaw  with  the  third  ball  of  the 
match.  As  a  contemporary  critic  phrased  it : 
"  Imagine  Patti  singing  outrageously  out  of  tune ; 
imagine  Mr.  Gladstone  violating  all  the  rules  of 
grammar — and  you  have  a  faint  idea  of  the  surprise 
created  by  this  incident."  Said  W.  G.  himself  as  he 
walked  in  for  his  second  effort :  "I  fancy  I'll  do  a 
little  better  this  time."  The  premonition  proved 


DR.    W.   G.   GRACE  51 

accurate,  for  he  and  Jupp  put  up  the  century  in 
seventy  minutes,  and  with  the  total  at  134,  the  cham- 
pion left,  "  after  one  of  his  own  rapid  innings  of  96, 
composed  of  thirteen  fours,  five  threes,  etc.,  his 
hitting  being  superb." 

For  some  time  the  South  had  been  defeated  by  the 
North,  but  at  Sheffield  W.  G.  turned  the  tide  and 
gave  the  visitors  a  victory  by  66  runs.  It  was  his 
first  appearance  locally  and  excited  great  interest, 
Emmett  and  Freeman  being  promised  presents  if 
they  could  get  him  out  cheaply.  He  went  in  first 
and  gave  a  rare  taste  of  his  quality,  for  his  122  was  out 
of  a  total  of  173,  only  B.  B.  Cooper,  who  went  in 
with  him,  getting  double  figures.  After  that,  he 
took  6  wickets  for  57  runs,  leaving  the  Yorkshire 
crowd  convinced  that  his  tremendous  reputation 
was  thoroughly  deserved.  He  has  recorded 
how  Freeman,  whom  he  regarded  as  the  best  fast 
bowler  he  ever  met  was  the  only  one  in  this  match, 
who  gave  him  any  trouble  ;  in  the  second  innings 
he  bowled  him  with  a  ball  which,  after  it  hit  the 
wicket,  kept  spinning  for  a  few  seconds  between  the 
stumps  and  then  lay  perfectly  dead  at  the  bottom  of 
them. 

Gentlemen  v.  Players  brought  out  the  best  that 
was  in  Grace.  At  Lord's,  his  second  contribution  of 
30  (with  an  on-drive  for  7  off  Wootton)  in  conjunction 
with  W.  Yardley's  39  not  out  just  enabled  the 
amateurs  to  obtain  the  98  needed  with  three  wickets 
to  spare.  At  the  Oval  he  hit  freely  for  43  at  the  open- 
ing, and  in  his  83  his  "  batting  soon  asserted  its  supre- 
macy, the  ball  travelling  to  all  parts  of  the  ground, 
the  hitting  being  magnificent."  From  one  over  of 
Silcock's  he  made  a  two  (to  leg),  a  four  (cut)  and  a  five 
(on-drive),  but  was  caught  at  point  off  Emmett  in 
hitting  to  leg.  This  was  the  exciting  match  which 
the  Gentlemen  won  thirteen  minutes  before  time  by 
seventeen  runs. 

The  greatest  of  all  his  achievements  in  1869,  how 


52        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

ever,  was  to  put  up  283  with  B.  B.  Cooper  for  the 
first  wicket  for  Gentlemen  of  the  South  v.  Players 
of  the  South,  which  remained  the  first-class  record 
until  1892  when  H.  T.  Hewett  and  L.  C.  H.  Palairet 
made  346  for  Somersetshire  v.  Yorkshire  at  Taunton. 
It  was  a  match  of  huge  scoring,  as  circumstances 
then  existed,  1,136  runs  being  obtained  for  only  21 
wickets,  giving  an  average  of  51  runs  to  each  bats- 
man. Pooley  and  Jupp  had  put  up  142  for  the  first 
professional  wicket.  As  so  often  happens  in  a  grand 
partnership,  one  of  the  pair  only  survived  the  other 
by  three  balls. 

The  following  quotation  from  the  Daily  Telegraph 
has  been  already  republished,  but  must  find  a  place 
here  : 

"  The  champion  batsman  was  more  than  ever  on 
his  mettle.  His  own  bowling,  to  begin  with,  had 
been  unceremoniously  knocked  all  over  the  ground. 
The  most  good-humoured  of  young  giants,  he  must 
have  felt  rather  impatient  as  one  little  fellow  after 
another  seemed  to  do  just  what  he  liked  with  the 
trimming  balls  that  were  sent  in  so  swiftly  with  such 
obvious  intention.  That  Mr.  Gilbert  Grace  meant 
to  take  his  revenge  was  tolerably  clear.  Every  one 
on  the  ground  expected  it.  Ably  helped  by  Mr. 
Cooper,  it  was  soon  clear  that  no  anxiety  on  that 
account  need  trouble  the  mind  of  his  admirers. 
He  has  made  even  larger  scores  than  the  180,  but  we 
doubt  whether  a  better  innings  has  ever  been  played 
by  cricketer  past  or  present.  The  characteristic  of 
Mr.  Grace's  play  was  that  he  knew  exactly  where 
every  ball  he  hit  would  go.  Just  the  strength  re- 
quired was  expended  and  no  more.  When  the 
iieldsmen  were  placed  injudiciously  too  deep,  he 
would  quietly  send  a  ball  half-way  towards  them 
with  a  gentle  tap  and  content  himself  with  a  modest 
single.  If  they  came  in  a  little  nearer,  the  shoulders 
opened  out  and  the  powerful  arms  swung  round  as 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE 


53 


he  lashed  at  the  first  loose  ball  and  sent  it  away 
through  the  crowded  ring  of  visitors  until  one  heard 
a  big  thump  as  it  struck  against  the  farthest  fence. 
Watching  most  other  men — even  good  players — 
your  main  object  is  to  see  how  they  will  defend 
themselves  against  the  bowling  ;  watching  Mr.  Gil- 
bert Grace,  you  can  hardly  help  feeling  as  though  the 
batsman  were  himself  the  assailant.  You  want  to 
know,  not  how  he  will  keep  up  his  stumps,  but  where 
he  will  choose  to  hit.  On  Friday  last  he  chose  to  hit 
all  over  the  ground ;  and  he  did  it !  Young  men, 
however,  are  never  satisfied,  and  so,  for  the  sake  of  a 
little  variety,  he  sent  the  ball  into  the  nearest 
street." 

One  other  incident  occurring  in  1869  cannot  be 
omitted.  A  tattered  newspaper  cutting,  apparently 
from  the  Westminster  Gazette,  gives  a  letter  from 
Canon  Bell,  which  authoritatively  deals  with  a  topic 
that  has  become  half  apocryphal  as  well  as  most 
widely  variable,  but  seems  to  have  been  generally 
remembered  by  admirers  of  W.  G. 

'  The  real  story  about  Grace  and  the  hymn  is  this. 
I  was  the  master  who  was  reading  prayers  in  the 
chapel  that  evening  and  gave  out  the  hymn.  I  was 
the  choirmaster,  and  it  was  I  who  had  arranged,  on 
the  Saturday  previous,  the  hymns  for  the  week,  and 
among  them  was  the  one  in  question, '  Sweet  Saviour, 
bless  us  ere  we  go/  and  of  course  it  was  absolutely 
unintentional  on  my  part  that  it  should  have  been 
down  for  an  evening  when  Grace  was  in  chapel. 
Well,  these  are  the  facts.  Grace  was  bringing  an 
eleven  from  Gloucestershire  to  play  the  Marlborough 
boys  and  in  the  train  he  made  a  bet  he  would  get  a 
hundred  runs  and  also  hit  a  ball  into  '  Sun-lane ' — 
a  very  big  hit  and  which  had  only  once  been  done. 
I  was  in  with  him  and  a  boy  called  Kempe  bowled 
him  clean  with  as  fine  a  ball  as  I  ever  saw,  I  think  for 


54       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

only  three  runs,  and  therefore  neither  the  century 
nor  the  big  hit  came  off.  He  came  to  chapel  in  the 
evening  and  the  lines  were  sung : 

*  The  scanty  triumphs  Grace  hath  won, 
The  broken  vow ' 

and  I  believe  it  was  generally  thought  I  had  done  it 
of  set  purpose.  It  was  absolutely  accidental. 

Perhaps  you  may  like  the  following  coincidence, 
which  also  happened  at  Marlborough.  The  Chelten- 
ham boys  came  to  play  Marlborough  on  their  ground 
and  were  defeated,  most  of  the  runs  having  been  made 
and  most  of  the  wickets  taken  by  two  boys  named 
Wood  and  Stone.  In  chapel  the  hymn '  From  Green- 
land's icy  mountains '  was  sung,  where  the  lines 
occur  : 

'  The  heathen  in  their  blindness 
Bow  down  to  wood  and  stone.' 

This  also  was  purely  accidental." 

Amid  the  mass  of  correspondence  received  about 
the  hymn  and  Grace,  the  following  from  A.  G. 
Bradley,  now  a  Master  at  Marlborough,  deserves 
quotation  :  ' '  The  point  is  that  to  the  natural  delight 
and  surprise  of  the  boys,  the  champion,  after  making 
six  in  the  first  over,  was  bowled  clean  and  his  wickets 
sent  flying  the  first  ball  of  the  second,  by  a  very 
fast  bowler  of  low  stature,  J.  A.  Kempe,  a  Devon- 
shire boy,  well  known  at  the  Sidmouth  and  Teign- 
bridge  cricket  weeks,  which  were  the  chief  feature 
of  the  far-west  country  cricket  in  those  days.  The 
next  Lansdowne  player  was  despatched  almost 
immediately  by  the  same  bowler  and,  as  he  took  off 
his  pads,  remarked  :  '  Beastly  bad  light.  I  could 
have  played  that  ball  easily  if  I  could  have  seen  it.' 
*  It  was  just  the  opposite  with  me,'  said  W.  G.f 
'  I  could  see  it  perfectly,  but  I  couldn't  play  it.'  ' 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  55 

Here  may  be  appropriately  inserted  the  recollec- 
tions of  an  old  Old  Marlbornian  and  subsequent 
county  comrade,  R.  F.  Miles,  who  writes  : 

"  My  earliest  recollection  of  W.  G.  Grace  was  in 
the  year  1865,  when  he  and  E.  M.  came  down  to 
play  against  Marlborough  College.  This  was  the  year 
after  he  had  startled  the  cricket  world  by  making 
170  and  56  not  out  against  the  Gentlemen  of  Sussex. 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  bowl  out  both  brothers 
pretty  cheaply  in  the  first  innings,  but  in  the  second 
both  had  their  revenge.  W.  G.  was  then  only  six- 
teen, a  long,  lanky  boy,  who  bowled  very  straight 
with  a  good  natural  leg  curl.  A  year  or  two  later, 
probably  1869  rather  than  1868,  I  saw  him  run  in  a 
440  yards  Strangers'  Race  at  Oxford.  He  had 
broadened  and  filled  out  a  good  deal.  About  this 
time  and  in  1868,  I  played  in  two  or  three  matches, 
very  close  ones,  against  him  and  several  of  his 
brothers  at  Knole  Park.  He  was  bowling  very  well 
then,  medium  pace.  I  do  not  think  he  took  to 
bowling  slows  until  after  1870. 

From  1870  to  1880, 1  played  a  great  deal  of  county 
cricket  under  his  captaincy.  My  view  has  always 
been  that  he  was  far  and  away  the  greatest  cricketer 
that  ever  lived,  not  only  because  of  his  great  scores 
but  also  for  the  fact  that  he  generally  had  to  go  in 
immediately  after  a  long  spell  of  bowling,  whereas 
most  great  batsmen  have  not  been  bowlers.  More- 
over, in  those  early  days  grounds  were  not  kept  in 
the  perfection  they  are  now.  Bramall  Lane  was 
generally  a  bad  wicket,  and  I  remember  W.  G.  having 
an  over  from  Clayton  in  which  he  received  two  balls 
on  the  ribs,  one  on  the  beard  and  a  dead  shooter, 
yet  he  compiled  a  century. 

One  of  the  most  comical  incidents  I  remember  in 
connection  with  him  was  in  a  local  match  at  Thorn- 
bury,  in  which  W.  G.  played  for  Thornbury  and 
his  eldest  brother  Henry — a  very  straight  medium 


56      BIOGRAPHY  OF  DR.   W.   G.   GRACE 

bowler — and  myself  played  against  him.  Henry 
Grace  hit  W.  G.  on  the  leg  and  appealed.  The  local 
umpire  would  not  have  dared  give  him  out,  but 
Henry  Grace  shook  his  fist  in  his  face  and  said  : 
4  Be  a  man,  be  a  man.'  Then  the  umpire  yielded  to 
the  most  adjacent  danger  and  said  '  Out.'  The  Old 
Man  did  not  quite  like  it,  but  could  not  help  laughing 
at  his  brother's  attitude. 

As  a  captain,  W.  G.  was  a  very  good  judge  of  bats- 
men's weaknesses.  I  remember,  v.  Sussex  at  Chel- 
tenham, feeling  quite  pleased  at  catching  a  man  out 
at  point.  As  the  next  man  came  in,  W.  G.  changed 
places  with  me,  caught  the  newcomer  that  over  close 
in  and  then  changed  places  again  !  " 


CHAPTER  VII 
A  Year  of  Triumph 

WITH    REMINISCENCES    BY    C.    K.    FRANCIS    AND 
C.  E.  GREEN 

WHILST  Bismarck  was  carrying  out  his  offensive 
schemes  against  unhappy  France  in  1870, 
W.  G.  Grace  was  triumphantly  supreme  in  the  peace- 
ful cricket  grounds  of  England.  Lilly  white  had 
stated  that  he  "  is,  of  course,  at  the  top  of  the  tree  ; 
who  would  dream  of  disputing  his  claim  to  the 
championship  ?  That  the  day  be  far  distant  when 
his  peerless  science  and  hitting  cease  to  charm  a 
crowded  ring  is  our  most  earnest  hope."  For  over 
thirty-five  years  yet  he  was  to  be  well  before  the 
public.  Still  quoting  from  the  green  annual :  "  Each 
succeeding  season  adds  to  his  reputation.  Always 
to  be  reckoned  on  for  a  very  long  stay  at  the  wickets, 
he  is  undoubtedly  at  once  the  quickest  run  getter 
and  surest  batsman  in  England."  In  thirty-eight 
innings,  with  5  not  outs,  he  averaged  54  with  an 
aggregate  of  1,808,  opening  with  eleven  consecutive 
double-figure  contributions,  followed  by  a  century  ; 
four  others  came  later,  only  once  was  he  dismissed 
without  scoring — bowled  by  J.  C.  Shaw — and  only  on 
six  other  occasions  did  he  fail  to  get  double  figures, 
never  twice  in  the  same  match.  It  is  curious  that 
in  matches  in  which  professionals  were  opposed  to 
him,  he  was  never  dismissed  in  1870  by  an  amateur 

57 


58       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

bowler,  was  only  once  l.b.w.   and  in  every  other 
instance  was  either  bowled  or  caught. 

On  the  last  day  of  May  against  Yorkshire  at  Lord's, 
he  played  an  innings  of  66  which  he  himself  always 
regarded  as  the  finest  of  his  whole  .  career.  It  is 
alluded  to  by  his  partner  in  the  stand,  the  late 
C.  E.  Green,  in  his  reminiscences  at  the  close  of  the 
present  chapter,  but  a  further  quotation  must  be 
made  from  the  History  of  Yorkshire  Cricket,  by 
Rev.  R.  vS.  Holmes  : 

"  Of  that  match  W.  G.  Grace  has  put  on  record 
that  he  '  stood  up  to  Emmett  and  Freeman  on 
one  of  the  roughest,  bumpiest  wickets  we  had  now 
and  then  on  that  ground.  About  every  third  or 
fourth  ball  kicked  badly  and  we  were  hit  all  over  the 
body  and  had  to  dodge  an  occasional  one  with  our 
heads.  Shooters  were  pretty  common  on  the  same 
wicket,  and  what  with  playing  one  ball  and  dodging 
another,  we  had  a  lively  and  unenviable  time  of  it.' 
Freeman  thus  spoke  of  it  to  me  in  1894:  'Tom 
Emmett  and  I  have  often  said  it  was  a  marvel  the 
doctor  was  not  either  maimed  or  unnerved  for  the 
rest  of  his  days  or  killed  outright.  I  often  think  of 
his  pluck  when  I  watch  a  modern  batsman  scared 
if  a  medium-paced  ball  hits  him  on  the  hand  ;  he 
should  have  seen  our  expresses  flying  about  his  ribs, 
shoulders  and  head  in  1870.'  Emmett  quaintly 
remarked  to  me  that  he  did  not  believe  '  W.  G. 
had  a  square  inch  of  sound  flesh  on  his  body  after 
that  innings,'  whilst  C.  I.  Thornton,  who  has  seen 
as  much  good  cricket  as  anybody,  and  who  is 
without  the  shrewdest  of  critics,  has  pronounced 
W.  G.'s  66  the  best  innings  he  ever  saw." 

Though  W.  G.  frequently  spoke  of  this  perform- 
ance as  his  best,  there  is  a  conflicting  testimony 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE      .  59 

on  the  point  in  a  letter  from  the  late  Henry  Perkins, 
who  wrote  : 

"  I  have  often  been  asked  which  was  the  finest 
innings  I  ever  saw  W.  G.  play.  My  answer  is  always 
the  same  :  July  10,  1871,  Single  v.  Married,  189  not 
out,  total  score  310.  Rain  stopped  play  at  frequent 
intervals  and  the  wicket  at  times  was  apparently 
unplayable.  I  think  on  the  last  occasion  that  this 
question  was  put  to  me,  W.  G.  was  appealed  to  in 
my  presence  and  confirmed  my  judgment." 

The  season  at  the  headquarters  of  the  game  opened 
with  a  futile  match  between  Left-Handed  and  Right- 
Handed,  which  had  not  previously  been  played  since 
1838  and  has  not  been  repeated,  despite  occasional 
suggestions  by  correspondents  in  newspapers. 
Grace  enjoyed  a  bowling  spell,  claiming  6  wickets  for 
24  runs,  followed  up  by  5  for  34  v.  Surrey. 

Gloucestershire  came  into  being  as  an  actual 
cricket  county,  twice  playing  Surrey  and  once 
M.C.C.,  winning  the  home  match  by  51  runs  and  the 
two  on  metropolitan  grounds  with  an  innings  to- 
spare.  W.  G.'s  share  was  considerable,  for,  at  the 
Oval,  in  three  and  a  half  hours,  he  hit  grandly  for  143 
and  then  took  8  wickets  for  52  runs,  whilst  at  Lord's 
in  conjunction  with  C.  S.  Gordon  he  put  up  139  for 
the  first  wicket,  his  own  172,  "  as  usual,  a  magnificent 
display — perhaps  considering  the  excellence  of  the 
bowling  and  the  badness  of  the  light  and  ground, 
one  of  his  very  best  innings,  whilst  7  wickets  for  65 
were  also  recorded  to  his  credit."  At  this  period,, 
and  for  many  subsequent  seasons,  the  western 
county  played  a  wholly  amateur  side.  In  the  six 
innings,  only  the  three  Graces  and  R.  F.  Miles  went 
on  to  bowl,  whilst  in  an  additional  minor  match  with 
Glamorganshire  W.  G.  scored  197,  being  five  hours 
at  the  wicket. 

The  rivalry  between  W.  G.  Grace  and  Richard 


60        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

Daft  yielded  a  tie  in  the  encounter  of  M.C.C.  v.  Notts, 
for  each  made  exactly  the  same  score  117,  but  W.  G. 
went  in  first  and  carried  out  his  bat,  no  one  else 
except  I.  D.  Walker — who  helped  him  to  put  up  127 
before  a  wicket  fell — getting  double  figures.  This 
was  the  match  in  which  Summers  was  killed  and  W.  G. 
was  the  earliest  to  render  him  medical  assistance 
after  he  had  fallen  from  the  force  of  the  blow  on  the 
cheek  bone.  In  the  second  innings  J.  C.  Shaw 
bowled  Grace  without  a  run  and  smashed  the  middle 
stump. 

The  extreme  freedom  with  which  Grace  hit  the 
bowling  of  both  University  elevens  was  commented  on 
at  the  time,  but  when  he  came  to  oppose  the  Players 
for  the  Gentlemen  he  was  yet  more  paramount. 
At  the  Oval  the  paid  representatives  were  sadly 
weak  in  bowling  and  runs  came  as  plentifully  as 
blackberries  at  the  second  effort  of  the  amateurs. 
W.  G.  Grace,  at  the  outset,  found  an  able  partner  in 
J.  W.  Dale,  who  helped  him  to  put  up  164  before  they 
were  parted.  When  stumps  were  drawn  for  the 
night,  the  champion  was  still  in  with  175  to  his 
credit  and  next  morning  he  added  40  more,  his  215 
being  the  largest  score  so  far  ever  recorded  in  these 
pre-eminent  encounters.  He  exceeded  it  by  two 
runs  next  year  at  Brighton,  but  until  the  war  only 
thrice  have  these  been  surpassed,  Abel's  247  at  the 
Oval  in  1901  being  the  absolute  highest.  Grace's 
effort  is  described  as  "  one  that  will  never  be  for- 
gotten by  those  fortunate  enough  to  witness  it.  His 
hitting  was  extraordinary  and  his  wonderful  run- 
getting  powers  were  never  more  brilliantly  exempli- 
fied. A  splendid  on-drive  [off  Wootton]  for  seven 
(made  into  eight  by  an  overthrow),  three  fives  and 
seventeen  fours  were  his  principal  hits." 

Contrary  to  the  usual  custom,  the  Players'  side 
at  Lord's  was  far  from  being  representative,  and  again 
W.  G.  Grace  took  a  pitiless  revenge  on  the  attack, 
his  109,  compiled  in  a  little  over  three  hours,  being 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  61 

the  first  sensation  in  the  closely  contested  match 
which  the  Gentlemen  won  by  only  4  runs,  as  C.  K. 
Francis  relates  in  the  present  chapter.  Immediately 
afterwards  the  champion  had  another  success  in  that 
usually  big  scoring  match  Gentlemen  of  the  South 
v.  Players  of  the  South,  making  66  out  of  the  first 
95,  being  the  first  man  out,  his  cutting  being  pro- 
nounced superb.  He  followed  this  up  with  a  fault- 
less innings  of  84  for  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Surrey, 
before  he  returned  a  ball  to  Southerton.  Another 
remarkable  performance  has  to  be  recorded  for 
Gentlemen  of  the  South  v.  Gentlemen  of  the  North 
at  Beeston  near  Nottingham.  In  the  enormous  score 
of  482,  eight  batsmen  only  contributed  19  runs 
between  them,  W.  G.  opening  the  innings  with  77, 
G.  F.  getting  189  not  out  and  I.  D.  Walker  179, 
Grace  was  fond  of  recalling  that,  off  his  bowling  in 
this  game,  J.  W.  Dale  was  given  out  for  a  catch 
outside  the  boundary,  the  only  experience  of  the  kind 
he  remembered.  Finally,  according  to  his  habit  of 
invariably  "  doing  something  " — his  own  phrase — 
in  a  benefit  match,  when  Mortlock  enjoyed  a  lucra- 
tive one  at  the  Oval,  W.  G.  showed  his  hardest 
hitting  of  the  summer  in  a  vigorous  42,  before  he  was 
annexed  at  the  wicket  by  Plumb,  and  51  not  out 
which  proved  a  futile  attempt  to  hit  off  the  necessary 
runs  before  time,  the  bowlers  carefully  sending  down 
balls  too  short  for  him  to  hit.  The  number  of 
exhibition  matches  of  those  days  furnished  London 
with  many  opportunities  of  seeing  W.  G.  Grace 
tackling  the  best  bowling  of  the  period. 

That  fine  bowler  and  able  critic  C.  K.  Francis 
writes  : 

"Why  it  should  ever  have  struck  any  one  that  I 
was  a  proper  person  to  write  on  any  theme  of  interest 
about  W.  G.  Grace  or  could  do  so,  I  cannot  say  : 
but  still  there  is  one  reason  that  suggests  itself  why 
I  should  have  been  asked,  and  that  is  because  so  many 


62       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  my  date,  when  I  look  back,  have  joined  the  great 
majority.  For  example,  in  the  first  year  I  was 
invited  to  play  for  Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Lord's, 
in  1870,  I  notice  that  about  eight  of  the  amateur 
side  are,  alas !  no  more.  Another  reason  may  be 
because  from  1870  to  1875,  W.  G.  was  certainly  at 
liis  very  best,  and  that  was  the  precise  period  when  I 
had  most  to  do  with  him.  How  interesting  it  would 
have  been  before  writing  anything,  if  I  could  have 
compared  notes  with  I.  D.  Walker,  Ottaway,  Jack 
Dale,  Yardley,  Appleby,  Absolom,  David  Buchanan, 
Pauncefote,  W.  H.  Hadow, — the  majority  played 
in  that  match,  all  were  playing  about  that  time  and 
all  of  them  more  qualified  than  I  ever  was  to  talk  or 
write  about  Grace.  As  there  still,  however,  remain 
so  many  much  better  cricketers  than  I  ever  was  and 
their  views  may  not  coincide  with  my  own,  I  admit 
I  take  on  the  task  with  a  considerable  amount  of 
diffidence. 

I  should  like  to  preface  my  remarks  by  saying 
that  it  was  always  a  pleasure  to  play  on  the  same 
side  with  one  who  was  always  so  cheery.  The  keen- 
ness of  W.  G.  never  flagged ;  though  towering 
above  his  contemporaries  there  never  was  the  slight- 
est '  side,'  swagger  or  conceit  about  him ;  his 
unparalleled  success  never  turned  his  head.  True, 
I  often  heard  him  say  when  he  made  nothing  first 
innings  :  'I'll  get  a  hundred  next  time,'  and  he 
very  often  did  so.  He  was  always  the  same,  and  I 
cannot  recall  in  the  many  matches  we  played  together 
a  single  incident  which  in  any  way  tended  to  mar  the 
proper  spirit  in  which  cricket  should  be  played.  I 
am  not  saying  that,  occasionally,  there  may  not  have 
been  some  slight  dissatisfaction  or  difference  of 
opinion  upon  some  umpire's  decision,  but  who  has 
ever  played  much  cricket  without,  in  his  experience, 
occasionally  such  incidents  arising  ?  I  know  I  can 
plead  guilty  to  having  been  at  times  very  much 
-dissatisfied.  How  many  cricketers  does  the  reader 


DR.    W.   G.   GRACE  63 

know  who  have  said,  after  being  given  out  l.b.w. 
or  caught  at  the  wicket,  '  I  was  smack  out  and  I 
know  it '  ?  My  experience  tells  me  that  such 
•would  not  form  an  infinitesimal  minority. 

A  great  deal  of  water  has  run  under  London  Bridge 
since  I  was  for  the  first  time  in  a  field  with  W.  G., 
and  that  was  early  in  1870.  In  that  year  I  played  a 
good  many  matches  with  him,  fortunately  for  me, 
generally  on  the  same  side.  My  first  was,  however, 
against  him  as  he  came  down  to  Oxford  to  play 
against  the  University.  I  was  a  freshman  and 
probably  bowled  better  then  than  at  any  time  except 
when  I  was  at  school,  and  I  very  soon  discovered 
(for  I  think  I  commenced  the  bowling)  how  feeble 
were  my  efforts  and  futile  my  attacks  against  his 
powerful  and  masterly  methods  of  defence  and  punish- 
ment. Balls  which,  hitherto,  others  had  treated  with 
respect  and  played  with  even  some  difficulty,  were 
all  treated  by  him  with  the  same  ease  and  apparent 
contempt  with  which  I  afterwards  saw  him  treat  all 
bowlers  alike.  I  began  soon  to  realize  what  R.  D. 
Walker  once  caustically  said  of  my  bowling,  viz.  that 
my  '  long  hops  were  really  worth  sixpence  a  piece,' 
was  true,  a  retort  which  somehow  I  think  I  brought 
on  myself  by  daring  to  refer  in  some  disrespectful 
way  to  his  own  '  tossing  up  "  half  vollies." 

May  I  now  say  this  of  W.  G.'s  batting  ?  There 
was  nothing  very  attractive  in  his  style,  which  was 
quite  different  from  that  of  any  one  else.  There  was 
none  of  the  finished  and  graceful  wrist-play  of  an 
Alfred  Lubbock  or  Alfred  Lyttelton  or  Charlie 
Buller,  all  beautiful  players  to  watch  batting.  What 
always  struck  me  about  his  own  peculiar  style  was 
that  he  made  batting  look  so  ludicrously  easy,  the 
ball  always  seemed  to  hit  the  middle  of  his  bat,  his 
timing  was  so  exact,  he  was  never  too  soon  or  too 
late.  I  think  he  was  more  at  home  to  fast  bowling 
than  to  slow,  and  if  investigation  were  made,  I 
should  say  he  more  often  succumbed  to  slow  bowlers 


64       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

than  to  fast  when  at  his  best :  e.g.  to  A.  Shaw, 
Southerton,  Briggs,  Peel,  Peate,  Lohmann,  though 
perhaps  Briggs  and  Lohmann  were  more  medium.  I 
have  noticed  other  admirable  players  who  invariably 
seemed  to  hit  the  ball  in  the  middle  of  the  bat — one 
who  comes  to  my  mind  is  A.  P.  Lucas — but  with  this 
difference  that,  in  his  case,  the  ball  seemed  to  be  so 
much  more  often  most  accurately  played  straight 
into  some  field's  hands,  whereas  with  W.  G.  it  was 
generally  played,  purposely  and  skilfully,  to  a  spot 
where  there  happened  to  be  no  field — and  I  think  it 
was  this  which  was  so  disconcerting  to  bowlers. 

Another  point  about  his  batting  I  should  like  to 
mention.  I  can  hardly  ever  remember  seeing  W.  G. 
intentionally  leave  balls  alone  on  the  off-side,  which 
of  late  years  has  become  so  fashionable  and  weari- 
some and  such  a  tedious  abomination  to  onlookers 
who,  like  myself,  occasionally  are  able  to  spend  a  few 
hours  looking  on.  I  have  seen  a  whole  over  bowled 
and  every  ball  left  alone  purposely,  when  the  bats- 
man might  as  well  have  had  a  toothpick  in  his  hand. 
Such  extreme  caution  and  fear  of  giving  a  catch  in  the 
slips  was  never  in  W.  G.'s  definition  of  cricket.  Nor 
again  can  I  ever  remember  W.  G.  stepping  in 
front  of  his  wicket  without  attempting  to  play  the 
ball  with  his  bat.  No  doubt  his  height  was  very 
useful  to  him  in  getting  over  a  ball  which  possi- 
bly any  one  six  inches  shorter  would  have  had 
difficulty  in  getting  away  from. 

No  one  that  I  ever  saw  possessed  and  used  the 
same  punishing  power  when  in  his  prime  (for  the 
moment  perhaps  I  ought  to  except  C.  I.  Thornton)  ; 
no  one  who  ever  lived  '  knocked  off '  all  bowlers- 
alike  in  the  same  short  space  of  time.  Often  a  match 
was  practically  over  in  two  hours,  by  which  time  he 
had  settled  all  the  bowlers.  He  was  never  what  I 
should  call  a  big  hitter,  for  the  enormous  number  of 
runs  he  got  I  should  say  he  seldom  made  gigantic 
hits,  but  I  have  seen  him  hit  a  ball  out  of  Lord's,  and 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  65 

once  in  Canada  I  saw  him  hit  a  ball  into  a  house  130 
yards  off  in  style  which  would  have  made  '  Buns ' 
jealous.  But  it  was  not  very  often  that  he  opened 
his  huge  shoulders  in  that  way. 

I  do  not  intend  further  to  allude  to  his  excelling 
all  others,  except  in  matches  with  which  I  was  myself 
individually  concerned.  I  was  really  on  what  I 
may  describe  as  the  high  road  of  cricket  only  a  few 
years  :  my  days  were  pre- Australian  days.  But 
W.  G.  never  left  the  high  road  :  he  was  always  on  itr 
and  on  it  from  1865  almost  to  1905.  No  one  ever  kept 
up  his  cricket  for  the  same  length  of  time.  Of  course 
one  could  name  instances  like  Lord  Harris,  Lord 
Hawke,  A.  N.  Hornby  and  others  who  stuck  to  first- 
class  cricket  for  years  and  years,  but  W.  G.'s  career 
extended  over  a  much  longer  period  than  that  of  any 
other  of  these  notables.  The  life  that  he  led  in  the 
winter  may,  and  no  doubt  did,  tend  to  keep  him 
hard  and  in  fit  condition  :  with  his  weight  it  is  sur- 
prising that  he  did  not  break  down  more  often. 
One  point :  I  think  he  would  have  made  a  century  in 
each  innings  far  more  often  if  he  had  had  the  chance  : 
it  should  be  remembered  that  constantly  when  he 
obtained  a  long  score  in  the  first  innings,  the  match- 
was  a  victory  by  a  single  innings. 

To  return  to  my  own  experiences  with  W.  G.  In 
1870,  I  played  with  him  in  the  Gentlemen  v.  Players- 
match  at  Lord's,  as  I  have  observed,  and  I  think  I 
then  did  what  very  few  can  claim  to  have  done,  I 
a  victim  in  a  hat  trick  with  Grace  himself.  In 
justice  to  him,  it  ought  to  be  stated  that  he  had  made 
109.  I  followed  and  was  bowled  by  a  shooter  and 
G.  F.  Grace  followed  suit.  I  do  not  remember 
being  one  of  such  a  party  before  or  since,  and  I  cer- 
tainly could  not  have  selected  better  company  in 
which  to  distinguish  myself  !  Curiously,  the  bowler 
was  not  in  those  days  a  celebrated  one,  Tom  Hay- 
ward  (not  of  course  the  Surrey  magnate).  That 
match  was  one  of  the  best  I  ever  took  part  in 


66        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

and  we  only  won  by  4  runs  ;  for  me  the  second  close 
finish  in  ten  days,  the  other  being  the  celebrated 
Oxford  and  Cambridge  match  from  which  I  have 
never  quite  recovered  yet,  and  shall  certainly  never 
forget,  when  we  lost  by  2  runs. 

I  think  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  W.  G.'s 
performances  at  that  period  were  not  always  on  what 
I  call  the  '  bread  and  butter '  wickets,  which  after- 
wards became  so  common.  There  were  '  shooters  ' 
at  Lord's  in  those  days  :  there  are  none  now.  By 
'  shooters '  I  mean  real  shooters,  almost  under- 
grounders,  not  a  ball  that  keeps  low,  but  one  that 
hits  the  wicket  at  the  bottom  and  never  leaves  the 
ground  after  it  pitches,  one  which  makes  the  bails 
fly  forward  on  to  the  pitch.  How  often,  I  wonder, 
is  that  seen  now  ?  Yet  in  1870,  it  was  not  uncom- 
mon at  Lord's,  and  no  one  then  could  get  a  hundred 
there  against  good  bowling  without  having  to  play 
many  such.  One  bowler  I  can  recall  who  used  to 
bowl  more  than  his  fair  share  of  such  shooters  was 
George  Wootton  ;  on  other  grounds  not  a  more 
difficult  bowler  than  many  other  good  bowlers  one 
could  name,  but  at  Lord's  a  terror  to  any  one  who, 
like  myself,  could  never  stop  such  a  ball.  To  W.  G., 
who  was  often  opposed  to  Wootton,  shooters  were  of 
no  moment.  He  could  always  stop  them  with  con- 
summate ease.  He  had  no  equal  in  this  respect  that 
I  can  remember  except  C.  J.  Ottaway,  who  hardly 
ever  let  one  get  by,  a  batsman  with  the  strongest 
defence  that  I  ever  saw  and  one  who  was  unfortu- 
tunately  lost  to  the  cricket- world  at  an  early 
age." 

The  late  C.  E.  Green's  reminiscences  cover  a  far 
wider  range,  but  they  seem  to  be  appropriate  here 
because  of  the  grand  innings  against  Yorkshire 
mentioned  earlier  in  the  chapter  and  also  because  at 
this  period  he  and  Grace  so  often  met  in  important 
encounters.  His  recollections  ran  as  follows : 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  67 

'  The  first  time  I  ever  saw  W.  G.  was  when  he 
played  in  the  Gentlemen  v.  Players  match  at  Lord's 
in  1865.  Even  then,  although  he  was  a  stripling 
of  only  seventeen  years  of  age,  he  had  a  dark  beard. 
Although  at  that  time  a  capital  bat,  he  was  played 
in  that  particular  match  chiefly  for  his  bowling. 
In  those  days  his  arm  was  as  high  as  his  shoulder — 
that  is  as  high  as  it  was  then  allowed  by  cricket  law 
— and  while  his  delivery  was  a  nice  one,  his  action 
was  quite  different  to  what  it  was  in  his  later  days ; 
it  was  more  slinging  and  his  pace  was  fast  medium. 
He  had  not  then  acquired  any  of  his  subsequent 
craftiness  with  the  ball.  He  used  to  bowl  straight 
on  the  wicket,  trusting  to  the  ground  to  do  the  rest — 
as  it  used  to  do  in  the  sixties,  as  exemplified  by  old 
Jemmy  Grundy  of  Notts,  who  at  that  time  was  the 
foremost  and  principal  bowler  on  the  staff  of  pro- 
fessionals at  headquarters,  which  was  at  that  time 
a  very  limited  one  as  compared  with  what  at  present 
exists.  Jemmy  Grundy  was  a  very  accurate,  straight 
good  length  bowler,  whose  accuracy  and  shooters 
were  at  that  time  a  terror  to  batsmen  at  Lord's,  but  I 
doubt  if  he  would  have  been  very  deadly  or  trouble- 
some on  the  present-day  perfect  wickets. 

Until  I  left  Cambridge  in  1868,  I  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  playing  with  W.  G.,  as  there  were  not  so 
many  matches  in  one  season.  Both  he  and  I  were 
in  the  following  year  elected  members  of  the  M.C.C., 
and  thenceforward  I  played  with  him  constantly  in 
a  great  many  matches,  viz.  M.C.C.,  South  v.  North, 
Gentlemen  of  South  v.  Players  of  South  and  Gentle- 
men v.  Players,  alike  at  Lord's,  the  Oval  and  Prince's. 

By  the  way,  no  one  seems  now  to  remember  that 
at  the  time  I  was  an  Undergraduate,  there  was  a 
report  that  W.  G.  was  coming  up  to  Cambridge  and 
going  into  residence  at  Caius,  which  has  always  been 
regarded  as  a  medical  college.  This  rumour  created 
at  the  time  a  lot  of  excitement  amongst  the  cricket 
set  at  Cambridge,  and  years  afterwards,  when  I 


68        THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

mentioned  the  subject  to  W.  G.,  his  reply  was : 
'  Yes,  I  really  came  very  near  doing  so.' 

A  vivid  recollection  in  my  memory  is  seeing  W.  G. 
running  in  some  sports  at  Blackheath  in  1868,  which 
were  held  in  connection  with  the  old  Paragon  Cricket 
Club.  The  sports  were  not  held  on  the  club  ground, 
which  was  on  the  Heath,  but  in  Mr.  Angerstein's 
park.  In  the  open  events,  W.  G.  won  the  100 
yards,  the  quarter  mile  and  the  hurdles.  He  had 
rather  a  lolloping  style  with  a  tremendous  stride,  and 
I  always  remember  that,  on  that  occasion,  he  wore 
salmon  coloured  running  drawers.  In  those  days  he 
was  comparatively  slight  but  very  tall. 

W.  G.  was  a  real  glutton  for  cricket.  Any  tem- 
porary friction  in  which  he  was  ever  involved  was 
invariably  due  to  his  keenness.  Nothing  could  ever 
quench  his  passion  for  bowling,  and  I  remember  once 
in  a  match  between  the  Gentlemen  of  the  South  and 
the  Players  of  the  South  at  the  Oval,  our  attack  was 
completely  tied  up.  I.  D.  Walker,  who  was  captain, 
came  up  to  W.  G.  and  me  and  asked  our  opinion  as 
to  the  desirability  of  a  change  and  consulted  us  as  to 
whom  he  should  put  on.  W.  G.,  who  was  bowling 
from  the  pavilion  end,  said  quite  seriously,  '  I  tell 
you  what,  I'll  go  on  at  the  other  end.'  It  never 
occurred  to  him  for  a  moment  that  he  himself  should 
be  taken  off  ! 

I  well  recollect  the  match  which  was  played  on 
the  Sussex  county  ground  at  Brighton — Gentlemen 
v.  Players — for  the  benefit  of  old  Jack  Lillywhite. 
In  this  particular  match,  W.  G.  got  a  duck  in  the  first 
innings  and  scored  217  in  the  second.  As  far  as  I 
can  recollect,  the  game  ended  in  a  draw,  R.  A.  H. 
Mitchell,  I.  D.  Walker  and  G.  F.  Grace,  in  addition 
to  W.  G.,  all  making  fairly  large  scores.  For  this 
match,  I  was  staying  with  some  friends  in  Palmeira 
Square,  Brighton,  and  in  the  evening,  after  the  first 
day's  play,  we  were  at  dinner,  when  the  butler  came 
into  the  room,  and  approaching  my  host  in  a  mys- 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  69 

terious  way,  whispered  to  him  that  there  was  a 
burglar  in  the  house.  Some  of  us  went  upstairs  in 
search  of  the  intruder,  whilst  others  went  to  the 
front  of  the  house  in  case  he  should  try  to  get  out 
that  way.  We  who  had  gone  upstairs  chased  the 
burglar  on  to  the  balcony  in  the  front  of  the  house 
and  he  slid  down  the  pillars  of  the  portico  right  into 
the  hands  of  those  who  were  waiting  there.  The 
next  day  we  were  relating  the  incident  to  W.  G., 
who,  with  his  mind  always  full  of  cricket,  remarked: 
'  What  a  ripping  good  catch  it  must  have  been.' 
After  the  match  I  remember  Jack  Lillywhite  bringing 
out  the  large  gold  cup,  which  had  been  presented  to 
him  by  the  Sussex  County  Cricket  Club,  and  filling 
it  with  champagne  and  handing  it  round  to  the 
players  ;  and  what  a  very  long  and  deep  draught  old 
W.  G.  did  take  ! 

I  well  remember  the  M.C.C.  v.  Yorkshire  match  at 
Lord's  in  1870,  when  W.  G.  played  what  I  consider 
(and  I  believe  he  also  did)  to  be  one  of  his  very  finest 
innings.  He  and  I  were  at  the  wicket  together 
during  a  pretty  long  partnership  and  Freeman  and 
Emmett,  who  were  then  at  their  very  best,  were 
bowling  against  us.  We  were  both  cruelly  battered 
about ;  indeed  to  this  day  I  carry  a  mark  on  my 
chest  where  I  was  struck  by  a  very  fast  rising  ball 
from  Freeman.  I  may  say  that  on  this  occasion  the 
pitch  was  one  of  those  typical  Lord's  fiery  wickets 
which  were  generally  experienced  on  that  ground  in 
those  days. 

Grace  and  I  were  also  playing  together  in  the 
match,  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Nottinghamshire  at 
Lord's  in  1870,  when  poor  George  Summers  was 
knocked  out  by  a  fast  ball  from  Platts  the  Derbyshire 
bowler.  When  this  occurred,  I  was  fielding  longstop, 
and  somehow  or  other  I  was  the  first  to  pick  him  up. 
It  was  an  awful  blow  on  the  cheek  bone.  I  remember 
W.  G.,  who  had  made  117,  feeling  his  pulse  and  simply 
remarking,  '  He  is  not  dead.'  Summers  was  carried 


70          THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

off  insensible  to  the  hotel  on  the  ground,  and  I  have 
always  understood  that  he  would  have  recovered,  and 
his  life  been  spared,  if  he  would  only  have  agreed  to 
keep  quiet.  Instead  of  this,  he  would  insist,  quite 
against  the  doctor's  orders,  upon  coming  on  the 
ground  the  next  day  and  watching  the  match,  sitting 
all  the  time  in  a  hot  sun.  After  that  he  travelled  by 
train  to  Nottingham,  where  he  died.  This  tragic  occur- 
rence led  to  a  rather  humorous  incident.  The  next 
man  to  come  in  to  bat  after  Summers  was  knocked 
out  was  Richard  Daft,  who  was  always  very  dapper 
and  rather  full  of  self-importance.  I  shall  never 
forget  his  coming  out  of  the  pavilion  with  two  large 
towels  bound  round  his  head  as  a  protection  against 
the  bowling,  which  was  somewhat  alarming  at  the 
time.  I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  anything  quite  so 
ludicrous  as  was  Daft's  appearance  at  the  wicket  on 
that  occasion. 

The  last  time  I  ever  played  with  W.  G.  was  in  the 
M.C.C.  Centenary  Week,  when  I  was  one  of  the 
Eighteen  Veterans  who  played  against  the  Gentlemen 
of  the  M.C.C.  Grace,  of  course  playing  against  us 
for  the  Club,  was  photographed  in  both  groups  of 
the  teams  by  special  request.  The  dinner  took 
place  the  evening  before  the  commencement  of  the 
match  and  was  served  in  the  old  tennis  court. 
Chandos  Leigh,  the  President  of  the  Club  for  that 
year,  presided.  I  recollect  R.  A.  H.  Mitchell,  who 
sat  near  me,  chaffingly  saying,  '  Won't  all  you  veter- 
ans be  stiff  to-morrow  night.'  But,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  we  went  in  first  and  made  over  three  hundred, 
and  in  a  drawn  match,  we  old  crocks  had  certainly 
the  best  of  the  game.  V.  E.  Walker  was  captain  of 
the  Veterans,  and  I  remember  that  both  he  and 
C.  G.  Lane,  the  two  oldest  members  of  our  side, 
fielded  in  tennis  shoes,  and,  the  ground  being  very 
hard,  they  both  often  slipped  while  fielding  and 
fell  down. 

Some  little  time  after  the  Essex  county  ground  at 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  71 

Leyton  was  opened,  our  committee  were  anxious  to 
get  it  more  widely  known,  and  as  W.  G.  was  still  a 
great  draw,  I  asked  him  if  he  would  bring  down  an 
M.C.C.  side  to  play  against  the  county.  He  did  so, 
and  during  the  match  was  my  guest  at  home,  together 
with  A.  P.  Lucas  and  H.  G.  Owen,  who  were  playing 
for  Essex.  Of  course  Bunny  Lucas  and  W.  G.  had 
very  many  cricket  yarns  and  reminiscences  that  they 
were  able  to  recall.  I  also  remember  that  we  had  a 
party  of  young  people  in  the  house,  and  W.  G.  was 
just  like  a  boy,  playing  round  games,  and  telling 
lots  of  amusing  stories.  At  that  time  I  was  Master  of 
the  Essex  Hounds,  and  knowing  that  Grace  was 
interested  in  hunting,  I  had  the  hounds  brought  up 
to  the  house  one  morning  at  breakfast  time  for  him  to 
see.  He  thoroughly  enjoyed  this  and  rather  to  my 
surprise  I  discovered  that  he  really  knew  something 
about  a  hound.  He  was  also  very  appreciative  of  a 
big  grey  horse  which  I  had  at  that  time,  and  he  told 
me  that  he  would  like  to  come  back  to  Epping  in  the 
winter  for  a  day's  hunting  with  the  Essex  Hounds. 
For  years  afterwards  whenever  we  met,  he  would 
sing  out,  '  How's  my  old  grey  horse  ?  ' 

This  little  hunting  incident  reminds  me  that  on  one 
occasion  when  Gloucestershire  were  playing  Middle- 
sex, their  fast  bowler  of  that  time  was  unable  to  play. 
Charles  Turner,  who  was  then  the  first  whip  to  Lord 
Fitz  Hardinge,  had  acquired  a  great  local  reputation 
as  a  successful  bowler  in  country  matches,  and  hear- 
ing of  this,  W.  G.  at  once  telegraphed  for  him  to  come 
to  Lord's  and  play  in  the  match.  Bowling,  however, 
against  I.  D.  Walker,  A.  J.  Webbe  and  other  good 
batsmen  then  in  their  prime  ;  and  playing  in  cricket 
which  was  naturally  of  a  very  different  kind  from  that 
to  which  he  had  been  accustomed,  poor  Turner  was 
knocked  all  over  the  ground.  Flopping  heavily 
down  beside  me  after  the  match,  W.  G.,  in  his  usual 
outspoken  manner,  exclaimed :  '  Charlie,  no  more 
huntsmen  for  me  in  county  cricket.' 


72       THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

I  have  a  very  vivid  recollection  of  the  University 
match  at  Lord's  in  1895,  when  W.  G.'s  eldest  son 
played  for  the  first  time  for  Cambridge.  I  can  picture 
to  myself  now  W.  G.,  resplendent  in  a  long  frock  coat 
and  high  silk  hat,  and  how  happy  and  proud  he  was. 
At  that  time,  I  always  used  to  have  one  of  the  private 
boxes  over  the  grand-stand,  where  my  party  of 
friends  used  to  view  the  match  and  have  luncheon, 
etc.  I  remember  meeting  W.  G.  and  Mrs.  Grace,  to 
whom  he  introduced  me,  and  I  asked  them  to  come  up 
to  my  box  at  luncheon  time.  This  they  did,  and  by 
that  time  old  W.  G.  was  happier  and  prouder  than 
ever,  as  his  son  had  played  a  really  good  innings  and 
I  think  had  scored  something  over  40  runs.  During 
the  same  afternoon  at  the  close  of  the  innings,  my 
party  had  gone  down  to  join  in  the  customary 
promenade  round  the  ground,  and  upon  returning  to 
•our  box,  to  my  astonishment,  I  found  there  was  con- 
siderable difficulty  in  effecting  an  entrance.  The 
explanation  of  this  was  that  dear  old  W.  G.  in  the 
fulness  of  his  heart  and  the  intensity  of  his  happiness, 
had  himself  invited  most  of  the  members  of  both 
the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  teams  into  my  box  to 
celebrate  the  occasion  ! 

Reverting  again  to  W.  G.  himself  as  a  cricketer, 
I  may  say  he  was  a  most  delightful  man  to  be  in 
with,  being  such  a  splendid  judge  of  a  run.  Another 
thing  about  him  was  his  generous  appreciation  of 
other  people's  play.  His  constitution  and  energy 
were  tremendous.  He  never  seemed  to  tire,  and 
after  he  had  made  a  century,  if  it  was  necessary,  he 
would  proceed  as  carefully  as  ever  to  endeavour  to 
put  up  a  second.  I  should  have  said  that  about  the 
years  1873-4-5,  Grace  took  part  in  most  of  the 
matches  which  were  played  by  the  United  South  of 
England  XI  in  different  parts  of  the  country ; 
and  very  amusing  were  some  of  the  stories  that  used 
to  be  told  of  how  some  of  the  country  and  local 
players  used  to  be  spoofed  by  old  W.  G. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  73 

I  should  like  to  add  that  in  my  opinion  no  other 
batsman  has  ever  approached  W.  G.  If  he  had, 
when  a  young  man,  played  on  the  wickets  on  which 
modern  cricketers  achieved  their  fame,  I  do  not 
think  he  would  ever  have  been  got  out  except  by  a 
fluke.  He  always  seemed  like  staying,  and  in  his 
great  days  he  looked  perfectly  comfortable  with  any 
bowling.  I  should  say  that  Ranji,  in  that  marvellous 
effort  of  his  on  a  very  difficult  wicket  at  Manchester 
for  England  against  the  Australians,  came  nearest 
to  W.  G.  because  runs  took  a  lot  of  making  on  that 
day.  However,  in  the  days  when  Grace  was  at 
his  best,  runs  always  had  to  be  fought  for,  whereas 
on  modern  grounds,  runs  just  come,  if  you  can  only 
stay  in.. 

Sometimes  some  of  us  did  not  always  see  quite 
eye  to  eye  with  him  in  everything,  but,  during  the 
forty  odd  years  of  our  very  intimate  acquaintance, 
and  I  may  say  friendship,  we  never  had  the  slightest 
disagreement  except  upon  one  occasion,  when  we 
had  one  rather  serious  difference  of  opinion  which 
resulted  in  our  not  speaking  to  each  other  for  a  year. 
This  was  in  consequence  of  some  unfortunate  inci- 
dents during  a  match  between  Essex  and  Gloucester- 
shire, when  from  his  excessive  keenness  I  con- 
sidered he  had  been  guilty  of  rather  sharp  practices. 
However,  I  am  very  happy  to  say  that  eventually 
after  mutual  explanations  and  most  handsome 
admissions  on  his  part,  we  became  greater  and 
warmer  friends  than  ever. 

W.  G.  always  inspired  a  big  love  in  all  our  hearts, 
and  at  his  funeral  some  felt  we  had  parted  not  only 
from  a  great  all-round  sportsman  and  a  very  close 
friend,  but  from  a  great  landmark  in  our  own  lives. 
Looking  back  on  cricket,  why  the  very  word  suggests 
W.  G.,  and  especially  to  all  of  us  who  have  had  the 
happiness  and  good  fortune  to  go  into  the  field  with 
this  great  master." 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Supremacy  in  England  and  in  the  West 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  C.  K.  FRANCIS  AND 
ALFRED  LUBBOCK 

THE  year  of  years  for  W.  G.  Grace  was  without 
doubt  1871.  In  that  season  he  achieved 
such  triumphs  as  could  never  recur  in  the  twentieth 
century  owing  to  the  improved  condition  of  the 
wicket.  He  attained  the  marvellous  average  of  78 
(proxime  accessit  the  35  of  G.  F.  Grace)  for  an  aggre- 
gate of  2,739,  so  that  with  two  more  innings  he  made 
nearly  a  thousand  runs  more  than  in  the  previous 
summer  and  increased  his  average  by  24  runs  per 
innings.  Twice  he  exceeded  the  second  century, 
on  eight  other  occasions  he  exceeded  three  figures, 
whilst  only  in  four  efforts  was  he  dismissed  for  single- 
figure  contributions  apart  from  two  ducks'  eggs,  both 
at  the  hands  of  J.  C.  Shaw.  Only  seven  times  was 
he  bowled,  twice  l.b.w.,  twice  run  out,  with  once 
stumped,  but  a  large  proportion  of  his  causes  of  dis- 
missal were  snicks  at  the  wicket.  He  opened  his 
account  with  the  striking  series  of  181,  23,  98,  118, 
178  and  162,  whilst  after  each  of  his  noughts  in  the 
second  innings  he  retorted  with  one  of  the  two  con- 
tributions exceeding  two  hundred.  Small  wonder 
that  it  was  felt  that  his  very  presence  at  the  wicket 
paralyzed  the  opposing  attack.  It  should  be  added 
that  only  K.  S.  Ranjitsinhji  in  1900  ever  exceeded 

74 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  75 

this  average,  his  being  80  for  a  total  of  3,065,  but 
under  infinitely  easier  circumstances,  as  he  himself 
modestly  emphasized. 

Also  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  bowling 
"  W.  G.  Grace,  though  more  expensive  than  several 
other  amateurs,  decidedly  deserves  the  palm,  for  in 
many  of  the  great  matches  he  has  not  been  put  on  to- 
bowl  till  the  batsmen  have  got  well  set  and  knocked 
the  crack  professionals  off.  His  analysis  of  79, 
wickets,  at  an  average  cost  of  17  runs,  constitutes 
no  mean  performance,  and  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  on  many  occasions  his  bowling  has  followed 
almost  directly  after  one  of  his  monster  innings  of 
three  or  four  hours  duration." 

At  Lord's  turnstiles  were  first  used  on  May  15, 1871,. 
and  W.  G.  Grace  commemorated  the  innovation 
with  a  wonderful  181  for  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v. 
Surrey  in  a  little  over  four  hours,  one  very  hard 
chance  being  the  only  semblance  of  a  mistake.  A 
six  and  four  fives,  all  big  drives,  showed  his  apprecia- 
tion of  the  bowling,  and  the  opposing  totals  in  neither 
case  were  equal  to  his  own  contribution.  Against 
Yorkshire  an  irreproachable  98  was  terminated  by 
his  being  thrown  out.  On  the  Middlesex  county 
ground  at  Lillie  Bridge,  he  rattled  up  118  very 
quickly  for  Gentlemen  of  South  v.  Gentlemen  of 
North,  as  well  as  claiming  half  a  dozen  wickets.  It 
was  not  often  that  Appleby  and  David  Buchanan 
came  in  for  such  rough  treatment.  Reappearing  at 
Lord's  for  the  Whit-Monday  North  v.  South  match, 
he  gave  a  display  of  almost  hurricane  hitting,  scoring 
his  178  at  the  rate  of  60  r/tms  an  hour  without  a  mis- 
take. At  one  period  he  made  20  runs  off  five  conse- 
cutively bowled  balls  sent  down  by  J.  C.  Shaw,  the 
rest  of  the  attack  thus  contemptuously  treated  being 
composed  of  Alfred  Shaw,  Wootton,  Clayton  and 
Mclntyre.  "  His  innings,  which  comprised  three 
fives  and  twenty  fours,  was  certainly  one  of  the  very 
best  he  ever  played — no  mean  praise."  Yet  again 


76       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

each  total  of  the  opposing  eleven  fell  short  of  his 
own  contribution. 

Making  his  first  appearance  at  Fenner's,  W.  G. 
Grace  for  the  Gentlemen  of  England  v.  Cambridge 
University,  scored  so  rapidly,  that  when  103  was  put 
up  for  the  first  wicket,  A.  J.  Wilkinson  left  having 
only  made  19,  and  the  champion's  162  was  his  pro- 
portion of  255  before  he  was  out,  having  two  sixes, 
three  fives  and  nine  fours  in  his  chanceless  display. 
Oddly  enough  for  the  next  three  weeks  he  did  little 
with  the  bat  save  88  for  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Middle- 
sex compiled  in  two  hours  in  conjunction  with  John 
Smith  "  by  some  of  the  fastest  run-getting  ever 
witnessed  at  Lord's."  What  was  curious  about  this 
match  was  that  the  Club  was  beaten  by  an  innings 
after  making  a  first  total  of  338.  Even  for  Gentle- 
men v.  Players  (in  the  first  unfinished  contest  at  St. 
John's  Wood  between  these  sides  since  1839),  Grace 
was  barely  at  his  best,  for  his  50  was  for  him  a  patient 
and  cautious  innings.  But  at  the  Oval  when  the 
amateurs  were  set  144  to  get  in  105  minutes,  he  opened 
the  account  with  a  free  and  resolute  43,  after  having 
caught  out  five  opponents. 

Married  v.  Single  was  revived,  having  been  last 
played  in  1858,  Carpenter  and  Richard  Daft  being  the 
only  two  who  participated  in  both  matches.  It  was 
selected  for  the  benefit  of  Willsher.  "  For  the  Single, 
W.  G.  Grace  went  in  first  and  carried  out  his  bat  for 
189,  obtained  in  a  little  more  than  four  and  a  half 
hours  and  comprising  three  fives  and  fourteen  fours. 
This  enormous  score  was  put  together  without  the 
vestige  of  a  chance  against  the  bowling  of  Howitt, 
A.  and  J.  C.  Shaw,  Southerton,  Iddison  and  G.  M. 
Kelson,  and  was  throughout  absolutely  faultless. 
When  it  is  considered  that  the  rain  frequently  stopped 
play,  that  the  light  was  at  times  extremely  bad  and 
the  wicket  much  cut  up  towards  the  close  of  the  day, 
this  innings  may  be  fairly  classed  among  the  finest 
performances  ever  achieved."  The  next  highest 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  77 

score  on  the  side  was  33  by  G.  F.  Grace,  and  the 
totals  of  the  Married  were  159  and  78.  This  was  the 
consummate  effort  referred  to  in  the  letter,  already 
quoted,  by  that  fine  judge  the  late  Henry  Perkins. 

An  intensely  exciting  match  between  M.C.C.  and 
Grounds.  Surrey  at  the  Oval  terminated  in  a  victory 
for  the  county  by  a  single  wicket — its  solitary  success 
of  that  season — and  the  result  was  oddly  ascribed  to 
the  incompetence  of  the  Club  wicket-keeper.  W.  G, 
Grace  contributed  146  out  of  218  whilst  in  and  saw 
seven  of  the  side  out.  Ten  days  later  in  North  v. 
South,  also  at  the  Oval,  played  for  the  benefit  of  H.  H. 
Stephenson,  J.  C.  Shaw  obtained  Grace's  wicket 
first  ball  on  an  appeal  for  obstruction,  "  and  for 
once  I  am  bound  to  say  I  think  the  verdict  was 
right,"  was  W.  G.'s  own  comment,  but  a  terrific 
revenge  was  taken  for  this  cheap  dismissal.  At  the 
second  effort,  W.  G.  was  caught  off  his  glove  at  the 
wicket,  "  a  remarkably  smart  catch  high  up,  from  a 
bumpy  ball,"  after  a  stay  exceeding  five  hours,  being 
credited  with  the  great  score  of  268,  the  largest  he 
ever  made  in  London.  It  was  obtained  against  some 
of  the  best  bowling,  all  alike  punished  with  equal 
severity,  and  contained  only  one  chance  to  Finder  at 
the  wicket  after  he  had  made  153  ;  "  and  his  defence, 
hitting  and  placing  were  alike  perfect,  his  innings- 
from  first  to  last  being  a  masterpiece."  Whilst  he 
was  scoring  his  first  142  runs  in  a  little  over  two  hours 
on  the  Tuesday  evening,  his  companions  contributed 
only  47.  The  Surrey  Club  presented  him  with  a  new 
bat,  inscribed  suitably  on  a  gold  plate,  as  well  as- 
the  ball  he  hit  about  to  such  an  extent.  About  this 
period,  though  all  pitches  seemed  to  come  alike  to 
him,  the  Oval  could  be  regarded  as  his  most  con- 
genial ground,  and,  in  his  whole  career,  he  averaged 
43  per  innings  on  it  as  compared  with  36  on  Lord's, 
his  average  everywhere  being  39. 

As  was  now  customary  he  was  the  special  star  in 
the  constellation  of  the  Canterbury  Festival,  which 


78       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

was,  if  possible,  more  successful  that  year  than  usual. 
A  late  train  prevented  him  going  in  first,  but  he 
scored  31  and  40  for  the  South,  the  second  effort 
being  terminated  by  an  adverse  appeal  for  run  out, 
which  he  never  forgot  and  which  others  also  regarded 
as  erroneous.  Mention  must  be  made  of  a  splendid 
c.  and  b.  with  which  he  dismissed  Ephraim  Lockwood. 
The  M.C.C.  side  against  Kent  was  entirely  amateur, 
and  the  victory  by  an  innings  and  47  runs  was 
mainly  due  to  the  all-round  efforts  of  Grace,  for  he 
claimed  twelve  wickets,  bowling  unchanged  through- 
out, and  scored  117,  including  seventeen  fours,  before 
he  was  caught  at  point.  He  and  J.  W.  Dale  put 
up  107  for  the  first  wicket,  of  which  his  colleague's 
share  was  36. 

Thence  he  went  on  to  Brighton  to  accomplish  one 
of  those  innings  which  became  among  the  most 
traditional  of  his  career.  This  visit  to  the  town 
was  for  John  Lillywhite's  benefit.  The  Walkers  had 
collected  fine  sides  for  Gentlemen  v.  Players  and,  con- 
sidering the  notorious  apathy  of  the  Brighton  public 
to  cricket  in  the  twentieth  century,  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  thirteen  thousand  spectators  were 
present.  Again  J.  C.  Shaw  dismissed  Grace  first 
ball,  this  time  with  a  breakback,  and  again  abundant 
vengeance  was  taken  at  the  second  effort.  True, 
Daft  would  have  caught  him  early  if  the  sun  had  not 
been  in  his  eyes,  but  such  incidents  are  in  the  fortune 
of  the  game.  Once  W.  G.  had  played  himself  in,  the 
rest  of  his  217  was  splendidly  compiled.  His  chief 
Mts  were  one  six,  driven  hard  off  a  slow  from  Daft, 
and  thirty-one  fours,  whilst  he  was  only  four  hours 
making  this  great  score,  the  partnership  of  241  with 
G.  F.  Grace  being  registered  in  150  minutes,  whilst 
seven  wickets  fell  to  his  bowling.  His  dismissal  came 
through  the  wicket-keeper,  H.  Phillips,  running  to 
short-leg  to  secure  a  ball  the  champion  had  cocked  up 
off  a  slow  from  Southerton.  Seldom  prone  to  dilate 
on  his  own  scores,  W.  G.  could  generally  be  induced 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE      0  79 

to  talk  gleefully  of  this  one,  that  remained  among  his 
pleasantest  memories.  It  must  not  escape  notice 
that  his  three  largest  contributions  of  this,  his  best, 
season,  268,  217  and  189  not  out,  were  all  made  in 
benefit  matches,  so  that  the  money  he  must  have  put 
into  the  pockets  of  the  professional  beneficiares  can 
be  regarded  as  a  substantial  part  of  their  receipts 
(he  being  of  course  the  main  attraction),  and  this  was 
a  point  that  gave  him  sincere  pleasure.  W.  G.'s  own 
reminiscence  of  being  bowled  by  J.  C.  Shaw  in  the 
first  innings  is  well  worth  quoting  : 

"  I  was  naturally  disappointed  at  not  having  done 
more  for  good  old  John,  and  before  I  went  in  the 
second  time  I  made  my  apologies  to  him  for  my 
deficiencies  in  the  first  innings.  He  was  not  taking 
any  apologies,  however,  and  insisted  on  presenting 
me  with  two  sovereigns  on  the  condition  that  I  was 
to  give  him  back  sixpence  for  every  run  that  I  made. 
At  the  end  of  the  day's  play  I  had  scored  two  hun- 
dred and  had  completely  forgotten  my  compact 
with  John.  On  my  arrival  at  the  pavilion,  he 
quietly  came  up  to  me  and  said  :  '  I  will  thank  you 
for  £5  on  account/  I  handed  over  the  fiver  with  a 
rather  woe-begone  air  I  suppose,  for  with  a  merry 
twinkle  in  his  eye,  he  said  :  '  I'm  quite  content  to  cry 
quits  on  the  bargain  as  far  as  it  has  gone  if  you 
are.'  I  was,  I  don't  mind  confessing,  as  I  was  in 
rare  batting  fettle  and  the  wicket  was  like  a  billiard 
table.  After  all  I  should  only  have  had  to  give  him 
8s.  6d.  more,  as  I  only  got  17  runs  the  next  day." 

"  The  county  of  the  Graces  "  had  a  more  ambitious 
programme  and  in  its  success  W.  G.  had  no  small 
share,  though  only  once,  when  he  took  four  Surrey 
wickets  for  17  runs,  did  he  do  much  with  the  ball. 
Against  Notts,  with  E.  M.,  he  scored  134  for  the 
first  wicket,  the  first  time  that  the  Midland  eleven 
had  ever  had  100  hoisted  under  similar  circum- 


80       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

stances.  Stimulated  by  having  to  meet  both  the 
Shaws  and  W.  Mclntyre,  his  78  was  a  grand  displa}', 
including  ten  fours,  his  driving  and  square-leg  hitting 
being  especially  brilliant.  The  return  evoked  the 
greatest  interest  as  W.  G.  had  not  previously  played 
on  the  Trent  Bridge  ground,  ten  thousand  people 
watching  the  game  on  the  first  day.  His  earlier 
effort  of  79  was  strictly  defensive,  his  side  being  in 
dire  straits,  the  next  best  contribution  being  G.  F.'s 
24.  Following  on,  W.  G.  did  not  go  in  until  three 
wickets  had  fallen.  After  his  dismissal  in  the  first 
innings,  Richard  Daft  remarked  :  "  You  ought  to 
have  made  a  hundred ;  it's  never  been  done  in  a  first- 
class  match  on  this  ground."  Grace  replied,  chaff- 
ingly  :  ' '  Why  did  you  not  tell  me  before  and  I  would 
have  done  it.  Nevermind,  I'll  do  it  next  innings," 
and  he  proceeded  to  play  a  magnificent  116  with- 
out a  shadow  of  a  chance  in  three  hours,  just  manag- 
ing to  save  a  single  innings  defeat.  "  Before  the 
game  commenced  bets  of  20  to  i  were  made  that  he 
would  not  reach  three  figures  in  either  innings. 
All  the  factory  hands  for  miles  around  struck  work  to 
see  the  game  and  during  lunch  straggled  across  the 
ground  to  '  bowl  a  few '  to  the  champion." 

Two  other  performances  must  be  chronicled. 
For  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Sussex  at  Lord's  he  in- 
dulged in  hitting  worthy  of  C.  I.  Thornton  or  G.  L. 
Jessop.  He  made  44  out  of  the  first  50  runs  in 
twenty-five  minutes  and  was  only  forty  minutes 
at  the  wicket  when  he  was  stumped  for  59,  his  foot 
slipping  owing  to  the  lack  of  fresh  spikes  in  his 
boot.  This  59  out  of  83  was  obtained  off  51  balls 
in  twenty-seven  hits.  Finally,  as  Willsher's  match 
had  been  a  failure  at  Lord's,  owing  to  rain,  a  second 
benefit  was  given  to  him  at  Maidstone.  Kent  was 
to  have  played  Gloucestershire,  but  W.  G.  Grace  had 
perforce  to  bring  a  very  scratch  side.  Coming  for 
the  first  time  to  the  Mote  Park  ground,  he  carried 
his  bat  through  the  first  innings  of  141,  his  own  share 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  81 

being  81,  and  in  the  second  he  was  again  not  out  with 
42  to  his  credit.  In  one  over,  off  R.  Lipscomb,  he 
hit  a  six  and  two  fours.  He  also  bowled  clean 
through  both  Kent  innings,  taking  10  wickets  for  15 
runs  apiece,  and  he  was  never  out  of  the  field  whilst  a 
ball  in  the  match  was  played  :  an  energetic  termina- 
tion to  an  unparalleled  summer's  work. 

The  contemporaneous  tribute  from  the  review  of 
the  season  in  Lilly  white's  Companion  is  of  perennial 
interest  : 

"  In  fact  the  batting  of  him  who  has  earned  the 
title  of  the  champion  cricketer — and  most  certainly 
his  equal  has  never  been  seen — has  been  the  leading 
feature  of  the  season.  His  defence  has  been  more 
stubborn,  his  hitting  more  brilliant  and  his  timing 
and  placing  of  the  ball  more  judicious  and  skilful 
than  during  any  previous  summer,  and  it  is  a  com- 
mon occurrence  to  see  him  defy  the  combined  efforts 
of  the  best  bowlers  in  England  for  the  whole  of  an 
afternoon.  He  is  also  unsurpassed  in  the  field,  not 
unfrequently  a  successful  bowler,  and  always  an 
excellent  general  and  tactician." 

For  any  batsman  to  have  an  average  of  54  and  then 
to  suggest  that  his  performances  savour  of  anti- 
climax is  absurd  ;  but  at  the  same  time  W.  G. 
Grace's  season  of  1872  can  only  be  regarded  as  less 
in  importance  than  that  preceding  it  by  sheer 
comparison  with  that  one,  whilst  his  bowling  average 
advanced  from  17  to  n  runs  per  wicket.  In  estimat- 
ing it  too,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  he  did  not 
play  after  Canterbury  Week  owing  to  his  Canadian 
trip,  whereas  in  1871,  subsequent  to  that  festival, 
he  had  scored  558  in  only  five  completed  innings, 
whilst  1872  was  a  wet  season. 

He  opened  his  account  as  early  as  April  29  at 
Edgehill  near  Liverpool  in  the  first  of  the  four 
matches  played  that  summer  between  the  United 
North  and  South  Elevens.  His  mood  was  of  the 


82       THE   MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

liveliest,  for  on  being  put  in  by  the  opposing  captain 
— Iddison — he  proceeded  to  hit  finely  for  65  out  of 
87  while  at  the  wicket.  Of  the  rest,  only  Jupp,  who 
went  in  first  with  him,  exceeded  14  in  the  whole 
fixture,  whilst  the  North  scored  19  less  than  W.  G. 
in  their  first  effort  against  Southerton  and  James 
Lillywhite.  An  experiment  was  made  at  Lord's 
with  wickets  an  inch  higher  and  an  inch  broader 
than  usual  in  a  game  between  XI  of  M.C.C.  v.  Next 
XX.  The  innovation  was  not  repeated  and  there 
was  only  one  double-figure  score  in  the  game  besides 
those  of  W.  G.  Grace  and  J.  W.  Dale,  who  put  up 
60  for  the  first  wicket  of  the  Eleven.  Prince's 
ground  was  inaugurated  with  a  representative  North 
v.  South  encounter,  but  rain  limited  the  play  to 
four  hours.  W.  G.,  however,  led  off  with  a  superb  87, 
he  and  W.  Yardley  having  a  lively  contest  to  see 
which  could  score  the  faster.  They  made  160  and 
the  other  nine  were  accountable  for  24  between  them. 
Two  remarkably  strong  sides  were  collected  for 
M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Yorkshire  and  Grace  showed 
marked  superiority  over  all  the  other  batsmen.  His 
first  beautiful  score  of  101  proved  quite  faultless  and 
was  terminated  by  an  innocuous  slow  underhand 
from  Iddison.  No  one  laughed  more  than  the  retir- 
ing batsman.  When  the  Club  wanted  82  to  win, 
W.  G.  hit  so  hard  for  43  not  out  that  fifty  minutes 
sufficed  to  get  them.  For  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v. 
Cambridge  University,  when  the  Club  required  95 
for  victory,  5  wickets  fell  for  19.  Then  Grace  pulled 
the  match  through,  obtaining  54  not  out,  including 
three  fives,  his  driving  of  the  erratic  deliveries  of 
W.  N.  Powys  being  especially  noteworthy.  It  may  be 
of  interest  to  state  that  W.  G.  said  he  was  the  fastest 
bowler  he  ever  batted  to. 

Once  again  Grace  rose  to  his  best  in  the  biggest 
matches  of  the  year.  No  fault  could  be  found  with  a 
single  selection  for  Gentlemen  v.  Players  and  Grace 
proved  the  transcendent  cricketer.  It  is  true  he 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  83 

nearly  put  up  a  ball  early  to  short-leg,  but  his  77  was 
a  long  way  the  best  contribution  in  the  first  half  of 
the  match.  As  often  happened  if  Richard  Daft 
ran  into  three  figures,  W.  G.  also  credited  himself  with 
a  century.  In  this  case  the  famous  Notts  captain  in 
his  102  gave  the  best  prof essional  batting  display  of 
the  year.  To  make  224  on  fourth  hands  in  those 
days  at  Lord's  was  truly  formidable.  But  Grace 
rendered  the  task  absurdly  easy.  He  did  not  go  in 
until  the  third  morning,  one  wicket — that  of  A.  N. 
Hornby — having  been  obtained  overnight.  In  two 
and  a  quarter  hours  he  "  hit  away  with  even  more 
than  his  wonted  brilliancy  and  effect,"  his  112  out 
of  152 — his  partner  was  C.  J.  Ottaway — "  being  an 
absolutely  perfect  display  of  batting  and  devoid  of 
the  remotest  semblance  of  a  chance."  It  is  remark- 
able that  only  three  left-handed  bowlers,  Appleby, 
Buchanan  and  Powys,  were  put  on  in  the  first 
innings  of  the  Players  and  they  accounted  for  all  the 
wickets  in  both  efforts. 

The  return  at  the  Oval  began  on  the  next  day  and 
for  once  the  Players  eleven  there  was  as  strong  as  at 
Lord's,  the  only  change  being  the  substitution  of 
Emmett  for  Alfred  Shaw.  W.  G.  Grace  opened 
with  117,  including  a  six  and  three  fives,  compiled  in 
three  hours,  his  partnership  with  A.  N.  Hornby  fairly 
collaring  the  formidable  attack.  He  then  returned 
to  Lord's  to  play  his  third  consecutive  innings  of  over 
a  hundred  in  five  days.  For  England  v.  Notts  and 
Yorkshire,  he  went  in  first  and  carried  out  his  bat 
for  170  out  of  290,  offering  an  excellent  display 
"  without  giving  a  single  chance,  and  more  than  one 
good  judge  of  the  game  declared  that  a  finer  innings 
was  never  played."  '  This  was  the  second  time  the 
veteran  R.  Carpenter  played  in  the  same  eleven  as 
W.  G.,  and  when  he  retired  he  remarked  :  '  It  was 
not  so  much  of  a  catch  after  all  to  play  on  the  same 
side  as  Mr.  Grace,  as  most  of  your  time  is  spent 
running  his  runs.'  "  As  a  curiosity  it  may  be  men- 


84      THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

tioned  that  play  was  continued  until  five  minutes  to 
eight  on  the  second  evening  to  finish  what  proved  a 
desultory  match.  Grace  signalized  the  close  of  his 
metropolitan  appearances  with  yet  another  century 
for  South  v.  North,  in  Griffith's  benefit  match.  Jupp 
helped  him  to  put  up  121  for  the  first  wicket  and  the 
114  finally  to  his  credit  contained  only  one  faulty 
stroke  in  its  rapid  accomplishment.  He  also  claimed 
eleven  wickets  for  a  dozen  runs  apiece,  but,  from  one 
over  of  his,  Clayton  and  Finder  scored  14  by  two 
fours  and  two  threes. 

"  The  success  that  has  attended  the  efforts  of 
W.  G.  Grace  to  raise  his  native  county  to  a  level  with 
the  best  is  something  remarkable  and  is  quite  without 
parallel  in  cricket  history.  Three  brief  seasons  have 
sufficed  to  place  Gloucestershire  almost  on  the  highest 
rung  of  the  counties'  ladder  and  yet  the  eleven  con- 
sists exclusively  of  amateurs.  A  pluckier  and  better 
managed  eleven  in  the  field  does  not  exist,  and 
Gloucestershire  has  our  best  wishes  for  a  continuance 
of  her  present  prosperity  " — thus  Lilly  white.  In 
one  match  W.  G.  fairly  bore  the  county  on  his  shoul- 
ders. This  was  in  the  encounter  with  Yorkshire  at 
Sheffield  for  the  benefit  of  Roger  Iddison,  the  captain 
of  the  home  team.  Grace  had  the  remarkable 
experience  of  scoring  150  and  yet  being  the  first  to  be 
dismissed  in  the  innings,  the  total  reaching  238 
before  the  separation,  his  partner  being  T.  G.  Mat- 
thews. W.  G.  was  eventually  caught  by  A.  Green- 
wood at  mid-on,  having  only  been  at  the  wicket  three 
and  a  half  hours,  during  which  there  were  but  two 
mis-hits  to  be  noted.  He  hit  two  balls  clean  out  of  the 
ground  and  three  successive  fours  off  deliveries  by 
George  Freeman.  He  followed  this  up  by  one  of  his 
greatest  bowling  feats,  capturing  15  wickets  for  79 
runs,  a  really  remarkable  achievement  considering 
the  strong  county  team  he  sent  back  so  cheaply. 
He  never  took  himself  off  throughout,  twelve  of  his 
opponents  being  caught  off.  his  head  ball,  the  majority 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  85 

at  leg  or  point,  and  he  averaged  a  wicket  for  every 
seventeen  deliveries.  The  result  was  a  victory  by 
an  innings  and  112  runs,  a  decidedly  hollow  defeat. 
"  His  batting  in  this  match  gave  rise  to  the  saying : 
'He  dab  'em  but  seldom,  and  when  he  do  dab  'em  he 
dab  'em  for  foor.' '  His  appearance  at  the  Canter- 
bury Week  was  spasmodic,  for  he  arrived  so  late  that 
he  went  in  number  six  on  the  card  for  the  South  and 
was  compelled  to  be  absent  in  the  second  innings, 
having  to  leave  for  Liverpool  on  his  journey  to  the 
Western  world. 

On  the  invitation  of  Mr.  T.  C.  Patteson  of  Toronto, 
supported  by  Captain  Wallace  of  the  6oth,  the 
Secretary  of  M.C.C.,  R.  A.  FitzGerald,  in  August  took 
the  following  side  to  Canada  and  the  United  States  : 
W.  G.  Grace,  C.  J .  Ottaway,  A.  N.  Hornby,  A.  Lub- 
bock, C.  K.  Francis,  E.  Lubbock,  A.  Appleby,  W.  H. 
Hadow,  W.  M.  Rose,  F.  P.  U.  Pickering  and  Lord 
Harris,  who  had  not  then  succeeded  his  father.  One 
of  the  little  band,  still  alive,  C.  K.  Francis,  furnishes 
the  following  recollections  : 

"  Of  course  by  August,  1872,  when  we  started  for 
Canada,  my  acquaintance  with  W.  G.  Grace,  which 
had  begun  in  1870,  had  ripened  into  a  close  friend- 
ship. I  had  played  many  matches  with  him  and 
my  admiration  for  his  superiority  over  all  other 
cricketers  had  increased  rather  than  diminished.  Of 
our  Canadian  team  only  four  remain  out  of  the  dozen 
who  started,  and  I  feel  sure  none  of  the  survivors 
will  be  able  to  recall  any  but  the  most  pleasant  recol- 
lections of  the  whole  expedition.  We  were  enter- 
tained everywhere  we  went  with  the  most  liberal 
hospitality  and  no  pains  were  spared  to  make  our 
trip  a  success  in  every  way.  Dinners,  luncheons, 
balls  and  entertainments  of  all  description  were 
provided.  On  almost  every  occasion  W.  G.  was 
lured  on  to  his  feet  to  return  thanks  for  his  health 
having  been  drunk,  and  it  must  have  been  extremely 


86       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

flattering  to  him  to  witness  the  reception  invariably 
recorded.  His  speeches  in  returning  thanks  are 
fully  reported  in  other  volumes  and  need  not  be 
repeated  here. 

I  am  far  from  saying  we  were  all  completely  happy 
whilst  crossing  the  Atlantic.  After  being  entertained 
at  Liverpool  by  old  cricket  friends,  R.  Antrobus, 
C.  Parr  and  others,  at  luncheon,  we  boarded  the 
Sarmatian,  which  was  in  those  days  regarded  as 
a  large  liner,  in  reality  only  four  thousand  tons  and 
therefore  a  mere  cockleshell  according  to  our  modern 
lights.  When  fairly  in  the  Atlantic  we  encountered 
some  rough  weather  and  for  some  thirty-six  hours 
we  were  battened  down.  It  was  like  being  on  a 
submarine.  I  cannot  say  we  were  all  sailors.  Poor 
Ottaway  grew  whiter  and  whiter,  most  of  the  rest 
greener  and  greener ;  George  Harris  was  prostrate 
and  in  extremis.  Farrands,  our  umpire,  who  had 
made  up  his  mind  that  drowning  was  to  be  his  end, 
was  lamenting  that  such  should  take  place  in  mid- 
Atlantic  instead  of  '  in  some  little  pond  near  hame.' 
Monkey  Hornby  was  piling  his  luggage  against  the 
door  of  his  cabin  to  keep  the  water  out,  determined 
to  resist  the  waves  as  long  as  possible.  Alfred 
Lubbock,  the  only  good  sailor,  was  extremely  cheery. 
W.  G.  was,  I  think,  busy  making  his  will,  assisted  by 
1  Nobby '  Lubbock  who,  in  those  days,  was  a  bit  of 
a  lawyer.  Appleby  was  trying  to  keep  our  spirits 
up  by  singing  lays  such  as  '  A  Life  on  the  Ocean 
Wave/  '  Home  Sweet  Home '  and  '  Three  Jolly 
Postboys/  all  equally  inappropriate  and  out  of 
place  to  those  whose  feelings  were  more  in  favour 
of  singing  a  verse  of  '  For  Those  in  Peril  on  the 
Sea.' 

So  far  as  I  can  remember  meal  times  were  given 
up  to  fielding  plates  and  catching  glasses,  which 
jumped  off  the  fiddles  as  the  ship  responded  to  each 
roll  of  the  Atlantic.  After  the  storm  we  gradually 
crept  on  deck,  all  except  George  Harris,  who  was 


UJ    3 

>    '1 


UJ 


a 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  87 

never  seen  out  of  his  bunk  until  we  were  fairly  in  the 
River  St.  Laurence.  Keane  FitzGerald  (Bob  Fitz- 
Gerald'  s  brother)  imagined  he  was  useful  by  offering  u & 
all  anti-sea-sickness  mixture,  a  dozen  bottles  of  which 
he  had  purchased  in  Liverpool ;  indeed  he  exploited 
the  horrible  lotion  with  such  success  that  he  nearly 
settled  the  lot  of  us  before  we  even  reached  Canada, 
so  ill  were  those  who  were  weak  enough  to  take  any 
of  his  remedy. 

I  must  not  forget  our  set  rubber  of  whist :  W.  G. 
and  Edgar  Lubbock  versus  Ottaway  and  myself. 
We  played  almost  every  day,  both  going  and  coming 
back.  I  do  not  think  any  of  the  four  were  great 
exponents  of  the  game.  In  fact  I  do  not  recollect 
much  about  our  whist  beyond  the  fact  that  W.  G. 
was  a  rare  card-holder  and  often  successfully  bottled 
up  ace,  king  and  queen  of  trumps  to  the  end,  when  he 
put  them  down  triumphantly,  asserting  '  the  rest  are 
mine/  as  pleased  as  if  he  had  just  completed  his 
hundred. 

On  arriving  at  Quebec,  we  were  at  once  invited 
to  dine  with  the  Governor-General,  Lord  Dufferin, 
at  the  Citadel.  Dinner  over,  four  of  our  party — • 
viz.  W.  G.,  R.  A.  FitzGerald,  Ottoway  and  Pickering 
— changed  and  started  off  at  night  in  an  outside  Irish 
car  (how  and  why  such  an  uncomfortable  machine 
was  ever  induced  to  leave  its  native  shore  I  never 
could  make  out)  on  a  sporting  expedition.  R.  A.  F. 
and  W.  G.  were  bent  on  flogging  a  river,  which  the 
Irishman  in  charge  of  the  vehicle  of  course  gulled 
them  into  believing  was  stocked  with  trout  of  pro- 
digious size  and  fabulous  numbers.  Ottoway  and 
Pickering,  who  had  one  gun  between  them,  were 
bent  on  shooting  partridges  which  the  Irishman  again 
informed  them  were  shouldering  one  another  out  of 
the  cornfields.  They  were  all  nearly  jolted  out  of 
the  Hibernian  vehicle,  and  what  might  have  hap- 
pened to  the  Irish  driver — after  the  absolutely  futile 
quest  for  spoil — if  they  had  not  been  absolutely 


88       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

dependent  on  his  endeavours  to  bring  them  back  to 
Quebec,  can  be  left  to  the  imagination. 

This  expedition  after  sport  fortunately  damped 
their  ardour  and  their  energies  were  subsequently 
chiefly  devoted  to  cricket,  which  was  the  main  object 
of  our  presence  in  Canada  and  the  United  States. 
Our  matches  were  at  Quebec,  Ottawa,  Toronto, 
London,  Hamilton  ;  then  New  York,  Philadelphia 
and  Boston,  always  against  XXII  and,  if  memory 
serves,  were  usually  won  in  an  innings.  This  was 
thanks  to  W.  G.  and  Ottaway,  who  had  generally 
mastered  the  bowling  before  the  rest  were  called 
upon  to  officiate  and  it  was  desired  to  finish  the 
matches  in  the  two  days  allotted.  The  only  close 
match  of  the  tour  was  played  against  XXII  of  Phila- 
delphia, where  we  were  very  nearly  defeated,  owing,  in 
large  measure,  to  a  big  fast  bowler,  Charles  Newhall, 
who  got  rid  of  a  good  many  of  us  on  a  rather  difficult 
wicket,  being  well  supported  at  the  other  end  by  one 
Meade,  a  left-handed  bowler,  very  straight  and  steady, 
of  medium  pace.  Of  course  W.  G.  was  the  success  of 
the  tour,  and  it  was  largely  due  to  him  that  our 
victories  were  so  easily  accomplished." 

Supplementing  these  reminiscences,  many  inter- 
esting points  can  be  derived  from  that  vivacious  and 
now  scarce  volume  Wickets  In  the  West ;  or  The 
Twelve  In  America,  by  R.  A.  FitzGerald.  The 
author  gives  amusing  quotations  from  Canadian 
papers.  For  example  :  W.  G.  Grace  "  is  a  large- 
framed,  loose- jointed  man,  and  you  would  say  that 
his  gait  was  a  trifle  awkward  and  shambling,  but 
when  he  goes  into  the  field  you  see  that  he  is  quick- 
sighted,  sure-handed  and  light-footed  as  the  rest. 
He  always  goes  in  first,  and  to  see  him  tap  the  ball 
gently  to  the  off  for  one,  draw  it  to  the  on  for  two, 
pound  it  to  the  limits  for  four,  drive  it  beyond  the 
most  distant  long-leg  for  six,  looks  as  easy  as  rolling 
off  a  log."  At  Toronto  he  was  reported  to  have 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  89 

"  hit  a  shooter  to  square-leg  for  two."  This  occurred 
in  a  contribution  of  142  out  of  241  against  a  smartly- 
fielding  XXII.  In  an  exhibition  game  in  which  the 
English  visitors  were  divided,  he  scored  27  in  seven 
hits,  smiting  Alfred  Lubbock  out  of  the  ground  for 
6,  followed  by  a  7 — 4  overthrow.  But  the  bowler 
had  his  revenge,  getting  him  out  for  l.b.w.,  "  much 
to  the  disgust  of  Gilbert  and  the  spectators.  Gilbert 
growled,  but  it  was  of  no  use,  out  he  went."  At 
Hamilton,  it  was  practically  night  before  the  game 
was  won  amid  excitement.  The  last  wicket  was 
hard  to  get,  but  W.  G.,  bowling  fast  underhand, 
captured  it  with  an  uncompromising  sneak  :  skittles 
rather  than  cricket,  but  justified  by  the  necessities  of 
the  case.  The  lively  pen  of  a  reporter  was  responsible 
for  :  "  Mr.  Grace  at  point  is  all  over  the  ground.  He 
keeps  his  eye  right  on  you  and  knows  how  you  are 
going  to  hit  the  ball.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  ball 
were  fascinated  by  Mr.  Grace's  basilisk  gaze  (he  has 
a  fine,  dark  eye)  for  it  seems  to  jump  into  his 
hand." 

In  the  United  States,  journalism  again  enjoyed  a 
vivacious  innings  :  '  Then  comes  W.  G.  Grace — a 
monarch  in  his  might — of  splendid  physique  he  at 
once  won  attention  by  the  play  of  limb  and  easy 
exercise  of  the  muscles."  As  to  his  bowling : 
"  The  fact  is,  Grace  frightened  them.  They  thought 
they  saw  some  unknown  and  fatal  influence  in  his 
bowling  and  they  simply  played  right  into  his  hands 
all  the  time "  — II  wickets  for  8  runs  bears 
out  this  opinion.  At  Philadelphia  his  attack  was 
described  as  "  high  and  home  style  which  puzzled 
the  Quakers."  Summing  up  the  tour  the  captain, 
R.  A.  FitzGerald,  considered  :  "  Victory  is  of  course 
largely  due  to  the  never-failing  bat  of  W.  G.  Grace." 
And  in  an  account  in  Bell's  Life  of  the  tour,  it  was 
said  :  "  He  has  arisen  as  a  phenomenon  in  the  game. 
Against  all  bowling  and  on  all  grounds  he  has  left 
his  mark."  From  the  scores  published,  his  average 


90       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

was  49  for  an  aggregate  of  540,  whilst  his  44  wickets 
only  cost  72  runs. 

It  would  be  unpardonable  to  quit  this  cheery  tour 
without  alluding  to  the  perennial  jest  of  W.  G.'s 
speeches.  The  earliest  had  been  looked  forward  to- 
with  impatience,  not  to  say  a  tinge  of  envy,  by  the 
eleven.  It  ran  as  follows  :  "Gentlemen,  I  beg  to- 
thank  you  for  the  honour  you  have  done  me.  I 
never  saw  better  bowling  than  I  have  seen  to-day  and 
I  hope  to  see  as  good  wherever  I  go."  It  was  added  : 
'  The  speech  took  longer  to  deliver  than  you  might 
imagine  from  its  brevity,  but  it  was  greeted  with 
applause  from  all  who  were  in  a  position  to  hear  it." 
The  fun  grew  however  as,  on  each  occasion,  he  said 
exactly  the  same,  merely  substituting  "  batting  "  or 
"  the  ground "  for  '  bowling."  The  joke  never 
palled  on  the  team  and  nobody  enjoyed  it  quite  as 
much  as  the  orator. 

Here  may  be  appropriately  appended  the  testi- 
mony of  Alfred  Lubbock,  who  formed  one  of  the 
team  : 

"  I  played  with  W.  G.  Grace  about  ten  years  in 
first-class  cricket.  He  was  a  warm  friend  of  mine  and 
we  had  great  fun  and  thoroughly  enjoyed  our  conver- 
sations. He  was  a  keen  sportsman,  keen  on  anything 
that  came  his  way.  I  was  chaffing  him,  one  day, 
about  running  with  the  beagles  and  asking  him  how 
he  could  get  along  as  he  was  so  fat  (we  were  in  the 
pavilion  at  Lord's),  so  he  said  :  '  Well,  Alfoed  '  (he 
always  called  me  Alfoed),  '  I  will  just  show  you  ;  I 
never  trot  faster  than  this ' — and  he  proceeded  to 
start  off  at  a  very  slow  jog  across  Lord's,  much  to  the 
amazement  of  a  lot  of  lookers-on,  who  could  not  make 
out  what  the  deuce  he  was  doing.  He  was  always 
ready  for  any  fun,  and  when  I  used  to  chaff  him  about 
having  to  take  to  golf,  he  would  not  have  it,  but 
eventually  did  and  became  a  good  player  though 
never  a  flyer.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  going 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  9r 

to  a  poultry  show  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  we  went 
down  in  the  train  together.  He  had  a  rackful  of 
toys  for  his  grandchildren  and  showed  them  to  me, 
especially  a  little  toy  bat  he  had  carefully  selected 
for  his  eldest  grandson,  and  it  struck  me  at  the  time 
as  curious  seeing  the  great  W.  G.  with  this  tiny 
run-getting  implement.  In  olden  days  I  used  to- 
argue  with  him  a  good  deal  on  the  proper  weight  of 
bats,  and  my  theory  was  that  for  an  ordinary  man 
2 '3  or  2*4  was  quite  heavy  enough,  for  I  believed 
you  could  hit  just  as  far  and  that  the  majority  in  the 
present  day  played  with  bats  too  heavy.  I  said,. 
'  Of  course  a  big,  strong  man  like  you  might  play  with 
a  heavier,  2 '5  or  2-6,'  and  asked  him  what  he  played 
with.  '  Two  nine  (2*9) ,'  he  replied.  This  shows  what 
strength  he  had.  Of  course  he  was  never  exactly  a 
wrist  player,  but  was  very  strong  in  all  other  respects 
and  had  a  very  good  eye — to  my  mind  the  greatest 
asset  to  a  batsman." 

To  this  period  is  assigned  one  humorous  anecdote. 
In  a  minor  match  near  Bristol,  W.  G.  had  contri- 
buted a  long  score,  followed  by  the  capture  of  the 
majority  of  the  opposing  wickets.  One  of  the  tail 
skied  a  ball  to  square-leg.  Not  knowing  the  capacity 
of  the  fieldsman  in  that  place,  Grace  shouted  to  him 
to  leave  the  ball  alone  and  racing  at  top  speed  him- 
self brought  off  a  magnificent  catch.  The  retiring 
batsman  observed  :  '  The  next  thing  that  man  will 
do  will  be  to  wicket-keep  to  his  own  bowling." 


CHAPTER  IX 
At  Home  and  Under  the  Southern  Cross 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  C.  K.  FRANCIS  AND 
F.  R.  SPOFFORTH 

A  FEATURE  of  the  next  few  summers  was  Dr. 
W.  G.  Grace's  association  with  the  United 
South  XI.  It  was  on  a  thoroughly  business  basis.  A 
legal  agreement  was  prepared  for  each  match  for  which 
he  received  a  comprehensive  amount  of  money  out 
of  which  he  had  to  pay  the  side  he  engaged,  a  heavy 
penalty  being  embodied  in  the  event  of  he  himself 
not  playing  in  the  game.  Various  representative 
touring  elevens  were  constantly  playing  local 
^ighteens  and  twenty-twos  not  only  in  counties 
where  cricket  subsequently  nourished  on  an  import- 
ant scale,  but  in  various  important  centres  where  a 
first-class  match  is  now  never  possible.  Undoubt- 
edly, with  less  pressure  of  county  cricket,  this  proved 
a  wide  attraction  and  the  repute  of  W.  G.  Grace  was 
commercially  successful  in  various  localities.  The 
amount  of  travelling  he  and  G.  F.  Grace  submitted 
to,  under  circumstances  of  comparative  discomfort 
.as  compared  with  modern  ease  in  transit,  was  con- 
siderable, but  it  never  seemed  to  impair  their  cricket 
nor  to  lessen  their  keenness  in  the  game.  It  may  be 
added  that  if  one  of  these  fixtures  ended  before 
luncheon  on  the  last  day,  a  supplementary  match 
had  to  be  played.  Nearly  all  the  colleagues  of  the 
Graces  in  these  touring  fixtures,  which  extended  to 

92 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  93 

Scotland  and  Ireland,  were  professionals,  and  it  has 
been  stated  that  none  of  the  latter  received  more  than 
£5  a  match.  The  whole  of  these  organizations 
gradually  expired  amid  the  modern  developments 
inaugurated  by  the  Australians,  who  themselves 
played  the  majority  of  the  engagements  of  their 
first  two  tours  against  odds.  They  might  have  been 
prolonged  through  the  personal  "  drawing  power  "  of 
W.  G.,  but  after  he  began  his  medical  career  at  Bristol 
in  1878,  he  was  unable  to  go  thus  widely  afield. 

Out  of  a  wealth  of  reminiscences  kindly  forwarded 
for  the  purposes  of  this  volume  from  those  who  saw 
W.  G.  in  such  matches,  space  can  be  regretfully 
found  for  merely  two.  The  most  interesting,  per- 
haps, is  the  anecdote  of  Andrew  McAllister,  a  clever 
Scotch  bowler,  who  was  announcing  how  he  was 
going  to  get  Grace  out :  "I  will  just  be  placing  the 
field  as  wide  as  possible  and  we  will  get  him  caught." 
That  night  the  wily  old  fellow  was  in  high  glee  for 
W.  G.  had  been  captured  in  the  deep  for  a  small  score. 
On  the  next  evening,  however,  the  veteran  was 
gloomy  :  "  Well,  you  see,"  he  explained,  "  the  field 
was  not  big  enough.  W.  G.  hit  seven  sixes." 

"  Many  years  ago  "  [apparently  May  24,  1877], 
writes  a  correspondent,  "  W.  G.  was  captain  of  an 
England  XI  v.  XVIII  Edinburgh  Gentlemen.  At 
the  preliminary  practice  on  the  second  day,  W.  G. 
said  to  Leslie  Melville-Balfour :  '  I  say,  let  me 
show  you  the  ball  with  which  I  got  you  yesterday, 
I  can  always  beat  my  brother  Freddie  with  it.' 
Balfour,  a  sound  bat,  took  guard  in  front  of  a  single 
stump  and  saw  it  knocked  out  of  the  ground  by  the 
very  first  ball  Grace  bowled.  The  impressions  I 
carried  away  that  day  were  of  the  wonderful  boyish- 
ness of  the  champion,  of  the  great  affection  which 
existed  between  him  and  his  brother  G.  F.,  and  the 
remarkable  vim  of  his  cuts,  which  some  of  us  tried  to- 
stop.  I  was  a  member  of  my  college  eleven  at  the 
time,  but  I  must  frankly  confess  that  many  of  these 


94       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

strokes  were  too  hot  for  me  to  pick  up."  In  a  prac- 
tice match  on  this  ground  in  1873,  he  made  a  hit  of  140 
yards.  As  the  Dominie  observed  :  "  prodigious." 

To  Grace  1873  proved  only  second  to  1871  as 
a  summer  of  phenomenal  performances.  For  the 
second  time  his  average  exceeded  70  and  his  aggre- 
gate 2,000.  Seven  centuries  were  placed  to  his 
credit,  three  consecutively.  Only  in  one  match 
were  amateur  bowlers  responsible  for  his  dismissal 
and  he  never  failed  to  score,  though  sent  back 
eight  times  for  single  figures.  Once  run  out,  once  hit 
wicket  and  six  times  bowled,  all  the  other  dismissals 
were  by  catches.  Moreover,  this  was  the  first  season 
in  which  he  claimed  a  hundred  wickets. 

Apart  from  some  minor  appearances,  W.  G.  Grace 
played  his  earliest  important  innings  after  his  return 
from  the  United  States  at  Prince's  for  South  v.  North, 
his  68  being  the  highest  score  in  a  match  drawn 
through  unpunctuality.  On  the  same  ground,  for 
Gentlemen  of  the  South  v.  Players  of  the  North,  his 
grand  score  of  145  was  the  more  remarkable  in  its 
flawless  correctness  because  the  next  highest  innings 
was  E.  M.'s  26.  W.  G.  went  in  first  and  was  last  out, 
having  made  his  runs  out  of  a  total  of  237,  with 
eleven  fours.  For  the  same  side  against  the  Players 
of  the  South  at  the  Oval,  his  134  was  greater  than  the 
first  aggregate,  126,  of  his  opponents.  He  only  ran 
185  runs  whilst  at  the  wicket,  so  that  his  proportion 
of  runs  scored  whilst  he  was  in  was  even  greater 
than  usual,  and  he  was  credited  with  73  out  of  the  first 
100  recorded. 

This  was  the  first  of  a  triumvirate  of  centuries, 
the  other  two  being  for  Gentlemen  v.  Players,  both  of 
which  matches,  as  well  as  the  third  at  Prince's,  were 
won  by  the  amateurs  with  an  innings  to  spare.  At 
Lord's,  on  a  wicket  dead  after  rain,  in  his  magnifi- 
cent 163,  which  included  a  seven,  he  was  especially 
severe  on  J .  C.  Shaw.  He  was  caught  off  a  no-ball 
by  Carpenter  from  this  bowler  when  he  had  made 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  95 

61.  '  There's  no  getting  the  long  'un  out,"  said 
some  one  in  the  crowd  at  this  point.  '  You  don't 
want  to,  do  yer? "  was  his  friend's  retort.  At  the 
Oval,  in  his  158,  he  "  made  all  the  bowling  plain  and 
all  the  bowlers  desperate,"  more  especially  as  he 
played  the  third  ball  he  received  from  Tom  Emmett 
hard  on  his  wicket  without  removing  the  bail.  He 
signalized  this  by  promptly  hitting  him  for  six  and 
five,  making  25  off  his  next  three  overs.  In  the 
second  innings  of  the  Players  he  also  enjoyed  a 
destructive  spell  with  the  ball,  claiming  7  wickets  for 
9  runs  apiece,  catching  Jupp  and  Lockwood  off  his 
own  bowling  in  the  same  over  and  getting  four  others 
annexed  by  his  leg  trap.  Ephraim  Lockwood  indeed 
in  each  innings  he  caught  out  for  the  unenviable 
duck.  In  the  extra  encounter  at  Prince's,  he  and 
W.  Yardley  had  the  liveliest  opening,  putting  up 
141  for  the  first  wicket,  of  which  his  own  share  was 
70.  He  also  took  five  wickets  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Players'  effort.  Therefore  for  the  Gentlemen  that 
summer  of  1873  he  scored  291  in  three  innings  and 
took  12  wickets  for  10  runs  apiece — that  is  against 
the  picked  professional  talent  of  a  day  when  fine 
bowling  and  sound  batting  were  rife. 

A  wholly  delightful  amateur  game  at  headquarters 
was  that  between  the  eleven  which  had  been  in 
Canada  and  Fifteen  Gentlemen  of  M.C.C.  with 
Rylott,  who  was  never  put  on  to  bowl.  The  home 
side  looked  decidedly  weak  on  paper,  but  put  up  so 
keen  a  fight  as  only  to  be  beaten  by  24  runs.  W.  G. 
Grace  and  C.  J.  Ottaway  fulfilled  their  Canadian 
tradition  by  giving  their  side  a  splendid  start, 
namely  119  for  the  first  wicket.  W.  G.'s  own  share 
was  152,  and  special  interest  was  felt  in  the  way  in 
which  he  punished  the  fast  deliveries  of  his  brother 
G.  F.  In  the  same  week  he  played  his  highest  inn- 
ings of  the  year  for  South  v.  North  at  the  Oval,  the 
attack  being  the  powerful  one  of  A.  and  J .  C.  Shaw, 
Martiri  Mclntyre  and  Tom  Emmett.  Helped  by 


96       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

two  lives  at  the  hands  of  the  wicket-keeper — the 
burly  Finder — he  carried  his  bat  for  192  out  of  a 
total  of  311,  with  seven  fives  in  a  contribution  that 
occupied  precisely  five  hours.  Further,  to  finish  off 
the  game,  he  captured  the  last  four  wickets  for  only 
20  runs. 

Yet  another  North  v.  South  opened  the  Canterbury 
Festival  and  the  best  exhibition  of  the  year  was  given 
in  the  first-wicket  partnership  of  W.  G.  and  Jupp. 
The  former  was  the  earlier  to  leave,  at  154,  being 
bowled  by  Emmett  when  within  two  of  his  century. 
This  small  ground  was  always  congenial  to  him  and 
he  made  his  runs  all  round  the  wicket  at  a  great 
pace.  For  the  Club  against  Kent  he  had  a  spell 
with  the  ball,  for  after  taking  five  wickets  in  the  first 
innings,  he  claimed  10  in  the  second  for  9  runs 
apiece  and  then  hit  hard  for  57  not  out  (the  highest 
score  on  either  side)  towards  the  107  required.  At 
the  very  end  of  September,  for  Bennett's  benefit,  he 
brought  a  strong  scratch  side  to  oppose  a  Kent  team 
of  ten  amateurs  with  Willsher,  on  the  Bat  and  Ball 
ground  at  Gravesend.  He  bowled  extremely  well, 
claiming  5  wickets  for  33,  and  then  knocked  the 
attack  all  over  the  field  in  a  punishing  69  not  out, 
which  closed  his  account  for  the  year. 

Moreover,  the  spirited  efforts  of  the  Grace  family 
for  Gloucestershire  were  fully  realized  because  that 
county  became  champion,  winning  four,  drawing 
two  and  not  losing  a  single  match.  Naturally  W.  G. 
was  foremost  on  the  amateur  side,  his  batting  average 
being  62,  and  he  also  captured  21  wickets.  His 
"  gluttony  for  runs  "  at  the  Oval  saw  him  with  83 
to  his  credit  against  Surrey,  he  and  E.  M.  making 
156  before  W.  G.  was  the  first  to  retire.  In  the 
return  match  at  Clifton,  he  again  gave  Surrey  plenty 
of  exercise,  for  in  the  second  innings  he  had  an 
unfinished  partnership  of  255  with  E.  M.  Knapp,  his 
own  share  being  an  aggressive  160,  with  four  sixes. 
A  disconsolate  Surrey  fielder,  stationed  near  the 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  97 

press  tent,  cheered  up  when  he  learnt  he  had  made 
his  150,  for  he  said :  "We  shall  get  him  soon,  for  his 
average  against  us  cannot  be  more  than  180."  He 
also  took  4  wickets  for  19  runs.  In  the  first  innings 
both  E.  M.  and  W.  G.  were  out  hit-wicket  to  South- 
erton,  W.  G.  actually  knocking  a  stump  out  of  the 
ground,  a  singularly  rare  occurrence. 

Against  Yorkshire,  for  Rowbotham's  benefit,  from 
12,000  people  he  obtained  a  reception  which  he  was 
apt  to  recall  as  one  of  the  greatest  demonstrations 
accorded  to  him,  and  he  also  would  say  that  he  seldom 
opened  his  shoulders  with  more  relish  than  in  this 
79.  One  minor  achievement  should  not  be  for- 
gotten :  for  the  United  South  v.  XXII  of  Coventry 
with  Luke  Greenwood,  he  took  twenty-five  wickets 
and  made  five  catches  off  other  bowling,  thus  having 
a  hand  in  thirty  wickets  in  one  match. 

Luke  Greenwood,  just  mentioned,  liked  to  tell  a 
story  of  W.  G.  on  a  Yorkshire  ground.  "  In  one 
match,  W.  G.  thwacked  me  out  of  the  field  for  six 
on  the  square-leg  side.  There  used  to  be  a  practice 
in  those  days  of  giving  a  shilling  to  those  who  re- 
turned the  lost  ball.  An  old  lady  found  this  one  and 
toddled  up  to  the  wicket,  as  was  the  custom.  She 
brought  it  to  me  and  I  said  :  '  Nah,  yon's  him  that 
hit  it;  yo  mun  go  to  him  for  t'  brass.'  She  crossed 
to  W.  G.  and  gave  him  the  ball  and  he,  much 
amused,  paid  the  shilling  forfeit." 

Once  more  C.  K.  Francis  kindly  furnishes  remini- 
scences, and  if  somewhat  ahead,  in  one  portion,  of  the 
period  under  review,  yet  it  would  spoil  his  contribu- 
tion if  it  were  cut  into  sections.  He  writes  : 

"  After  our  Canadian  trip,  I  played  a  good  many 
matches  with  W.  G.,  more  than  one  Gentlemen  v. 
Players  of  the  South,  an  interesting  match  after- 
wards discontinued  owing  to  the  increase  of  county 
fixtures  [it  has  been  revived  at  the  Hastings 
Festival  only  a  few  years  ago],  and  in  1873  I  played 


98       THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

with  him  no  less  than  three  Gentlemen  v.  Players 
matches,  one  at  Lord's,  one  at  the  Oval,  one  at 
Prince's.  No  doubt  he  was  then  at  the  top  of  his 
form — that  is  from  1870  to  1876.  He  was  then 
aged  from  twenty-two  to  twenty-eight  and  had  not 
to  carry  the  weight,  which  in  his  latter  years  ham- 
pered him  a  good  deal  and  prevented  him  being  seen 
to  most  advantage,  although  he  made  many  hundreds 
when  he  was  well  over  seventeen  stone  and  would 
have  compiled  many  more  if  he  could  have  had  some 
one  to  run  for  him.  The  three  Gentlemen  v.  Players 
I  have  just  mentioned  constituted  a  record,  for  all 
three  were  won  by  the  amateurs  by  an  innings. 
Monkey  Hornby  and  I  are  the  only  survivors  of  all 
three.  Small  wonder,  with  W.  G.  so  transcendent  in 
these  successes,  that  just  at  that  time,  one  of  his 
ecclesiastical  admirers  described  him  as  '  Lord  of 
Lord's  and  Ruler  of  Prince's,'  although  with  justice 
one  might  equally  have  said  of  him, '  Why,  man,  he 
doth  bestride  the  narrow  world  like  a  Colossus,'  so 
vastly  at  that  time  was  he  head  and  shoulders  over 
any  other  cricketer  before  or  since. 

I  see  I  was  again  play  ing  at  Lord's  for  the  Gentle- 
men in  1875,  in  which  match  W.  G.  made  152  in  the 
second  innings,  when  he  was  run  out,  which  was 
very  seldom  the  case.  In  that  match,  he  and  A.  J. 
Webbe  put  on  203  without  the  fall  of  a  wicket. 
Another  curious  incident  was  that  I.  D.  Walker,  who 
for  some  years  was  second  only  to  W.  G.,  annexed 
'  spectacles  '  and  lost  a  fiver  to  boot,  having  bet  Lord 
Harris  ten  to  one  (£5  to  IDS.)  that  he  would  not  do  so. 
Poor  '  Donny  '  Walker  was  not  successful  in  his  bets. 
I  can  remember  being  present  when  he  lay  Jack  Dale 
£100  to  £i  that  Cambridge  would  not  win  the  Univer- 
sity match  of  1872  by  a  single  innings  and  the  Light 
Blues  did  so.  I  must  say  I  never  saw  a  better  innings 
for  o  ;  he  was  in  quite  thirty-five  minutes  and  played 
most  correct  cricket.  Perfectly  well  I  recollect 
sitting  in  the  pavilion,  watching  every  ball,  knowing 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE 


99 


how  much  depended  on  it  and  realizing  what  fun  we 
would  have  with  him  if  George  Harris  won  his  bet. 
I  sat  next  Buns  Thornton,  who  was  also  playing,  and 
remember  his  characteristic  remark  to  me  as  Donny 
was  walking  back  to  the  pavilion,  obviously  any- 
thing but  pleased :  '  I  should  not  like  to  have  my 
finger  in  his  mouth  at  this  moment.'  Of  course  I 
knew  the  feeling  well,  but  to  I.  D.  to  have  to  return 
with  a  brace  was  a  novel  sensation  which  W.  G.  never 
experienced  in  a  first-class  match.  I  think  it  should 
be  recorded  that  in  that  match  W.  G.  took  no  less 
than  twelve  wickets,  four  of  them  being  caught  and 
bowled,  besides  scoring  159. 

It  was  soon  after  the  years  I  am  speaking  of,  it 
will  be  remembered  by  cricketers,  that  at  one 
moment  it  was  suggested,  to  meet  the  difficulty  of 
high  scoring  [W.  G.  Grace  to  the  fore],  to  either  reduce 
the  size  of  the  bat  or  increase  the  height  of  the 
wickets.  I  can  remember  a  cricket  bat,  which  A.  G. 
Steel  had  made,  about  an  inch  narrower  than  the 
orthodox  size.  To  me  it  seemed  a  revolution  which 
would  have  altered  the  game,  like  asking  a  sportsman 
to  shoot  with  a  toy  gun  or  a  billiard  player  to  use  a 
cue  a  foot  too  short  or  too  long.  W.  G.  was,  I 
think,  in  favour  of  leaving  well  alone. 

Reverting  to  my  recollections  of  him.  At  first, 
say  in  1870,  he  was  a  medium-pace  bowler,  breaking 
a  bit  from  leg,  with  an  occasional  slow  one,  but  used 
less  frequently  than  in  later  years,  when  he  was 
altogether  a  slow  bowler.  The  slow  ball,  in  those 
earlier  seasons,  was  very  often  a  half  volley  to  leg  and 
so  intended,  in  the  hope  of  producing  a  catch  at  long- 
leg,  which  was  very  often  brought  off,  but  as  often 
proved  an  expensive  operation  before  success.  I 
have  been  reminded  by  F.  E.  Lacey,  the  present 
Secretary  of  M.C.C.,  that  in  one  innings  he  caught 
three  off  W.  G.  at  long-leg,  though  he  did  not  tell  me 
at  what  cost.  But  he  did  tell  me  that,  on  one 
occasion,  W.  G,  shifted  him  nearly  fifty  yards  to  the 


zoo     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

exact  spot  for  the  long-leg  catch  hit  straight  into  his 
hands. 

In  thirty- two  years  for  Gentlemen  v.  Players  he 
obtained  over  250  wickets  [271  with  an  average  of 
19  apiece],  which  would  have  justified  his  being 
played  in  those  matches  for  his  bowling  alone.  His 
delivery  was  certainly  baulking.  Bustling  up  to 
the  wicket  rapidly,  his  huge  shoulders  and  elbows 
squared,  both  hands  in  front  of  his  flowing  beard  and 
the  ball  thus  concealed  a  good  deal  from  view,  which 
made  it  difficult  for  the  batsman  to  detect  where  it 
was  coming  from,  his  M.C.C.  cap  tending  rather  to 
dazzle  the  batsman's  view  than  otherwise,  bowling 
generally  round  the  wicket,  he  followed  up  his 
bowling  quickly  towards  the  off-side,  usually  having 
a  field  pretty  straight  on  the  on  side  behind  him. 
B>  this  manoeuvre,  he  unquestionably  caught  and 
bowled  a  good  many  opponents,  and  his  great  know- 
ledge of  the  play  of  almost  every  batsman  he  met 
enabled  him  very  constantly  to  capture  his  wicket. 
He  certainly  was  a  very  successful  bowler  against  the 
professionals,  who  are  always  inclined  to  play  with 
more  caution  than  the  amateurs,  and  they  were,  no 
doubt,  impressed  with  the  notion  that  it  was  W.  G. 
Grace  who  was  bowling — his  great  personality  ac- 
counting for  a  good  many  wickets,  which  would  not 
have  been  the  case  if  the  same  ball  had  been  bowled 
by  any  one  else. 

When  he  was  active,  there  was  no  place  in  the  field 
where  he  was  out  of  place.  In  1870  he  could  catch  a 
man  almost  off  the  end  of  his  bat  in  a  way  which 
would  have  rivalled  E.  M.,  who,  I  suppose,  was  con- 
sidered in  his  day  the  best  point  in  England.  If 
W.  G.  did  not  get  runs  or  wickets  in  a  match,  he 
generally  left  his  mark  in  the  field.  I  remember 
being  at  Londesborough  Lodge  once  when  W.  G. 
arrived  late  in  the  evening.  He  had  been  playing 
that  day  at  Manchester  in  the  final  test  match  against 
the  Australians  in  1888.  By  the  papers  we  knew 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  101 

England  had  won,  but  we  did  not  know  how  England 
had  managed  to  get  the  other  side  out  in  the  time. 
We  had  finished  dinner  when  Grace  put  in  an  appear- 
ance, having  come  for  the  Scarborough  Festival,  and 
I  remember  saying  :  '  Well,  W.  G.,  how  did  you  get 
them  out  ?  '  Equally  well  I  remember  his  answer  : 
'Why,  Tom,  I  cot  'em  out,'  and  so  it  was,  for  he  had 
brought  off  three  very  good  catches,  which  disposed 
of  three  formidable  batsmen  at  critical  times." 

A  suggestion  from  Fun  in  1873  may  be  added  : 

'  The  Society  for  the  Improvement   of  Things  in 

General  and  the  Diffusion  of  Perfect  Equality,  at  a 

meeting  to  be  held  shortly,  will  submit  the  following 

propositions  : 

That  W.  G.  Grace  shall  owe  a  couple  of  hundred  or  so  before 
batting — these  to  be  reckoned  against  his  side  should  he 
not  wipe  them  off. 

That  his  shoe  spikes  shall  be  turned  inwards. 
That  he  shall  be  declared  out  whenever  the  umpire  likes. 
That  he  shall  always  be  the  eleventh  player. 
That  he  shall  not  be  allowed  to  play  at  all." 

Reverting  to  the  chronological  narrative — after 
the  close  of  the  season  of  1873,  W.  G.  Grace  took  a 
team  to  Australia.  It  was  his  own  honeymoon  tour, 
for  only  a  few  days  before  he  sailed,  namely  on 
October  9,  he  married  Miss  Agnes  Nicholls  Day, 
daughter  of  his  own  first  cousin.  The  eleven  he 
finally  selected,  after  many  disappointments,  was 
composed  of  his  brother  G.  F.  Grace,  his  cousin 
W.  R.  Gilbert,  J.  A.  Bush,  an  excellent  wicket-keeper, 
F.  H.  Boult,  a  fast  bowler  who  was  unwell  through- 
out the  trip,  with  Jupp,  Oscroft,  R.  Humphrey,  A. 
Greenwood,  Martin  Mclntyre,  Southerton  and  James 
Lillywhite.  The  voyage  out  was  devoid  of  incident 
except  that  the  cooking  was  pronounced  very  bad. 
On  touching  at  King  George's  Sound,  W.  G.  Grace 


102     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

threw  a  boomerang,  which  might  have  killed  a  fellow- 
passenger,  for  it  only  just  missed  his  head. 

Dave  Scott  ("  The  Almanac ")  writes  from  the 
Antipodes  : 

"  It  was  on  the  day  in  December,  1873,  that  W.  G. 
Grace  and  his  team  arrived  in  Melbourne,  I  first  met 
him.  People  turned  out  in  thousands  to  welcome 
him  and  the  cream  of  the  English  bowlers  and  eagerly 
scanned  the  daily  practice  which  soon  became  the 
regular  rule. 

W.  G.'s  first  public  appearance  was  as  spectator 
of  a  keenly  contested  match  between  Melbourne 
C.C.  and  South  Melbourne  for  a  trophy.  I  drove  a 
drag  and  four  with  Grace  on  the  box.  When  feeling 
ran  high  over  the  game  about  a  vexed  point,  Grace 
was  appealed  to.  His  answer  was  non-committal : 
'  Though  we  have  come  from  the  home  of  cricket 
thirteen  thousand  miles  away,  our  opinion  cannot 
carry  the  weight  of  the  umpires.'  The  game  was 
abandoned  owing  to  the  dispute  and  this  created  a 
bad  impression  on  the  visiting  team. 

On  Christmas  Day  after  a  heavy  lunch,  the  English 
amateurs  went  to  have  a  knock.  Harry  Boyle,  who 
was  to  be  one  of  the  Victorian  XVIII  on  the  morrow 
to  oppose  them,  and  had  come  a  hundred  miles  from 
Bendigo  for  the  match,  was  looking  on  with  me,  who 
was  his  host.  Some  one  said,  '  Have  a  bowl  at 
Grace.'  '  No  thanks,'  replied  Boyle,  '  I  expect  I'll 
have  enough  bowling  in  the  match  before  we  get  rid 
of  him.'  After  watching  W.  G.  for  some  time,  the 
renowned  bowler  observed  to  me :  '  Dave,  he  has  a 
weak  stroke  and  if  I  could  only  get  a  ball  in  between 
his  leg  and  the  wicket  I  could  get  him.' 

It  was  not  until  the  second  day,  just  before  lunch, 
that  W.  G.  came  out  to  bat,  for  previously  G.  P. 
Robertson  had  won  the  toss  and  Victoria  had 
amassed  266,  B.  B.  Cooper  playing  a  magnificent 
innings  of  84.  Grace  took  Jupp  in  with  him  and 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  103 

received  a  tremendous  ovation.  Just  when  40  was 
hoisted,  he  fooled  the  crowd,  who  thought  he  had 
been  stumped,  by  walking  back  as  if  to  the  pavilion 
and  then  returning,  which  caused  heaps  of  laughter 
among  the  sixteen  thousand  spectators.  H.  F. 
Boyle  was  the  first  change  bowler,  and  after  the 
champion  had  made  a  few  off  him,  a  tremendous 
shout  went  up;  he  had  bowled  him  with  a  ball 
between  his  legs  and  the  wicket.  The  crowd  rose 
and  cheered,  waved  handkerchiefs  and  sticks,  whilst 
about  1,500  Bendigo  men,  who  had  come  because 
Boyle  was  their  champion,  went  fairly  mad  and 
cooed  with  true  Australian  fervour.  Allan,  '  the 
bowler  of  the  century,'  literally  hugged  Boyle  on  the 
pitch.  There  had  been  a  foolish  and  false  rumour 
that  Grace  had  laid  £500  to  £50  that  he  would  never 
be  bowled  in  Australia. 

After  the  return  match,  W.  G.  made  126  not  out  in 
an  exhibition  game  with  eleven  men  only  in  the  field. 
It  was  a  revelation  to  the  Colonial  spectators  to  see 
the  manner  in  which  he  placed  the  ball  apparently 
where  he  liked.  Sam  Cosstick  at  one  time  delivered 
full  pitches  fair  at  the  batsman's  head,  but  W.  G. 
would  not  have  them,  so  Sam  said  the  balls  slipped 
from  his  hand. 

At  the  farewell  dinner  to  the  English  side  at  the 
Criterion  Hotel,  Collins  Street,  Grace  said  to  Boyle  : 
*  If  you  ever  come  to  England  and  your  bowlers  are 
as  good  there  as  they  are  here,  you  will  make  a  name 
for  yourselves.'  After  the  sensational  defeat  at 
Lord's  in  the  one-day  match  of  M.C.C.  and  Ground  by 
Australia  by  9  wickets  in  1878,  W.  G.  shook  hands 
with  Spofforth  and  Boyle,  remarking  to  the  latter : 
'  I  wished  you  every  success  before  I  left  Australia, 
but  you  have  done  us  badly  to-day.'  ; 

That  greatest  of  all  bowlers  as  well  as  a  singularly 
sound  judge  of  the  game,  F.  R.  Spofforth,  whose 


104     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

further  reminiscences  will  be  found  in  a  later  chapter, 
writes  : 

"  On  the  occasion  of  W.  G.  Grace's  first  visit  to 
Australia,  I  only  played  in  one  match  against  him, 
and,  when  I  met  him  in  England  six  years  later,  he 
said  :  '  I  only  remember  this  Demon  Bowler  as  a 
long,  thin  fellow  standing  in  the  deep  field  and  throw- 
ing in  so  terribly  hard.'  In  those  days  I  practised 
long  shying  and  could  generally  bung  in  the  ball  a 
hundred  and  twenty- eight  yards. 

I  had  a  lark  with  the  Old  Man  at  the  nets.  In 
those  days,  though  I  stood  six  feet  three  inches,  I 
only  weighed  ten  stone  six.  But  I  could  bowl  faster 
than  any  man  in  the  world.  W.  G.  was  at  the  nets 
at  Melbourne  and  I  lolled  up  two  or  three  balls  in  a 
funny  slow  way.  Two  or  three  of  those  round 
asked  :  '  What's  the  matter  with  you,  Spoff  ?  '  I 
replied  :  '  I  am  going  to  have  a  rise  out  of  that 
W.  G.'  Suddenly  I  sent  him  down  one  of  my  very 
fastest.  He  lifted  his  bat  half  up  in  his  characteristic 
way,  but  down  went  his  off  stump,  and  he  called 
out  in  his  quick  fashion  when  not  liking  anything : 
'  Where  did  that  come  from  ?  Who  bowled  that  ?  ' 
But  I  slipped  away,  having  done  my  job." 

The  narrative  of  the  tour  in  Lilly  white  for  1875 
is  understood  to  have  been  written  by  the  late  G.  F. 
Grace  and  furnishes  a  valuable  source  of  information. 
Even  in  its  jerky  precis  form,  it  betrays  sources  of 
friction  ;  for  example,  in  the  very  first  match  : 
"  wickets  cut  up  rather  badly  ;  and,  after  the  Sunday 
intervening,  the  captain  of  the  XVIII  refused  to 
allow  us  to  roll  the  ground.  Query — Could  he  stop 
us  ?  "  Indeed  it  is  understood  that  there  were 
varied  subjects  of  dispute,  possibly  due  in  great 
measure  to  the  fact  that  the  speculators  who  con- 
ducted the  tour  knew  nothing  of  cricket.  '  The 
trip,  on  the  whole,  was  an  enjoyable  one,  as  far  as 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  105 

seeing  the  Colonies  and  meeting  good  friends  ;  but 
in  a  cricketing  point  of  view  it  was  NOT  a  good  one. 
We  were  met  in  a  bad  spirit,  as  if  contending  cricketers- 
were  enemies."  How  different  from  the  modern 
Australian  splendid  sporting  spirit  when  P.  F. 
Warner  and  his  teams  twice  brought  back  the  ashes. 
W.  G.  Grace,  as  captain,  naturally  bore  the  brunt 
of  the  friction.  He  also  bore  off  the  honours  of  the 
tour,  his  fine  average  of  39  being  wonderfully  good 
on  bad  wickets  and  against  odds.  In  the  first  match 
against  XVIII  of  Victoria,  in  the  only  innings  of  the 
opponents  he  took  10  wickets  for  less  than  6  runs 
apiece  and  contributed  33  and  51  not  out,  by  far 
the  best,  for  the  Englishmen  were  playing  too  soon 
after  their  long  sea  voyage.  One  local  paper  pro- 
nounced them  "  arrant  duffers,"  another  believed 
they  had  sold  the  match.  As  a  matter  of  interest  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  on  the  home  side  figured 
W.  G.'s  old  cricket  comrade  at  home,  B.  B.  Cooper, 
who  made  84,  Midwinter,  destined  to  help  him  so 
materially  for  Gloucestershire,  H.  F.  Boyle,  as 
already  stated,  and  T.  Horan,  the  best  critic  that  the 
Australians  have  ever  produced  on  the  game  and  a 
fine  bat,  as  he  proved  on  his  second  visit  to  England 
in  1882,  when  he  invariably  went  to  the  wicket 
with  brown  pads. 

At  Ballarat  on  New  Year's  Day,  1874,  against  the 
attack  of  Allan  and  Cosstick,  W.  G.  gave  "  one  of  his 
grand  innings,  hitting  tremendously  hard,  and  was 
caught  off  a  good  hit  for  126."  Owing  to  the  heat 
many  spectators  climbed  trees  and  Grace  hit  one 
sitting  on  a  bough,  but  he  was  not  much  hurt.  When 
the  England  team  played  XVIII  of  New  South 
Wales,  the  Governor  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  and  his 
wife  were  among  the  twelve  thousand  spectators. 
Years  afterwards,  Lady  Rosmead — as  she  subse- 
quently became — who  was  noted  for  her  emphatic 
speeches,  recalled  W.  G.  as  "  the  human  Orang 
Outang  whose  beard  did  not  seem  to  get  in  the  way 


106    BIOGRAPHY   OF    DR.   W.   G.   GRACE 

of  his  playing  cricket."  He  captured  n  wickets  for 
69  runs  in 'the  first  innings.  On  the  home  side  were 
F.  R.  Spofforth,  who  only  went  on  as  third  change 
and  took  Greenwood's  wicket,  Charles  Bannerman, 
and  D.  Gregory.  Against  a  combined  XV  of  New 
South  Wales  and  Victoria,  W.  G.  played  a  fine  73 
"  in  awful  heat."  The  finish  of  this,  the  most 
important  match  of  the  tour,  was  excellent.  On  the 
last  day,  the  English  went  into  the  field  at  five  past 
three  and  had  the  last  of  the  XV  out  at  a  quarter  to 
six,  owing  to  fine  fielding  and  yet  finer  bowling  by 
Lilly  white.  At  Kadina  W.  G.  "  had  the  ground 
swept  and  picked  up  two  large  baskets  of  small 
stones.  A  tape  a  yard  in  length  was  used  to  measure 
the  wicket  and  there  was  no  ball  when  play  should 
have  started."  At  Melbourne  W.  G.  was  credited 
with  a  good  score  of  64,  when  only  two  others  in  the 
match  exceeded  30. 

The  persistency  with  which  he  and  W.  R.  Gilbert 
went  out  shooting  on  all  possible  occasions  was  a 
point  afterwards  recalled,  "  the  kangaroo  is  a  sociable 
animal  and  the  two  Gilberts  expressed  themselves 
satisfied,"  whilst  W.  G.  himself  declared  that  on  this 
tour  his  speeches  were  more  varied  than  at  other 
times; — possibly  because  the  spirit  moved  him  to 
make  very  necessary  complaints.  Australian  cricket 
was  in  its  infancy  and  it  grew  to  be  one  of  the  proud 
features  of  the  Empire  in  sport  and  a  joy  to  us  at 
home  on  all  the  tours.  But  it  should  not  be  for- 
gotten that  this  tour  in  1873  undoubtedly  sowed 
seeds  which  the  Australians  were  clever  enough  to 
cultivate  until  they  produced  the  wealth  of  subse- 
quent first-class  cricket  at  the  Antipodes.  W.  G. 
Grace  once  humorously  called  himself  one  of  the 
god-fathers  of  Australian  cricket. 


CHAPTER  X 
The  End  of  the  Old  Regime 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  C.  I.  THORNTON 
AND  A.  J.  WEBBE 

IT  has  always  been  regarded  that  the  visit  of  the 
Australians  to  England  in  1878  marked  the  com- 
mencement of  modern  cricket,  and  therefore  the 
seasons  between  1874  and  1877  may  be  considered 
as  the  closing  ones  of  the  first  part  of  the  cricketing 
life  of  W.  G.  Grace.  Directly  after  his  return  from 
the  Antipodes,  he  hit  up  259  in  less  than  three  hours 
for  Thornbury  v.  Clifton  and  even  now  one  can 
imagine  how  he  must  have  enjoyed  this  rollicking 
spell  of  slogging.  In  important  cricket  his  all-round 
superiority  was  as  predominant  as  ever.  Taking 
140  wickets  for  only  12  runs  apiece,  he  was  more  de- 
structive than  any  amateur  since  first-class  mat  ches 
were  instituted,  and  his  batting  average  was  52  for 
an  aggregate  of  1,664.  It  was  a  season  in  which  a 
marked  decline  of  public  interest  was  to  be  noted  and 
some  apathy  also  among  the  best  exponents  of  the 
game.  But  the  keenness  of  W.  G.  was  never  called 
in  question.  As  for  his  success,  though  his  first  ten 
visits  to  the  wicket  only  realized  201,  he  was  only 
once  again  dismissed  for  a  single  figure — he  never 
failed  to  score  in  1874 — and  gave  some  phenomenal 
exhibitions,  quite  apart  from  increased  deadliness 
with  the  ball,  whilst  he  averaged  31  for  twenty- 
four  innings  for  the  United  South  against  odds, 
besides  taking  121  wickets  for  only  6  runs  each. 

107 


io8     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

It  was  at  Brighton  on  June  n  for  Gloucestershire 
v.  Sussex,  that  W.  G.  Grace  gave  his  first  important 
display  of  the  summer.  He  fairly  let  himself  go  at 
the  bowling  in  a  brilliantly  characteristic  179  out  of 
299,  with  one  six,  four  fives  and  nineteen  fours  as- 
examples  of  his  gentle  tapping,  and  then  proved 
uncommonly  efficacious  with  the  ball,  as  indicated 
by  his  figures,  12  wickets  for  158  runs.  This  was  a 
foretaste  of  what  he  was  worth  to  his  county,  for 
which  he  averaged  84,  whilst  his  58  wickets  only  cost 
ii  runs  apiece.  The  greatest  day  in  the  latter 
department  was  at  Cheltenham  against  Surrey,  when 
he  took  7  wickets  for  18  runs — the  chief  factor  in 
dismissing  the  opponents  for  27 — and  7  wickets  for 
48.  On  this  occasion  with  27  he  was  also  top-scorer 
in  a  bowlers'  game.  As  usual  a  benefit  match  incited 
him  to  a  remarkable  exhibition.  This  time,  on  Luke 
Greenwood's  behalf  at  Sheffield,  he  delighted  over  ten 
thousand  spectators  with  167  played  in  four  hours 
during  which  303  were  scored,  after  which  he  cap- 
tured ii  wickets  for  101  runs,  his  prowess  somewhat 
abruptly  terminating  the  struggle.  In  the  return 
encounter  at  Clifton,  he  and  E.  M.  put  up  137  for  the 
first  wicket  and  he  remained  until  216  was  scored, 
when  he  was  caught  for  127.  Ten  Yorkshire  wickets 
for  121  were  included  in  his  bag  for  this  match,  so 
the  Tykes  had  a  pretty  lively  impression  of  his 
prowess. 

In  Gentlemen  v.  Players,  Grace  did  something  less 
than  usual  until  the  third  match  at  Prince's  when, 
with  comparatively  weak  sides,  he  contributed  no 
out  of  209  and  was  credited  with  7  wickets  for  58 
runs.  This  game  was  marred  by  many  bad  deci- 
sions. A  curious  appeal  was  one  against  W.  G.  for 
obstruction  in  preventing  Lillywhite  from  securing 
a  ball  played  back  by  G.  F.,  but  the  umpire  did  not 
allow  the  claim.  Never  was  he  in  greater  vein  than 
in  the  Canterbury  Festival.  In  place  of  the  mono- 
tonous North  v.  South  was  substituted  Kent  and 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  109 

•Gloucestershire  v.  England,  and  a  capital  game 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  national  side  by  54  runs. 
W.  G.  narrowly  escaped  a  double  hundred,  as  he 
scored  94  and  121,  besides  taking  10  wickets  for  16 
runs  apiece.  Altogether  he  was  batting  whilst  400 
runs  were  scored  without  his  giving  a  single  chance, 
and,  curiously  enough,  all  ten  batsmen  in  the  second 
innings  were  caught.  Directly  this  match  was  con- 
cluded that  between  M.C.C.  and  Kent  was  begun. 
Grace  this  time  appropriated  eleven  wickets,  includ- 
ing a  hat  trick,  and  123  runs  hit  up  in  only  two  and 
a  quarter  hours.  With  I.  D.  Walker  he  put  up  149 
for  the  first  wicket,  of  which  his  share  was  102. 
Another  notable  effort  was  his  104  for  Gentlemen  of 
South  v.  Players  of  the  North,  making  his  runs  out  of 
160  while  in,  taking  barely  two  hours  to  do  so,  and 
at  one  period  hitting  50  in  fifteen  consecutive  hits. 
Before  thus  roughly  handling  the  attack  he  had  taken 
7  Northern  wickets  for  only  60  runs  in  spite  of 
Oscroft  hitting  with  grim  determination. 

W.  G.  Grace  achieved  one  of  his  records  in 
this  summer,  as  he  made  six  centuries  in  seven 
matches,  the  actual  figures  being  104  and  19,  23  and 
no,  167,1,  94  and  121,  123,  and  127.  The  bowlers 
he  thus  punished  included  Alfred  Shaw,  Morley  and 
Ulyett  (in  three  of  the  six  matches),  Rylott,  Lilly- 
white  and  Clayton  (in  two),  Emmett,  Willsher,  Sil- 
cock  and  Allen  Hill,  a  list  which  adds  to  the  merit  of 
his  achievement.  Here  may  well  come  the  first 
portion  of  the  recollections  of  Mr.  C.  I.  Thornton, 
biggest  of  hitters,  foremost  to  come  to  the  assistance 
of  the  present  book  in  the  kindest  manner,  who 
writes  : 

"  I  am  afraid  my  reminiscences  of  the  grand  old 
cricketer  will  prove  a  little  desultory.  We  were 
always  capital  friends,  he  and  I,  and  many  a  long 
talk  we  had  together.  Therefore  it  is  appropriate 
I  should  be  a  trifle  conversational  and  probably  will 


no     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

be  forgiven  if  I  become  occasionally  anecdotal.  To 
praise  him  as  a  cricketer  would  be  to  add  light  to  the 
sun.  I  played  with  him  very  often  and  on  many 
grounds  and  I  have  watched  many  more  of  his 
greatest  efforts,  always  with  profound  admiration. 
The  state  of  the  wicket  never  seemed  to  trouble  him 
as  it  does  almost  all  modern  cricketers,  probably 
because  he  made  his  finest  early  centuries  on  pitches 
such  as  no  one  now  in  championship  matches  has 
even  imagined  and  also,  because,  like  so  many  of  the 
older  school,  W.  G.  seemed  so  thoroughly  to  enjoy 
every  game  in  which  he  took  part.  Only  once  do  I 
recall  even  the  suggestion  of  a  grumble.  It  was  in 
those  days  when  Gloucestershire,  reduced  from  its 
former  glory,  seemed  unable  to  win  more  than  a 
stray  match  each  season,  Grace  observed :  '  It 
ain't  all  jam  when  you're  always  on  the  losing  side,' 
at  that  time  every  member  of  the  county  team  being 
young  enough  to  have  been  his  son. 

W.  G.  practically  always  went  in  first.  I  can, 
however,  recollect  two  commencements  of  Canter- 
bury Week  when  he  did  not ;  on  one  of  them  I 
remember  beginning  the  innings  for  South  v.  North 
with  G.  F.  Grace.  To  show  how  freely  W.  G.  scored, 
in  the  early  seventies  it  was  particularly  commented 
on  that,  for  Kent  v.  M.C.C.,  Willsher  sent  down 
twenty-four  consecutive  balls  to  him  without  being 
hit. 

I  have  a  newspaper  cutting,  apparently  from  The 
Times,  which  runs  :  '  So  deep  is  the  apprehension 
entertained  by  every  cricketer  who  is  liable  to  find 
himself,  in  one  or  another  match,  ranged  on  the  side 
to  which  Mr.  Grace  does  not  belong,  that  grave 
propositions  have  been  made  in  the  higher  councils 
of  the  craft,  having  for  their  purpose  the  memorializ- 
ing of  that  gentleman,  in  terms  of  earnest  supplica- 
tion, entreating  that  he  will  consent  to  play  for  the 
future  either  blindfolded  or  with  his  right  arm  tied 
behind  his  back.  Only  by  such  a  reduction  of  his 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  in 

extraordinary  physical  resources  can  the  memorial- 
ists hope  to  dub  him  down  to  the  level  of  ordinarily 
good  cricketers.  He  is  Anax  Andron  of  a  verity  : 
but  Agamemnon  was  not  the  only  son  of  Atreus. 
The  Graces  outnumber  the  Atrides  too,  and  one  can 
fancy  Alfred  Shaw  or  Farrands,  judging  by  the 
performances  of  two  or  three  of  them  when  they  are 
'  out '  together,  ejaculating  :  '  Methinks  there  be  ten 
Graces  in  the  field.'  Of  course  Mr.  W.  G.  Grace  is 
ladle  princeps. 

Such  a  testimony  to  his  skill  was  never  written 
about  any  other  cricketer  nor  do  I  believe  it  ever 
will  be. 

A  short  but  most  lively  partnership  between  W.  G. 
and  myself  for  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Yorkshire  at 
Lord's  remains  in  my  mind.  I  cnme  in  seventh, 
cutting  the  first  ball  I  received,  from  Ephraim  Lock- 
wood,  to  the  centre  of  the  grand-stand,  following  it 
by  a  single  and  a  couple  off  Allen  Hill.  W.  G. 
responded  with  a  leg  hit  for  two  and  an  on-drive 
for  three  off  the  same  bowler,  and  on  facing 
'  Emma  '  hit  him  splendidly  round  to  leg,  the  ball 
reaching  the  bat  stack  for  five,  whilst  I  drove  the 
same  trundler  for  two  and  smote  Allen  Hill  for  a  four 
and  a  single.  This  brought  on  Tom  Emmet t,  off 
whom  I  was  missed  first  ball  and  then  skied  one  to 
mid-on.  W.  G.,  out  at  last  to  a  lob  from  Iddison, 
made  a  glorious  101." 

For  the  first  time  in  1875  the  Jeremiahs  began 
their  perennial  if  intermittent  croak  that  Grace  had 
given  the  public  of  his  best.  An  average  of  32  with 
an  aggregate  of  just  under  1,500  would  have  been 
good  enough  for  any  ordinary  first-class  batsman  ; 
but  of  course  W.  G.  had  set  a  standard  for  himself. 
To  balance  the  reduction  in  run-getting  however,  he 
enjoyed  his  best  summer  as  a  bowler,  obtaining  190 
wickets  for  well  under  13  runs  each.  This  was  the 
third  season  in  which  he  scored  over  1,000  runs  and 


THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

took  over  100  wickets,  a  double  feat  he  performed 
eight  times.  He  was  the  only  cricketer  to  do  this 
until  1882  when  C.  T.  Studd  also  accomplished  it. 
Of  course  it  has  been  achieved  prolincally  in  the 
multiplicity  of  modern  matches,  George  Hirst,  who 
is  credited  with  it  in  fourteen  seasons,  holding  the 
record  up  to  the  war. 

The  late  P.  M.  Thornton  contemporaneously  dealt 
aptly  with  the  question  of  Grace's  supposed  decline  : 
"  Constant  rain  made  the  ground  false,  and  before 
it  could  get  hard  or  anything  near  it,  Jupiter  Pluvius 
elected  to  follow  his  innings  and  the  early  fixtures 
came  off  on  a  slough  of  despond.  It  is  constantly 
our  lot  to  hear  people  express  their  opinion  that 
W.  G.  Grace  had  gone  off.  Now  even  supposing  the 
great  player  had  not  totalled  two  thousand  runs 
before  cricket  closed,  it  would  surely  be  patent  to 
any  one  worthy  of  forming  an  opinion  on  such  sub- 
jects that  scoring  must  relatively  be  less  heavy  when 
ground  is  slow  and  untrue." 

W.  G.  Grace  showed  his  customary  appreciation  of 
Yorkshire  bowling.  At  Lord's  for  M.C.C.  and  Ground 
his  second  scoreof  71  was  characterized  as  "very  fine," 
whilst  eight  wickets  fell  to  his  share.  At  Sheffield, — a 
favourite  ground  of  his — for  Gloucestershire,  before 
fifteen  thousand  spectators  at  the  benefit  of  John 
Thewlis,  he  batted  nobly  for  in  and  43,  getting 
practically  no  support,  but  hitting  a  five  and  ten 
fours.  On  this  occasion,  as  he  was  so  keen  to  do 
always,  he  included  on  his  side  a  couple  of  schoolboys, 
both  good  bats,  R.  E.  Bush  and  A.  H.  Heath.  At 
Bristol  on  an  awful  wicket  he  made  37,  top  score, 
and  his  bowling  won  the  match,  for  he  took  13  wickets 
for  only  98  runs.  So  he  certainly  set  his  mark  yet 
again  on  the  Tykes  that  summer. 

His  finest  display,  as  was  characteristic,  was  in 
the  most  important  match,  Gentlemen  v.  Players 
at  Lord's.  His  bowling  alone  would  have  been 
noteworthy  against  such  batsmen,  7  for  64  and  5  for 


W.    G.    GRACE. 
The  finish  of  his  back-stroke 

From  an  action -photograph   by  G.   W.    Beldam.) 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  113 

61,  no  less  than  four — Lockwood,  L.  Greenwood, 
Oscroft   and    Pooley — being   c.    and    b.     But  this 
paled  before  his  run-getting.     Taking  in  A.  J.  Webbe 
the  pair  put  on  203  before  the  old  Harrovian  was 
caught  at  the  wicket  for  65,  then  the  longest  first- 
wicket  partnership  ever  recorded  in  the  historic  match 
and  still  the  second  largest  in  the  whole   series. 
W.  G.  was  eventually  run  out  after  making  152  out  of 
242  whilst  in.     "  For  timing  and  placing  this  was 
equal  to  anything  he  had  ever  done.     Certainly  the 
exhibition  of  the  year,"  and  one  still  quoted  by  old 
stagers  as  a  delightful  treat  to  watch.     At  the  Oval 
9  wickets  for   114  was  his  notable  share  in  a  dull 
game.     The  encounter  at  Prince's  was  a  mere  farce 
and  is  the  only  known  occasion  in  first-class  cricket 
away  from  the  Crystal   Palace  on  which  W.   G. 
insisted  on  selecting  the  pitch.     It  suited  him,  for  he 
captured  7  opponents  for  only  23  runs  when  they  had 
won  the  toss,  though  little  fault  could  be  found  with 
the  quality  of  the  professional  eleven. 

The  Whit-Monday  match  was  played  out   in  six 
hours.     Southerton  took  nine  Northern  wickets  in 
the  first  innings  and  seven  in  the  second.     At  ten 
minutes  to  seven  W.  G.  Grace  and  Jupp  went  in  to 
get  41  runs  in  a  dreadful  light.     "  It  will  take  you  all 
night,"  prophesied  R.  A.  FitzGerald,  as  the  champion 
buckled  on  his  pads.     The  pair  accomplished  their 
task  in  eleven  overs  off  Alfred  Shaw  and  Morley, 
W.  G.'s  share  being  28.     That  is  the  kind  of  cricket 
worth  recollecting.    An  occasion  when  he  triumphed 
over  "  dreadful  weather  on  all  three  days  "  was  for 
South  v.  North  at  Huddersfield,  when  his  contribu- 
tions were  92  and  73,  in  which  latter  he  hit  Allen 
Hill  clean  out  of  the  ground  for  six.     Again,  he  had  a 
square-leg  hit  out  of  the  Clifton  College  ground  in 
"  a  singularly  perfect "    119  against  Notts.     This 
effort  terminated  in  his  being  bowled  by  Alfred 
Shaw,  who  took  his  wicket  ir  this  way  twenty  times 
in  his  career,  more  frequently  therefore  than  any 


H4     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

other  bowler.  W.  G.  himself  always  recalled  his  35 
for  M.C.C.  v.  Notts  at  Lord's  as  one  of  the  innings  that 
gave  him  most  trouble  to  compile,  for  this  was  the 
occasion  when  Alfred  Shaw  bowled  so  marvellously. 
He  sent  down  166  balls  for  five  singles  and  a  two 
("  a  fluke  "),  taking  7  wickets,  six  clean  bowled,  his 
victims  including  W.  G.  Grace — who  took  an  hour 
to  make  his  first  ten  runs — I.  D.  Walker,  A.  W. 
Ridley,  C.  F.  Buller  and  Lord  Harris.  No  biography 
of  Grace  could  be  complete  without  allusion  to  this 
feat  of  "by  far  the  finest  bowler  I  ever  met "  —as 
W.  G.  said — and  for  which  he  was  the  recipient  of  a 
valuable  silver  teapot.  Grace  concluded  his  first- 
class  season  with  a  notable  performance  at  Lough- 
borough  on  a  bad  wicket  when  the  ground  was  heavy. 
Against  the  North  he  had  a  hand  in  getting  all  the 
wickets  in  the  first  innings,  catching  one  and  claiming 
the  other  nine  for  only  48  runs  ;  as  five  more  fell  to 
his  share  at  the  second  effort  and  with  20  he  was  the 
only  double-figure  scorer  in  a  total  of  38 — W.  My  croft 
and  Randon  bowling — he  must  have  created  a  big 
local  sensation. 

For  the  United  South  that  summer,  Grace  had  a 
better  season  against  odds  than  in  first-class  matches, 
being  credited  with  an  average  of  42  and  an  aggre- 
gate of  1,176,  whilst  his  186  wickets  cost  but  7  runs 
apiece.  "  His  enormous  score  of  210  against  XVIII 
of  Hastings  and  District  is  remarkable  as  the  largest 
ever  recorded  in  this  class  of  match,"  up  to  that  time. 
He  obtained  his  runs  in  five  and  a  half  hours  despite 
the  number  in  the  field  and  though  he  was  suffering 
from  a  sprained  foot.  His  great  hit  for  six  off 
Draper  was  measured  and  from  the  crease  to  where 
the  ball  pitched  was  found  to  be  118  yards.  Against 
XVIII  of  North  Kent  he  obtained  152,  but  sustained 
a  pretty  hot  piece  of  punishment,  for  in  one  over  J . 
Fellowes,  R.E.,  made  20  runs,  three  sixes — all  over 
the  pavilion — and  a  two.  Probably  no  one  appre- 
ciated this  mighty  tapping  more  than  W.  G.  himself. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  115 

Allusion  having  been  made  to  his  famous  partner- 
ship with  A.  J.  Webbe,  it  is  appropriate  here  to 
insert  the  particularly  genial  recollections  of  the  old 
Middlesex  captain,  who  writes  as  follows  : 

"  I  am  sure  that  none  of  his  friends  had  a  more 
sincere  affection  or  a  greater  admiration  for  dear 
old  W.  G.  Grace  than  myself.  I  first  saw  him  at 
Harrow  in  1871,  one  afternoon — a  match  at  Lord's 
was  over  early  I  think — with  Lord  Bessborough,  and, 
whilst  he  was  watching  a  match  between  the  XI  and 
Next  XVIII,  a  terrible  accident  occurred.  George 
Cottrill,  the  first  choice  of  the  eleven  that  year,  while 
umpiring  was  struck  behind  the  ear  by  a  ball  hit 
hard  and  clean  to  square-leg.  I  can  see,  as  I  write, 
W.  G.  bending  over  him.  Poor  Cottrill  was  killed, 
practically  instantaneously.  I  had  not  then  any 
opportunity  of  speaking  to  W.  G.  and  little  thought 
in  after  years  I  should  play  so  often  and  be  on  such 
affectionate  terms  with  him. 

Frequently,  since  that  day,  have  I  seen  W.  G. 
hasten  up  to  men  slightly  injured  in  the  cricket  field, 
and  I  have  wondered  at  the  gentleness  with  which 
those  powerful  hands  were  used,  and  over  and  over 
again  have  I  said  that  should  I  be  injured,  how  thank- 
ful I  should  be  if  he  were  present  to  come  to  my  aid. 

The  first  time  I  ever  spoke  to  the  great  man  was 
in  1875.  It  was  my  first  big  match  at  Lord's, 
M.C.C.  v.  Notts,  the  game  in  which  in  the  second 
innings  Alfred  Shaw  took  7  wickets  for  7  runs.  The 
same  year  we  had  a  partnership  in  the  second  innings 
of  Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Lord's  of  203.  W.  G, 
made  152.  How  he  used  to  run  in  those  days  ;  then 
there  was  no  sign  of  stoutness  in  his  figure.  Several 
times  I  played  with  him  in  the  Canterbury  Week 
before  it  was  decided  to  play  only  county  matches 
in  the  festival. 

In  a  match  Kent  and  Gloucestershire  v.  England — 
the  combination  of  counties  was  evidently  to  secure 


n6     THE   MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

the  attraction  of  W.  G.'s  presence — two  incidents 
come  to  my  mind  which  are,  I  think,  worthy  of  being 
recorded.  England  lost  the  toss  and  we  started  with 
only  ten  men  in  the  field.  I  was  captain  and  I  said 
to  Alfred  Shaw  :  '  What  shall  we  do  ?  '  He  replied  : 
'  Oh,  let  us  place  a  man  between  where  short  slip  and 
third  man  generally  stand  for  an  over  or  two.  We 
did  this  and  to  our  delight,  but  to  the  dismay  of 
the  spectators,  the  man  [it  was  Alfred  Shaw  him- 
self] caught  W.  G.  for  9  off  Emmett.  The  cham- 
pion, as  he  walked  away,  could  not  refrain  from 
saying  :  '  He  was  in  no  place  at  all,'  which  was  true, 
as  in  those  days  the  fieldsmen  were  always  placed 
in  stereotyped  positions.  The  place  in  which  Grace 
was  caught  was  really  the  same — the  gully — where 
A.  O.  Jones  had  so  many  of  his  victims.  However, 
in  the  second  innings  W.  G.  made  91,  thus  securing 
exactly  100  in  the  match.  Kent  and  Gloucestershire 
looked  like  winning  easily,  but  Alfred  Shaw  bowled 
W.  G.  and  wickets  fell  so  rapidly  that  G.  F.  Grace, 
who  had  changed  from  his  flannels,  had  to  come  in 
to  bat  in  his  ordinary  clothes,  and  when  stumps 
were  drawn  there  were  two  wickets  to  fall  and  thirty 
runs  to  go. 

I  did  not  very  often  have  the  privilege  of  playing 
on  the  same  side  as  W.  G.,  but  was  usually  against 
him.  An  innings  of  114  not  out  that  he  played  in 
Daft's  benefit  match  (North  v.  South)  made  a  great 
impression  on  me  at  the  time — the  next  highest  score 
in  the  game  was  57.  Grace's  score  gave  us  a  hand- 
some victory,  though  apart  from  him  we  had  much 
the  weaker  eleven  ;  but  in  those  days  he  was  worth 
at  least  half  a  side  himself. 

In  1879  Middlesex  first  played  Gloucestershire  and 
from  then  until  I  retired  in  1898  I  always  looked 
forward  to  the  two  matches  and  particularly  to 
meeting  W.  G.  in  his  own  country,  for  in  addition  to 
our  usually  having  more  closely  and  keenly  contested 
matches,  we  frequently  enjoyed  his  hospitality  in  his 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  117 

happy  home.  On  the  whole  I  think  we  were  fortu- 
nate in  getting  him  out  several  times  cheaply,  but  of 
course  he  made  a  number  of  fine  scores  against  us, 
the  longest  being  221  not  out  at  Clifton  in  1885  when 
he  carried  his  bat  through  the  innings,  the  next  best 
score,  by  H.  V.  Page,  being  37. 

From  the  first  time  we  met  until  he  passed  away- 
just  forty  years — I  received  nothing  but  kindness 
from  W.  G.  How  pleased  I  was  when  I  could  take 
him  home  to  my  mother's  house  to  dinner  and,  after 
we  married,  to  our  own.  He  was  the  best  known 
man  in  England  and,  as  I  look  back,  I  wonder  at 
his  modesty  ;  but  his  disposition  was  such  that  if  he 
had  never  played  cricket  he  would  have  been  wel- 
comed everywhere.  I  certainly  never  heard  him  say 
an  unkind  thing  ;  a  little  peppery  sometimes  in  the 
field,  but  that  is  no  fault.  Admired  as  he  was  by  the 
whole  world  as  a  cricketer,  he  has  left  behind  him 
something  better  than  the  record  of  his  prowess  in 
the  game,  that  of  a  true  loving  friend,  always  ready 
to  enter  into  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  his  comrades 
and  who  never  harboured  an  unkind  word  of  any 
one." 

All  adverse  critics  were  silenced  in  1876  when  for 
third  and  last  time  Grace's  average  exceeded  60  and 
his  aggregate  of  2,622  was  the  second  largest  of  any 
of  his  seasons.  His  bowling  average  was  increased 
to  19  owing  to  the  drier  wickets,  but  he  accounted  for 
129  opponents,  and  it  is  recorded  that  he  puzzled 
professionals  more  than  amateurs.  Alfred  Shaw, 
(178),  he  and  Allen  Hill  (109)  were  the  only  trium- 
virate to  dismiss  a  hundred  batsmen. 

Grace's  three  consecutive  centuries  in  August — 
the  fifth  time  he  accomplished  this  feat  in  his  career — 
were  by  far  the  most  important  ever  credited  to  any 
batsman  :  344  against  Kent,  177  against  Notts  and 
318  not  out  against  Yorkshire.  In  these  three 
efforts,  against  such  bowling  as  that  of  C.  A.  Absolom, 


n8     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

W.  Foord-Kelcey,  G.  G.  Hearne,  A.  Shaw,  Morley, 
A.  Hill,  Armitage,  Ulyett  and  Emmett,  for  twice  out 
he  scored  839  out  of  1,336  made  whilst  he  was  at  the 
wicket  in  seventeen  and  a  half  hours,  his  hits  includ- 
ing two  sevens,  four  sixes,  four  fives  and  one  hundred 
and  three  fours,  only  two  chances  being  given  in  the 
triple  achievement,  whilst  in  these  matches  he  also 
captured  15  wickets  for  20  runs  apiece. 

He  had  begun  the  Canterbury  Week  by  catching  out 
five  of  the  England  side,  when  representing  Kent 
and  Gloucestershire,  and  scoring  91,  "  a  very  fine  dis- 
play of  masterly  defence  and  resolute  hitting . ' '  Then 
came  his  record  score,  since  surpassed  only  four 
times  in  first-class  matches  in  any  part  of  the  world. 
It  was  a  twelve-a-side  match.  Kent  had  begun  with 
473,  Lord  Harris  in  his  154  giving  one  of  his  most 
attractive  exhibitions,  cutting  Grace  again  and  again 
in  his  polished  Eton  way.  M.C.C.  could  only  put 
up  144,  and  when  the  follow-on  began,  W.  G.  let  out 
freely,  thinking  he  would  be  able  to  leave  for  Bristol 
that  night.  When  stumps  were  drawn  he  had  made 
133  not  out  in  only  an  hour  and  fifty  minutes.  The 
next  day  he  saved  the  match  and  increased  his  own 
contribution  to  344,  when  the  very  first  chance  he 
gave  was  seized  by  V-  K.  Shaw  off  Lord  Harris. 
'  The  record  had  stood  at  278,  made  by  Mr.  William 
Ward  at  Lord's  in  1820  and  dire  the  punishment 
threatened  by  his  son,  the  President  of  the  Cambridge 
University  Club,  if  Grace  exceeded  it.  They  met 
shortly  after,  and  he  punished  him  with  hearty 
congratulations  and  a  drink  from  the  loving  cup  in 
which  his  father  had  been  pledged." 

From  Canterbury  on  the  Saturday,  Grace  came  to 
Clifton  on  the  Monday  to  win  the  toss  against  Notts 
and  in  just  over  three  hours  to  see  262  on  the  tele- 
graph, out  of  which  his  proportion  was  177,  made 
under  a  hot  sun  by  terrific  punishment.  When 
Richard  Daft  and  Oscroft  retorted  with  150  for  no 
wicket,  the  prospect  of  Gloucestershire's  victory 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  119 

over  Notts  diminished,  but  W.  G.  took  8  wickets  for 
69  in  the  follow-on  and  there  was  a  10  wickets 
surplus. 

The  best  of  the  three  innings  he  himself  considered 
was  his  318  in  eight  hours  v.  Yorkshire  at  Chelten- 
ham. At  the  end  of  the  first  day  353  was  recorded 
and  the  total  ultimately  reached  528.  The  stand 
with  W.  O.  Moberly  yielded  261,  of  which  that  sound 
bat  obtained  103.  Even  the  last  wicket  gave  no 
end  of  trouble,  as  J .  A.  Bush  helped  to  add  62.  It  is 
related  that  Lockwood,  who  was  captain  of  York- 
shire, found  it  difficult  to  get  any  one  to  bowl  before 
the  close  of  the  innings.  A  pathetic  appeal  to  Allen 
Hill  to  "  have  another  shy  at  the  big  'un,"  was 
declined.  Tom  Emmett  said  :  "  Why  don't  you 
make  him;  you're  captain  ?  "  "Why  don't  you 
bowl  yourself,"  retorted  Hill,  "  you're  frightened." 
"  Give  me  the  ball,"  answered  Emmett — and  sent 
down  three  consecutive  wides.  After  the  first  even- 
ing, Tom  observed  :  "  Dang  it  all,  it's  Grace  before 
meat,  Grace  afterwards  and  Grace  all  day,  and  I 
expect  we  shall  have  more  Grace  to-morrow."  They 
had,  to  the  extent  of  over  three  figures. 

Emmett  had  another  dose  of  Grace  in  Gentlemen 
f.  Players  at  Lord's  when  in  the  same  over  W.  G. 
hit  him  for  a  six  and  a  seven — to  the  chestnut  trees, 
all  run  out.  These  were  items  in  a  contribution  of 
169  out  of  262  whilst  in,  "  decidedly  one  of  the 
grandest  innings  he  has  ever  played."  Nor  was  this 
all,  for  he  proved  by  far  the  most  successful  bowler 
with  9  wickets  for  122  runs.  It  took  Richard  Daft 
seventy  minutes  to  get  28  off  the  attack  of  W.  G. 
and  Appleby,  before  the  former  caught  him  off  the 
latter.  In  the  previous  match  at  the  Oval,  Emmett 
had  enjoyed  the  felicity  of  bowling  Grace  for  o,  but 
in  the  second  innings  had  to  watch  him  bat  fault- 
lessly for  90  made  out  of  only  140  when  in  :  so  quick- 
scoring  a  bat  as  A.  J.  Webbe  contributed  two  singles 
while  the  champion  hit  32.  At  Prince's  the  latter 


120    THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY  OF 

claimed  ten  professional  wickets,  including  that  of 
Arthur  Shrewsbury  in  both  innings. 

With  their  amicable  rivalry  as  batsmen,  it  was 
appropriate  that  Grace  should  make  his  mark  in 
Richard  Daft's  benefit  match.  The  South  were 
set  190  and — in  the  words  of  that  prince  of  umpires, 
Robert  Thorns—  "  the  champion,  upsetting  aU  the 
arrangements  of  the  Northern  bowlers,  spanked  the 
leather  about  most  unmercifully  to  all  points  of  the 
weathercock  and  won  the  match  off  the  reel  for  the 
Southerners."  A.  J.  Webbe  assisted  him  to  put  up 
101  for  the  first  wicket  and  in  two  hours  and  a  half 
—off  Alfred  Shaw,  Allen  Hill,  Morley  and  Ulyett- 
W.  G.  had  scored  114  not  out  and  the  match  was  won 
by  8  wickets.  An  eye-witness  writes  to  the  present 
editors  :  ' '  The  feature  of  his  batting  was  the  wonder- 
ful control  he  had  over  the  ball  in  placing  his  hits. 
The  fieldsmen  were  shifted  time  after  time,  but  no> 
sooner  was  this  done  than  the  next  hit  was  placed 
in  the  vacancy.  It  was,  indeed,  most  palpable  and 
amusing." 

Grace  was  a  favourite  at  Trent  Bridge  and  among 
his  greatest  admirers  was  old  Walker,  the  ground- 
man.  Walker  was  always  very  strict  on  the  point  of 
cricketers  not  having  their  preliminary  practice  near 
the  pavilion  for  fear  they  should  "  smash  the  win- 
ders." Most  visiting  players  had  been  warned  off 
some  time  or  other.  Once,  W.  G.  came  out  and  set  his 
practice  pitch  in  the  forbidden  area,  to  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  local  "  pros,"  who  awaited  events. 
Old  Walker,  however,  said  nothing.  So  it  was  sug- 
gested he  should ' '  go  shift  W.  G."  Walker  shook  his 
head.  "  No,"  he  said,  "  you  see  'e  knows  where 
'e's  'itting  'em  and  you  can't  say  that  of  the  others." 
So  W.  G.  was  allowed  to  practise  in  peace. 

On  June  24,  1875,  when  bowled  at  the  Oval  by 
Lillywhite  without  scoring,  Grace  had  not  been  dis- 
missed for  a  duck  in  a  first-class  match  since  June 
28,  1872,  and  then  Lillywhite  had  been  the  bowler. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  121 

Several  other  efforts  must  not  be  omitted.  Sussex 
having  headed  Gloucestershire  on  first  hands  by  8 
runs,  W.  G.  with  104  out  of  171  in  three  hours  made 
the  match  safe  by  a  chanceless  innings,  and  the 
Southerners  subsequently  were  dismissed  for  73. 
His  own  words  must  be  quoted  about  his  work  at 
Hull  for  United  South  :  "  My  performance  in  this 
match  is  unquestionably  one  of  the  best  I  ever  did, 
for  the  bowling  of  the  United  North  was  extremely 
good,  and  I  succeeded  nevertheless  in  making  126  out 
of  a  total  of  159,  of  which  154  were  from  the  bat, 
and  the  other  ten  batsmen  only  scored  28  runs 
between  them,  of  which  Pooley  scored  14.  I  made 
82  in  the  second  innings,  which  realized  a  total  of  207." 
In  these  two  efforts  he  hit  eleven  fours  and  thirty- 
four  threes,  including  one  stroke  into  a  railway  truck 
as  it  was  passing,  and  "  more  complete  mastery  of 
bowling  was  never  seen." 

The  stupendous  minor  score  of  400  not  out  for 
United  South  of  England  v.  XXII  of  Grimsby  rivals 
in  interest  any  of  Grace's  achievements.  He  carried 
his  bat  through  a  total  of  68 1,  never  gave  a  chance 
until  he  had  made  350  and  hit  four  sixes,  twenty-one 
fours,  six  threes,  fifty-eight  twos  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  singles.  ' '  It  was  subsequently  stated  that 
his  score  was  399,  not  400,  one  being  added  to  make 
the  enormous  total."  In  the  three  days  that  his 
innings  lasted  he  was  about  thirteen  and  a  half 
hours  at  the  wicket,  the  ground  being  perfect,  and 
fifteen  bowlers  tried  to  dismiss  him.  About  this 
feat,  Canon  Tatham  writes  : 

"  The  captain  of  the  local  team — himself  a  first- 
class  amateur  in  his  day  and  a  mainstay  of  the  bril- 
liant Cambridgeshire  eleven  in  the  sixties — is  a  friend 
of  mine  and  corroborates  W.  G.'s  statement  that 
before  the  match  began,  some  complaints  were  made 
by  the  local  men  of  the  weakness  of  the  visiting  team. 
All  the  first-class  counties  of  the  South  except 


122     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

Gloucestershire  being  engaged,  Grace  had  to  make 
up  his  side  with  second-rate  professionals  or  those 
retired  from  first-class  cricket,  G.  F.  Grace  and 
Gilbert  being  the  only  regular  members  of  the  eleven 
available.  The  bowling  of  the  local  team  was  by  no 
means  weak.  My  friend  tells  me  that  he  believes 
W.  G.  was  out  l.b.w.  when  he  made  6,  but  the 
umpire  was  afraid  to  give  him  out.  The  consolation 
was  but  a  slight  one,  for  in  the  first  two  days  only  three 
wickets  were  obtained,  indeed  G.  F.  Grace  alone  was 
dismissed  on  the  second.  That  the  bowling  for  the 
most  part  was  straight  and  well-pitched  is  proved 
by  the  time  taken  to  get  the  runs  and  by  the  fact 
that  in  W.  G.'s  huge  score  only  thirty-one  strokes 
were  for  more  than  two.  The  birth  of  his  second  son 
took  place  on  the  second  day  and  was  celebrated  by 
champagne  all  round." 

In  direct  continuation  can  be  given  the  contribu- 
tion of  Arthur  Shaw,  who  writes  : 

"  Immediately  after  making  his  record  400  not 
out  against  XXII  of  Grimsby,  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  on 
July  13,  1876,  brought  the  United  South  XI  to 
play  the  United  North  team  at  Huddersfield.  Grace 
won  the  toss  from  Ephraim  Lockwood  and  naturally 
elected  to  bat  first  as  the  wicket  was  quite  good.  I 
well  remember  hearing  him  say,  as  he  went  out  to 
open  the  innings  with  his  cousin  W.  R.  Gilbert, 
'  I  am  going  out  to  bat  for  the  fourth  day  in  succes- 
sion and  have  not  yet  lost  my  wicket.' 

He  did  not  remain  long,  however,  for  Allen  Hill 
— then  a  really  fine  fast  bowler — bowled  him  off  his 
pads  for  5  runs.  On  his  return  to  the  pavilion, 
looking  rather  crestfallen,  he  was  greeted  by  an 
admirer  of  Hill's  from  Lascelles  Hall  in  broad  York- 
shire with  :  '  Tha  knaws  that  nooan  laaking  agen  a 
lot  o'  cockle'awkers  to-day,'  which  being  translated 
meant  that  Grace  was  not  playing  against  a  team  of 
inexperienced  cricketers  like  Grimsby  fishermen. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  123 

I  noticed  W.  G.  did  not  quite  relish  the  remarks, 
but  a  Yorkshire  admirer  of  his  quickly  replied  to  the 
Lascelles  Hall  enthusiast  by  saying  :  '  Yo  silly  devil, 
dost  ta  expect  a  chap  to  mak  a  booot  looad  o'  notches 
ivvery  day,'  which  meant  he  could  not  reasonably 
expect  even  Grace  to  make  a  mammoth  score  every 
time  he  went  in.  It  was  common  knowledge  on  the 
ground  that  day  that  a  cricket  enthusiast  in  the  dis- 
trict had  promised  Allen  Hill  a  watch  if  he  got  W.  G. 
out  under  twenty  runs,  after  making  his  record  score 
on  the  previous  day.  Needless  to  say,  Hill's  perform- 
ance met  with  a  hearty  cheer.  Grace  had  three 
innings  on  that  Fartown  ground  at  Huddersfield 
during  the  three  days,  as  a  supplementary  match  was 
arranged  to  please  the  five  thousand  spectators  on  the 
Saturday  afternoon.  His  three  contributions  in  the 
aggregate  only  reached  16." 

In  one  engagement  for  which  Grace  collected  the 
side,  a  large  marquee  was  erected  for  luncheon.  It 
was  a  bitterly  cold  stormy  day  and  hardly  had  the 
players  sat  down  to  their  meal  than  an  ominous 
crackling  was  heard  in  the  big  tent  itself.  G.  F. 
Grace  and  Frank  Townsend  sprinted  for  the  opening, 
as  did  nearly  every  one  else,  and  were  clear  before  the 
tent  came  down  on  the  luncheon  tables.  When 
every  one  was  amused  at  the  absurd  collapse, 
G.  F.'s  mirth  being  particularly  audible,  a  dis- 
contented growl  was  heard  from  under  the  fallen 
tent  :  "I  say,  young  'un,  I  wish  you  would  stop 
laughing  and  help  get  this  beastly  tent  up  again. 
I  want  to  get  on  with  my  lunch."  W.  G.  had  sat 
unmoved. 

Weather  was  by  no  means  favourable  in  1877  and 
Grace  showed  a  marked  drop  in  batting  but  a  corre- 
sponding improvement  in  bowling.  Diminished 
though  his  figures  were  in  comparison  with  his  own 
preceding  ones,  he  was  not  only  head  of  English 
averages  with  nearly  40  per  innings,  but  his  aggre- 


124     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

gate  of  1,474  was  the  largest,  only  Ephraim  Lock- 
wood  also  obtaining  over  a  thousand  runs  that 
summer  (1,105,  average  25).  He  began  the  season 
with  his  solitary  duck,  at  Cambridge,  and  in  forty 
visits  to  the  wicket  failed  to  reach  double  figures  on 
eleven  other  occasions.  Except  when  Henry  Phillips 
stumped  him  at  Brighton  and  once  at  Clifton,  he  was 
caught  or  bowled  every  time  he  was  dismissed,  and 
in  no  other  summer  proportionately  could  fast 
bowlers  so  frequently  claim  his  dismissal. 

One  feat  with  the  ball  commands  attention.  At 
Cheltenham,  for  Gloucestershire  v.  Notts,  he  bowled 
76  overs  36  maidens,  for  89  runs  and  17  wickets,  the 
last  seven  being  obtained  without  a  run,  three  in  one 
over.  "  No  greater  exploit  was  recorded.  Against 
a  county  eleven  such  a  result  might  have  been 
regarded  as  impossible."  He  had  placed  both  G.  F. 
Grace  and  W.  R.  Gilbert  at  long-leg.  Bat  after  bat 
fell  into  the  trap,  only  to  be  scolded  by  their  captain 
Richard  Daft.  "  He  was  wiser,  quieter  and  merci- 
lessly chaffed  when  he  hit  the  second  ball  bowled  to 
him  to  the  same  place."  [F.  S.  Ashley-Cooper 
refers  to  this  game  in  his  reminiscences  to  be  found  in 
Chapter  XVIIL]  "  That  week  was  certainly  a  lucky 
one  for  W.  G.'s  bowling,  as  at  Clifton,  on  the  following 
day  against  Yorkshire,  he  took  the  last  eight  York- 
shire wickets  in  ten  overs,  and  the  last  six  batsmen 
for  only  the  same  number  of  runs,"  besides  hitting 
71  out  of  103  while  in.  Thus  writes  Incog,  in  the 
Red  Lillywhite,  but  the  printed  score  shows  slight 
variation.  On  the  same  ground,  a  fortnight  later, 
he  captured  5  Surrey  wickets  for  only  26  runs. 
His  splendid  bowling  analysis  for  the  county  was 
81  wickets  for  only  9  runs  apiece.  This  contributed 
largely  to  a  season  of  unparalleled  success  in  the 
annals  of  Gloucestershire,  for  the  Western  county 
was  champion  for  the  second  year  in  succession. 
From  1870  to  1877,  the  side  (purely  amateur  until  the 
welcome  advent  of  Midwinter  the  giant  Australian 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  125 

in  the  current  season)  had  played  51  matches,  of 
which  33  had  been  won  and  only  7  lost. 

Eleven  years  had  elapsed  since  a  county  had 
played  England,  but  Gloucestershire  did  so  and  won 
by  5  wickets.  The  national  side  was  not  altogether 
representative,  but  in  this  demonstration  of  how  one 
family  could  build  up  a  county  side  it  was  no  mean 
feat  to  defeat  an  eleven  composed  of  A.  P.  Lucas,  J.  M. 
Cotterill,  F.  Penn,  J.  Furley  with  Jupp,  E.  Lock  wood, 
Arthur  Shrewsbury,  Pooley,  Emmett,  Barratt  and 
W.  Mycroft.  W.  G.  Grace,  as  he  was  rather  prone 
to  do,  put  in  his  opponents  first,  took  7  wickets 
before  hitting  five  fours  in  his  31,  besides  helping  to 
bring  off  a  wonderful  catch,  Jupp  returning  a  ball  so 
hard  to  him  that  it  bounded  off  his  arm  to  Fairbanks 
at  mid- wicket,  who  held  it  at  the  third  attempt. 

Against  the  North,  in  the  Whit-Monday  game  at 
Lord's,  W.  G.  bowled  through  both  innings,  in  the 
second  getting  8  wickets  for  36  runs.  The  Southern- 
ers needed  92  on  a  dreadful  wicket,  but  he  hit  with 
such  splendid  courage,  forcing  Mycroft  and  Morley 
to  the  tune  of  58  out  of  77  while  in,  that  they  scram- 
bled a  bare  victory  by  3  wickets.  At  Prince's 
between  the  same  sides,  he  contributed  the  largest 
innings  of  the  year,  261,  one  which  "  was  a  very  fine 
one  both  for  defence  and  hitting."  He  actually 
hit  his  first  two  hundred  runs  in  four  hours  out 
of  a  total  of  390  for  one  wicket.  Not  content 
with  this  he  took  n  wickets  for  139  runs,  get- 
ting Richard  Daft  each  time.  At  the  Oval  he 
began  with  a  desperately  punishing  54  out  of 
76,  being  the  first  man  out.  The  match  was  a 
keen  one,  South  winning  by  a  single  wicket,  the 
last  man  Fillery  coming  in  and  snicking  a  lucky 
four. 

Grace  bowled  unchanged  with  W.  S.  Patterson 
through  the  second  effort  of  the  Players  at  the  Oval, 
claiming  5  for  67,  Alfred  Lyttelton  being  particu- 
larly dexterous  in  snatching  catches  wide  of  the 


126     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

wicket.  At  Lord's,  his  41  was  a  good  innings  and  the 
highest,  leading  the  way  to  the  wonderful  effort  of 
G.  F.  Grace  and  W.  S.  Patterson  who  made  the  46 
required  when  associated  for  the  last  wicket.  For 
Gloucestershire  and  Yorkshire  v.  England — odd 
combinations  of  counties  were  tried  for  the  sake  of 
variety  in  those  days — in  unpropitious  weather, 
W.  G.  in  getting  52  out  of  the  first  93  hit  a  ball  for 
six  into  Dark's  garden.  Next  day,  on  his  twenty- 
ninth  birthday,  he  obtained  no  out  of  200  while  in 
compiled  in  his  very  best  style.  At  one  period  he 
scored  33,  whilst  Ulyett — a  great  hitter — made  one, 
and  he  sent  a  ball  on  to  the  top  of  the  pavilion. 

Yet  another  combination  was  tried  at  Canterbury 
when  W.  G.  Grace  and  A.  W.  Ridley  played  for  Kent 
as  "  given  men  " — to  use  the  old-time  phrase— 
against  England.  Arriving  late,  W.  G.  did  not  go 
in  first,  but  obtained  50  out  of  96  and  58  out  of  in. 
For  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Kent,  after  only  one  run 
divided  the  sides  at  the  close  of  an  innings  apiece,  he 
settled  the  result  by  taking  6  wickets  for  19  and 
making  49  not  out  out  of  the  74  required,  the  runs 
being  hit  off  for  the  loss  of  a  wicket  under  the 
hour. 

It  is  worth  noting  that  about  this  period  began  the 
recurrent  rumour  of  his  imminent  retirement.  As 
this  may  be  regarded  as  closing  the  pre-Australian 
portion  of  English  cricket,  his  superb  averages 
in  the  thirteen  seasons  he  had  thus  far  participated 
in  first-class  cricket  may  be  summarized.  (Naturally 
the  figures  given  are  the  revised  ones  of  F.  S.  Ashley- 
Cooper,  whose  research  and  minuteness  are  only 
equalled  by  his  unimpeachable  accuracy.) 

Innings  Not  Runs  Average 

377  36         18,374         53*88 

Balls  Runs  Wickets          Average 

40,952        16,041          1,142 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  127 

An  unbounded  field  for  speculation  is  opened  by 
considering  what  these  figures  would  have  been 
could  the  champion  have  been  playing  under  modern 
conditions. 


CHAPTER  XI 
The  New  Era 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  CANON  EDWARD 
LYTTELTON  AND  F.  R.  SPOFFORTH 

WG.  GRACE  was  less  affected  by  the  revolution 
9     that   the   Australians   effected  in  English 
cricket  than  any  other  player  of  note  who  continued 
in   first-class  matches   for   a   dozen   seasons  after- 
wards.    His  batting  was  in  no  degree  modified  by 
the  innumerable  subtle  changes  that  crept  into  the 
game.     All  variations  in   attack   continued  to  be 
subdued  by  his  masterful  ability  just  as  those  in  the 
preceding  decade  had  been.     His  own  bowling   in 
the  eighties  was  on  the  same  lines  as  it  had  been 
ever  since  he  had  changed  his  method  in  the  early 
seventies.     As  a  captain  he  did  not  exhibit  the  same 
modification  of  the  placing  of  his  field  to  suit  the 
exigencies  of  batsmen  as  others  did  after  Gregory 
and  Murdoch  set  them  the  example.     He  always 
placed  his  men  with  great  care  for  his  own  deliveries. 
Otherwise,  for  the  most  part,  he  left  it  to  the  bowler, 
and  if  the  latter  gave  no  hint  Grace  allowed  the  side 
to  take  up  conventional  positions.     True  the  placing 
of  his  field  in  the  nineties  varied  from  that  of  the 
seventies,  but  this  was  due  to  his  insensibly  following 
custom,  not  to  his  being  in  the  van  of  innovation. 
For  instance,  the  partial  abolition  of  point  to  him 
would  have  seemed  extraordinary,  though  he  was 
not  stereotyped.     He  had  no  prejudices,  he  listened 


W.    C.    GRACE. 
The  beginning  of  his  square  cut 

(From  an  action-photograph   by  G.   W.    Beldam.) 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  129 

to  discussions  of  innovations,  but,  for  the  most 
part,  he  was  content  with  things  as  they  were  and  did 
not  consider  that  the  game  needed  tampering  with. 
Three  times  in  1878  he  was  pitted  against  the 
Australians.  The  match  of  matches  of  course  was 
the  extraordinary  one  in  which  the  Colonials  beat  a 
fine  side  of  M.C.C.  and  Ground  in  a  single  day  by 
9  wickets.  The  ground  was  all  in  favour  of  the 
bowlers,  but  to  dismiss  an  eleven  composed  of  W.  G. 
Grace,  A.  N.  Hornby,  C.  Booth,  A.  W.  Ridley,  A.  J. 
Webbe,  G.  F.  Vernon  with  Wild,  Flowers,  G.  G. 
Hearne,  Shaw  and  Morley  for  33  and  19  remains  one 
of  the  curiosities  of  cricket.  F.  R.  Spofforth  took 
6  wickets  for  4  runs  and  4  wickets  for  16  ;  H.  F. 
Boyle  captured  3  for  14  and  6  for  3.  W.  G.  Grace's 
share  in  the  match  was  to  hit  the  first  ball  to  leg  for 
four,  but  to  be  caught  at  short-leg  by  Midwinter  off 
the  next ;  whilst  in  the  second  innings  he  was  bowled 
neck  and  crop  by  Spofforth.  Punch  in  a  capital 
parody  stated  that 

"  The  Australians  came  down  like  a  wolf  on  a  fold, 
The  Marylebone  cracks  for  a  trifle  were  bowled, 
Our  Grace,  before  dinner,  was  very  soon  done, 
And  Grace,  after  dinner,  did  not  get  a  run." 

The  playing  space  was  ridiculously  curtailed  and 
the  arrangements  for  spectators  hopelessly  inade- 
quate when  the  Gentlemen  met  our  visitors  at 
Prince's  and  beat  them  easily  by  an  innings  and  one 
run,  due  to  the  complete  failure  of  their  batting. 
Though  A.  G.  Steel  had  the  main  share  of  success 
with  the  ball,  to  W.  G.  was  due  no  little  of  the  credit 
of  the  victory,  for  his  6  wickets  only  cost  52,  and  with 
W.  R.  Gilbert  he  opened  the  batting,  playing  the 
now  redoubted  attack  with  confidence,  making  top- 
score,  25,  out  of  the  first  43  before  he  was  bowled 
by  Boyle. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  Australians  were  parti- 
cularly anxious  to  defeat  the  county  of  the  Graces, 


130     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

and  the  encounter  proved  a  strenuous  one,  ending  in 
a  Colonial  success  by  10  wickets,  "  the  first  defeat 
ever  sustained  by  Gloucestershire  on  a  home  ground." 
In  no  other  first-class  match  in  England  was  F.  R. 
Spofforth  credited  with  the  highest  innings  on 
either  side,  but  he  punished  the  bowling  of  W.  G. 
with  severity,  obtaining  44,  besides  taking  7  wickets 
for  49  and  5  for  41.  The  persistency  with  which 
Grace  bowled  aroused  considerable  criticism  and 
Lillywhite  contained  this  stricture  in  the  review  of 
Gloucestershire  :  "  Our  cricketers  should  take  two 
examples  from  the  Australians — first,  change  your 
bowlers  when  they  don't  get  wickets ;  secondly, 
don't  let  a  bowler  be  captain. "  There  had  previously 
been  considerable  friction  between  the  Graces  and 
the  Australians,  due  to  the  former  claiming  Mid- 
winter for  a  county  match  at  the  Oval  when  he  was 
turning  out  for  the  Colonials  on  another  metropo- 
litan ground  :  E.  M.  and  W.  G.  Grace  actually  went 
down  in  a  four-wheeler  and  brought  back  the  giant 
from  St.  John's  Wood.  He  took  no  part  in  the  match 
between  his  fellow-colonials  and  his  own  county  side. 
Continuing  his  recollections  of  Grace,  F.  R. 
Spofforth  writes : 

"  The  next  time  I  met  him  was  in  that  famous 
one-day  match  at  Lord's.  The  curious  thing  was  that 
though  the  Club's  first  total  was  only  33,  yet  there 
was  a  change,  because  I  was  put  on  in  place  of  Allan 
because  he  was  bowling  so :  badly,  though  he  got 
Grace's  wicket.  We  knew  nothing  of  the  English 
climate  then  and  fielded  shivering  in  silk  shirts,  not 
one  of  the  team  having  a  sweater. 

The  figures  Sir  Home  Gordon  has  shown  me  of 
what  Grace  did  in  matches  against  me,  37  innings, 
1,042  runs,  28*16  average,  considerably  less  than 
his  general  average,  bears  out  my  theory  that  I 
never  had  any  particular  difficulty  in  getting  him 
out.  I  clean  bowled  him  seven  times.  A.  C.  M. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  131 

Croome  says  that  W.  G.  told  him  that  on  any  wicket 
he  never  knew  when  I  should  bowl  him.  This  may 
have  been  due  in  part  to  my  artfulness.  I  always 
had  a  silly  mid-on  for  him  and  that  invariably  wor- 
ried him.  I  used  to  put  my  fingers  round  the  ball  in 
odd  ways  when  bowling  to  W.  G.,  just  because  I 
knew  he  watched  my  hand  so  closely.  Once  he 
hit  a  single  off  what  was  merely  a  long  hop,  and 
when  he  came  to  my  end  he  asked,  '  What  were  you 
trying  to  do  with  that  ball  ?  '  I  had  not  been  trying 
anything  except  to  lull  him  into  inattention,  but  I 
replied  :  '  You  are  the  luckiest  bat  in  the  world ;  it's 
just  my  bad  luck  that  I  did  not  get  on  a  big  break 
from  the  off  and  send  you  back/  The  very  next 
ball  he  had  from  me,  he  was  ready  for  me  to  try  that 
big  break.  I  knew  he  would  be,  I  was  sure  his  great 
leg  would  come  in  front  to  allow  him  to  reach  the 
ball.  So  I  sent  a  perfectly  straight  one  dead  at  the 
leg-stump,  which  hit  him  hard  on  the  pad.  '  How's 
that? '  '  Out,'  said  Luke  Greenwood,  and  as  W.  G. 
walked  back,  grumbling  and  growling,  he  added  :  '  I 
can't  help  it ;  no,  not  if  you  was  the  Prince  of  Wales 
hisself.' 

My  theory  is  that  most  people  did  not  bowl  so  well 
to  Grace  as  they  did  to  other  batsmen.  They  were 
a  bit  afraid  of  what  he  would  do  to  their  balls  and 
so  their  balls  had  a  little  less  devil.  I  am  sure  this 
was  the  case  not  only  with  professionals,  but  with  a 
good  many  amateurs  ;  never  in  my  case.  Of  course 
I  was  not  against  him  when  he  scored  that  grand 
152  in  the  first  test  match  at  the  Oval.  I  had  broken 
the  top  of  my  metacarpal  and  had  been  for  a  six 
weeks'  holiday  in  Jersey,  but  came  back  and  saw  the 
wonderful  game.  I  bowled  him  in  the  first  innings 
of  the  1,882  match  when  we  Australians  won  by  7 
runs.  He  played  an  excellent  32  himself  when 
England  was  set  85  to  win,  and  it  was  after  that 
defeat  that  Horan  records  he  saw  him  looking  a  bit 
downcast  for  the  only  time.  W.  G.  said  to  him  : 


132     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

4  Well,  well.  I  left  six  men  to  get  thirty  odd  runs  and 
they  could  not  get  them.' 

Only  once  did  I  play  on  the  same  side  as  W.  G. 
Even  in  the  Smokers  and  Non-Smokers  in  1884 1  was 
opposed  to  him.  Part  of  that  time  we  were  feeding 
George  Bonnor  just  to  enjoy  his  glorious  hitting.  I 
was  more  pleased  to  be  punished  by  him  in  that 
friendly  game  than  at  getting  lots  of  wickets.  He,  by 
the  way,  was  an  occasional  cigarette  smoker,  but 
compiled  an  amazing  124  out  of  156  while  in  for  the 
Nons.  Though  W.  G.  only  made  10  when  George 
Palmer  caught  and  bowled  him,  he  took  5  wickets  for 
29  runs  and  clean  bowled  Percy  McDonnell  each 
time. 

I  think  Grace  had  more  qualities  as  a  good  captain 
than  are  sometimes  granted.  His  great  merit  was 
that  he  never  offended  the  bowler.  A  bowler  does 
not  possess  the  disposition  of  a  batsman.  The 
latter  stays  at  the  wicket  just  as  long  as  he  can.  A 
bowler  may  suffer  from  a  sense  of  injury  through 
being  taken  off  before  he  considers  he  had  a  fair  show. 
Directly  he  fears  he  will  not  get  that,  he  bowls  for 
maiden  overs,  and  that  is  not  bowling.  Bowling  is 
an  offensive  attack  to  get  wickets,  not  a  defensive 
•effort  to  keep  down  runs.  Grace  always  allowed 
his  bowlers  their  fair  fling,  and  this  is  what  I  have 
not  heard  put  to  his  credit.  To  the  end  he  remained 
a  captain  according  to  the  earlier  traditions.  That 
is  to  say  he  set  his  field  pretty  much  on  the  lines  of 
olden  days,  not  modifying  for  individual  idiosyn- 
crasies of  batsmen — as  modern  English  captains 
first  learnt  to  do  from  Gregory  and  Murdoch,  who 
were  both  uncommonly  good  to  their  bowlers. 
Grace  modified  the  fieldsmen  on  the  leg-side  for  his 
own  bowling,  but  that  was  personal,  a  bowler's 
artifice,  not  one  of  captaincy.  But  of  all,  as  captain, 
he  never  allowed  his  own  enthusiasm  or  that  of  his 
side  to  flag.  My  crowning  memory  of  him  is  of  his 
unceasing  keenness." 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  133 

1878  witnessed  the  earliest  diminution  in  the 
amount  of  cricket  played  by  W.  G.  Grace.  His  first- 
class  engagements  were  as  numerous  as  ever,  but  his 
form  was  affected  alike  by  a  wet  cold  season  and  by 
his  medical  studies,  which  forced  him  to  sever  his 
connection  with  the  United  South.  "  It  was  evident 
from  the  first  that  he  had  not  his  usual  mastery  of 
the  bowling,  his  sight  apparently  not  being  as  good 
as  usual,  and  those  sharp  hits  on  the  ground,  rebound- 
ing over  point's  head  on  a  hard  ground,  did  not 
help  him  as  usuaT."  Though  Ulyett,  who  alone 
besides  Grace  scored  11,000  runs,  beat  him  in  aggre- 
gate (1,314  as  compared  with  1,151),  W.  G.  was 
easily  the  best  all-round  man  in  England,  for  he 
obtained  152  wickets  in  addition  to  his  score.  It 
may  be  of  interest  to  add  that  A.  G.  Steel  averaged 
22  with  the  bat,  but  his  164  wickets  cost  the  amazing 
number  of  only  9  runs  each. 

Grace  had  but  one  century  in  1878, 116  for  Glouces- 
tershire v.  Notts  which,  on  a  dead  wicket,  took  him 
five  and  a  half  hours  to  compile  assisted  by  several 
lives.  Playing  for  Tom  Emmett's  benefit  at  Shef- 
field, in  a  game  wherein  the  rest  of  his  county  eleven 
did  practically  nothing,  W.  G.  batted  with  admirable 
judgment  for  62  and  35.  It  was  always  locally 
asserted  that  Old  Trafford  was  not  a  favourable 
ground  to  the  champion,  but  on  Gloucestershire's 
first  appearance,  he  was  a  long  way  the  best  run-getter 
on  the  side  with  32  and  an  invaluable  58  not  out, 
which  saved  the  match  when  A.  G.  Steel  was  mowing 
down  wickets.  Alec  Watson  has  related  that  twenty 
thousand  spectators  were  attracted  by  the  announce- 
ment of  the  advent  of  the  champion. 

Grace  has  himself  narrated  how  Jupp  and  Souther- 
ton  tried  to  get  him  in  a  fix  when  the  ball  bounded 
into  an  opening  of  his  shirt,  whilst  he  was  running 
in  Gloucestershire  v.  Surrey  match  at  Clifton.  Frank 
Townsend  and  he  had  run  three  when  the  ball  lodged 
there,  and  after  three  more  had  been  run,  the  two- 


134     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

Surrey  professionals  collared  the  batsman.  "  We 
don't  know  how  many  runs  you  mean  to  run,  sir ; 
but  you  might  give  us  the  ball."  "  No,  thank  you  ; 
take  it  out  for  yourself,  Jupp,"  replied  W.  G.,  laugh- 
ing, ''you  don't  get  me  out  that  way."  Jupp,  by 
the  way,  he  regarded  as  the  safest  catch  in  the  long 
field  that  he  ever  saw. 

His  finest  exhibition,  as  so  often  happened,  was 
when  the  chief  demand  was  made  on  his  skill,  namely 
at  Lord's  batting  against  the  Players.  So  well  did  he 
open  against  Alfred  Shaw,  Emmett,  Barlow,  Mid- 
winter, Ulyett  and  Morley  that  in  an  hour  and  fifty 
minutes  before  luncheon  he  had  scored  78  not  out, 
which  he  increased  to  90  out  of  151  when  Shaw 
caught  him  remarkably  well,  left-handed.  "It  is 
only  truth  to  record  that  for  correct  timing  and  safe 
placing  the  ball,  clean  hitting  and  first-class  defence 
this  innings  was  one  of  the  best  he  ever  played." 
Ten'  fours  and  seven  threes  were  the  chief  strokes. 
The  left-handed  catch  at  point  with  which  he  dis- 
lodged Richard  Daft  was  remarkable,  for  it  was  one 
of  the  rare  occasions  when  the  impetus  of  the  ball 
forced  his  strong  frame  to  swing  round.  No  fields- 
man was  ever  firmer  on  his  feet  than  W.  G. 

Nor  had  he  "  lost  form  "  at  the  Oval,  where  it  was 
his  personal  prowess  that  mainly  accounted  for  the 
defeat  of  the  professionals  by  55  runs.  He  went  in 
first  and  was  last  man  out  in  a  total  of  76,  of  which 
his  share  was  40,  without  anything  like  a  chance. 
In  the  second  innings  he  fairly  mastered  the  attack, 
his  63  being  by  far  the  largest  contribution  in  the 
match.  He  was  given  out  for  obstruction  and  on 
returning  to  the  pavilion  remarked  :  "I  don't  fear 
the  bowlers,  but  I  do  fear  the  umpires."  Five 
wickets  fell  to  his  share  and  he  cleverly  caught  and 
bowled  Arthur  Shrewsbury,  who  alone  offered 
prolonged  resistance. 

The  Whit-Monday  match  at  Lord's  was  his  other 
notable  occasion.  Before  eleven  thousand  people, 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  135 

he  batted  freely  for  45,  including  two  tremendous 
smites  into  the  crowd  "  bringing  out  roars  of  delighted 
cheers."  Next  day,  he  scored  very  fast  in  his  77,  a 
feature  of  which  was  two  grand  drives  to  the  trees 
off  successive  balls  from  Morley.  Thus  he  made  122 
out  of  174  for  the  South,  his  bowling  accounted  for  9 
wickets  and  his  "  wonderfully  active  and  efficient 
fielding  saved  an  incalculable  number  of  runs." 
This  was  one  of  the  occasions  when  he  went  to  the 
crowd  and  entreated  them  to  give  a  little  more 
fielding  space,  laughing  with  and  chaffing  them  in 
delightful  fashion,  shaking  hands  with  any  who 
wanted  to  and  getting  his  own  way,  whilst  growing 
more  liked  every  time  he  came  into  personal  contact 
with  the  throng. 

The  rainfall  of  1879  has  remained  proverbial 
among  cricketers  ever  since,  and  Grace  was  unable 
to  play  at  all  in  May  owing  to  the  demands  of  his 
medical  studies.  He  laid  the  foundation  of  his  pro- 
fessional knowledge  at  Bristol  Medical  School,  subse- 
quently studied  at  St.  Bartholomew's  and  West- 
minster hospitals  and  in  November  obtained  his 
L.R.C.P.  at  Edinburgh  as  well  as  the  M.R.C.S.  of 
England.  All  the  same,  he  recovered  his  old  position 
at  the  head  of  the  batting  averages,  whilst  with  105 
wickets  for  13  runs  apiece  he  stood  third  in  the 
bowling,  only  surpassed  in  aggregate  by  Shaw  and 
Morley,  though  A.  G.  Steel's  93  wickets  averaged  a 
run  less. 

His  earliest  appearance  was  on  Whit-Monday  for 
Alfred  Shaw's  match  at  Lord's,  and  nothing  in  his 
whole  career  was  more  generous  and  chivalrous  than 
his  action  in  relation  to  this  rightly  popular  profes- 
sional. For  when  the  weather  proved  so  disastrous 
to  the  beneficiare,  Grace  wrote  to  the  Committee  of 
M.C.C.  saying  he  should  be  pleased  if  they  would 
sanction  the  proceeds  of  his  own  complimentary 
inatch  being  added  (less  the  expenses)  as  a  subscrip- 
tion to  the  lists  of  Shaw.  There  is  no  parallel  in 


136     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

cricket  to  this  and  it  is  one  which  must  remain  a 
permanent  monument  to  the  credit  of  the  kindly 
champion.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  elements  proved 
even  more  perverse  and  the  slow  bowler  reaped  little 
advantage. 

It  is  a  cricket  axiom  that  hardly  ever  does  a  man 
do  himself  justice  in  his  own  match  and  W.  G. 
proved  no  exception,  for  Morley  bowled  him  for  the 
unenviable  cypher  and  he  was  subsequently  caught 
for  a  single  figure  ;  but  some  excellent  bowling,  6  for 
32 — all  victims  to  his  wiliness,  for  not  one  of  his 
balls  hit  the  stump — enabled  his  side  to  win  by  7 
wickets.  The  elevens  chosen  for  this  testimonial 
game  for  W.  G.  were  as  follows  :  Over  Thirty  :  W.  G. 
Grace,  E.  M.  Grace,  F.  Townsend  with  Richard  Daft, 
Selby,  Oscroft,  Emmett,  Wild,  Alfred  Shaw,  Pooley 
and  Morley  ;  Under  Thirty  :  Ivo  Bligh  (subsequently 
Lord  Darnley),  Alfred  Lyttelton,  Vernon  Royle, 
Frank  Penn,  G.  F.  Grace  with  Barlow,  Bates, 
Barnes,  G.  G.  Hearne  and  Morley.  Though  both 
elevens  were  excellent,  the  names  of  several  promi- 
nent amateurs  were  conspicuously  missing. 

In  front  of  the  pavilion  a  presentation  was  made 
to  W.  G.  Grace  of  a  sum  of  £1,458  and  a  marble  clock 
suitably  inscribed,  as  well  as  two  bronze  ornaments. 
Lord  Fitzhardinge,  who  made  the  presentation,  said 
the  original  idea  had  been  to  purchase  a  practice  for 
Mr.  Grace,  but  that  he  had  talked  the  matter  over 
with  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  and  they  thought  Mr. 
Grace  was  old  enough  and  strong  enough  to  choose  a 
practice  for  himself. 

W.  G.  began  by  saying  he  was  not  a  speech-maker, 
but  he  thanked  them  all  for  the  manner  in  which 
they  had  got  up  the  testimonial.  It  had  far  exceeded 
his  expectations,  and  whenever  he  looked  at  the 
clock  he  should  remember  the  occasion  on  which  it 
was  presented  to  him. 

Lord  Charles  Russell,  in  a  humorous  speech,  said 
he  had  seen  greater  bowlers  than  Mr.  Grace,  but  he 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  137 

would  say  with  a  clear  conscience  that  he  had  never 
seen  a  better  field  and  he  had  never  seen  any  one  to 
approach  him  as  a  bat.  He  was  never  able  to  tell 
whether  he  was  playing  a  winning  or  a  losing  game. 
He  had  never  seen  the  slightest  lukewarmness  or 
inertness  in  him.  If  they  wanted  to  see  Mr.  Grace 
play  cricket,  he  would  ask  them  to  look  at  him 
playing  one  ball.  They  all  knew  the  miserably 
tame  effect  of  the  ball  hitting  the  bat  instead  of  the 
bat  hitting  the  ball.  In  playing  a  ball,  Mr.  Grace 
put  every  muscle  into  it  from  the  sole  of  his  foot  to  the 
crown  of  his  head  ;  and  just  as  he  played  one  ball, 
so  he  played  cricket.  He  was  heart  and  soul  in  it. 
Never  did  a  bell  ring  for  cricketers  to  go  into  the  field, 
but  Mr.  Grace  was  in  first,  and  that  was  a  great 
matter  in  cricket  playing.  The  Marylebone  Club 
held  its  ground  for  the  practice  and  promotion  of 
good  sound  cricket,  and  it  was  for  that  reason  they 
had  such  great  delight  in  taking  part  in  this  testi- 
monial to  Mr.  Grace,  who  was  in  every  respect  of  the 
word  a  thorough  cricketer. 

Alfred  Shaw,  in  his  narrative  of  his  own  career, 
wrote  : 

"  Many  and  many  a  duel  I  have  had  with  '  the 
Doctor/  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  me  to 
bowl  at  him  in  matches  six  days  a  week.  Though 
his  wicket  was  so  difficult  to  secure,  it  was  always  a 
treat  to  bowl  to  him.  He  had  not  only  a  wonderful 
eye,  but  a  masterly  knowledge  of  what  to  do  with 
every  variety  of  ball  and  how  to  do  it.  Bowl  him  a 
ball  on  the  off  stump  and  he  would  play  it  to  the  off ; 
place  him  one  on  the  leg  stump  and  he  would  play  it 
to  the  on.  If  either  was  a  foot  short  or  a  foot  too 
far  up,  he  would  score  off  it.  Then,  again,  the  ball 
which  rose  hastily  on  the  off-side  and  needed  cutting, 
he  would  put  down  between  the  slips." 

In  conversation,  Alfred  Shaw  once  observed  that 
the  great  secret  of  W.  G.'s  success  as  a  bowler  was 


138     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

that  he  sent  down  more  balls  on  the  blind  spot  of  a 
batsman  than  any  one  else  ever  did.  On  another 
occasion  he  said  :  "I  would  sooner  bowl  to  G.  F. 
while  he  makes  a  hundred  than  to  W.  G.  while  he 
makes  fifty.  I  can  see  all  the  wickets  when  G.  F.  is 
in,  but  when  W.  G.  is  in,  what  with  his  big  bat,  his 
big  pads  and  his  big  body,  I  never  see  half  the 
wickets  from  the  first  to  the  last  ball  of  the  over.  I 
know  they  are  somewhere  behind  him  and  have  to 
guess  at  them." 

On  a  very  dead  wicket,  Grace  played  a  masterly 
innings  of  123  for  his  county  against  Surrey,  though 
lie  had  three  lives.  It  was  the  only  feature  of  a  dull 
game  in  which,  by  further  capturing  9  wickets,  he 
had  the  main  share  in  a  success  by  10  wickets.  His 
1 02  at  Trent  Bridge  on  a  pitch  ruined  by  rain  was  not 
one  of  his  best,  still  its  actual  value  may  be  indicated 
by  the  facts  that  the  next  highest  effort  was  26  and 
the  total  only  reached  197.  At  Lord's  v.  Middlesex 
he  took  6  wickets  for  only  16  runs.  In  home  matches 
in  August  he  displayed  wonderful  form.  Against 
Middlesex,  when  1,063  runs  were  scored  for  only  27 
wickets  on  a  really  hard  pitch,  he  and  W.  R.  Gilbert 
put  on  161  for  the  first  wicket,  his  share  being  85, 
whilst  his  masterly  81  not  out  saved  his  side  later  on 
in  notable  fashion.  He  gave  Lancashire  practically 
a  one-man  show,  taking  7  wickets  for  37  and  making 
75  not  out  out  of  123.  It  was  not  his  fault  that 
Notts  were  victors  in  the  first  inter-county  match 
Gloucestershire  ever  lost  on  a  home  ground,  for  he 
was  top-scorer  in  each  innings  with  27  and  33,  besides 
taking  6  wickets  for  37  runs.  Arthur  Shrewsbury 
and  Barnes  on  fourth  hands,  however,  batted  with 
implacable  dexterity.  Against  Surrey  at  Cirencester 
trace's  bowling  was  again  the  salient  feature,  8  for 
8 1  and  7  for  35,  the  latter  remarkable  in  his  case 
because  he  clean  bowled  six  of  the  visitors.  The  soli- 
tary match  against  Somersetshire  has  always  been 
reckoned  as  first-class,  though  it  was  not.  It  proved 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  139 

an  easy  walk-over  for  the  county  of  the  Graces  and 
W.  G.  scored  113.  Oddly  enough  the  redoubtable 
Oxonian  fast  bowler  A.  H.  Evans  only  claimed  the 
wicket  of  G.  F.  Grace. 

Living  up  to  his  repute  for  always  doing  something 
in  a  benefit  match,  W.  G.,  in  that  of  James  Souther- 
ton,  with  21  and  41  alone  made  the  least  headway 
against  Bates  and  Morley,  who  were  quite  irresistible. 
Previously,  for  the  Gentlemen  at  the  Oval,  he  had 
been  compelled  to  play  in  unwontedly  defensive 
fashion,  Alfred  Shaw  sending  down  nineteen  consecu- 
tive overs  for  only  two  runs  ;  but  he  made  his  26 
out  of  34  whilst  in.  At  Lord's  what  W.  G.  himself 
termed  a  surprisingly  clever  catch  by  Oscroft  left- 
handed  settled  him  at  the  outset.  Grace  subse- 
quently said  his  happiest  moments  that  summer 
were  when  in  Alfred  Shaw's  ruined  benefit  match  he 
sent  two  consecutive  balls  from  that  bowler,  who 
always  gave  him  most  cause  for  attention,  the  one 
into  Dark's  garden  for  six  and  the  other  on  to  the  top 
of  the  tavern  for  the  same  amount. 

Canon  Edward  Lyttelton,  the  retired  head-master 
of  Eton,  who  was  himself  a  fine  bat  and  magnificent 
field  as  well  as  captain  of  the  famous  Cambridge 
eleven  of  1878,  writes  : 

"  I  omit  all  restatement  of  what  has  been  already 
well  said,  but  wish  to  rescue  from  oblivion  certain 
technical  points  in  which  his  batting  was  either  quite 
distinctive,  or  at  least  wonderful  from  its  excellence 
on  familiar  lines. 

It  is  quite  true  that  he  was  strangely  lacking  in 
attractiveness  of  style,  but  I  should  dispute  what  has 
been  said  that  the  effort  in  each  stroke  was  obvious. 
The  style  was  unattractive,  not  because  it  was 
laborious,  but  because  the  movements  were  ungainly. 
The  immense  shoulders  were  put  into  the  stroke  more 
obviously  than  the  wrists,  and  this  took  away  all 
.grace  from  the  movement,  but  the  power  was  aston- 


140     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

ishing  because  of  the  perfection  of  the  timing  and  the 
leg  work.  For  instance,  in  the  digging  stroke  past 
point  for  a  good-length  ball  six  inches  off  the  off 
stump,  what  was  noticed  was  the  awkward  heave  of 
the  shoulders  as  he  bent  right  over  the  ball,  and  the 
curious  prod  with  the  elbows  ;  but  the  force  with 
which  the  ball  went  was  astonishing,  till  one  noticed 
that  the  movement  of  the  upper  part  of  the  body  was 
perfectly  combined  with  a  stamp  of  the  right  foot. 
I  saw  him  in  1878  make  this  stroke  so  mightily  that, 
though  Barlow's  horny  left  hand  was  enough  in  the 
way  to  deflect  the  ball  45  °,  it  went  off  the  palm  right 
away  to  the  ropes  for  four.  I  think  Tom  Emmett 
was  the  bowler. 

He  never  reached  his  arms  right  forward  for  the 
forward  stroke,  but  seemed  to  contain  himself  in 
order  to  make  sure  that  the  ball  was  not  turning  on 
the  ground  before  he  played.  But  once,  in  1875, 
he  met  his  decease  at  the  hand  of  that  astute  artist 
Alfred  Shaw.  The  ball  pitched  at  a  perfect  length  on 
the  off  stump,  shot  down  the  hill  and  took  the  leg 
stump,  just  missing  the  bat  which  was  advancing, 
but  not  far  enough.  I  think  this  was  because  the 
break  was  more  than  could  be  expected  from  the 
nature  of  the  ground.  But  the  next  innings  Shaw 
prudently  cried  off  for  some  injury,  fancied  or  real, 
in  the  foot,  and  the  unfortunate  Players  had  a  dusty 
time  of  it.  It  was  then  that  I  observed  his  unique 
play  of  the  shooter.  Morley  of  Nottingham  was  just 
at  his  best  as  a  fast  bowler,  but  the  most  witless 
cricketer  to  be  found  anywhere.  He  slammed  in 
the  balls  at  exactly  the  same  pace  and  length  over 
after  over,  being  that  kind  of  bowler  who  was  so 
punished  by  W.  G.  that  he  may  be  said  to  have  be- 
come insignificant  in  first-class  cricket  for  several 
years.  The  mechanical  fast  bowler,  in  short,  had  to 
exercise  his  craft  furtively  on  grounds  remote  from 
the  Leviathan's  presence. 

Now  1875  was  the  last  year  in  which  shooters  were 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  141 

•common  at  Lord's,  and  any  one  who  knows  the  pace 
at  which  Morley's  balls  used  to  shoot  on  the  leg  stump, 
and  the  profound  satisfaction  that  it  gave  to  stop  one 
of  them  solidly,  something  after  the  manner  of  that 
superb  craftsman  R.  A.  H.  Mitchell,  will  understand 
the  unspeakable  mastery  of  the  ball  which  was 
revealed  by  W.  G.'s  performance.  He  scored  152 
in  that  innings,  but  it  was  only  by  degrees  that  we 
detected  what  he  was  doing  with  the  shooter.  He 
brought  down  the  bat  with  a  curious  dig,  at  such  an 
angle  that  it  not  only  went  forcibly  towards  mid-on, 
but  he  positively  placed  it  on  each  side  of  the  field  as 
he  chose.  Of  course,  if  Morley  had  changed  his  pace 
instead  of  bowling  like  a  machine,  or  if  the  wicket 
liad  been  of  the  kicking  sort,  this  could  not  have  been 
done.  It  was  the  most  titanic  display  of  batting 
that  ever  I  have  seen. 

Another  feature  of  his  play  was  that  he  was  never 
out  of  form  ;  of  course,  his  scoring  differed  in  amount, 
but  as  far  as  I  could  see  there  was  no  stretch  of  time 
when  his  eye  appeared  to  be  off.  For  instance,  in 
1879 — a  nightmare  year  of  heavy  rain — a  huge  crowd 
gathered  in  awful  weather  on  Whit-Monday,  and  W.  G. 
went  in  for  a  few  minutes  to  see  what  could  be  done 
in  the  way  of  play.  Alfred  Shaw  was  bowling,  and, 
though  there  had  been  no  good  cricket  for  many  days 
before,  he  knew  he  could  trust  W.  G.  to  respond 
without  fail  to  any  venture  for  a  big  hit ;  so,  in  order 
to  give  the  crowd  something  to  cheer  at,  he  dropped 
him  three  half-volleys  on  his  legs  (from  the  pavilion 
end),  which  were  all  despatched  with  perfect  ease 
to  the  tavern.  In  that  terrible  year  other  batsmen 
might  have  done  it,  but  no  one  but  W.  G.  could 
have  been  relied  upon  to  do  it.  Akin  to  this  was 
the  fact  that  in  his  prime  he  would  travel  on  a  night 
journey  from  Canterbury  to  Clifton  (as  I  am 
pretty  sure  he  did  in  August,  1876)  and  play  a  colossal 
innings  on  arrival,  not  only  showing  no  symptoms  of 
fatigue,  but  quite  unconscious  that  there  was  any- 


142     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

thing  remarkable  in  what  he  did.  This  was  charac- 
teristic of  the  man.  No  one  ever  had  a  more  unana- 
lytic  brain.  Once  when  there  was  a  discussion  as  to 
how  a  certain  difficult  ball  should  be  played,  one  of 
those  present  asked  him  his  opinion,  and  he  said 
with  the  utmost  simplicity,  '  I  should  say  you  ought 
to  put  the  bat  against  the  ball '  (pronounced  like  the 
name  of  the  Swiss  town  Bale). 

His  power  of  eye  was  well  shown  in  an  innings  in 
1879  against  Bates  of  Yorkshire,  who  was  breaking 
back  on  a  sticky  wicket  most  formidably.  W.  G. 
detected  the  moment  the  ball  left  Bates's  hand  where 
it  was  going  to  pitch,  and  if  it  were  an  awkward 
length  he  would  lurch  a  foot  or  so  from  his  ground 
so  as  easily  to  reach  the  pitch,  and  suppress  the  ball 
before  it  had  time  to  turn.  In  fact,  it  looked  as 
though  he  might  have  run  out  and  hit  it  on  the  half- 
volley  ;  but  I  fancy  that  his  great  weight  made  that 
difficult  for  him,  or  possibly  he  might  have  done  so 
at  a  later  stage  in  the  innings. 

Many  cricketers  will  think  that  it  was  to  be 
deplored  that  he  forsook  the  old-fashioned  leg  hit 
for  the  sliding  stroke.  There  was  something,  to  my 
mind,  unsportsmanlike  about  this,  though  no  doubt 
he  reduced  it  to  such  a  certainty  that  it  added  to  his 
average  ;  but  if  Mitchell  or  W.  Oscroft  or  George 
Parr  had  adopted  these  cautious  tactics,  instead  of 
hitting  to  leg  as  they  did,  the  world  would  have 
been  the  poorer  for  all  time. 

Howitt  oi  Middlesex,  the  fast  left-hand  bowler, 
used  to  sling  the  ball  in  straight  at  the  batsman's 
person,  rather  short,  trusting  to  it  bounding  high, 
and  getting  the  batsman  caught  at  short-leg.  In  his 
later  days  he  used  to  relate  gleefully  how  W.  G. 
was  on  one  occasion  uneasy  at  these  balls,  and  was 
observed  by  Howitt  to  look  round  at  short-leg  just 
before  the  ball  was  bowled,  and  then  place  a  slightly 
uppish  stroke  two  or  three  feet  on  one  side  of  him. 
Old  Tom  Hearne  was  short-leg,  and  Howitt  made  a 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE 


143 


plot  with  him  that  after  W.  G.  had  prospected r 
Hearne  should  move  two  feet  to  the  right  at  a  certain 
ball  in  the  next  over.  The  plot  came  off  to  perfec- 
tion, and  the  ball  was  landed  in  Tom's  hands,  the 
bourne  in  which  it  very  seldom  failed  to  find  a  resting- 
place,  and  the  great  man  had  to  go." 


CHAPTER  XII 
Tests  and  Triumphs 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  A.  P.  LUCAS,  J.  SHUTER, 
S.  H.  PARDON  AND  C.  W.  BURLS 

WG.  GRACE  played  in  the  first  great  test  match 
.  in  England  in  1880  and,  as  was  only  appro- 
priate, the  champion  achieved  the  grand  national 
success  on  the  victorious  side.  But  this  was  at  the 
very  close  of  the  season  and  other  games  must  claim 
precedence.  Again  he  took  a  comparatively  small 
part  in  important  cricket,  only  sixteen  matches, 
and  though  his  batting  average  was  39,  his  bowling 
proved  more  expensive  on  harder  grounds,  namely 
17,  so  he  did  not  quite  reach  either  his  thousand  runs 
•or  his  hundred  wickets. 

Not  seen  in  the  field  until  June,  the  bulk  of  his 
work  was  effected  for  his  county.  "  In  the  last  three 
matches  he  played  the  following  wonderful  series  of 
innings — 67, 31  not  out,  89, 57  not  out  and  106,  or  350 
runs  for  three  times  out.  His  hitting  against  time 
to  win  the  returns  with  Surrey  and  Yorkshire  was 
magnificent." 

Batting  at  Lord's  v.  Middlesex,  he  showed  all  his 
old  skill  for  69,  though  the  innings  was  marked  by 
alternate  sallies  of  hard  hitting  and  of  dogged  defence. 
In  a  rain-ruined  encounter  with  Notts  at  Trent 
Bridge,  after  getting  5  wickets  for  40  runs,  he  played 
exceeding  well  for  36.  But  it  was  in  the  home 
iixtures  that  he  proved  redoubtable.  If  he  made 

144 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  145 

comparatively  few  runs  against  Middlesex,  it  was 
his  excellent  bowling  in  the  second  innings  that 
laid  the  real  foundation  for  a  5  wickets  victory. 
Against  Lancashire,  he  changed  his  order  of  going 
in  so  as  to  keep  himself  until  next  day,  but  when  5 
wickets  were  gone  for  50,  was  forced  to  bat  within  a 
few  minutes  of  time.  Next  morning  he  played  with 
superb  distinction  for  106,  compiled  in  less  than  three 
hours,  no  one  else  in  the  innings  or  in  the  rest  of  the 
match  getting  50.  It  was  a  rare  good  contribution 
against  the  bowling  of  Appleby,  Nash,  Watson  and 
Barlow.  The  tale  of  the  sensational  victory  over 
Surrey  is  told  later  in  this  chapter.  Against  Yorkshire 
W.  G.  "seized  another  opportunity  of  showing  how  he 
could  score  against  time.  Less  than  an  hour  and  a 
half  was  left  in  which  to  make  84,  but  so  fast  did  he 
score  that,  despite  the  time  elapsing  through  four 
wickets  falling,  the  runs  were  obtained  with  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  to  spare,  his  share  being  57  out  of  77  from 
the  bat.  It  would  be  impossible  to  speak  too  highly 
of  his  batting  in  this  match  ;  it  was  equal  to  anything 
he  had  previously  done." 

It  was  the  victory  of  the  Australians  over  Glouces- 
tershire, due  mainly  to  wretched  fielding  by  the 
home  side,  for  which  W.  G.  took  n  wickets  for  134 
runs,  that  intensified  the  desire  for  a  test  match. 
Finally  it  was  arranged  for  the  somewhat  late  date  of 
September  6  at  the  Oval,  and  W.  G.  Grace  was  one  of 
those  who  cordially  worked  to  get  over  many  diffi- 
culties. The  England  side  was  admirably  selected, 
and  there  was  appropriateness  in  including  all  three 
Graces  in  that  first  historic  encounter.  The  rest  of 
the  team  was  composed  of  Lord  Harris,  Frank  Penn, 
A.  P.  Lucas,  A.  G.  Steel,  Alfred  Lyttelton  with 
Barnes,  Shaw  and  Morley.  How  strange  that  but 
two  should  survive  only  six  and  thirty  years  later. 
The  Australians  were  badly  handicapped,  an  injury 
to  his  hand  depriving  them  of  the  help  of  Spofforth. 
Fifty  thousand  spectators  witnessed  a  contest  worthy 


146     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  the  occasion  played  on  so  good  a  pitch  that  it  was 
sarcastically  called  "  a  bread  and  butter  wicket." 
England  opened  its  innings  with  E.  M.  and  W.  G. 
Grace  to  the  attack  of  H.  F.  Boyle  and  G.  E.  Palmer, 
and  right  well  the  brothers  played,  putting  up  91 
before  the  elder  was  sent  back,  thus  giving  the 
mother  country  a  splendid  start.  W.  G.  seldom 
played  a  more  masterly  innings.  Anxiety  to  do 
himself  justice  made  him  over-cautious  at  the  start, 
but  once  set  to  his  work,  he  hit  in  the  matchless  style 
of  his  best  days.  The  changes  in  the  Australian 
bowling  were  of  very  poor  quality  and  he  punished 
them  pretty  severely.  Towards  the  close  he  played 
more  forward  than  was  customary  with  him  until 
beaten  by  a  good  delivery  from  Palmer,  having  made 
152.  How  tjie  Australians  followed  on  271  runs 
behind  and  forced  England  to  scramble  rather 
crudely  for  57  furnished  one  of  the  grandest  feats 
in  cricket  lore.  The  superlatively  fine  innings  of 
W.  L.  Murdoch  will  always  remain  one  of  the  heroic 
performances  of  the  game,  and  he  not  only  eclipsed 
Grace's  score  by  a  run,  but  was  also  undefeated. 
One  of  the  episodes  was  the  way  in  which  W.  G. 
heartily  shook  him  by  the  hand  in  the  field  in  token 
of  congratulation,  thus  cementing  a  friendship  which 
years  afterwards  was  to  ripen  into  one  of  intimacy. 

A.  G.  Steel  told  the  co-editor  who  is  writing  this 
chapter  how  he  heard  some  of  the  Australians  dis- 
cussing whether  Murdoch  was  a  finer  bat  than  Grace. 
Alec  Bannerman,  however,  settled  the  question  point- 
blank  :  "  W.  G.  has  forgotten  more  about  batting 
than  Billy  ever  knew."  It  was  A.  G.  Steel  too  who 
at  a  test  match  said  :  "  Other  men  keep  their  right 
foot  pretty  steady,  but  W.  G.  never  moves  it  during 
the  actual  stroke,  and  that  is  what  I  have  always 
envied  most  in  him." 

Lord  Harris  avails  himself  of  the  present  oppor- 
tunity to  make  a  valuable  statement  as  to  the  first 
test  match  : 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  147 

"  The  lateness  of  the  date  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  Australians  had  come  without  invitation  and 
there  was  still  some  feeling  amongst  English  cricketers 
in  consequence  of  an  unfortunate  incident  at  Sydney 
during  the  tour  of  the  English  eleven  in  1878-79,  of 
which  I  was  captain.  The  excellence  of  their  play, 
however,  obliterated  by  degrees  these  feelings,  but 
not  till  late  in  the  season.  The  late  C.  W.  Alcock, 
besides  being  very  keen  about  the  game,  always  had 
an  eye  for  the  main  chance,  i.e.  Oval  gate  money, 
and  appeared  one  day  in  August  at  Canterbury  when 
Kent  was  playing  there  in  order  to  implore  me  to 
waive  my  objections,  '  help  to  get  together  a  team ' 
and  captain  it.  To  this,  after  much  talk,  I  con- 
sented, and  I  had  to  bring  a  lot  of  pressure  to  bear  on 
several  prominent  amateurs  to  return  from  Scotland 
in  order  to  play.  They  did  so,  but  were  in  nothing 
like  full  practice.  The  Lord  Mayor  subsequently 
entertained  both  teams  at  the  Mansion  House,  when  I 
took  the  opportunity  to  bury  the  hatchet  as  regards 
the  Sydney  incident." 

Earlier  in  that  prolonged  cricket  season,  Grace 
had  contributed  top  score,  49,  for  the  Gentlemen  at 
Lord's  ;  "  probably  the  most  patient  innings  he  had 
ever  played."  It  took  him  two  hours  and  forty 
minutes  to  compile  without  a  mistake.  "  His 
defence  to  Morley's  shooters  on  a  half-dried  wicket 
was  magnificent."  Over  Thirty  v.  Under  Thirty  pro- 
duced a  thrilling  conclusion,  the  veterans  losing  by 
only  3  runs.  W.  G.  had  done  yeoman  service  for 
them.  He  began  the  match  by  taking  the  first  four 
wickets — those  of  Barnes,  Midwinter,  C.  T.  Studd  and 
Bates — which  he  followed  with  one  of  his  very  fine 
exhibitions  of  rapid  run-getting,  scoring  51  out  of  73, 
and  when  142  was  needed  to  win,  played  with  attrac- 
tive freedom  for  49  out  of  68.  At  Canterbury,  for 
the  Gentlemen  of  England  v.  Gentlemen  of  Kent,  in 
the  first  innings  he  claimed  7  wickets  for  10  runs 


148     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

each,  and  it  was  only  the  splendid  aggressiveness  of 
Lord  Harris  which  made  his  analysis  even  half  so 
costly. 

Within  a  fortnight  of  the  English  victory  at  the 
Oval,  where  he  had  brought  off  such  a  sensational 
catch  as  has  had  few  parallels,  poor  G.  F.  Grace 
was  dead  and  W.  G.  stood  by  the  grave  of  his  favourite 
brother.  The  bereavement  was  felt  by  every  sports- 
man in  England.  As  Fred  Gale  truly  wrote,  nobody 
"  ever  heard  a  living  creature  say  a  word  against  him. 
He  was  an  universal  favourite." 

One  of  W.  G.'s  comrades  not  only  in  the  first  test 
match  but  on  many  other  important  occasions, 
himself  a  master  of  polished  defence,  A.  P.  Lucas, 
writes : 

"  I  sincerely  trust  that  others  may  be  more  helpful 
than  I  can  be,  for  though  I  much  en  joyed  the  many 
matches  in  which  I  took  part  with  W.  G.,  they  present 
very  few  incidents  that  I  am  able  to  recall  at  this 
distance  of  time.  Off  the  field  at  least,  that  is  to  say, 
away  from  cricket,  I  never  saw  anything  of  him. 
It  was  always  a  delight  to  me  to  watch  him  play 
because  he  made  all  bowling  look  so  delightfully 
easy.  Personally,  in  my  experience,  I  only  once 
saw  a  bowler  tuck  him  up,  and  that  was  Edmund 
Peate  on  a  peculiar  wicket. 

I  remember  in  the  Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Lord's 
in  1883,  a  new  Yorkshire  colt  Harrison  had  been  so 
destructive  that  he  was  selected  for  the  professionals. 
We  won  the  toss,  and  as  W.  G.  and  I  were  walking 
in  to  commence  the  innings,  he  said  to  me,  '  What 
about  this  new  fellow  Harrison  ?  I  have  not  come 
across  him.'  '  He  is  pretty  fast/  I  answered.  '  Well, 
let  me  have  a  look  at  him/  was  the  answer,  and  having 
found  out  that  he  was  going  to  bowl  up-hill  from 
the  nursery  end,  W.  G.  elected  to  bat  at  the  pavilion 
wicket.  I  never  in  all  my  life  saw  any  one  ever 
crumple  up  a  bowler  as  he  did  poor  Harrison.  I 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  149 

never  received  a  single  ball  from  him  so  long  as  my 
great  colleague  was  in.  He  simply  laid  in  wait  for 
him,  punished  and  snicked  him,  and  I  have  always 
believed  that  that  small  score  of  26  (Peate  made  him 
play  on)  broke  Harrison's  heart  so  far  as  bowling 
was  concerned. 

Years  before,  in  my  first  Gentlemen  v.  Players  at 
the  Oval  in  1876,  when  Andrew  Greenwood  came  in 
to  bat,  W.  G.,  who  was  bowling,  said  to  Lord  Harris, 
who  was  on  the  leg  side,  '  Come  in  five  yards/  He 
bowled  the  Yorkshireman  three  straight  balls  and 
then  one  to  leg  which  came  plump  into  the  fieldsman's 
hands.  In  the  second  innings  he  went  on  when 
Greenwood  had  made  9,  carefully  put  Webbe  in 
the  same  spot  and  that  safe  field  captured  him  easily 
first  ball.  That  impressed  me.  Greenwood  told 
me  that  in  the  only  previous  match  at  the  Oval  he 
had  appeared  for  the  Players  exactly  the  same  thing 
happened  to  him. 

Personally,  when  I  batted  against  Grace,  I  never 
hit  him  to  square  leg,  but  always  hooked  his  leg 
ball  carefully  and  did  not  fall  into  his  trap.  He 
loved  bowling,  and  I  remember  it  was  asserted  that 
he  once  kept  himself  unchanged  whilst  two  hundred 
runs  were  scored  at  Lord's,  but  I  cannot  recall  what 
the  match  was. 

In  a  test  match,  the  one  which  we  lost  in  1882 
at  the  Oval  by  7  runs,  Murdoch  played  a  ball  to  leg, 
for  which  Alfred  Lyttelton  ran  and  W.  G.  from  point 
went  up  to  the  wicket.  S.  P.  Jones  completed  the 
first  run  and  thinking  the  ball  was  dead,  went  out  of 
his  ground  to  pat  the  wicket.  Grace  whipped  the 
bail  off  and  Thorns  gave  Jones  out.  He  was  furious 
and  so  were  several  of  his  side,  but  one  of  the  Austra- 
lians later  on  admitted  he  would  have  done  the  same 
thing  if  he  had  been  where  Grace  was.  '  The  Old 
Buffer,'  Fred  Gale,  shrewdly  remarked  that  '  Jones 
ought  to  thank  the  champion  for  having  taught  him 
something.' 


J50     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

In  those  days,  Esher  cricket  was  great  fun,  and 
there  was  always  a  keen  match  at  Chislehurst  against 
West  Kent,  very  strong  in  those  days  with  Penns 
and  Stokes  by  the  batch.  Once  we  were  in  the  tent 
dressing,  when  Charlie  Clarke  put  in  his  head  and 
said  to  Alfred  Penn  :  '  Hullo,  can  you  bowl  out  W.  G. 
to-day  ?  '  Thinking  the  champion  was  miles  away, 
Penn  retorted,  laughing :  '  Oh,  I  can  always  do  that.' 
'  Indeed,'  came  the  comment  from  W.  G.  himself ; 
4  well,  you'll  have  to  try  this  morning,'  and  before 
lunch  he  had  made  the  best  part  of  ninety,  mostly 
scored  off  this  particular  victim. 

I  think  my  own  first  match  with  W.  G.  was  Gentle- 
men of  the  South  v.  Players  of  the  South  when  I  was 
only  eighteen.  I  remember  his  getting  eleven  wickets 
for  about  as  many  runs  each  and  James  Lillywhite 
bowling  him  for  duck.  When  he  had  done  so,  he 
observed  :  '  That  ought  to  win  us  the  match.'  But 
it  did  not,  for  we  amateurs  won  with  an  innings  and 
over  a  hundred  runs  to  spare.  Just  because  he  did 
not  come  off  in  batting,  Grace  made  up  for  it  with 
the  ball — quite  characteristic." 

So  far  as  figures  went,  the  batting  of  W.  G.  was 
almost  on  all-fours  in  1881  with  his  run  getting  in  the 
preceding  season — the  average  was  a  run  less,  the 
aggregate  34  smaller  ;  but  he  only  took  57  wickets 
for  1 8  runs  each.  This  year  in  the  batting  honours 
he  was  outstripped  by  A.  N.  Hornby,  and  it  was  with 
the  Lancastrian  captain  that  he  actually  put  up  55 
runs  hi  half  an  hour  against  the  Players  at  the  Oval, 
hitting  as  brilliantly  as  his  reckless  partner,  the 
bowlers  punished  at  this  terrific  pace  being  Peate, 
Hill,  Bates,  Ulyett  and  Barlow.  With  Emmett  and 
Midwinter  also  taking  a  turn  with  the  ball,  W.  G.  in 
less  than  two  hours  and  a  half  scored  precisely  100  in 
his  best  form,  a  fast  low  ball  from  Allen  Hill  taking 
his  off-stump.  In  the  second  innings  of  the  Players 
after  Ulyett  and  Midwinter  had  put  up  the  century 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  151 

without  loss,  W.  G.  proved  pertinaciously  destruc- 
tive, claiming  7  for  61.  Peate,  at  this  period,  was 
showing  he  was  a  slow  left-handed  bowler  of  tran- 
scendent ability  and  one  of  the  recollections  of  the 
co-editor  writing  this  chapter  is  of  the  way  Grace 
drove  him.  To  no  other  slow  bowler  did  he  seem  to 
play  quite  so  hard,  terrific  driving  for  Over  Thirty 
v.  Under  Thirty — for  Farrands'  benefit — being  a  case 
in  point.  He  always  spoke  of  Peate  as  one  of  the 
most  tricky  bowlers  he  ever  faced,  and  it  seemed  as 
though  in  revenge  he  put  the  bat  more  vigorously 
than  usual  against  his  balls.  However,  the  York- 
shireman  bowled  him  for  the  Players  at  Lord's  :  his 
score  of  29  may  seem  modest,  but  it  was  the  highest 
on  the  victorious  side,  and  only  Bates,  who  hit  well, 
exceeded  it  in  a  capital  contest  on  a  difficult  wicket. 
Apart  from  the  foregoing,  W.  G.  Grace's  appear- 
ances in  1881  were  confined  to  those  for  his  county. 
With  Midwinter  and  Woof  to  bowl,  less  demands  were 
made  on  him  with  the  ball,  but  he  headed  the  Glou- 
cestershire batting  with  an  average  of  40.  His 
greatest  days  were  at  Trent  Bridge.  Notts,  handi- 
capped by  a  dispute  with  the  leading  professionals, 
played  practically  a  substitute  side,  including,  how- 
ever, two  important  new  bowlers,  Attewell  and 
Walter  Wright,  and  Grace  took  full  measure  of  the 
attack.  His  first  effort  of  51  ought  to  have  termin- 
ated early  had  a  chance  been  accepted,  but  his  182 
was  without  fault  after  a  bad  miss  in  the  slips  when 
he  had  made  3.  He  did  not  go  in  until  the  telegraph 
showed  82  and  left  at  440,  somewhat  disconsolately 
on  an  adverse  decision  for  obstruction.  This  was 
the  highest  score  ever  yet  made  in  a  county  match 
on  the  ground  and  included  seventeen  fours.  At 
Lord's  he  played  an  excellent  64,  though  his  first  12 
were  contributed  whilst  E.  M.  made  47,  hitting  five 
fours  off  Clarke  with  astounding  vigour.  This  was 
followed  by  W.  G.'s  most  successful  turn  with  the  ball 
in  the  season,  namely  7  Middlesex  wickets  for  30 


152     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

runs,  which  proved  the  main  factor  in  a  Western 
success  by  6  wickets. 

Turning  to  the  home  matches,  all  played  during 
August,  in  the  return  with  Middlesex — selected  for 
the  benefit  of  Pullin,  who  had  umpired  for  Glouces- 
tershire since  the  formation  of  the  county  club — 
W.  G.  Grace  batted  brilliantly  for  80  out  of  102  while 
in,  which  included  a  huge  drive  for  six.  His  contri- 
bution ended  by  his  running  himself  out,  to  his  own 
great  vexation,  almost  the  solitary  occasion  that  he 
recollected  doing  so,  though  twice  the  victim  that 
summer  of  being  called  for  a  run  too  short  for  his 
increasing  weight.  Against  Surrey,  he  scored  34 
whilst  E.  M.  was  getting  10,  a  proportion  he  gleefully 
talked  about  at  luncheon,  and  his  bowling  gave 
Gloucestershire  a  single  innings  victory  (3  for  7  and 
5  for  58).  In  extra  matches  with  Somersetshire,  as 
usual,  he  was  in  lively  mood.  Taking  advantage  of 
A.  H.  Evans  arriving  late  at  Bath,  he  hit  with 
almost  reckless  nonchalance  for  80.  In  the  return  at 
Cheltenham,  he  took  4  wickets  for  only  15  runs  and 
with  E.  M.  actually  put  up  50  in  the  first  twenty 
minutes. 

Playing  with  W.  G.  for  many  years,  that  admirable 
cricketer  and  captain  J.  Shuter  has  reminiscences 
covering  a  wide  space  of  time  which  may  here  be 
interpolated.  He  writes  : 

"  One  of  my  earliest  introductions  to  Surrey 
county  cricket  coincided  with  my  first  meeting  with 
W.  G.  Grace,  and  very  memorable  it  was  for  one  of 
us  at  any  rate.  The  occasion  in  question  was  Surrey 
v.  Gloucestershire,  on  the  Clifton  College  Ground  in 
1877,  the  home  county  winning  easily  by  10  wickets. 
W.  G.  did  not  make  a  large  score,  but  that  was  not 
from  any  fault  of  my  own  as  I  missed  him  badly 
once.  This  was  only  one  of  five  similar  lapses  on 
my  part  which  made  the  match  somewhat  memorable 
for  me  [J.  Shuter  was  a  magnificent  field  with  an 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  153 

exceptionally  sure  pair  of  hands — Editors],3Hid  Pooley, 
noticing  my  uneasiness  of  mind,  came  to  me  and 
said  :  '  Nevermind,  sir,  they  will  follow  you  about/ 
W.  G.  himself  sympathized  with  me,  as  he  always 
did  with  a  young  cricketer,  and  I  think  I  may  say 
that  my  friendship  with  him  commenced  with  this 
match  and  ended  only  with  his  death. 

During  all  the  years  of  my  association  with  him— 
and  in  the  very  large  majority  of  matches  we  were 
of  course  in  opposition — I  cannot  recall  anything  in 
the  way  of  unpleasantness.  That  he  was  keen, 
extraordinarily  keen,  and  knew  every  point  of  the 
game  goes  without  saying.  Yet  he  was  always  fair 
and  ready  to  take  a  sporting  view  of  any  knotty 
point  which  arose.  He  was  ever  a  most  chivalrous 
opponent.  One  instance  in  particular  I  can  recall 
which  not  only  militated  against  him  during  the 
match,  but  incidentally  was  the  cause  of  bringing  to 
the  fore  a  cricketer  who  was  afterwards  to  make  a 
great  name  for  himself.  The  match  was  Surrey  v.. 
Gloucestershire  at  Cheltenham  in  August,  1889.  I 
was  suffering  from  lumbago  and  it  was  doubtful  if  I 
was  capable  of  playing,  so  W.  G.  at  once  suggested 
that  I  should,  having  lost  the  toss,  go  out  to  field  and 
if  I  found  it  impossible  to  continue,  I  might  have 
some  one  else  to  take  my  place.  I  found  cricket 
quite  out  of  the  question  and  therefore  wired  for 
Brockwell,  the  player  above  referred  to.  He  not 
only  made  3  and  27,  but  in  the  second  innings  of 
Gloucestershire  took  5  wickets  for  24  runs,  thus 
materially  helping  in  Surrey's  victory. 

Two  other  incidents  on  the  same  ground  come 
into  my  mind.  The  first  was  in  connection  with  the 
wicket  and  might  have  led  to  trouble  but  for  W.  G.'s 
tact.  On  arrival  at  the  ground  on  the  second  day, 
it  was  found  that  the  wicket  on  which  Surrey  had 
to  bat  was  very  wet  at  one  end,  although  no  rain  had 
fallen  overnight,  and  it  was  accounted  for  by  the 
water  on  the  wicket  for  the  next  match  having  run1 


154     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

down  the  slope.  After  a  slight  protest  and  discus- 
sion, the  matter  was  allowed  to  drop,  and  I  was  glad 
that  no  ill  result  followed  when  Surrey  batted.  The 
second  episode  was  in  August,  1880,  when  my  brother 
L.  A.,  who  was  then  playing  for  Surrey ,  accepted  a  bet 
from  G.  F.  Grace  of  100  to  i  (i.e.  £5  to  is.)  that  the 
match  would  not  be  completed  on  that  day.  It  was 
then  lunch-time  :  Surrey  still  having  a  full  innings 
to  play.  W.  G.  laughed  at  G.  F.,  saying  that  it 
never  was  such  odds  at  a  cricket  match,  but  as  the 
bet  had  been  laid  and  taken,  W.  G.  proceeded — as 
he  well  knew  how — to  make  things  hum,  and  by 
taking  seven  Surrey  wickets  enabled  Gloucestershire 
to  win  that  evening  by  10  wickets.  Fifty-two  runs 
were  required  in  forty-five  minutes,  and  these  W.  G. 
and  Gilbert  knocked  off  with  twenty  minutes  to 
spare.  As  they  went  in  to  bat,  E.  M. ,  wrathful  at  not 
going  in  first,  growled  :  '  There  go  the  slowest  pair  of 
batsmen  in  England/  My  brother  was  duly  paid 
his  bet  by  G.  F.  only  a  few  days  before  the  latter's 
death  and  he  has  the  cheque  in  his  scrap-book  as  a 
memento  of  the  episode." 

Suspending  the  literary  innings  of  J.  Shuter  for 
one  paragraph,  the  recollections  of  S.  H.  Pardon  of 
the  same  sensational  finish  must  be  interpolated  : 

"  No  thought  of  defeat  troubled  the  Surrey  bats- 
men at  luncheon  on  the  last  day.  Walter  Read,  for 
one,  was  entirely  free  from  apprehension.  He  had 
made  93  on  the  first  day  and  was  supremely  confi- 
dent. Before  Surrey's  second  innings  began,  Henry 
Grace — never  a  great  cricketer  himself,  but  a  first- 
rate  judge — took  W.  G.  and  Midwinter  into  the 
refreshment  tent  and  gave  each  of  them  a  pint  of 
champagne.  He  had  a  theory  that  when  bowlers 
Avere  called  upon  for  a  sudden  effort  with  no  time  to 
lose,  champagne  was  a  matchless"  stimulant.  On  this 
iateful  afternoon  his  theory  did  not  play  him  false. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  155 

Disasters  for  Surrey  came  thick  and  fast.  I  can 
see  Dick  Humphrey  now,  gazing  with  amazement  at 
W.  G.,  who  caught  and  bowled  him  more  than  half- 
way up  the  pitch.  When  half  the  wickets  had  fallen, 
Henry  Grace  renewed  the  strength  of  his  bowlers 
with  another  cheering  drink,  and,  with  Midwinter 
going  off  just  before  the  close  of  the  innings,  W.  G. 
claimed  seven  wickets.  E.  M.  had  reason  to  regret 
his  hasty  growl  at  the  ability  of  his  brother  and 
cousin  to  hit  off  runs  against  time,  and,  when  it  was 
all  over,  old  Mrs.  Grace  wanted  to  have  something  to 
say  to  Walter  Read  about  his  lunch-time  confidence 
— but  that  is  another  story." 

Now  J.  Shuter  can  be  allowed  to  continue,  as 
follows  : 

"  There  was  one  point  particularly  in  the  game  in 
which  W.  G.  Grace  excelled  and  which  to  my  mind 
has  never  been  made  enough  of,  namely  his  extra- 
ordinary fielding  to  his  own  bowling.  In  this  he  had 
few  equals  and  certainly  no  superiors.  His  slow 
bowling  was  very  tempting  to  those  batsmen  who 
were  quick  on  their  feet  and  prone  to  jump  in  to 
drive,  but  nothing  was  too  hard  for  him  to  stop  and 
no  catch  too  difficult.  Personally  I  often  suffered  at 
his  hands  in  this  respect. 

I  had  many  pleasant  experiences  when  playing  on 
the  same  side  with  the  Old  Man,  my  happiest  being 
when  the  Gentlemen  of  England  opposed  the  Austra- 
lians at  the  end  of  May,  1888.  tip  to  this  point 
Turner  and  Ferris  had  been  carrying  everything 
before  them  with  the  result  that  this  match  was 
looked  forward  to  with  much  interest.  After  getting 
rid  of  the  Australians  for  179,  we  made  490,  W.  G. 
and  I  putting  up  158  for  the  first  wicket.  We  ran 
neck  and  neck  until  I  played  on  for  71,  after  which 
W.  G.  took  his  score  to  165,  and  a  great  innings  it  was. 
Owing  to  the  third  day  of  the  match  being  Derby 
Day,  the  play  was  limited  to  two  and  the  game  in 


156     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

consequence  drawn.  Later  on  in  the  same  season, 
W.  G.  and  I  batted  first  for  England  v.  Australia  at  the 
Oval,  when  Turner  sent  us  both  back  for  i  and  28 
respectively.  England  won  easily  by  an  innings. 

The  match  M.C.C.  v.  Australia  at  Lord's  in  1890 
furnishes  another  pleasant  memory.  M.C.C.  re- 
quired in  to  win  in  85  minutes  and  obtained  them 
with  seven  wickets  to  spare  and  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 
W.  G.  asked  me  to  go  in  first  with  him,  and  by 
scoring  32  in  the  first  quarter  of  an  hour — of  which  his 
share  was  29 — we  gave  the  side  a  good  start  and 
helped  the  result.  The  means  taken  to  obtain  this 
was  always  a  source  of  gratification  to  W.  G.  and  he 
never  failed  to  recall  the  incident  on  any  suitable 
occasion. 

Another  episode  occurs  to  me  as  showing  his  keen- 
ness for  the  proprieties  of  the  game.  The  match 
was  Surrey  v.  Gloucestershire  in  the  early  eighties, 
when  C.  E.  Horner  was  in  his  prime  as  a  bowler.  He 
was  batting  and  having  injured  himself,  Diver  came 
out  to  run  for  him.  The  former  was  not  particularly 
quick  between  the  wickets,  whereas  the  latter  was 
remarkably  smart  in  this  respect,  with  the  result  that 
many  short  runs  were  stolen.  This  rather  exasper- 
ated W.  G.,  who  called  out :  '  Charlie,  this  ain't 
right.  If  it  continues,  I  shall  have  to  ask  Diver  to 
put  on  some  pads/  When,  later  on,  Diver  on  his 
own  initiative  came  out  wearing  pads,  W.  G.  was 
much  upset  and  assured  Horner  that  his  remarks 
were  not  seriously  meant. 

Of  late  years,  W.  G.  played  a  lot  of  local  cricket 
in  the  Eltham  and  Blackheath  neighbourhood,  and 
his  presence  was  always  a  sure  draw.  Of  course 
with  his  increasing  years  and  heavy  weight,  he  be- 
came very  slow  between  the  wickets,  but  his  batting 
was  as  sound  as  ever.  It  was  a  great  delight  to  him 
to  have  an  occasional  turn  with  the  ball,  and  only  a 
few  seasons  ago  against  a  Philadelphian  team,  at  the 
Rectory  Field,  Blackheath,  I  saw  him  take  seven 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  157 

wickets  in  double  quick  time  at  a  very  small  cost, 
•completely  mystifying  his  opponents  just  as  he  was 
wont  to  do  in  his  prime.  He  was  a  great  favourite 
with  the  local  spectators  and  the  regrets  when  his 
wicket  fell  were  as  pronounced  as  ever.  The  last 
occasion  on  which  I  met  him  was  at  a  shooting  party 
in  the  autumn  of  1914,  and  needless  to  say  his  keen- 
ness with  the  gun  was  no  whit  behind  his  keenness 
for  bat  and  ball.  He  was  in  great  form  all  day  and 
lunch  time  was  an  opportunity  for  talking  over  old 
days  and  recounting  past  incidents. 

I  must  add  one  anecdote  as  showing  the  great 
interest  his  appearance  excited  even  amongst  those 
not  expected  to  have  any  special  reverence  for  the 
G.O.M.  of  cricket.  I  was  at  a  local  golf  club  when 
Braid  and  Vardon  were  playing  an  exhibition  match 
.and  W.  G.  was  among  the  spectators.  A  friend  of 
mine,  who  is  better  known  in  the  astronomical 
world,  was  also  present,  and  at  the  end  of  the  day 
I  asked  him  how  he  had  enjoyed  the  golf.  His  reply 
rather  staggered  me,  being  altogether  unprepared  for 
such  views  from  a  man  of  his  attainments  :  '  Oh,  the 
golf  was  good  enough,  but  what  I  enjoyed  most  was 
watching  W.  G.  Grace.  I  had  often  heard  of  him 
and  read  of  his  doings  when  I  was  a  boy,  but  until 
io-day  I  had  never  seen  him.  I  can  truthfully  say  it 
has  been  a  great  treat,  and  I  am  not  at  all  astonished 
at  the  reverence  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  cricket- 
loving  public.'  It  was  a  notable  and  unasked-for 
tribute  to  a  great  personality,  and  it  has  always  been 
indelibly  impressed  on  my  memory." 

1882,  favoured  by  good  weather,  proved  a  momen- 
tous one  in  cricket  and  a  year  of  run-getting.  For 
W.  G.  Grace  it  was  not,  however,  so  successful  as 
usual ;  for  instance,  it  was  the  first  in  which  he  did  not 
score  a  century,  but  the  reason — unknown  to  the 
public — was  that  he  had  been  much  pulled  down  by 
-an  attack  of  mumps.  Although  he  was  not  credited 


158     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

with  a  thousand  runs,  he  captured  a  hundred  and 
one  wickets.  On  no  less  than  three  occasions  he 
was  dismissed  without  scoring  and  in  twelve  other 
in  tances  for  a  single  figure,  so  the  croakers  began 
ansther  wholly  premature  pronouncement  that  he 
was  virtually  on  the  shelf. 

This  was  the  season  when  the  finest  of  all  the 
Australian  touring  teams  came  to  this  country  and 
W.  G.  was  frequently  engaged  against  them.  The 
earliest  occasion  was  for  the  Orleans  Club  at  Twicken- 
ham, when  28  out  of  his  34  was  made  in  fours,  Palmer 
and  Garrett  being  the  redoubtable  bowlers.  The 
Coolonals  also  were  puzzled  by  his  deliveries  which 
accounted  for  McDonnell,  S.  P.  Jones,  Garrett,  Palmer 
and  Boyle  at  a  cost  of  only  27  runs.  The  Gentlemen 
at  the  Oval  were  wretchedly  weak  in  bowling,  and 
against  an  Australian  total  of  334,  Grace,  put  on  far 
too  late,  claimed  4  wickets  for  45.  The  amateur 
exhibition  with  the  bat  was  for  the  most  part  deplor- 
able, but  he  redeemed  it  by  two  beautiful  efforts  for 
61  and  32  "  characteristic  of  his  best  days." 

The  M.C.C.  and  Ground  side  was  virtually  an 
England  eleven,  and  W.  G.  began  with  a  perfectly 
admirable  46,  the  way  in  which  he  placed  Spofforth, 
despite  the  vigilant  captaincy  of  Murdoch,  being 
beyond  praise.  But  "  the  Demon  "  had  his  revenge 
by  spread-eagling  his  stumps.  At  Clifton,  in  his  77 
he  "  played  in  a  form  worthy  of  his  great  repute," 
and  once  more  it  seemed  as  if  the  puzzling  deliveries 
of  Palmer  were  particularly  to  his  taste.  But  Percy 
McDonnell  laid  on  to  his  bowling  with  exceptional 
severity,  and  then  Horan  amassed  his  largest 
score  on  the  tour.  The  return  on  the  same  ground 
was  played  on  a  wet  wicket.  W.  G.  bowled  almost 
through  the  match,  getting  the  bulk  of  the  wickets, 
8  for  93  and  4  (out  of  six  captured)  for  59  ;  but  Massie 
hit  him  at  a  terrific  pace  and  so  did  Bonnor,  who 
sent  one  straight  drive  off  him  out  of  the  ground 
for  six. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  159 

Several  allusions  have  been  made  in  reminiscences 
embodied  in  this  volume  to  the  disastrous  test  match 
at  the  Oval  when  England  was  defeated  by  7  runs. 
The  game  was  one  over  which  veterans  still  wax 
warm  in  disputation.  The  part  played  by  W.  G. 
Grace  was  at  least  the  most  excellent  on  the  home 
side,  for  when  85  was  wanted  to  win  he  batted  bril- 
liantly for  32,  top  score  and  worth  many  an  ordinary 
century,  so  that  when  he  left,  caught  by  Banner- 
man  off  Boyle,  only  34  runs  were  needed  with  7 
wickets  to  fall.  The  rest  is  history.  But  it  ought 
not  to  be  forgotten  that  at  the  start  Grace  caught 
Bannerman  splendidly  at  point,  left  hand,  low1  down, 
off  Peate,  when  the  stonewaller  had  been  in  sixty-five 
minutes  for  9  runs,  that  he  took  Blackham  off  a  skier 
and  that  his  hands  also  accounted  for  Horan  and 
Giffen  as  well  as  for  the  running  out  of  S.  P. 
Jones  about  which  there  was  such  a  fuss.  Had  all 
the  side  accomplished  as  much  as  W.  G.,  the  Aus- 
tralians might  not  have  achieved  their  wonderful 
victory. 

Doing  little  noteworthy  in  Gentlemen  v.  Players, 
or  in  the  Whit-Monday  match,  it  was  in  county 
cricket  that  W.  G.  achieved  most,  though  a  serious 
decline  could  be  discerned  in  the  fortunes  of  Glouces- 
tershire. At  the  Oval  he  showed  excellent  form  for 
55  and  against  Yorkshire  an  admirable  56  out  of  103 
from  the  bat  was  a  courageous  effort  to  pull  off  a 
victory,  but  the  remarkable  way  in  which  Lord 
Hawke  handled  the  bowling  at  his  command  enabled 
the  Northerners  to  win  by  29  runs. 

In  home  engagements,  his  86  v.  Lancashire  was  the 
second  highest  and  perhaps  the  finest  display  W.  G. 
Grace  gave  that  season.  Against  Yorkshire  the 
two  brothers  put  up  73  for  the  first  wicket  within  the 
hour,  an  excellent  start  which  led  up  to  a  single  inn- 
ings' victory.  A  capital  55  against  Notts  was  the 
highest  score  in  a  drawn  match.  But  it  was  in  the 
final  engagement  with  Surrey  that  he  once  more 


160     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

showed  his  best  form  in  every  department.  Apart 
from  W.  W.  Read  and  Maurice  Read,  the  visitors 
could  only  make  32  and  W.  G.  had  7  for  only  44. 
Then,  in  the  freest  fashion,  he  punished  the  attack 
to  all  parts  of  the  field,  getting  88  very  rapidly. 
Again  when  Gloucestershire  were  set  132  to  win,  he 
played  with  commanding  power  for  51,  which  was 
vitally  conducive  to  the  success  by  6  wickets.  In 
the  only  game  with  Somersetshire,  he  settled  the 
result  before  luncheon  on  the  first  day  by  taking  8 
wickets  for  31  runs,  only  W.  H.  Fowler  being  able  to 
hit  him,  that  big  slogger  making  39  out  of  61  from 
the  bat. 

That  once  excellent  bat  and  superb  field  at  point 
T.  S.  Pearson- Gregory  relates  a  characteristic  inci- 
dent. "  I  should  like  to  mention  one  thing  which 
W.  G.  did  that  shows  his  good  feeling  towards  cricket. 
I  could  not  see  when  the  ball  left  his  hand  when  I 
was  batting  against  him  and  told  him  so.  He  said  : 
'  You  are  coming  down  to  Clifton  to  play  against  us, 
and  if  you  will  come  on  the  evening  before  I  will  bowl 
to  you  for  half  an  hour.'  I  asked  :  '  Do  you  really 
mean  it  ?  '  He  replied  :  '  Yes/  was  as  good  as  his 
word,  and  I  may  add  I  had  no  difficulty  in  batting 
against  him  afterwards.  Very  few  cricketers,  bowlers 
especially,  would  have  done  that.  No  one  ever  heard 
him  say  a  word  against  any  cricketer,  and,  if  he  had 
faults,  they  were  due  to  his  keenness  for  the  game 
and  for  his  side." 

In  a  thoughtful  criticism  the  editor  of  that  crick- 
eters' Bible  Wisden — W.  G.'s  own  set  were  well 
thumbed  by  him  in  the  winter,  being  almost  the  only 
books  he  paid  much  attention  to — S.  H.  Pardon 
writes  : 

"  It  was  my  good  fortune  in  my  young  days  on  the 
cricket  press  to  attend  many  Gloucestershire  matches 
at  Clifton  and  Cheltenham.  Though  the  play  could 
not  possibly  have  been  more  strict,  there  was  some- 


W.    G.     GRACE. 
The  finish  of  his  pull-drive 

(From  an  action  photograph  by  G.   W.   Beldam.) 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  161 

thing  of  the  atmosphere  of  club  cricket  about  the 
whole  business.  The  press  tent  at  each  ground  was 
a  special  meeting  place,  newspaper  work  in  those  far- 
off  times  being  done  in  a  leisurely  way — one  did  not, 
as  in  later  days,  have  to  telegraph  the  score  every 
half  hour.  W.  G.  used  to  come  into  the  tent  at  times 
and  so  I  came  to  know  him  better  than  in  London. 

Nothing  like  the  Gloucestershire  team  of  the 
middle  seventies  has  ever  been  seen  in  the  cricket 
field.  The  eleven  seemed  literally  a  family  party. 
Roughly  speaking,  the  players  were  of  much  the  same 
social  position  and  were  united  by  strong  ties  of 
personal  friendship.  Until  the  introduction  of  Mid- 
winter in  1877,  the  county  side  was  all  of  one  class. 
The  spirit  of  boundless  confidence  that  inspired  that 
eleven  was  not  to  be  wondered  at.  Gloucestershire 
began  to  play  serious  cricket  in  1870,  and  not  until 
Sporforth's  bowling  broke  the  charm  in  1878  was  a 
home  match  lost.  Such  a  record  over  such  a  space 
of  time  can  surely  never  have  been  approached.  I 
think  the  fact  of  being  on  the  same  side  with  W.  G. 
and  his  brothers  made  the  other  men  play  twenty  per 
cent,  above  their  ordinary  form,  but  the  standard  of 
the  club  cricket  in  and  around  Bristol,  from  which 
they  were  recruited,  must  have  been  extremely  high. 
Otherwise  the  county  could  not  at  the  start  of  its 
existence  have  secured  such  an  array  of  batsmen  and 
fieldsmen. 

I  do  not  think  the  fact  has  ever  been  sufficiently 
insisted  on  that  though  W.  G.  did  many  great  things 
against  the  Australians,  he  was  past  his  best  before 
he  met  them  in  this  country.  By  reason  of  his  great 
weight  he  was  never  quite  the  man  he  had  been  in  his 
young  days.  The  burden  of  the  flesh  was  a  sad 
handicap  to  him.  I  have  always  believed  that  but 
for  the  sensational  success  of  the  Australians,  he 
would  have  gradually  dropped  out  of  first-class 
matches  after  taking  his  degree  at  Edinburgh.  The 
challenge  to  English  cricket  revived  his  ambition. 


162     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

There  was  something  more  to  be  done  and,  as  things 
turned  out,  he  enjoyed  an  Indian  summer  of  unex- 
ampled brightness. 

Ample  and  generous  as  were  the  tributes  paid  to 
W.  G.  in  the  newspapers  all  over  the  country  after  his 
death,  something  less  than  justice  was  done  to  his 
bowling.  It  seemed  to  be  forgotten  that  it  was  for 
bowling  rather  than  batting  he  was  first  selected 
for  the  Gentlemen,  as  can  be  proved  by  the  score 
sheets.  In  the  Oval  match  of  1865,  he  was  eighth 
in  the  order  of  batting.  This  led  to  complaints,  and 
so  at  Lord's,  a  week  later,  he  was  sent  in  first  with 
.  E.  M.  Though  his  bowling  in  those  far-off  days  was 
a  good  deal  faster  than  later  on,  I  should  fancy  that 
even  then  he  had  the  break  from  leg  that  helped  him 
so  much  when  he  became  distinctively  slow.  In  his 
early  style  he  never  bowled  better  than  in  1867. 
He  took  8  wickets  for  England  v.  Middlesex, 
ii  for  the  Gentlemen,  and  in  Tom  Lockyer's  bene- 
fit match,  he  divided  honours  with  Tom  Emmett, 
then  at  his  freshest  and  fastest.  I  never  in  later 
days  saw  him  bowl  so  much  in  the  old  way  as  when 
the  Gentlemen  beat  the  first  Australian  team  at 
Prince's  in  1878.  It  was  a  nasty,  soft  wicket  and 
he  had  to  be  economical  of  runs.  Whether  as  a 
medium  pace  or  slow  bowler,  W.  G.  possessed  the 
sovereign  merit  of  good  length.  He  bowled  no 
long-hops. 

Personally  he  struck  me  as  the  most  natural  of 
men.  Fame  and  popularity  were  never  more  lightly 
borne  than  by  him.  At  a  time  when  he  would  have 
been  more  readily  recognized  in  Regent  Street  than 
any  other  Englishman,  he  was  utterly  free  from 
pose  or  affectation  of  any  kind.  Whenever  and 
wherever  one  saw  him  he  was  always  the  same. 
Seeing  him  play  cricket  first  when  I  was  a  boy  of  ten, 
I  could  never  regard  him  from  any  point  of  view 
except  from  that  of  the  hero  worshipper.  Right 
through  his  career  until  his  last  innings  at  the  Oval 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  163 

was  played,  I  could  never  lose  the  thrill  of  delight 
when  he  made  a  hundred  or  the  feeling  of  keen  dis- 
appointment when  he  failed." 

C.  W.  Burls,  the  old  Surrey  amateur,  complains 
that  though  he  knew  W.  G.  so  well,  nearly  all  the 
things  he  would  have  liked  to  relate  have  been  told 
by  others. 

"  What  I  can,  however,  add  was  the  opinion 
expressed  as  far  back  as  1882  by  W.  L.  Murdoch  of 
W.  G.  Grace  and  note  the  date  because  it  was  before 
their  subsequent  close  friendship  had  developed 
from  mere  acquaintance.  Said  the  grandest  of 
all  Australian  bats — and  Murdoch  never  had  a 
superior,  not  even  Trumper — '  What  do  I  think  of 
W.  G.  ?  Why,  that  I  have  never  seen  his  like  and 
never  shall.  I  tell  you  my  opinion,  which  is  that 
W.  G.  should  never  be  put  underground.  When  he 
dies,  his  body  ought  to  be  embalmed  and  permanently 
exhibited  in  the  British  Museum  as  "  the  colossal 
cricketer  of  all  time." 

That  was  in  answer  to  a  question  from  me.  Here 
is  the  reply  to  another  question,  one  that  I  put  to 
Grace  himself  :  Had  he  ever  been  nervous  ?  He  said, 
'  Yes,  once,  when  I  was  a  medical  student.  My  boss 
surgeon  at  Bart's,  who  hardly  knew  a  bat  from  a  ball, 
told  me  he  would  particularly  like  to  see  me  play, 
So  I  said,  "  On  Thursday  if  I  win  the  toss  at  the  Oval. 
I  shall  go  in  first,"  and  he  replied  that  he'd  be  there. 
Well,  I  won  the  toss  and  he  had  turned  up  to  see  me 
make  runs.  It  was  the  first  time  since  a  boy  I  had 
played  before  a  master,  and  having  to  do  so  absurdly 
bothered  me.  I  felt  altogether  queer,  went  in  shak- 
ing like  a  leaf  and  was  out  for  some  five  or  six.  He 
never  came  to  watch  me  again  and  I  was  jolly  glad/ 

He  and  E.  M.  could  quarrel  on  occasion.  I  was 
once  batting  for  Surrey  v.  Gloucestershire.  W.  G. 
was  bowling  and  E.  M.  at  point  came  creeping  in 


164     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

until  he  looked  as  if  he  could  make  a  grab  at  my  bat. 
Well,  I  just  turned  a  ball  and  he  was  literally  right 
on  to  me  :  '  How's  that  for  obstructing  the  field  ? '  he 
sang  out.  '  Obstruction  be  blowed/  bellowed  W.  G. ; 
'  why  did  you  not  catch  the  ball  instead  of  trying  to 
bamboozle  the  umpire  ?  ' 

I  am  not  sure  whether  this  was  the  match  in  which 
some  of  us  declared  when  we  were  batting  that  the 
ground  was  unfit  for  play,  to  which  W.  G.  retorted  : 
'  I  don't  care  what  you  say.  If  any  of  your  men  are 
more  than  two  minutes  coming  in,  I  shall  claim  the 
game.'  That  was  the  occasion  when  nearly  all  the 
Gloucestershire  eleven  was  fielding  in  mackintoshes. 

W.  G.  was  extremely  fond  of  a  bit  of  shooting  and 
also  of  a  quiet  practical  joke.  He  combined  both 
once  at  Scarborough.  On  the  evening  of  one  August 
31,  he  expatiated  to  the  late  Lord  Londesborough 
how  fond  he  was  of  going  out  with  a  gun.  So  that 
kindest  of  hosts  said  :  '  Perhaps  you  and  one  or  two 
more  would  like  to  get  up  early  and  have  a  go  at  the 
birds  ?  '  George  Vernon,  Candy  and  I  all  promised 
to  keep  him  company.  There  was  a  ball  that  night 
and  no  one  went  to  bed  until  half-past  four.  At 
seven  a.m.  W.  G.  was  ready,  having  had  a  soda  and 
brandy  with  a  raw  herring  for  his  breakfast,  but 
George  Vernon  was  absent  from  parade.  We  drove 
four  miles,  began  to  shoot,  drove  four  more,  shot 
again  and  drove  yet  another  four  back  to  the  ground 
and  were  on  the  field  sharp  at  noon.  Our  bag  was 
seventy  brace,  twenty  rabbits,  and  a  pheasant  which 
got  up  as  young  ones  sometimes  do  in  a  covey  and  I 
brought  it  down  before  I  noticed.  Mind  you;  W.  G. 
had  done  the  largest  share,  and  when  our  host  con- 
gratulated him,  he  replied  :  '  I  hope  to  get  more 
runs  to-day  than  I  have  birds,'  but  I  forget  if  he  did. 

What  I  do  not  forget  is  the  sequel.  At  lunch  I 
was  next  J.  L.  Toole  and  suddenly  behind  me  I 
found  a  policeman  holding  a  pheasant,  and  the  fellow 
began  :  '  Sorry  to  trouble  you,  sir,  but  it's  a  grave 


DR.  W.   G.  GRACE  165 

case.'  '  As  long  as  it  is  not  a  high  one,'  ejaculated 
Toole  in  his  usual  way.  But  the  constable  was  not 
to  be  put  off  and  I  felt  no  end  of  a  fool.  However, 
eventually  Lord  Londesborough  induced  him  to  go 
away,  and  as  he  departed,  W.  G.  emitted  a  truly 
Titanic  guffaw.  He  had  bribed  the  man  to  pretend 
to  want  to  run  me  in.  And,  as  usual,  the  cream  of 
Grace's  few  practical  jokes  lay  in  the  fact  that  no 
victim  was  ever  able  to  get  even  with  him." 


CHAPTER  XIII 
Mature  Proficiency 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  THE  LATE  LORD  ALVER- 
STONE,  C.  T.  STUDD,  P.  J.  DE  PARAVICINI  AND 
BARLOW 

WG.  GRACE  in  1883  had  reached  his  thirty- 
^  fifth  year  and  his  nineteenth  season  in  first- 
class  cricket.  Practically,  save  for  half  a  dozen 
exceptions,  he  was  now  playing  with  men  many  of 
whom  had  been  running  about  as  children  when  he 
was  already  representing  the  Gentlemen.  Yet  in  a 
couple  of  seasons  more  he  was  destined  to  attain  his 
second  zenith  and  to  amaze  the  later  Victorian  public 
as  much  as  he  had  delighted  their  fathers  in  his  own 
youth.  1883  saw  him  holding  his  own  with  the  best ; 
now  and  again  seeing  in  print  that  his  "  days  of 
phenomenal  scoring  were  over."  On  such  remarks 
he  never  commented  :  but  he  had  in  his  bag  prowess 
as  great  as  he  had  ever  displayed,  his  increasing  lack 
of  agility  being  counterbalanced  by  the  marked 
improvement  in  the  wickets.  Patience  under  prema- 
turely adverse  criticism  was  a  characteristic  of  his 
which  did  not  receive  adequate  contemporaneous 
appreciation . 

Still  it  is  only  true  to  state  that  he  was  more  of  a 
veteran  in  1883  than  in  many  subsequent  seasons. 
"  Though  not  quite  so  reliable  as  a  few  years  ago,  he 
still  has  no  superior."  His  aggregate  of  1,352  fell 
short  only  of  those  of  W.  W.  Read  and,  Ulyett,  his 

166 


DR.    W.   G.   GRACE  167 

average  only  less  than  those  of  the  Surrey  "  crack  " 
and  C.  T.  Studd.  Five  professionals — Barlow,  Harri- 
son, Flowers,  Barratt  and  Peate — with  C.  T.  Studd 
captured  100  wickets.  Grace  claimed  94,  but  at  a 
vastly  increased  cost,  22  runs  being  his  average — the 
worst  he  ever  had  with  the  ball  until  1889.  In  the  field 
the  ground  began  to  seem  a  long  way  from  his  hands. 

This  year,  for  the  first  time  since  1878,  he  played 
first-class  cricket  throughout   May;   indeed  in  the 
opening  match  at  Lord's,  for  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v. 
Sussex,  his  bowling — 5  for  51  and  6  for  38 — gave  the 
Club  an  easy  victory  by  9  wickets.     In  North  v. 
South,   "  the  most  noteworthy  bit  of  cricket  was 
the  magnificent  catch  by  Dr.  Grace  which  disposed 
of  Wild."     Of  that  catch  a  critic  remarks  :   "  The  ball 
was  driven  back  hard,  but  he  sprang  up  and  took  it 
most  brilliantly  with  his  left  hand.     Nothing  in  the 
day's  cricket  provoked  louder  cheering."     He  himself 
was  sixth  out  at  96,  having  made  64,  an  innings  of  a 
splendid  character,  including  a  drive  off  Bates  on  to 
the  top  of  the  enclosure.     On  the  same  ground  for 
his  county  against  the  metropolitan  one,   he  did 
heroic  work,  5  for  64  and  7  for  92  with  89,  finely 
played  until  he  grew  careless  after  making  80,  and 
35  :  all-round  play  rather  disappointingly  on  the  los- 
ing side.     A  professional  engagement  kept  him  from 
representing  the  Gentlemen  at  the  Oval  for  the  first 
time  since  1867  :   the  game  terminated  in  a  tie.     In 
Pooley's  benefit,  though  Barlow  twice  dismissed  him 
for  a  single  figure,  he  claimed  4  wickets  for  but  26 
runs.     He   also   began   his   association   with   Lord 
Sheffield  by  taking  a  weak  scratch  side  to  Sheffield 
Park.     There  was  no  fault  to  be  found  with  the  sound 
freedom  of  both  his  own  contributions,  81  and  51. 

The  rest  of  his  doings  were  concerned  with  Glouces- 
tershire. Only  a  victory  over  Lancashire  rewarded 
the  efforts  of  a  side  lacking  in  efficacious  bowling 
and  weakened  by  the  return  of  Midwinter  to  Aus- 
tralia. That  victory  was  due,  mainly,  to  W.  G. 


168     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

Grace  getting  his  first  century  for  a  couple  of  seasons. 
His  stand  with  the  left-hander  J.  Cranston  yielded 
126  and  he  was  batting  for  three  hours  for  112, 
marred  only  by  a  chance  just  prior  to  his  dismissal. 
Playing  for  the  most  part  consistently,  perhaps  his 
other  most  important  achievement  was  an  excep- 
tionally cautious  36,  after  Middlesex  had  scored  537, 
leading  up  to  an  invaluable  85  compiled  with  con- 
spicuous care  and  judgment  which  materially  helped 
to  save  the  game,  the  last  pair,  Fairbanks  and 
Page,  keeping  their  wickets  intact  for  the  final  ten 
minutes. 

Few  professionals,  alike  as  player  and  umpire, 
over  a  long  series  of  seasons'  watched  W.  G.  Grace 
more  critically  than  that  arch-stonewaller,  fine  field 
at  point  and  clever  bowler  Barlow,  who  writes  : 


"  W.  G.  was  the  King  of  cricket  and  the  champion 
of  champions  and  we  shall  never  see  his  like  on  the 
field  again.  I  have  played  with  him  and  against 
him  and  seen  him  play  some  remarkable  innings, 
especially  on  bad  sticky  wickets  when  the  ball  was 
breaking  about.  I  place  poor  Arthur  Shrewsbury 
and  Dr.  W.  G.  well  before  all  others  on  this  kind  of 
wicket.  They  always  played  at  the  ball  and  not  at 
the  pitch,  as  many  batsmen  do,  and  they  never  played 
forward  unless  they  could  get  well  to  the  ball  before 
the  break  got  on.  For  timing  and  placing  the  ball 
between  the  men  in  the  field,  I  have  never  seen  any 
player  like  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace.  He  made  fewer  mis- 
hits than  any  other  batsman  I  ever  saw. 

In  his  prime  he  was  a  very  fine  and  difficult  bowler 
to  play  and  was  a  good  head  bowler,  always  having  a 
beautiful  length.  To  the  onlooker  his  bowling  ap- 
peared simple,  but  he  had  the  batsman  in  the  flight 
as  the  striker  was  often  in  two  minds.  Of  course  his 
great  height  helped  him  very  much. 

No  bowler  ever  seemed  very  difficult  to  the  cham- 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  169 

pion  and  Alfred  Shaw  probably  caused  him  most 
anxiety.  At  the  same  time,  I  have  captured  the 
champion's  wicket  nearly  as  often  and  quite  as 
cheaply  as  any  bowler  he  met,  twenty  times  in 
all  and  thirteen  of  these  clean  bowled,  whilst  five 
times  I  caught  him  at  point.  In  the  first  three 
matches  I  ever  played  against  him,  I  took  his  wicket 
three  tunes  in  five  overs.  For  the  Players  v.  Gentle- 
men at  the  Oval  in  1884,  I  accomplished  the  hat 
trick,  my  victims  being  W.  G.  Grace,  W.  W.  Read 
and  J.  Shuter.  I  remember  in  1887,  our  old  captain 
Mr.  Hornby  telling  Dr.  W.  G.,  that  he  had  brought  his 
master.  '  Yes,  I  know  who  you  mean,  but  I'll  watch 
him  this  match.'  It  came  off  all  right  for  Lanca- 
shire, because  I  bowled  him  again  for  23.  Between 
1865  and  1896,  Alfred  Shaw  bowled  Dr.  W.  G. 
twenty  times,  I,  as  above,  thirteen,  Morley  eleven, 
Allen  Hill  and  Emmett  ten  times  each,  Peate  nine 
and  Southerton  eight. 

In  the  early  eighties,  when  Tom  Emmett  was 
bowling  to  Dr.  W.  G.  the  champion  in  one  over  hit 
him  for  four  fours  off  good-length  balls.  Tom  came 
over  to  me  at  mid-off  (it  was  Players  v.  Gentlemen) 
and  said  :  '  Dickie,  I  wish  that  long-shanks  was  out. 
He's  a  regular  devil :  the  better  I  place  'em  the  better 
he  paces  'em.' 

At  times  Dr.  W.  G.  had  a  partiality  for  remaining 
at  the  wicket  after  being  given  out.  Pooley,  the  old 
Surrey  wicket-keeper,  being  umpire  at  the  bowler's 
end,  gave  him  out,  l.b.w.  Not  being  Satisfied  Dr. 
W.  G.  ran  to  the  umpire,  saying  :  '  Which  leg  did  it 
hit,  Pooley,  which  leg  did  it  hit  ?  '  Pooley  replied  : 
'  Never  mind  which  leg  it  hit ;  I've  given  you  out  and 
out  you've  got  to  go.' 

Another  case  was  in  Gloucestershire  v.  Yorkshire  at 
Bristol,  at  which  I  was  umpiring.  Mr.  F.  S.  Jackson 
was  bowling  to  Dr.  W.  G.  and  appealed  for  l.b.w.  and 
to  me  it  appeared  a  very  clear  thing,  so  up  went  my 
hand.  Dr.  W.  G.  however  remained  at  the  wicket 


170     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

and  called  out,  '  Barlow,  I  played  the  ball.'  I 
replied,  '  Yes,  I  know  that,  Doctor,  but  it  was  after  it 
hit  your  leg/  Of  course  he  had  to  depart. 

To  show  what  the  attractiveness  of  Dr.  Grace 
was,  the  first  time  Gloucestershire  played  Lancashire 
at  Manchester,  there  was  a  record  gate,  over  twenty 
thousand  on  the  Saturday,  and  the  people  swarmed 
over  the  ground,  so  that  the  game  had  to  be  stopped. 
They  were  eventually  cleared  off  and  play  resumed  : 
of  course  they  had  not  come  to  see  any  one  but 
1  W.  G.' 

In  the  late  eighties  when  the  English  team  should 
have  played  the  Australians  at  Old  Trafford,  the 
weather  was  very  bad  and  no  play  possible  on  any  of 
the  three  days.  Dr.  W.  G.  made  the  remark :  '  If 
there's  any  fielding  to  be  done  here,  the  light-weights 
will  have  to  do  it.  A  heavy  man  like  me  would  be 
in  danger  of  getting  stuck.' 

The  champion  on  one  occasion  played  in  a  day's 
match  at  Bedminster  near  his  home.  Overnight  his 
brother  E.  M.  and  he  walked  over  to  see  what  sort  of 
a  pitch  they  would  have  to  play  on.  Dr.  W.  G.  said 
it  looked  anything  but  good,  so  they  thought  they 
would  give  it  a  little  more  rolling.  However,  the 
roller  was  out  of  order  and  they  could  not  move  it, 
so  the  two  Graces  agreed  to  be  on  the  ground  early 
next  morning  and  give  the  pitch  a  few  hours'  tramp- 
ling with  their  big  feet,  for  as  they  were  both  heavy- 
weights they  thought  this  would  have  some  effect. 
As  the  ground  was  on  the  soft  side,  the  few  hours' 
trampling  made  the  pitch  play  fairly  well.  We  had 
a  good  laugh  over  this  I  might  add. 

Once,  during  Lancashire  v.  Gloucestershire  at  Old 
Trafford,  the  champion  was  seen  in  conversation  with 
Johnny  Briggs  between  the  wickets.  Some  one  was 
heard  to  ask,  '  Who  is  the  big  man  ?  '  And  on 
receiving  the  answer  :  '  That's  Grace,'  then  put  the 
question,  '  And  is  the  other  Grace's  baby  ?  '  Briggs, 
for  some  time  after,  was  referred  to  by  this  amusing 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  171 

cognomen.  Grace  stood  six  feet  two  and  a  half 
inches  and  was  bulky  in  proportion,  while  Briggs' 
height  was  only  five  feet  four." 

Of  all  the  anecdotes  about  W.  G.  Grace,  this  at  one 
time  was  the  best  known  and  therefore  it  is  suitable 
it  should  be  given  in  this  volume  by  Briggs'  yet  more 
famous  colleague.  One  curiosity  is  that  in  the  multi- 
tudinous communications  so  generously  forwarded 
for  the  present  issue,  no  one  else  contributed  the 
anecdote.  Probably  because  each  thought  it  too 
familiar,  it  incurred  the  danger  of  not  being  recorded 
for  future  generations. 

1884  was  a  big  year  for  W.  G.  Grace  in  batting 
achievements,  yet  his  figures  were  practically  identi- 
cal with  those  of  the  preceding  summer.  This  was 
due  to  the  fact  that,  apart  from  superb  displays  in 
the  greatest  encounters,  twenty  of  his  double-figure 
contributions  were  under  35,  nor  did  he  begin  at  the 
top  of  his  form,  for  his  first  seven  visits  to  the  wicket 
only  yielded  seventy  runs. 

The  Australians  enjoyed  one  of  their  most  success- 
ful tours,  but  they  came  in  contact  with  some  fine 
run-getting  from  W.  G.  Grace.  Their  dark-horse  was 
a  slow  bowler  hitherto  unseen  in  England,  W.  H. 
Cooper,  and  for  the  first  three  matches  he  did  not  take 
the  field,  being  reserved  for  the  encounter  with  M.C.C. 
and  Ground  at  Lord's.  Everybody  was  eager  to  see 
what  he  would  do,  but  never  will  the  present  writer 
forget  how  W.  G.  pulverized  him.  Before  luncheon 
the  bowling  of  the  new-comer  was  virtually  finished 
with  and  in  the  whole  tour  he  only  took  7  wickets  for 
46  runs  each,  a  failure  always  ascribed  to  the  power- 
ful manner  in  which  Grace  made  light  of  his  efforts. 
The  champion's  101  out  of  199  while  in  was  splendidly 
forceful,  and  again  he  showed  a  marked  preference  for 
the  bowling  of  Palmer,  who,  however,  claimed  his 
wicket  for  obstruction.  Grace  followed  this  up  by 
being  the  most  successful  bowler  in  the  match, 


172     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

obtaining  7  wickets  for  79  and  obviously  puzzling 
our  visitors. 

For  the  Gentlemen  of  England  against  the  Austra- 
lians, Grace's  batting,  following  Stanley  Christo- 
pherson's  effective  bowling,  gave  the  amateurs  an 
equality  on  first  hands  which  they  could  not  preserve. 
W.  G.  was  in  rare  vein.  He  had  made  46  out  of  85 
on  the  first  day  and  was  altogether  responsible  for  a 
model  107  out  of  222  while  he  was  in.  In  the 
second  innings  he  began  with  a  free  30  towards  the 
188  the  Gentlemen  could  not  make.  A  feature  of  the 
game  was  the  way  in  which  Midwinter,  rather  a  slow 
bat  as  a  rule,  laid  on  to  the  deliveries  of  his  former 
•captain. 

The  first  test  match  at  Manchester  was  spoilt  by 
rain,  but  Grace  showed  marked  skill  and  judgment 
in  his  31,  the  highest  contribution  in  England's  second 
innings.  Heavy  run-getting  caused  the  encounter  at 
Clifton  between  Gloucestershire  and  the  Australians 
to  be  drawn.  Winning  the  toss,  for  some  reason 
W.  G.  did  not  go  in  until  the  score  was  84  for  two 
wickets,  after  which  he  carried  out  his  bat  for  116, 
his  third  century  against  our  visitors.  "  It  was 
quite  worthy  of  his  best  days,"  and  in  the  second 
effort  he  was  again  not  out  with  27  to  his  credit.  In 
their  final  match  at  the  Oval  against  the  South,  the 
Australians,  with  only  a  total  of  163,  won  by  an 
innings.  No  one  except  W.  G.  Grace  could  look  at 
Spofforth,  Boyle  and  Palmer,  but  in  each  innings  he 
was  top  scorer  with  24  and  26,  thus  making  50  whilst 
the  other  ten  in  their  two  efforts  only  aggregated  95. 
The  Australians  professed  themselves  immensely 
impressed  by  the  batting  he  had  shown  them  in  their 
remarkable  tour. 

An  amusing  incident  happened  at  Sheffield  Park 
at  the  opening  of  the  Colonial  tour.  W.  G.  called 
for  a  gauge  to  test  the  bat  of  Percy  McDonnell,  which 
was  found  a  trifle  too  wide.  It  was  then  suggested 
that  the  champion's  bats  should  be  tested,  and  there 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  173 

was  much  laughter  when  the  very  first  one  could  not 
pass  muster. 

In  Gentlemen  v.  Players,  he  was  once  more  promi- 
nent, games  in  which  he  invariably  relished  his  own 
success.  The  Gentlemen  began  batting  after  six  on 
the  first  evening — stumps  in  those  days  were  drawn 
at  seven  except  in  matches  with  the  Australians,  who 
insisted  on  an  earlier  adjournment  in  order  to  ensure 
more  cricket  on  the  third  day,  a  gate  money  point  of 
view — and  W.  G.  was  bowled  by  Barlow  for  21  out  of 
38.  In  a  splendidly  contested  game,  the  amateurs 
were  set  204  on  a  wicket  not  wearing  well,  but  a 
partnership  of  137  between  W.  G.  and  A.  G.  Steel 
ensured  their  success.  Flowers  bowled  Grace  at 
179  for  an  89  composed  in  his  very  best  form,  which 
elicited  particularly  appreciative  applause  at  its 
close.  At  the  Oval,  he  did  not  go  in  until  fourth 
wicket  down,  but  though  not  out  35,  he  was  fre- 
quently in  difficulties  and  missed  badly.  He  showed 
cricket  of  a.  very  different  colour  on  second  hands, 
scoring  48  with  remarkable  freedom  while  A.  P.  Lucas 
made  8,  Barnes,  Barlow,  Briggs,  Ulyett  and  Peate 
being  all  put  on  in  rapid  succession,  and  when  Ulyett 
sent  him  back  with  a  wonderful  running  catch  in  the 
long  field,  his  vigorously  hit  66  included  no  less  than 
eleven  fours  and  was  by  far  the  largest  innings  irt 
either  effort  of  the  eleven. 

Gloucestershire  again  had  a  disastrous  season,  a 
solitary  success  over  Lancashire  having  to  be  set 
against  nine  defeats,  but  W.  G.  Grace  easily  headed 
the  batting  averages.  Suffering  from  a  bad  hand, 
nevertheless  his  56  not  out  v.  Sussex  at  Gloucester 
was  pronounced  masterly.  In  making  66  v.  Surrey, 
his  partnership  with  J.  H.  Brain  yielded  118.  But 
his  best  county  effort  was  at  Lord's  v.  Middlesex 
when  he  put  the  other  side  in  and  lost  the  match. 
He  was  missed  at  long-on  when  he  had  made  44,  and 
when  his  score  reached  62  he  strained  the  muscles 
of  the  calf  of  his  right  leg,  so  that  his  brother  had  to- 


174     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

run  for  him,  but  this  in  no  measure  lowered  the  stan- 
dard of  his  play  and  his  94  was  admirable.  He  was 
bowled  by  a  lob  from  I.  D.  Walker,  who  obtained  ten 
Gloucestershire  wickets  with  those  apparently  inno- 
cuous deliveries. 

In  the  early  eighties  the  Studds  were  almost  as 
notable  as  the  Graces  in  the  seventies  and  there  is 
much  interest  in  the  following  observations  by  C.  T. 
Studd  : 

"  Every  one  who  bowled  against  W.  G.  knew  that 
he  had  not  to  bowl  a  good  ball  every  time,  but  to 
bowl  his  best  ball  or  look  silly.  Grace  was  a  great 
man  to  have  on  your  side,  such  a  full-blooded  opti- 
mist. No  batsman  was  ever  so  well  set  but  W.  G. 
thought  he  could  get  him  out.  There  were  times 
when  it  seemed  hopeless  to  think  of  removing  a  bats- 
man or  prevent  his  fierce  hitting  :  those  times  never 
came  to  W.  G.  Old  W.  G.'s  bowling  looked  very 
potty  stuff  from  the  pavilion,  but  he  was  a  much 
"better  bowler  than  he  was  generally  supposed  to  be. 
He  was  always  so  cocksure  he  could  get  you  out  that 
you  had  to  strengthen  your  own  opinion  that  he 
wouldn't  or  couldn't  or  else  be  sort  of  hypnotized  and 
diddled  out.  I  don't  fancy  many  people  saw  him 
miss  a  catch,  but  then  a  ball  could  hardly  miss  his 
pair  of  hands  and  looked  a  pea  in  a  top-hat  when  it 
got  inside. 

Decidedly  he  was  not  a  bit  of  poetry,  but  was 
real  John  Bull  prose,  with  a  style  of  his  own,  which 
nobody  ever  came  near  without  making  himself  look  a 
fool.  It  was  in  a  Gentlemen  v.  Players  match  at  Lord's, 
the  wicket  was  tricky  and  wet,  Fred  Morley  was  at 
his  best  and  '  making  her  talk  Chinese,' — one  ball 
would  come  bump  shoulder  high  and  the  very  next 
shoot.  Old  W.  G.  played  a  whole  over  of  Fred's 
shooters  and  when  the  umpire  called  '  over,'  the 
whole  pavilion  rose  and  cheered,  as  though  he  had 
•scored  a  century.  W.  G.'s  prose  made  Fred's  poetry 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  175 

look  piffle,  but  those  four  balls  might  have  meant  four 
wickets  had  Grace  not  been  there  and  at  that  end. 
By  the  way,  his  eye  was  about  the  finest  you  ever 
saw.  It  was  worth  going  a  long  journey  just  to  look 
into  it,  or  I  should  say  them.  I  shall  always  preserve 
.a  very  great  and  lasting  admiration  for  the  Old  Man." 

A  noble  revival  marked  the  cricket  of  W.  G.  Grace 
in  1885,  his  best  year  since  1877.  Once  again  he  was 
-credited  with  both  a  thousand  runs  and  a  hundred 
wickets.  Though  in  batting  behind  Shrewsbury  and 
W.  W.  Read,  yet  to  an  aggregate  of  1,688  with  an 
average  of  43  could  be  added  117  wickets  for  18  runs 
apiece,  so  that  in  his  twenty-first  season  he  was  still 
the  best  all-round  cricketer  in  England.  Four  cen- 
turies he  compiled,  including  one  over  two  hundred — 
his  first  for  eight  seasons.  Oddly  enough  he  failed  to 
score  four  times  and  had  nine  single-figure  contribu- 
tions, but  all  the  rest  proved  admirable.  The  tribute 
in  Lilly  white  read  :  "  For  twenty- one  years  Mr.  Grace 
has  stood  alone  as  the  best  all-round  cricketer,  and 
even  now  there  is  no  one  to  rank  as  his  superior.  It  is 
eminently  satisfactory  to  all  who  know  his  unbounded 
enthusiasm  for  the  game,  of  which  he  has  been  such  a 
magnificent  exponent,  to  find  that  he  is  still,  after 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century's  hard  work,  the  noblest 
Roman  of  them  all." 

He  opened  and  closed  his  summer  with  games 
against  Shaw's  Australian  team.  At  Sheffield  Park 
he  "  made  some  superb  hits  "  off  Peel,  Bates  and 
Flowers  in  his  39  not  out.  At  Harrogate,  in  a  drawn 
game  where  everybody  else  seemed  dully  defensive, 
he  gave  a  fine  display  of  brilliant  hitting,  scoring  51 
out  of  the  first  53,  making  two  splendid  drives  out  of 
the  ground  for  six  as  well  as  six  fours.  His  judg- 
ment in  not  giving  Peate  a  turn  with  the  ball  until 
127  was  scored  was  the  more  criticized  as  the  York- 
•shireman  then  took  6  wickets  for  17  runs. 

As  so  often  happened,  W.  G.  showed  some  of  his 


176     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

best  at  Lord's.  The  Whitsuntide  match  was  for  the 
benefit  of  Morley's  family,  and  in  a  rain-spoilt  match 
Grace  made  28  in  half  an  hour  and  then  took  5  wickets 
for  25,  followed  by  4  for  48,  though  A.  N.  Hornby  and 
Lord  Hawke  hit  some  spanking  boundaries  off  his 
deliveries.  For  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Notts,  he 
accomplished  one  of  the  greatest  successes  attached 
to  his  name.  True  his  63  was  slow  and  marred  by 
several  chances,  but  he  actually  claimed  16  wickets 
for  60  runs  (7  for  40  and  9  for  20)  against  the 
powerful  batting  of  the  Midlanders,  and  he  bowled 
right  through  both  innings.  For  Gloucestershire  v. 
Middlesex  he  compiled  69  in  his  best  style,  then  took 
4  wickets  for  49,  and  when  178  was  needed  to  win  on  a 
really  difficult  pitch — a  big  task  at  Lord's — he  scored 

54  out  of  102  in  resolute  fashion,  eventually  the  runs 
being  knocked  off  for  the  loss  of  only  two  wickets. 
For  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Lancashire  he  was  twice 
given  out  l.b.w.  in  the  same  match,  the  bowlers  being 
Briggs  and  Watson.     For  the  benefit  match  of  the 
latter,  W.  G.  made  the  highest  score,  69,  for  the 
South,  in  one  over  getting  ten,  and  showing  better 
form  than  usual  at  Old  Trafford. 

His  batting  for  Gloucestershire  was  the  great 
feature  of  that  county's  improved  season — seven 
defeats  were  nearly  balanced  by  six  successes  and 
one  favourable  draw.  Surrey  was  twice  beaten  and 
each  time  W.  G.  had  a  hand  in  the  success.  At  the 
Oval  he  knocked  the  bowling  of  Lohmann,  Beaumont, 
C.  E.  Homer  and  W.  E.  Roller  all  over  the  field,  his 

55  being  particularly  free  and  his  4  wickets  for  29 
just   turned  the  match,  a  close  one  gained  by  2 
wickets.     In  the  return,  on  a  pitch  that  in  the  course 
of  his  innings  underwent  all  sorts  of  variations  owing 
to  weather,  he  did  not  make  even  a  bad  stroke  in  104 
out  of  179  when  he  was  caught  at  point,  having  been 
at  the  wicket  two  hours  and  fifty  minutes.     Finally, 
in  twenty-five  minutes  he  and  J.  H.  Brain  knocked 
off  the  necessary  38. 


A  PENCIL  SKETCH,  HITHERTO  UNPUBLISHED,  BY  T.  WALTER  WILSON,  R.I. 

The  original  is  in  the  Pavilion  at  Lords. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  177 

Allusion  will  be  noticed  in  the  recollections  of 
P.  J.  de  Paravicini  to  the  fact  that  Grace  was  up  all 
night  with  a  maternity  case  midway  in  his  grand  score 
of  221  not  out  v.  Middlesex,  after  which  he  bowled 
63  overs  for  n  wickets.  He  had  begun  with 
nnwonted  care,  taking  two  hours  and  three-quarters 
to  score  63  ;  he  then  hit  with  power  and  brilliancy, 
completely  mastering  the  bowling.  Despite  a  few 
mistakes  it  was  a  grand  performance,  occupying  six 
hours  and  twenty  minutes,  and  he  carried  his  bat 
through  an  innings  of  348  ;  therefore  he  was  responsi- 
ble for  more  than  three-fifths  of  the  aggregate.  At 
Bradford,  his  noble  132,  made  in  well  under  four 
hours,  with  only  one  hard  chance  to  slip,  terminated 
in  his  being  thrown  out  by  Lee.  Again  at  Old 
Trafford  he  did  well,  alone  able  to  withstand  Watson 
and  A.  G.  Steel,  getting  an  excellent  50  and  patient 
39,  no  one  else  on  the  side  obtaining  20.  In  the 
return  he  scored  with  the  utmost  freedom  for  49, 
out  of  a  total  that  only  amounted  to  117. 

Full  reminiscences  of  Grace  at  Scarborough  will  be 
found  from  other  pens  in  future  pages,  but  allusion 
cannot  here  be  omitted  to  his  grand  form.  Against 
I  Zingari  for  Gentlemen  of  England,  in  a  lively  match, 
he  hit  so  hard  as  to  get  26  out  of  30  whilst  C.  I. 
Thornton  was  his  partner,  and  eventually  pulled  a  ball 
from  A.  G.  Steel  into  his  wicket  for  a  capital  68.  A 
third  Gentlemen  v.  Players  resulted  in  a  single  inn- 
ings victory  for  the  amateurs,  and,  in  particularly 
merry  vein,  W.  G.  contributed  174  out  of  247  while 
in.  Frequent  interruptions  from  rain  and  the 
treacherous  state  of  the  wicket  throughout  "  rendered 
this  performance  one  of  the  finest  ever  credited  to  a 
batsman,  and  the  enthusiastic  reception  accorded  to 
him  on  his  retirement  was  therefore  thoroughly 
merited.  His  hits  comprised  twenty-five  fours,  and 
only  two  chances  were  blemishes  in  his  magnificent 
innings."  A  minor  incident  was  that  during  the 
annual  match  between  Orleans  Club  and  J.  W.  Hobbs' 


178     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

Club  at  Norbury  Park,  Grace  came  out  to  umpire 
during  the  last  few  minutes  of  the  match  and  was 
received  with  a  round  of  applause. 

Few  perhaps  of  those  contributing  to  this  memorial 
record  of  the  great  player  have  felt  the  loss  of  the  fine 
old  sportsman  so  personally  as  P.  J.  de  Paravicini. 
That  keen  cricketer  writes : 

"  We  were  tremendous  friends — pals  if  I  may  use 
the  word — to  the  very  end.  One  of  the  things  that 
have  made  me  proudest  in  my  life  was  a  letter  (it  is 
before  me  now  as  I  write)  from  W.  G.  in  1881  asking 
me  to  play  for  Gloucestershire.  Imagine  my  delight 
as  a  boy  at  Eton  to  think  my  cricket  had  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  great  Grace.  Why,  I  have  never 
forgotten  the  thrill  that  ran  through  me,  even  though 
it  was  written  under  a  misapprehension,  for  I  had 
no  other  qualification  for  the  Western  county  than 
that  an  uncle  of  mine  resided  within  it. 

To  the  best  of  my  recollections  the  first  time  I 
ever  played  against  W.  G.  was  when  I  went  on  the 
western  tour  of  Middlesex  in  1883.  It  was  at  Clifton 
and  the  match  was  remarkable  for  I.  D.  Walker  and 
Alfred  Lyttelton  making  324  for  our  second  wicket ; 
after  lunch  they  put  on  226  in  an  hour  and  three- 
quarters.  I  had  a  fine  taste  of  W.  G.'s  ability,  for 
when  his  side  followed  on,  he  showed  wonderful 
judgment  and  skill,  batting  over  three  hours  for  85, 
trying  to  save  the  game.  It  was  a  near  thing,  for 
the  last  man,  H.  V.  Page,  joined  Fairbanks  when  only 
ten  minutes  remained  for  play,  but  they  kept  their 
wickets  intact. 

In  those  western  matches  year  by  year,  I  have 
some  lovable  memories  of  W.  G.  He  was  really  a 
very  generous  opponent.  Once  I  caught  put  Frank 
Townsend  and  it  happened  to  be  the  means  of  our 
winning  the  match.  Yet  nobody  congratulated  me 
more  on  holding  that  ball  than  did  the  Old  Man.  I 
thought  it  so  awfully  nice  of  him.  On  another 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  179 

occasion  Joe  Hadow,  in  catching  him  out  deep  rather 
forward  square  leg,  fell  and  severely  cut  his  head 
against  the  edge  of  an  iron  stand.  Nobody  could 
have  been  more  kind  than  W.  G.  was  in  looking  after 
him. 

A  memorable  match  I  was  against  him  was  at 
Clifton  in  1885,  when  he  carried  his  bat  right  through 
the  innings  against  us  for  221.  He  had  been  at  the 
wicket  all  the  first  day  for  163  and  sat  up  right 
through  the  night  with  a  confinement.  He  went  on 
with  his  innings  as  fit  as  possible  next  day,  showing 
more  masterly  freedom  on  that  second  morning. 
Nor  was  he  content  with  that,  for  he  took  n  out  of 
our  20  wickets  for  under  n  runs  apiece.  This  was- 
the  occasion  when  report  has  it  that  on  our  inquiring 
about  the  confinement,  he  said :  '  It  was  fairly 
successful.  The  child  died  and  the  mother  died, 
but  I  saved  the  father.' 

The  first  time  I  ever  played  on  the  same  side  with 
him  was  when  I  appeared  for  the  Gentlemen  v. 
Players  at  Lord's  in  1884.  Some  one,  I  forget  whor 
had  failed  and  I  was  asked  in  the  pavilion  to  fill  the 
vacancy.  My  own  share  was  rather  exciting.  The 
Players  had  made  290,  and  when  Hugh  Rotherham, 
our  last  man,  joined  me  we  were  eleven  behind. 
However,  we  managed  to  head  them  by  6  runs  and 
eventually  won  by  six  wickets.  This  was  mainly 
due  to  89  made  by  W.  G.  in  his  very  best  form,  his 
stand  with  '  Nab  '  Steel  producing  137  runs.  Ima- 
gine how  good  the  bowling  was  when  to  that  very 
free  pair,  after  lunch,  Peate  bowled  7  overs  for  I 
run  and  Flowers  6  overs  for  3  runs. 

Scarborough  Festival  being  holiday  cricket  saw 
W.  G.  at  his  cheeriest.  I  never  knew  any  one  stand 
chaff  better  and  his  hearty  laugh  used  to  sound  like 
a  trumpet  in  the  chorus  of  mirth,  whilst  he  had  a 
knack  of  saying  odd  things  which  became  addition- 
ally funny  from  his  way  of  putting  them. 

Interviewed  in  Cricket  years  ago  I  told  a   story 


i8o     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

of  Grace  at  Scarborough,  and  there  can  be  no  harm 
in  my  requoting  it  now.  '  We  always  had  a  most 
delightful  time  there,  thanks  in  great  measure  to 
Lord  Londesborough,  who  entertained  us  in  the  most 
hospitable  manner.  On  one  occasion  at  a  dance 
given  by  Lady  Londesborough,  W.  G.  scored  off  me 
very  considerably  :  he  was  always  splendid  company. 
At  this  dance  we  were  rather  short  of  ladies.  W.  G. 
had  been  dancing  all  through  the  night,  for  he  was 
never  short  of  partners- — the  ladies  would  always 
dance  with  him  rather  than  with  us  young  fellows. 
At  last,  however,  it  happened  that  he  was  deserted 
for  the  moment.  He  came  up  to  me  (I  had  a  partner) 
and  in  a  most  mysterious  manner  said  :  "  I  say,  Para, 
just  come  and  look  at  those  stars  shining  out  there." 
Thinking  that  something  special  must  be  on  in  the 
way  of  stars  I  went  to  have  a  look  at  them,  and  on 
turning  round  found  that  W.  G.  had  gone  off  with 
my  girl. 

Grace  was  so  like  a  boy.  At  fifty  he  really  might 
have  been  a  boy.  When  he  danced,  it  looked  just 
like  a  great  big  bear  careering  round,  and  he  footed 
it  with  the  best.  One  always  smiled  when  looking 
at  him,  a  kindly  smile,  because  one  had  the  feeling 
that  he  was  a  genuine  friend  and  gave  you  the 
impression  that  he  really  liked  being  in  your  company. 

There  was  no  one  like  the  Graces  in  their  particular 
line  of  cricket.  I  remember  W.  G.  telling  me 
that  once  when  Stoddart  was  batting — and  he 
was  the  hardest  puncher  of  his  time — E.  M.  Grace 
caught  him  out  at  point  and  handed  the  ball  to  J.  A. 
Bush  at  the  wicket  without  shifting  his  feet.  This 
sounds  too  marvellous  to  be  true,  and  yet  I  do  not 
know.  The  temerity  of  E.  M.  at  point  often  lapsed 
into  sheer  audacity.  In  my  time  W.  G.  was  always  a 
bit  slow  in  the  field,  but  if  a  ball  came  near  his  hand, 
it  invariably  stuck  in  that  mighty  paw. 

As  a  bowler  I  only  batted  to  him  when  he  was  a 
veteran.  He  had  excellent  command  over  the  ball 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  181 

and  was  full  of  tricks,  fond  of  pitching  the  ball  up  a 
little  more  or  of  sending  one  in  a  trifle  faster.  He 
never  objected  to  being  hit,  rather  liked  it  ;  '  Never 
mind,  we'll  have  him  directly,'  he  would  say,  and  if  he 
did  obtain  wickets  by  that  leg  ball  it  must  have  been 
at  a  pretty  costly  rate  if  one  could  get  at  the  analysis 
of  his  leg  balls  only.  He  was  a  bowler  whom  a  bats- 
man only  needed  to  keep  his  head  to.  I  always 
wanted  to  have  a  go,  to  hit  freely — the  most  miserable 
hour  I  ever  spent  in  a  cricket  match  was  once  at 
Trent  Bridge  when  I  had  to  keep  up  my  wicket  for 
an  hour  and  managed  to  do  it,  but  how  bored  I  was 
— and  a  hitting  bat  was  often  trapped  by  the  Old 
Man.  What  I  would  like  to  emphasize  is  that  W.  G. 
never  grew  slack.  The  longer  the  day  in  the  field, 
the  more  he  would  bowl.  He  was  there  to  play 
cricket,  and  if  he  could  not  bat  he  was  content  to  bowl, 
and  he  never  worried  if  he  was  punished. 

About  his  batting,  what  struck  me  most  was  that 
the  biggest  hit  never  seemed  the  slightest  effort.  He 
did  not  appear  to  put  out  any  greater  strength  for  a 
huge  drive  than  for  a  mere  block.  It  was  that  the 
ball  simply  appeared  to  go,  not  he  to  make  a  bigger 
exertion  to  get  it  away.  Now  I  have  never  noticed 
that  in  any  other  batsman.  Also  he  did  not  have 
the  fluky  strokes  and  slicy  cuts  common  to  others  ; 
all  his  strokes  were  played  firmly  and  as  he  meant 
they  should  be  played,  except  perhaps  to  very 
insidious  slows  on  a  particularly  dead  wicket.  As 
for  playing  for  his  average,  I  am  perfectly  convinced 
that  the  idea  never  entered  his  head.  He  could  not 
have  adapted  his  fine  cricket  to  the  exigencies  and 
restrictions  necessitated  by  taking  thought  for  his 
figures  :  nor  would  he  have  liked  such  type  of  play. 
Cricket  to  him  was  play,  literally  play — play  to  win, 
if  you  like — but  averagemongering  was  not  to  his  taste. 

I  wrote  just  now  that  W.  G.  was  like  a  great  boy. 
I  would  add  that  he  always  liked  the  company  of 
young  people.  His  was  a  cheery  soul.  Certainly, 


182     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

in  his  later  years  with  Gloucestershire,  he  gathered 
some  weird  sides  for  the  metropolitan  Visits  of  the 
county  team.  That  was  not  his  fault.  But  the 
young  fellows  were  on  their  best  behaviour  and  stood 
in  much  awe  of  him,  which  the  rest  of  us  did  not,  for 
we  were  '  hail  fellow,  gladly  met  indeed '  when  we 
saw  his  burly  form. 

I  may  add  that  Sir  Home  Gordon  has  worked  out 
the  statistics  of  W.  G.  Grace  in  the  nineteen  first-class 
matches  in  which  I  played  either  with  or  against  him. 
His  batting  average  for  26  completed  innings 
amounted  to  44  with  an  aggregate  of  1,147,  which 
included  221  not  out,  101  and  127  not  out,  while  he 
took  51  wickets  for  1,239  runs>  averaging  24.  So  I 
have  tangible  reasons  for  my  personal  appreciation 
of  his  wonderful  cricket,  apart  from  the  many  delight- 
ful hours  spent  in  watching  his  prowess  in  other 
contests." 

Once  again  in  1886  W.  G.  Grace,  to  the  delight  of 
the  public,  gave  his  grandest  innings  against  the 
Australians.  He  had  actually  the  highest  aggregate 
of  the  year,  1,846,  though  beaten  in  average  by 
Shrewsbury  and  W.  W.  Read,  who  alike  took  part 
in  fewer  matches,  whilst  he  was  also  one  of  the  five 
bowlers  who  took  over  a  hundred  wickets,  the  others 
being  Barlow,  Emmett,  Lohmann  and  Wootton  who, 
between  all  four,  could  not  collectively  score  as  many 
runs  as  came  from  his  bat. 

At  the  Oval,  he  made  the  largest  score,  170,  ever 
credited  to  an  English  cricketer  in  a  test  match  in 
this  country  up  to  the  war,  appropriate  enough  for 
the  world's  champion  and  compiled,  be  it  remem- 
bered, after  he  had  entered  his  thirty-ninth  year. 
The  Australians  had  shown  poor  form  in  their  two  pre- 
vious test  matches  that  season  and  England  played 
exactly  the  same  side  which  had  been  victorious  at 
Lord's.  Grace's  contribution  was  the  more  notable 
because  he  made  the  enormous  proportion  of  170  out 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  183 

of  216  whilst  he  was  in.  His  innings  was  not  so  fault- 
less as  usual,  for  H.  J.  H.  Scott  ought  to  have  caught 
him  easily  at  short  slip  when  he  had  made  6,  and 
Giffen,  Bruce  and  Mcllwraith  gave  him  lives  before 
he  reached  three  figures.  Scotton,  who  at  one  time 
did  not  score  for  an  hour,  with  34,  patiently  stayed 
with  him  until  a  record  of  170  for  the  first  wicket 
was  amassed,  one  not  surpassed  until  Hobbs  and 
Rhodes  in  the  Colonies  gave  their  amazing  combined 
performances.  The  enthusiasm  aroused  by  Grace's 
achievement  can  be  imagined. 

Intrinsically  his  148  for  Gentlemen  of  England 
on  the  same  ground  was  an  even  more  punishing 
display,  as  he  went  in  first  and  was  fourth  out,  giving 
only  one  chance  of  stumping  which  he  himself  always 
denied.  "  Old  cricketers  who  have  watched  him 
season  after  season  were  loud  in  praise  of  the  vigour 
and  power  of  his  cutting  and  of  the  mastery  he 
showed  over  all  the  bowling,"  which  consisted  of 
Giffen,  Bruce,  Garrett,  S.  P.  Jones,  E.  Evans  and 
J.  W.  Trumble.  His  third  century  against  the 
Colonials  was  for  his  county.  On  this  occasion  he 
had  bowled  with  rare  effectiveness  against  them, 
sending  down  50  overs  for  67  runs  and  7  wickets,  five 
of  which  were  clean  bowled.  This  he  followed  up 
with  a  brilliant  no  made  in  three  hours  and  a  half, 
George  Giften  being  more  belaboured  than  on  almost 
any  other  occasion  on  any  tour  in  this  country, 
where  his  prowess  with  the  ball  was  so  marked. 

At  Scarborough,  W.  G.  Grace  and  Scotton  put  on 
156  against  the  Australians  when  the  champion  was 
caught  at  the  wicket  for  a  very  finely  played  92. 
Well  on  hi  September,  in  J.  A.  Murdoch's  testi- 
monial match,  once  again  he  meted  out  a  superb 
74  in  two  hours,  including  ten  fours,  without  a 
chance,  a  singularly  exhilarating  overture  to  a  capital 
game.  Small  wonder  the  Australians  went  back 
wondering  how  much  cricket  there  still  could  be  in 
the  veteran. 


184     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

There  was  no  better  known  figure  on  cricket- 
grounds  than  "  the  Surrey  poet "  Craig,  a  rhymist 
with  a  delightiul  power  of  repartee.  He  formed  the 
delight  of  the  crowd  and  was  a  most  civil,  decent 
man.  An  average  specimen  of  his  verse  was  a 
portion  of  his  poem  on  Grace's  score  of  170,  alluded 
to  above : 

Why  it  was  but  yesterday  our  champion  stood 

Before  his  wicket  like  a  mighty  rock. 
Your  grand  defence,  sir,  was  acknowledged  good : 

The  "  Demon  "  bowled  :    you  never  felt  the  shock. 
You  drove  him  grandly  here,  you  cut  him  there  ; 
In  fact,  you  seemed  to  put  him  anywhere. 

There's  not  a  man  would  seek  to  take  your  place  ; 

And  we  have  men  of  whom  we're  justly  proud. 
We  know  there's  but  one  William  Gilbert  Grace  ; 

None  own  it  more  so  than  the  Surrey  crowd. 
Your  well-earned  fame  has  spread  both  near  and  far, 
You're  loved  for  what  you've  been  and  what  you  are. 

And  still  you're  like  some  bright  and  ardent  youth ; 

Active  and  buoyant — peerless  in  your  play. 
We  must  acknowledge,  if  we  own  the  truth, 

That  you  are  still  our  champion  in  the  fray. 
We  proudly  add  to  many  a  brilliant  score 
A  hundred  and  seventy  notches  more. 

The  Parsees,  who  toured  that  summer,  had  parti- 
cularly desired  that  W.  G.  Grace  should  play  against 
them  at  Lord's.  They  were  treated  to  a  taste  ]of  his 
quality,  for  he  hit  up  65  in  amazing  quick  time, 
obviously  relishing  their  underhand  bowling,  and 
then  enjoyed  a  harvest  of  wickets,  capturing  7  for  1 8 
(the  total  being  only  23)  and  4  for  26.  On  this 
occasion,  some  of  the  spectators,  pitying  the  incom- 
petence of  our  Indian  visitors,  shouted  to  him  to  take 
himself  off.  This  was,  of  course,  merely  a  trifling 
engagement.  Hardly  with  more  seriousness  did  he 
himself  treat  his  visit  to  Oxford,  though  his  success 
was  even  greater.  He  would  relate  how  "  no  end  of  a 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  185. 

dinner  "  was  given  to  him  on  the  night  before,  and 
that  the  small  hours  grew  numerous  before  he  at 
last  went  to  bed.  But  he  scored  a  lively  104,  with  a 
six  and  fifteen  fours,  and  then  proceeded  to  take  all 
the  10  University  wickets  for  49  runs  in  the  second 
innings  of  the  undergraduates,  the  only  time  he  ever 
achieved  this  in  an  eleven-a-side  first-class  match. 

For  Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Lord's,  with  an  eleven 
weak  in  bowling,  Grace  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
attack.  At  the  Oval  for  the  last  time  in  this  match 
the  brothers  opened  the  batting  together,  E.  M.  being 
nearly  forty-five,  and  put  on  67  in  an  hour  and  a  quar- 
ter. The  champion's  65  was  a  really  meritorious  effort, 
and  it  gave  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble  as  he  was  two- 
hours  and  three-quarters  at  the  wicket,  Peate,  Loh- 
mann,  Ulyett,  Barnes  and  Flowers  being  the  bowlers. 
In  the  second  innings,  he  saved  the  match  with  50- 
not  out,  altogether  free  from  fault. 

That  Gloucestershire  could  only  show  three  suc- 
cesses as  against  six  defeats  was  due  to  a  great  falling 
off  in  Grace's  batting,  which  was  nothing  like  so  good 
for  the  county  as  in  big  cricket.  At  Brighton,  for 
the  benefit  of  H.  Phillips  the  diminutive  wicket- 
keeper,  he  scored  51  out  of  77,  and  57,  having  kept 
himself  back  until  the  third  day.  At  Moreton-in-the- 
Marsh  against  Notts,  he  bowled  very  well  (4  for  23), 
and  showed  admirable  form  for  92  not  out,  obtaining 
very  scant  support  except  from  A.  C.  M.  Croome.  At 
Trent  Bridge,  hi  a  draw  when  13  wickets  realized 
664,  his  84  was  not  one  of  his  best,  though  the  highest, 
contribution  to  the  Westerner's  total.  In  a  solitary 
fixture  with  Derbyshire,  the  only  one  tried  for  many 
years,  the  opponents  were  so  at  sea  with  his  bowling 
that  his  6  wickets,  four  clean  bowled,  only  cost  34  runs. 
This  was  the  earliest  match  in  which  Davidson 
established  a  reputation  as  a  bowler,  one  which  Grace 
himself  always  endorsed. 

Directly  this  Memorial  Biography  was  planned, 
application  for  a  contribution  was  made  to  the  late 


i86     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

Lord  Alverstone.  Considering  that  the  following 
reply  was  written  at  a  time  when  his  illness  had  lasted 
for  years  and  only  a  few  weeks  before  his  death,  it 
must  have  cost  him  a  great  effort  to  compose  at  such 
length  with  his  own  pen  what  may  be  regarded  as  the 
iinal  proof  of  his  devotion  to  cricket  and  of  his  unfail- 
ing geniality  towards  all  concerned  with  the  game. 

"  If  I  had  been  in  my  usual  health,  I  should  certainly 
have  tried  to  write  something  important  for  your 
book,  but  it  is  out  of  the  question  in  my  present 
condition.  I  have  therefore  jotted  down  certain 
incidents  in  the  life  of  W.  G.  Grace  known  to  myself 
and  very  few  others.  I  do  not  propose  to  discuss 
Grace's  extraordinary  powers  or  to  criticize  any  part 
of  his  play.  I  can  only  join  in  the  chorus  of  ad- 
miration for  his  splendid  career  in  the  cricket  field. 
I  will,  however,  relate  the  following  episodes. 

In  the  early  sixties,  Dr.  E.  M.  Grace  burst  like  a 
meteor  on  the  cricket  horizon  by  taking  all  the 
wickets  and  scoring  over  a  hundred  runs  in  a  match 
in  the  South  of  England.  That  summer  I  spent  the 
Long  Vacation  at  Cambridge.  I  remember  it  very 
well,  because  it  was  the  only  season  I  got  into  the 
•coveted  column  in  Bell's  Life,  for  the  minimum  of 
eighty  runs  playing  for  the  scholars  of  Trinity 
against  my  college.  My  dear  friend  P.  M.  Thorn- 
ton and  I  were  both  playing  cricket  at  Cambridge 
and  he  or  I  happened  to  mention  Dr.  E.  M.  Grace's 
wonderful  performance  to  Dan  Hayward,  father  of 
Tom  Hayward,  and  head  of  the  celebrated  trio, 
Hayward,  Carpenter  and  Tarrant,  then  playing  for 
Cambridgeshire.  Whereupon  Hayward  said  to  Thorn- 
ton :  '  There  is  a  younger  brother  of  that  E.  M. 
Grace  who  is  the  finest  boy  cricketer  I  have  ever 
seen.'  This  was  the  first  tune  I  heard  W.  G.'s  name. 
Prom  1865  to  the  close  of  his  career,  I  saw  him 
constantly. 

I  have  no  intention  of  referring  to  any  of  the  inci- 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  187 

dents  in  his  wonderful  career,  but  I  will  mention 
that  he  told  me  twice  between  1875  and  1890  that 
Alfred  Shaw  of  Nottingham  was  the  only  bowler  who 
gave  him  any  trouble  and  if  he  was  careful  he  need 
not  get  out  to  any  other.  Also  that  A.  G.  Steel,  when 
a  boy  at  Marlborough,  was  the  best  schoolboy  crick- 
eter he  had  ever  seen.  Charles  Alcock,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Oval,  was  a  great  friend  of  W.  G.'s,  and,  in  con- 
sequence, my  close  connection  with  Surrey  brought 
me  into  contact  with  him.  When  in  1903  I  was 
nominated  President  of  M.C.C.,  W.  G.  treated  me 
with  great  kindness  and  tendered  me  valuable  advice. 

An  incident  which  created  a  great  impression  on 
me  was  this.  Bertie  Lucas,  one  of  the  sons  of  C.  J. 
Lucas  of  Warnham  Court,  was  a  very  fine  bat.  He 
died,  alas !  too  young.  His  father  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  mine  and  we  often  met  at  Lord's.  One  day 
when  Bertie  Lucas  and  W.  G.  were  playing  in  the 
same  match  at  Lord's,  they  both  made  good  scores. 
When  W.  G.  had  put  on  his  jacket  he  came  along  to 
us  in  the  pavilion  and  said :  '  Mr.  Lucas,  I  have  just 
been  playing  with  the  second  best  bat  in  England.' 
Lucas'  face  beamed  with  satisfaction  and  I  was  very 
much  struck  with  the  truth  and  tact  of  the  observa- 
tion. If  W.  G.  had  said  '  the  best  bat  in  England  '  it 
would  have  been  a  mere  compliment,  but  in  saying 
what  he  believed  to  be  true,  that  poor  Bertie  Lucas 
was  second  only  to  himself,  he  showed  a  rare  appre- 
ciation in  expressing  a  fact  which  won  his  father's 
heart. 

Another  fact  recalls  his  wonderful  judgment. 
Owing  to  my  constant  employment  at  the  Bar,  I  was 
able  to  see  very  few  Australian  matches,  but  I  did 
happen  to  be  at  one  at  the  Oval  which  was  won  by 
England  by  a  very  narrow  margin,  I  think  about  10 
runs.  The  weather  was  terrible  and  England  were 
all  out  in  their  last  innings  leaving  Australia  between 
55  and  60  to  get.  I  was,  of  course,  very  miserable,  for 
by  lunch-time  Australia  had  lost  only  2  or  3  wickets 


i88    BIOGRAPHY  OF  DR.  W.   G.   GRACE 

for  about  20  runs  and  seemed  certain  of  victory, 
Grace  came  in  to  lunch  and  before  play  recommenced 
he  sat  talking  to  me.  I  was  regretting  the  bad  luck 
England  had  had,  and  how  they  must  inevitably  lose. 
Grace  turned  to  me  and  said  :  '  There's  not  the  slight- 
est chance  of  the  Australians  making  the  runs.'  I 
replied  :  '  What  do  you  mean  ?  Why,  they  have  only 
30  or  40  to  make  and  6  or  7  wickets  to  go  down.' 
Grace  said  ;  '  Well,  you  will  see  ;  there  is  no  chance  of 
their  making  them.'  It  turned  out  exactly  as  he  had 
predicted  and  England  won  by  10  or  n  runs.  I  do 
not  recollect  the  actual  figures,  but  my  memory  can 
be  tested  by  those  acquainted  with  England  and 
Australian  scores.  [The  Editors  have  not  identified 
the  match  to  which  Lord  Alverstone  refers.] 

I  will  not  trouble  you  further,  but  if  you  think 
these  incidents  worth  a  place  in  your  book,  they  are 
entirely  at  your  disposal." 


CHAPTER  XIV 
A  Wonderful  Revival 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  H.  V.  PAGE  AND  C.  I, 
THORNTON 

TUBILEE  year,  in  its  prolonged  spell  of  glorious 
^|  weather,  produced  a  series  of  incomparable 
run-getting  wickets,  and  on  them  W.  G.  Grace  in  his 
iortieth  year  proceeded  to  amaze  even  those  accus- 
tomed to  the  high  standard  of  his  cricket.  Two 
batsmen  stood  transcendently  before  the  public, 
Arthur  Shrewsbury  and  the  champion,  who,  in  addi- 
tion to  scoring  two  thousand  runs  for  the  first  time  in 
eleven  seasons,  also  captured  ninety-seven  wickets. 
In  forty-six  innings,  eight  of  which  were  unfinished, 
there  were  six  centuries  including  a  double  century, 
eight  other  innings  over  fifty,  eleven  more  over  thirty, 
only  once  did  he  not  open  his  account  and  only  seven 
were  single-figure  contributions.  He  was  three  times 
given  out  for  obstruction,  twice  stumped  and  thirteen 
times  bowled,  the  other  thirty  times  being  caught. 
He  started  well  and  had  no  bad  spell  at  any 
period  of  the  season.  Against  Sussex  for  M.C.C.  and 
Ground,  his  second  match,  he  went  in  first  and 
carried  out  his  bat  for  81  whilst  his  colleagues  only 
made  37,  six  failing  to  score,  though  he  never  seemed 
in  difficulties.  Then  he  took  7  wickets  for  53,  after 
which  he  indulged  in  a  square-leg  hit  right  over  the 
tennis  court.  It  was  the  year  of  the  centenary  of 
M.C.C. ,  and  when  the  Club  played  England,  owing 

189 


THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

to  shortage  of  bowling  on  the  home  side,  the  national 
one  won  by  an  innings  and  117  runs.  W.  G.'s  best 
contribution  to  the  game  was  his  second  score  of  45. 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  give  the  sides  :  M.C.C.  and 
Ground  :  W.  G.  Grace,  A.  N.  Hornby,  A.  J.  Webbe, 
J.  G.  Walker  and  Lord  Hawke  with  Barnes,  W. 
Gunn,  G.  G.  Hearne,  Flowers,  Rawlin  and  Sherwin. 
England  :  A.  E.  Stoddart,  W.  W.  Read  with  Shrews- 
bury, Barlow,  M.  Read,  Bates,  Ulyett,  Hall,  Briggs, 
Lohmann  and  Pilling.  Shrewsbury  and  A.  E.  Stod- 
dart put  up  266  for  the  first  wicket  and  respectively 
compiled  152  and  151. 

At  the  centenary  banquet  held  in  the  tennis  court, 
W.  G.  replied  on  behalf  of  medicine  to  the  toast, 
proposed  by  Lord  Lewisham,  of  "  The  great  army  of 
cricketers."  A  wholly  delightful  match  followed 
between  Eleven  Gentlemen  of  M.C.C.  and  Eighteen 
Veterans  of  the  Club  Over  Forty.  W.  G.  was  not 
yet  qualified  to  join  the  Old  Brigade,  and  to  every- 
body's amusement  was  bowled  by  one  of  the  very 
mildest  of  E.  Rutter's  slows  just  when  he  was  getting 
set.  His  bowling  was  not  treated  with  any  great 
degree  of  respect  by  many  who  had  been  his  victims 
in  earlier  days.  By  special  request  he  was  photo- 
graphed with  both  teams.  He  subsequently  enjoyed 
himself  against  Cambridge,  who  were  weak  that  year. 
Of  the  six  wickets  he  took,  four  were  on  appeals  for 
l.b.w.  On  the  third  day  M.C.C.  required  178  to  win, 
and  W.  G.  made  116  out  of  these  in  two  hours  and 
fifty  minutes,  being  not  out.  He  hit  in  grand  style 
all  round  the  wicket,  lifted  one  on  to  the  roof  of  the 
pavilion  and  forced  runs  at  a  great  pace. 

It  was  Grace's  opinion  that  the  Players  had  never 
been  stronger  than  in  1887  and  seldom  have  the 
Gentlemen  been  so  weak.  In  both  matches  the 
amateurs  were  defeated,  by  exactly  the  same  eleven, 
with  an  innings  to  spare.  In  three  out  of  the  four 
efforts  with  the  bat  Grace  contributed  the  highest 
score,  his  contributions  being  24,  49,  15  and  35, 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  191 

hitting  out  brilliantly  when  he  realized  conditions 
were  hopeless.  He  also  captured  more  of  the  Players' 
wickets  than  did  any  one  else.  Two  other  good 
performances  at  headquarters  were  provided  by  the 
champion.  For  M.C.C.  against  Lancashire  he  hit  very 
courageously  for  73,  after  getting  his  opponents  quite 
bewildered  by  his  bowling,  his  6  for  45  consisting  of 
four  clean  bowled  and  two  l.b.w.  As  so  often  hap- 
pened, he  was  in  his  best  form  for  Gloucestersh  ire  v 
Middlesex.  The  wicket  bumped,  but  he  opened  his 
shoulders  in  noble  fashion,  making  113  out  of  193, 
no  one  on  the  side  except  A.  Newnham,  who  stayed 
with  him  for  84  runs,  showing  even  elementary 
resistance.  When  there  was  no  chance  of  a  definite 
result,  he  brought  off  a  remarkable  piece  of  bowling, 
claiming  Sir  Timothy  O'Brien,  A.  E.  Stoddart  and 
A.  J.  Webbe,  the  trio  only  making  a  single  between 
them. 

Gloucestershire  that  summer  so  far  as  success  went 
was  Grace  everything  and  the  rest  practically  no- 
thing. At  Blackheath,  after  bowling  to  the  excellent 
tune  of  7  for  55,  he  was  batting  during  140  minutes 
for  a  stonewalling  36  not  out.  A  measure  of  luck 
assisted  his  51  and  47  at  Brighton,  but  his  58  v. 
Surrey  was  quite  magnificent  and  followed  an  utili- 
tarian if  inordinately  prolonged  spell  of  bowling — 77 
overs.  Against  Yorkshire  he  contributed  a  faultless 
92,  followed  by  183  not  out,  which  unexpectedly 
saved  his  side  from  defeat  and  occupied  five  hours  and 
a  half,  without  blemish,  including  twenty-one  fours,, 
on  the  hottest  day  of  the  year.  In  the  return  at 
Dewsbury,  he  showed  splendid  cricket  for  97,  ter- 
minated by  a  catch  at  the  wicket,  his  faultless  effort 
including  a  partnership  of  149  with  J.  H.  Brain. 
At  the  Oval,  when  J.  Shuter  changed  his  order  with 
only  70  runs  to  get,  W.  G.  captured  4  important 
wickets  for  but  29  runs  :  each  time  he  had  been 
dismissed  by  pulling  a  ball  into  his  wicket. 

When  there  was  no  chance  of  saving  even  a  single 


THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

innings  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Notts,  W.  G.  Grace 
carried  his  bat  right  through  the  second  effort, 
•on  a  kicking  wicket,  for  a  perfect  113,  only  one  other 
batsman  exceeding  a  dozen.  In  the  minor  game  with 
Somersetshire  he  hit  hard  and  well  for  92.  Against 
Middlesex,  who  won  by  a  single  wicket,  he  had  scored 
with  particular  skill  for  63  out  of  97,  heavily  punish- 
ing E.  A.  Nepean,  the  first  time  he  met  his  slow 
bowling.  The  first  visit  ever  paid  by  Kent  to  Clifton 
was  rendered  memorable  by  W.  G.'s  double  century. 
As  he  himself  observed,  he  only  made  it  by  the  skin 
of  his  teeth,  his  figures  being  101  and  103  not  out, 
when  stumps  were  drawn.  In  that  last  quarter  of 
an  hour  he  needed  18,  but  managed  to  score  cleverly 
and  his  final  four  to  square-leg  was  off  the  last  ball 
but  one  of  the  match.  Practically  without  a  fault, 
he  gave  two  superb  displays,  being  only  five  hours 
and  a  quarter  batting  for  his  204.  The  feat  per- 
formed with  such  frequency  in  the  twentieth  century 
had  up  to  then  been  only  achieved  by  W.  Lambert  (in 
1817)  and  W.  G.  Grace  himself  (in  1868).  There  was 
a  lot  of  fine  hitting  at  Scarborough  in  the  cheery 
game  between  Gentlemen  of  England  and  I  Zingari, 
and  W.  G.  set  a  good  example  with  73,  he,  C.  I. 
Thornton  and  A.  E.  Stoddart  putting  up  300  in  two 
liours  and  a  half. 

After  the  conclusion  of  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v. 
Yorkshire,  a  football  match  under  Association  rules 
was  played  between  the  teams.  W.  G.  went  half- 
back. Heavy  though  he  was,  he  succeeded  in  getting 
past  Tom  Emmet t  and  Lord  Hawke,  but  in  his 
attempt  to  score  he  was  caught  by  Preston,  just  as  he 
had  been  in  the  cricket  match.  Later  in  some  rough 
and  tumble  play,  he  again  did  well,  and,  immediately 
after  the  teams  had  crossed  over  without  scoring,  he 
got  a  corner  and  placed  the  ball  right  to  the  centre. 
After  M.C.C.  had  obtained  two  goals,  Rugby  rules 
were  played  during  the  last  ten  minutes,  and  Grace 
obtained  a  try. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  193 

1888  was  the  year  when  Turner  and  Ferris  created 
an  extraordinary  sensation  by  their  marvellous 
bowling  for  the  Australians.  It  was  a  wet  season 
in  which  batting  averages  sharply  suffered.  Grace 
with  an  aggregate  of  1,886  was  by  far  the  largest 
run-getter,  only  being  beaten  in  average  by  W.  W. 
Read.  The  latter  and  Abel  were  the  only  batsmen 
besides  Grace  who  obtained  over  a  thousand  aggre- 
gate. The  champion's  bowling  had  only  one  superior 
among  English  amateurs,  namely  S.  M.  J.  Woods, 
and  he  took  six  more  wickets  than  that  aggressively- 
fine  Anglo-Australian  cricketer.  What  was  unusual 
with  W.  G.  was  his  complete  failure  in  the  month  of 
July  when  eleven  visits  to  the  wicket  only  produced 
115  runs.  For  the  second  time  in  his  first-class  experi- 
ence he  had  two  consecutive  ducks-eggs,  v.  Middlesex 
and  Surrey  in  the  West.  Practically  all  the  rest  was 
of  his  very  best. 

Dealing  first  with  his  efforts  against  the  Austra- 
lians ;  in  the  opening  game  at  Norbury  Park  he  dis- 
missed Bannerman,  S.  P.  Jones,  G.  H.  S.  Trott, 
Blackham  and  Lyons  for  51.  Next  came  that  re- 
markable exhibition  for  the  Gentlemen  of  England 
at  Lord's  when  he  and  J.  Shuter  by  run-getting  of  the 
most  brilliant  description  ran  neck  and  neck  until  the 
Surrey  captain  was  dismissed  for  71,  a  partnership 
which  from  the  aspect  of  sheer  delight  has  never  been 
surpassed.  It  amounted  to  158.  Grace  carried  his 
own  score  up  to  165,  occupying  three  hours  and  forty 
minutes  over  a  display  that  must  rank  among  his 
best  and  which  was  quite  remarkable.  On  no  other 
occasion  were  Turner  and  Ferris  so  ruthlessly  han- 
dled. When  W.  G.  made  his  appearance  at  Birming- 
ham for  an  England  XI,  he  met  with  a  great  reception 
and  the  crowd  carried  him  round  the  ground.  Once 
again  when  England  was  beaten  in  a  test  match, 
Grace  was  top-scorer.  The  Australians  on  an  awful 
wicket  at  Lord's  set  the  home  side  124,  and  he  began 
as  freely  as  if  it  were  Saturday  afternoon  cricket, 


194     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

making  24  really  well  out  of  34  while  in,  but  the 
whole  eleven  was  out  for  62.  For  his  county  he 
claimed  4  wickets  for  27  and  in  the  absence  of  Turner, 
played  in  immaculate  fashion  for  51.  In  the  return 
his  92,  with  only  one  chance  in  the  deep  field,  was  a 
notably  sound  exhibition,  the  only  score  exceeding 
fifty  on  either  side.  The  third  test  match  was  at 
Manchester  and  his  38  was  the  highest  and  most 
attractive  contribution  in  the  whole  match.  He  was 
out  to  a  wonderful  right-handed  catch  on  the  boun- 
dary by  Bonnor.  In  this  game  W.  G.  was  captain  of 
England  and  led  a  victorious  side  remarkably  well, 
four  of  his  own  catches  dismissing  McDonnell, 
Bannerman,  Bonnor  and  Edwards, — one  a  magnifi- 
cent left-handed  one — going  a  long  way  to  help  the 
single  innings  success  which  gave  the  Mother  Country 
the  rubber.  Finally,  at  Hastings,  where  he  was  to  be- 
come a  recognized  institution,  W.  G.'s  capital  53  out 
of  66  whilst  in  elicited  rapturous  tributes  from  the 
crowd.  That  year  he  had  the  highest  average  in 
representative  matches  and  the  highest  aggregate  in 
all  encounters  with  the  Australians. 

His  average  for  Gloucestershire  was  also  the  best 
recorded  for  any  county  in  1888,  and  he  tied  with 
Woof  for  the  highest  number  of  wickets.  All  else 
was  overshadowed  by  his  wonderful  double  century 
against  Yorkshire,  the  third  and  last  of  his  career. 
In  the  first  innings  he  scored  50  out  of  75,  100  out  of 
147  and  148  out  of  221,  being  sixth  out,  having  batted 
absolutely  without  the  semblance  of  a  mistake  for 
three  hours  and  a  half.  In  the  second  innings  he 
surpassed  this  big  score  by  making  153  out  of  253 
in  only  three  hours  ;  except  for  a  very  difficult 
chance  at  the  wicket  when  12  there  was  not  a  blemish 
in  this  wonderful  and  singularly  alert  effort. 

At  Brighton,  in  a  huge  scoring  match,  W.  G.  went 
in  first  and  at  the  close  of  the  first  day  was  not  out 
188.  He  was  finally  dismissed,  through  hitting  his 
wicket  in  playing  at  a  lob  from  Walter  Humphreys, 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  195 

for  215,  the  largest  score  in  a  county  match  that 
summer.  "  It  was  remarkable  for  the  power  and 
freedom  of  its  all-round  hitting  and  for  the  unerring 
judgment  and  masterful  ease  with  which  all  kinds 
of  bowling  was  met."  It  may  here  be  mentioned 
that  Grace  himself  several  times  emphasized  the 
fact  that  the  majority  of  his  greatest  scores  were 
compiled  in  drawn  matches  or  in  defeats,  though  of 
course  there  were  exceptions. 

Against  Kent  on  a  tricky  deceptive  wicket  at 
Blackheath,  W.  G.  made  64  out  of  114  and  33  out  of 
77,  whilst  his  5  wickets  cost  only  23  runs.  For 
M.C.C.  and  Ground  at  Lord's  he  worked  very  hard 
against  Sussex,  claiming  5  for  38  and  scoring  73, 
"  an  innings  quite  worthy  of  his  reputation."  Twice 
meeting  Oxford,  he  afforded  the  undergraduates 
excellent  demonstrations  of  batting,  contributing 
95  and  29,  25  and  39.  For  South  v.  North  his  44 
was  made  in  great  style  off  Attewell,  Barnes,  Peel, 
Barlow  and  Flowers. 

One  of  the  keenest  help-mates  of  the  master  in 
county  matches  was  that  useful  all-round  Old 
Cliftonian,  H.  V.  Page,  who  writes  : 

"  Naturally  my  recollections  of  W.  G.  Grace  are 
chiefly  associated  with  Gloucestershire  cricket,  but 
not  entirely  so.  For  instance,  I  took  particular 
interest  in  obtaining  his  views  about  the  old  fast 
bowlers.  Tarrant  and  Jackson  were  the  two  he 
counted  greatest.  He  spoke  of  the  spin  and  life  in 
Jackson's  ball  as  something  marvellous.  The  older 
bowlers  in  their  day  were  always  so  fresh,  he  would 
say :  the  rough  wickets  encouraged  them,  innings 
were  shorter  and  matches  more  rare,  so  they  did  not 
grow  worn  and  stale  before  August.  W.  G.  had  a 
great  admiration  for  Allen  Hill.  Mold  hurt  more  than 
any  bowler  he  ever  knew,  I  have  heard  him  say. 
And  why  ?  Because  he  threw.  '  Mold  breaks  them 
inches  on  the  plumbest  wicket/  for  the  same  reason. 


196     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

I  am  quoting  contemporaneous  views  given  by  W.  G., 
before  Jem  Phillips'  no-balling  crusade. 

Between  Spofforth  and  Turner,  he  discriminated 
in  an  interesting  comparison  :  '  Spofforth  could  make 
a  ball  break  on  a  bowler's  wicket  as  much  as  he  liked  ; 
he  could  bend  it  a  foot  and  a  half  or  two  inches ; 
and  he  knew  how  much  he  was  putting  on.  Turner's 
fault  was  that  he  persisted  in  bending  them  a  lot 
ball  after  ball  and  could  not  produce  the  tiny  break 
at  will.  No  bowler  could  control  his  break  better 
than  Spofforth  :  he  could  put  on  just  what  he 
wanted.  The  best  ball  I  take  it  does  not  break  more 
than  from  three  to  five  inches.' 

I  suppose  many  contributors  will  have  laid  stress 
on  Grace's  capacity  for  taking  pains.  I  remember 
an  instance.  About  1885,  he  had  a  spell  of  bad 
luck  :  on  our  Northern  tour  he  had  had  a  double 
failure  against  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire.  We  ran 
to  Notts  on  the  Tuesday  evening  and  had  a  net  up 
at  Trent  Bridge  next  day.  '  A  quarter  of  an  hour 
apiece  batting  '  was  the  order.  W.  G.  had  fifty 
minutes  before  lunch  and  forty  after,  simply  playing 
himself  into  form — and  he  had  his  reward  on  the 
Thursday.  Any  one  else  I  ever  met  would  have  been 
content  with  one  ordinary  spell.  I  never  knew  him 
fail  to  go  out  and  have  his  knock  at  the  nets  or 
against  the  club  rails  in  the  morning ;  and  how  he 
rated  any  youngster  who  failed  to  do  the  same. 

Never,  if  he  could  help  it,  did  he  put  a  colt  out 
in  the  country  in  his  first  few  matches,  certainly 
never  in  the  first  unless  he  particularly  wanted  to  go. 
So  wise.  The  youngster,  as  the  crack  of  his  club, 
would  be  quite  unused  to  the  deep.  '  Go  cover- 
point,'  was  the  usual  instruction.  W.  G.  soon  learnt 
if  he  was  a  worker,  a  judge  of  a  run  and  of  men,  by 
his  fielding  there ;  and  then  he  would  tell  him  to 
make  himself  an  out-field  by  practice,  if  it  was  likely 
he  would  be  wanted  there. 

People  used  to  talk  about  W.  G.  for  shouting  at  his 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  197 

fielders.  The  only  men  who  came  in  for  this  were 
(i)  those  who  came  at  a  ball  slowly  when  the  batsmen 
were  racing  for  two ;  (ii)  those  who  made  a  brilliant 
dash  for  show  with  one'  hand  when  nothing  could 
come  of  success  and  failure  meant  a  run ;  (iii)  above 
all,  men  who  wandered  in  the  field,  who  could  not  or 
would  not  keep  their  place ;  (iv)  slackers,  of  course, 
but  those  he  dropped  unless  they  were  really  good 
players.  I  can  hear  him  say  :  '  The  last  three  or  four 
players  are  not  going  to  win  many  matches,  but  what 
a  lot  they  can  lose  by  dropping  Shrewsbury  or 
Walter  Read.  Why,  they  lose  in  one  match  as  many 
as  they  make  in  a  month.' 

W.  G.  never  would  field  short-slip,  strangely 
enough,  even  with  a  fine  short-leg  to  do  the  fetching. 
I  have  heard  him  say  he  had  never  liked  it  and  grew 
to  dislike  it.  Of  course,  E.  M.  kept  him  out  of  point 
for  Gloucestershire.  Some  people  are  now  talking 
of  W.  G.  as  one  of  the  greatest  points  ;  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  he  was  never  within  streets  of  E.  M.  there 
and  he  knew  it.  Just  very  good,  but  not  a  genius 
and  wizard  like  E.  M.  in  the  place. 

Some  one  else  is  sure  to  have  told  in  detail  how  he 
was  up  with  a  maternity  case  all  night ;  went  in  to 
bat  at  twelve,  was  not  out  at  six  ;  163  not  out  (many 
more  next  day,  I  am  not  near  books  of  reference). 
The  point  in  my  alluding  to  it  is  that  I  possess  the 
bat  !  I  gave  him  a  new  one  for  it,  which  broke 
next  morning  at  the  nets.  He  wanted  his  old  one 
back  and  I  only  saved  it  by  taking  it  down  to  the 
station  then  and  there  and  sending  it  home. 

There  was  a  beautifully  comic  end  to  his  31.8  not 
out  innings  v.  Yorkshire  at  Cheltenham.  It  was 
after  lunch  on  the  second  day  ;  nowadays  he  would 
have  declared  at  9  wickets  down  for  whatever  was 
on  the  score  board.  '  Frizzie  '  Bush  came  in  when 
W.  G.  was  280  odd.  W.  G.  at  once  tried  to  run  him 
out,  but  '  Frizzie  '  was  not  taking  any,  and  left  W.  G. 
to  flounder  about  by  himself,  saying  :  '  No,  no,  if  the 


198     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

wicket  is  good  enough  for  you  to  bat  for  a  day  and  a 
half,  I  am  going  to  have  a  bit  myself,  unless  of  course 
you  get  out  and  spoil  it  all.  I  can  stay  in  if  you 
can.'  Now  to  the  younger  generation  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  state  that  as  a  bat  the  jolly  fine  old  wicket- 
keeper  was  usually  a  negligible  and  willingly  divert- 
ing quantity.  Tom  Emmett  plaintively  said  '  Get 
out '  and  sat  down  in  the  middle  of  the  wicket. 
Runs  came  and  W.  G.  reached  300,  whereupon  he 
again  promptly  tried  to  run  Bush  out,  equally  unsuc- 
cessfully, amid  shouts  of  delight  from  the  rest  of  his 
own  side  looking  on.  [Bush  finally  scored  32,  before 
being  bowled  by  George  Ulyett.] 

It  was  the  hardest  thing  to  get  W.  G.  to  talk 
about  his  old  doings.  He  never  bucked.  You 
never  heard  him  allude  to  any  of  his  old  achieve- 
ments, much  less  to  any  recent  ones.  But  he  liked 
telling  a  story  over  again  which  took  his  fancy. 
There  was  one  he  never  wearied  of  telling  Warwick- 
shire folk.  In  their  last  season  or  two  as  a  second- 
class  county,  Jimmy  Cranston,  whose  last  innings 
for  Gloucestershire  was  a  century  v.  Lancashire,  went 
to  live  in  Warwickshire.  W.  G.  let  the  authorities 
know  the  fact,  but  after  the  necessary  interval,  they 
did  not  think  him  good  enough.  Some  five  years 
elapsed  and  he  qualified  again  for  us,  played  magnifi- 
cently and  was  picked  for  England.  W.  G.  relished 
that  tale. 

The  dear  old  man  could  be  obstinate  on  occasions. 
Once  was  when  we  were  playing  the  Australians  at 
Bristol.  We  had  to  bat  after  a  long  day  for  some- 
thing less  than  an  hour.  '  You  boys  go  in,  I  am 
going  to  wait  for  the  morning/  said  W.  G.  Wicket 
after  wicket  fell,  but  nothing  would  induce  him  to 
bat,  until  he  had  to  sally  forth,  at  six-twenty-four 
p.m.,  number  ten,  with  Board  to  follow. 

People  often  wondered  why  Painter  never  had  a 
turn  with  the  ball.  He  had  one  great  week  as  a 
bowler  against  Middlesex  and  Kent — at  Gravesend 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  199 

in  the  match  when  the  Old  Man  was  in  the  field  every 
ball.  [20  wickets  for  148  runs,  average  7*40,  was  the 
professional's  achievement  in  the  two  games.]  That 
most  decidedly  was  not  his  true  form,  but  he  was  a 
very  useful  bowler  all  through  his  career.  I  am 
sure  not  giving  him  more  opportunity  all  came  from  a 
gang  of  his  friends  (off  the  hills)  keeping  up  a  con- 
certed cry  of  '  Painter,  Painter/  during  the  Chelten- 
ham Week.  The  Bristol  crowd  took  it  up  as  a  joke 
and  so  in  order  to  teach  them  manners  and  give  them 
a  lesson,  Painter  never  got  a  bowl  from  year  to  year. 

The  placing  by  W.  G.  of  the  field  on  the  on-side  for 
his  own  bowling  shows  vividly  how  play  has  changed. 
He  bowled  to  pitch  one  inch  inside  the  leg- stump 
with  a  gentle  inward  turn.  And  yet  he  had  no  short 
(square)  leg  !  One  real  mid-on  and  a  man  (always 
one  of  the  very  best)  eight  or  nine  yards  behind  the 
bowler's  wicket,  just  clear  of  his  own  arm.  Still 
people  rarely  worked  the  single  to  square  short -leg 
in  W.  G.'s  prime  and  not  even  in  my  earlier  days 
(1883-1888).  On  the  other  hand  what  had  been 
the  place  of  honour  and  for  hard  drives  became  a 
sinecure  where  you  picked  up  trickles  and  pushes. 
What  fun  Frank  Townsend  had  there  in  his  youthful 
days,  and  what  calm  and  rest  in  his  veteran  years ! 
George  Ulyett,  A.  N.  Hornby,  W.  J.  Ford,  G.  B. 
Studd,  Alfred  Lyttelton,  Bates,  A.  G.  Steel ;  I  can 
see  them  all  going  in  to  drive  W.  G.  straight ;  and 
what  noble  c.  and  b.'s  he  made.  That  was  when  he 
was  a  bowler.  And  then  think  of  how  their  succes- 
sors came  to  play  his  little  lobs  of  his  later  days. 
Push,  pat,  fudge  one  to  leg. 

I  can  call  to  mind  an  interesting  instance  of  his 
wiliness.  We  were  playing  Notts  at  Clifton  on  a 
real  sticky  wicket  (rain  must  have  held  us  up). 
W.  G.  made  a  rare  good  sixty  or  thereabouts,  and 
we  gave  them  something  like  a  hundred  and  sixty. 
We  all  thought  we  had  them  beaten.  The  time  was 
about  four  on  the  second  day,  stumps  to  be  drawn 


200     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

at  six.  W.  G.  whispered  to  me  :  '  It's  our  job  to 
make  them  think  it  is  as  difficult  still  as  it  has  been, 
but  it  is  not,  and  if  they  (Arthur  Shrewsbury,  Scotton, 
William  Gunn  and  Co.)  can  potter  about  a  bit  to- 
night, it  will  be  a  decent  wicket  to-morrow  and 
they  will  win  easy.'  In  came  Arthur  Shrewsbury 
and  William  Scotton.  W.  G.  walks  on  to  the  wicket, 
puts  down  his  prodigious  thumb  and  says :  '  Now, 
Woofie,  it  is  made  for  you/  He  went  silly  third- 
man  (as  we  called  it  then),  E.  M.  planted  himself 
some  five  yards  off  the  bat  at  point,  Croome  stood 
very  close  in  at  silly  point.  Shrewsbury,  great  bat 
as  he  was, — the  best  on  a  sticky  wicket — was  flum- 
muxed.  Where  was  he  to  plant  the  ball  with  six 
hands  grabbing  ?  Three  times  he  danced  out  and 
hit  a  lofty  two  to  the  outfield,  and  then  he  was 
stumped  with  yards  to  spare.  The  next  men  each 
in  turn  received  the  benefit  of  the  thumb  business  ; 
we  kept  them  full  of  it  and  disposed  of  eight  of  them 
that  night.  The  wicket  was  white,  dry  and  easy  next 
morning,  but  we  won,  simply  and  solely  through 
bustling  them.  Fancy  bustling  that  crowd,  with 
Barnes,  Flowers  and  Dixon  to  follow  the  trio  I  have 
already  mentioned! 

In  conclusion,  let  me  give  a  notable  instance  of 
cricket  generosity  on  the  part  of  W.  G.  Our  two 
home  grounds  for  Gloucestershire  matches,  in  the 
days  up  to  about  1890,  were  Clifton  College  and 
Cheltenham  College,  the  latter  with  a  slight  slope 
just  like  Lord's,  the  former  like  Canterbury — ideal 
grounds  for  a  slow  left-hander  like  Woof  and  just 
right  for  W.  G.  himself.  Invariably  the  Old  Man 
gave  up  his  end  to  Woof,  and  what  is  more  I  never 
heard  him  grouse  about  it." 

Two  legislative  innovations  affected  1889,  the 
introduction  of  the  closure  and  the  increase  of  five 
balls  to  the  over.  It  was  another  wet  year,  but 
Grace  in  his  more  expensive  bowling,  which  only 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  201 

yielded  44  instead  of  93  wickets,  showed  the  effects  of 
increasing  years  and  weight.  Again  he  enjoyed  the 
distinction  of  the  highest  aggregate  of  the  year,  1,396, 
with  the  same  average,  32,  having  only  Gunn,  Shrews- 
bury, Leslie  Wilson,  Barnes  and  M.  Read  ahead  in 
averages,  Gunn,  Barnes,  K.  J.  Key  and  Abel  being 
besides  himself  the  only  other  scorers  of  a  thousand 
runs.  Grace's  batting  yielded  two  duck's-eggs, 
twelve  efforts  under  double  figures,  twenty-one  inn- 
ings under  fifty,  seven  under  a  hundred  and  three 
centuries.  With  two  not  outs,  he  was  once  l.b.w. 
(to  Peel),  ten  times  bowled  and  caught  on  every 
other  occasion,  six  times  at  the  wicket. 

Again  for  Gloucestershire  in  the  metropolis,  W.  G. 
was  in  a  prolific  vein  ;  v.  Middlesex  he  played  rather 
more  patiently  than  his  wont  for  101,  but  showing 
"all  his  old  mastery  and  judgment  in  placing." 
O.  G.  Radcliffe  helped  him  to  put  up  105  for  the  first 
wicket.  Opposed  to  Surrey,  apart  from  himself 
only  J.  Cranston  could  play  Beaumont  and  Loh- 
mann,  but  W.  G.  in  conjunction  with  the  left-hander 
was  so  punishing  that  126  was  added  in  one  hundred 
minutes,  his  own  score  being  94.  After  the  first 
declaration  ever  made,  he  contributed  34  out  of  the 
first  51,  only  to  see  his  side  dismissed  for  92. 

Not  for  many  years  had  Gentlemen  v.  Players  at 
the  Oval  resulted  in  so  good  a  match  between  such 
excellent  sides,  and  Grace  enjoyed  the  distinction  of 
having  the  highest  aggregate  for  the  amateurs.  At 
the  start  the  wicket  was  overwatered,  and  it  there- 
fore took  him  two  hours  and  twenty  minutes  to  score 
a  comparatively  dull  49.  Though  again  slow  in 
compiling  his  67,  the  burden  of  a  losing  game  was 
then  on  his  shoulders  :  excellently  he  acquitted 
himself.  The  manner  in  which  he  and  Abel  at 
Manchester  wiped  off  the  deficit  of  the  South,  respec- 
tively being  credited  with  48  and  55,  formed  the 
brightest  feature  in  the  successful  benefit  for  Pilling, 
that  Blackham  of  English  wicket-keepers.  At  Scar- 


202     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

borough  W.  G.  played  a  chanceless  58  against  I  Zin- 
gari  and  then  gave  a  superb  display  for  154  for  South  v. 
North.  He  and  Abel  put  on  226  for  the  first  wicket, 
under  decidedly  tricky  conditions  when  their  side 
followed  on  in  a  minority  of  163.  Grace  was  out  at 
278,  caught  by  Lord  Hawke  at  short-leg,  for  a  superb 
154,  having  preserved  a  curiously  even  rate  of  scoring 
all  through  the  four  hours  and  a  half,  during  which 
he  was  credited  with  sixteen  fours,  with  only  three 
possible  uppish  strokes.  Never  before  had  Gentle- 
men v.  Players  been  begun  so  late  in  a  season  as 
September  16,  at  Hastings,  but  a  thrilling  struggle 
ended  in  the  success  of  the  former  by  a  wicket. 
Grace's  own  innings  was  soon  terminated  by  a  magni- 
ficent catch  left-hand  uplifted  to  the  extremity  of 
his  reach  on  the  boundary  by  William  Gunn,  who  was 
six  feet  three  in  height. 

In  the  return  with  Middlesex,  W.  G.  obtained  his 
second  century  of  the  season.  So  cautiously  did  he 
start  that  he  only  scored  five  singles  in  the  first 
half  hour,  but  after  that  runs  came  at  a  good  pace, 
and  when  the  last  wicket  fell,  he  had  carried  his  bat 
right  through  for  127,  "  an  innings  in  every  way 
worthy  of  him."  His  best  effort,  however,  was  his 
84  v.  Sussex  on  the  new  county  ground,  Ashley  Down, 
Bristol.  The  wicket  was  so  treacherous  that  there 
were  no  other  score  over  40  in  the  match  and  only 
three  over  18,  yet  Grace  played  grandly,  without  a 
vestige  of  a  mishit,  never  showing  a  sign  of  difficulty 
and  tackling  all  the  bowling  with  ease,  after  himself 
taking  5  wickets  for  32  runs.  He  was  also  the 
match- winning  factor  against  Warwickshire  at  Bir- 
mingham, for  with  J.  Cranston  he  put  up  101  for  the 
second  wicket,  his  own  contribution  being  a  fine  64, 
and  then  with  Woof  he  dismissed  the  home  side  for  52, 
his  six  wickets  only  costing  23  runs.  At  Brighton, 
after  getting  a  beautiful  70,  Bean  clean  bowled 
him  for  the  uncoveted  blob.  In  each  match  with 
Yorkshire  he  just  reached  the  half  century.  Against 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  203 

Lancashire,  when  his  eleven  collapsed  pitiably 
before  Briggs,  he  carried  his  bat  for  37  out  of  87, 
never  once  being  perturbed.  Perhaps  what  he  most 
enjoyed  that  summer  was  trapping  Shrewsbury, 
W.  Gunn  and  Flowers  very  cheaply  in  a  few  overs. 
He  certainly  related  this  with  gusto.  The  Gentle- 
men of  Philadelphia  experienced  an  interesting  tour,, 
but  twice  met  W.  G.  and  found  that  he  claimed  16 
wickets  for  13  runs  apiece,  whilst  scoring  26,  46  and 
39  not  out  against  their  somewhat  weak  attack. 

One  charming  trait  of  W.  G.'s  kindness  must  be 
fresh  in  the  memory  of  many.  He  was  playing  for 
Gentlemen  of  M.C.C.  v.  Royal  Artillery.  Bomba- 
dier  Barton,  who  afterwards  played  for  both  Kent 
and  Hampshire,  made  his  reputation  in  this  match 
by  batting  particularly  well,  scoring  91  out  of  167 
and  102  out  of  173.  When  he  had  99  to  his  credit, 
W.  G.  said  to  him  :  "  I'll  give  you  a  full  pitch  to  leg." 
This  he  proceeded  to  do  and  followed  it  up  with  a 
whole  over  of  leg-balls,  not  one  of  which,  from  sheer 
anxiety,  Barton  could  touch.  Indeed  off  one  of  them 
he  was  probably  l.b.w.,  but  Grace  did  not  appeal. 
Eventually  he  scraped  a  single  and  was  happy. 

Appropriately,  on  the  lighter  side,  come  the  second 
portion  of  the  reminiscences  of  C.  I.  Thornton,  who 
writes  : 

"  Only  once  in  my  life  have  I  been  in  with  a  bats- 
man who  wanted  only  a  few  to  get  two  thousand  runs 
in  a  season.  This  occurred  at  Scarborough  in  1887 
and,  of  course,  the  big  totalizer  was  W.  G.  Not 
that  he  ever  worried  about  his  average,  or  aggregate 
either ;  he  was  far  too  good  a  cricketer  for  that. 
The  game  was  Gentlemen  of  England  v.  I  Zingari, 
and  not  often  have  I  seen  W.  G.  hit  so  hard. 
We  went  in  together.  I  have  done  a  fair 
amount  of  gentle  tapping  in  my  time  and  this 
century  was  one  of  the  liveliest  I  have  perpetrated, 
including  three  sixes  just  to  set  the  bowling  at  ease 


204     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

and  seventeen  fours.  I  was  the  earlier  to  go,  the 
first  wicket  falling  at  173,  but  W.  G.  soon  followed, 
having  a  dozen  fours  in  his  vigorously  free  73.  Our 
first  74  runs  were  made  in  35  minutes — not  bad  con- 
sidering that  I  was  thirty-seven  and  he  thirty-nine, 
neither  of  us  being  what  you  may  term  feather- 
weights. J.  A.  Bush  being  absent,  the  Old  Man  put 
•on  the  gloves  and  cleverly  stumped  Webbe  off  a  slow 
from  Evan  Nepean.  This  was  the  only  first-class 
match  in  which  Prince  Christian  Victor  took  part ; 
more's  the  pity,  for  he  was  a  good  bat  (his  35  was  a 
meritorious  effort)  and  a  capital  stumper,  over- 
shadowed at  Oxford  by  '  Punch '  Philipson. 

Allusion  to  a  University  recalls  a  case  where  a 
man  who  was  unknown  to  some  of  my  side  was  the 
•cause  of  a  curious  remark  by  Grace.  It  was  during 
one  of  the  matches  when  I  took  my  England  team 
to  Cambridge.  Bernard  Posno  was  playing  for  me 
and  so  was  W.  G.,  but  as  it  happened  Grace  had  never 
heard  of  Posno  at  the  time.  So  when  I  asked  him  to 
go  in  first  with  Posno  he  looked  quite  bewildered  and 
asked,  in  astonishment :  '  Posno,  Posno  !  What's 
that  ?  Is  it  something  to  eat  ?  ' 

He  had  a  quaintly  humorous  way  of  putting 
things.  One  wet  Sunday  afternoon  at  Scarborough, 
Stoddart  and  Page  had  been  warbling  away.  In  a 
pause,  from  the  corner,  came  W.  G.'s  stentorian  bid- 
ding :  '  Now,  Stoddy,  let's  have  another  of  those 
little  dittoes.' 

He  played  a  capital  joke  on  me  once.  Turner  and 
Blackham  between  them  had  made  me  bag  a  brace. 
When  we  were  all  dining  that  night  with  Lord  and 
Lady  Londesborough  a  huge  parcel  was  brought  in  to 
me  at  table.  Smelling  a  joke,  I  kept  putting  off 
opening  it  until  dessert  and  then  I  solemnly  undid  the 
package  and  found  its  contents  were  the  huge  pair 
of  spectacles  W.  G.  had  borrowed  from  the  optician's 
shop  in  the  town.  Nor  was  this  the  end,  for  when  we 
all  went  on  to  the  circus,  the  clown  Whimsical 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  205 

Walker  came  on  as  a  parody  of  me,  no  pads  and  so 
forth,  and  after  some  patter  pulled  a  couple  of  duck's 
eggs  out  of  his  pocket. 

Timothy  O'Brien,  at  another  Festival,  perpetrated 
a  highly  successful  joke  on  Grace.  W.  G.  had  been 
bowling  and  Farrands  had  persisted  in  '  not  out  '  to 
all  his  appeals  for  l.b.w.,  much  to  W.  G.'s  visible  dis- 
comfiture. That  night  at  dinner,  he  received  a  long 
letter  apparently  written  by  Farrands,  stating  how 
much  he  had  been  hurt  by  his  honour  being  impugned 
through  W.  G.  not  appearing  to  agree  with  his 
decisions.  There  were  yards  of  this,  and  in  the  kind- 
liness of  his  heart  W.  G.  was  dreadfully  perturbed 
at  having  annoyed  an  old  pro.  He  alluded  to  the 
matter  several  times  and  in  the  smoking-room  said  he 
must  at  once  write  to  him.  It  was  only  then  he 
was  undeceived.  He  took  it  in  excellent  part  and 
admitted  he  had  been  fairly  'had.' 

This  recalls  how  W.  G.  was  fielding  square  leg 
when  Fred  Roberts,  who  bowled  fast  left-handed, 
hit  a  batsman  plumb  on  the  pad.  At  the  end  of  the 
over  W.  G.  said  :  '  Fred,  why  did  you  not  appeal  for 
that  l.b.w.  ?  '  '  Well,  sir,  the  truth  is  I  was  waiting 
for  you  to.' 

When  the  greatest  of  all  the  Australian  teams  came 
to  the  Orleans  Club  at  my  invitation,  I  gathered  a  fine 
side  and  another  half  hour  might  well  have  made  us 
victors.  Murdoch  saved  the  game  for  them  by 
carrying  his  bat  through  the  second  innings  for  a 
beautiful  107.  I  remember  his  cutting  two  succes- 
sive fours  off  W.  G.  ;  but  the  champion,  besides 
opening  with  a  capital  34,  had  captured  5  wickets 
for  37  runs  in  their  first  effort.  We  had  a  delightful 
dinner,  with  Sir  John  Astley,  the  dear  old  Mate,  in 
the  chair,  but  in  conjunction  with  Billy  Murdoch  I 
had  to  do  the  talking,  so  W.  G.  could  enjoy  his  meal 
in  content  without  having  to  get  on  his  feet. 

He  never  was  any  good  at  a  speech,  and  at  one  of 
the  last  Hastings  Festivals  at  a  dinner  given  in  the 


206     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

club  by  the  secretary,  he  brought  out  what  was 
practically  a  facsimile  of  his  speeches  in  Canada  and 
the  United  States  more  than  thirty  years  earlier  :  '  I 
have  enjoyed  myself,  and  if  it  were  not  for  your  excel- 
lent secretary  there  would  be  no  cricket  here  and  no 
nothing  either.'  And  with  that  he  sat  down. 

Newham  told  me  that  one  night  before  a  Sussex  and 
Gloucestershire  match  W.  G.  was  enlarging  on  the 
ease  of  playing  the  lobs  of  Walter  Humphreys. 
He  reverted  to  this  several  times,  twice  observing  : 
'  Billy,  the  way  to  play  him  is  to  hit  him  out  of  the 
ground.'  Therefore  Newham  thought  that  the  Old 
Man  was  bothered  beforehand  at  the  prospect  of 
playing  the  deliveries  of  the  Cobbler  ;  so  he  began 
his  attack  next  morning  with  him  and  Humphreys 
outed  him  at  once. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Percy  McDonnell  agreed 
with  me  in  thinking  that  Alfred  Shaw  was  the  easiest 
bowler  to  hit.  W.  G.  was  of  the  reverse  opinion,  and 
it  is  a  fact  that  no  one  else  so  often  captured  his 
wicket.  Of  course  an  orthodox  and  an  unorthodox 
batsman — the  latter  I  always  rejoiced  to  be — see  the 
same  bowler  from  different  aspects.  Slows  bothered 
Grace  most ;  they  are  of  course  the  most  attractive 
to  slog  at  because  they  come  to  you  more  deliberately. 
On  the  other  hand  pace  never  presented  the  least 
difficulty  to  W.  G.,and  I  cannot  recall  a  fast  bowler 
he  did  not  punish  freely ;  Fred  Morley,  for  instance, 
being  a  prolific  victim  to  his  scoring  propensities. 

It  always  amused  both  of  us  the  way  in  which 
younger  members  of  opposing  sides  at  Scarborough 
tried  to  get  him  out  in  the  luncheon  interval.  On 
one  occasion  he  was  59  not  out  at  the  interval  and 
noted  with  glee  how  two  or  three  of  the  other  side 
plied  him  with  '  pop.'  As  he  walked  back  to  the 
pitch  with  me  he  said  :  '  Those  boys  thought  they'd 
get  me  out  at  the  luncheon  table,  but  they'll  only 
make  me  open  my  shoulders,'  and  that  afternoon 
he  was  good  for  a  rare  long  score  made  very  fast. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  207 

As  most  people  will  remember,  he  was  rather  care- 
less about  dress  as  a  rule,  but  when  poor  young  W.  G. 
Grace  junior  obtained  a  place  in  the  Cambridge 
eleven,  his  father  appeared  at  the  University  match 
in  an  immaculate  new  grey  frock-coat  and  resplendent 
tall  hat.  I  was  sitting  with  Stoddart  on  the  big 
table  in  the  pavilion  when  he  joined  us.  At  his 
first  observation,  Stoddart  with  immense  gravity 
said :  '  Pardon  me,  would  you  tell  me  whom  I  have 
the  honour  of  addressing/  '  Ah,  you  old  rogue/ 
retorted  the  Doctor  in  high  glee,  '  there  will  be  one  or 
two  here  that  I  shan't  be  knowing  later  on/ 

As  I  observed,  I  treasure  newspaper  cuttings. 
Here  is  one  from  a  London  '  daily  '  about  W.  G. 
when  he  played  for  my  side  against  the  Australians 
at  Norbury  in  1888.  '  Bright  Phcebus  Apollo  (occa- 
sionally known  as  the  sun)  swung  high  in  the  bending 
blue,  imparting  a  full  flood  of  mellow  warmth  and 
shedding  a  stream  of  golden  glory  over  the  level 
green  as  W.  G.  Grace  swung  out  of  the  tent  with  his 
bat  under  his  arm,  resembling  nothing  so  much  as  an 
Assyrian  monarch  on  the  frieze  of  an  ancient  entab- 
lature. The  champion  was  in  excellent  form  and  the 
decision  of  Farrands  in  giving  him  out  l.b.w.  to 
Turner  was  not  at  all  appreciated  by  the  great  bats- 
man.' It  was  in  that  match  that,  having  driven 
Ferris  high  and  straight  to  the  boundary,  I  saw  W.  G. 
rise  among  the  spectators  and  cleverly  catch  me, 
much  to  the  amusement  and  applause  of  the  spec- 
tators. 

'The  champion  was  in  excellent  form.'  That  will 
be  our  memory  of  Grace  off  and  on  the  field.  It  is 
with  that  phrase  I  declare  my  present  contributory 
innings  closed,  remembering  the  opinion  of  Souther- 
ton  about  him  :  '  He's  a  wonder,  he  is.'  So  he  always 
was,  so  he  will  be  in  our  recollection  until  we  too  are 
dismissed  by  the  last  bowler  Death." 

This  year  the  portrait  was  painted  for  M.C.C.  at 


208     BIOGRAPHY  OF   DR.  W.   G.   GRACE 

the  cost  of  £300  by  Archibald  Stuart  Wortley  which 
forms  the  frontispiece  to  this  volume.  Private 
subscriptions  for  it  were  limited  to  a  sovereign. 
When  standing  for  this  picture,  W.  G.  took  up  his 
characteristic  and  delightful  pose.  The  artist  hesi- 
tated :  "  But,  Dr.  Grace,  would  you  stand  as  easily 
if  the  game  were  in  a  tight  place  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Cer- 
tainly," was  the  reply,  "  because,  after  all,  I  should 
only  be  facing  the  next  ball " — and  that  was 
thoroughly  typical. 


of  Messrs.  Swan  &•  Morgan 

W.    G.    GRACE. 

The  Portrait  by  the  late  Archibald  Stuart  Wortley 
the  original  of  which  is  in  the  Pavilion  at  Lords. 


CHAPTER  XV 
Prowess  in  Two  Hemispheres 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  C.  C.  CLARKE 

WG.  GRACE  was  naturally  to  the  fore  in  a 
.  season  when  the  Australians  were  visiting 
England,  and  in  1890  he  went  to  the  wicket  no  less 
than  fifty-five  times,  but  for  him  with  the  bat  it  was 
not  a  good  year — comparatively  of  course — though 
an  improvement  was  noticeable  in  his  bowling 
figures.  "  Certainly  the  application  of  the  celestial 
watering-pot  was  very  much  overdone  in  1890,"  and 
the  champion's  extraordinary  vitality  as  well  as  the 
way  he  shaped  at  all  sorts  of  bowling  showed  that 
any  statistical  falling-off  was  only  accidental. 

This  was  the  first  tour  in  which  the  Australian 
defeats  exceeded  the  number  of  their  successes  :  for 
whilst  Turner  and  Ferris  were  deadly  as  in  1888  with 
the  ball,  the  batsmen,  apart  from  W.  L.  Murdoch 
and  that  arch-smiter  J.  J.  Lyons,  fell  short  owing  to 
the  wet  wickets.  W.  G.  Grace  played  against  them 
as  frequently  as  Lohmann  and  more  often  than  any 
one  else.  He  stood  fifth  in  English  batting,  averaging 
29,  and  second  only  to  William  Gunn  in  representa- 
tive matches.  So  he  had  no  cause  for  displeasure  at 
his  own  achievements. 

In  the  opening  match  at  Sheffield  Park,  the  two 
crack  Colonial  bowlers  actually  dismissed  what  was 
virtually  an  England  eleven  for  27,  of  which  number 
W.  G.  made  no  less  than  20.  In  a  scratch  side  in 

209  P 


210     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

Wiltshire,  he  batted  splendidly  for  64  when  no  one 
else  except  O.  G.  Radcliffe  could  exceed  20,  and  for 
M.C.C.  and  Ground  he  showed  audacious  disrespect 
for  the  Australian  bowling,  as  in  company  with 
J.  Shuter  he  scored  so  fast  that  fifteen  minutes  yielded 
32  runs,  when  it  was  a  race  against  time.  Several 
other  creditable  contributions  led  to  the  first  test 
match  at  Lord's.  If  Turner  caught  him  off  his  own 
bowling  for  nothing,  Shrewsbury,  W.  W.  Read  and 
Gunn  fared  little  better,  for  all  four  were  out  with 
only  20  on  the  board.  Set  136  to  win,  W.  G.  virtu- 
ally took  the  game  into  his  own  hands,  because  he 
hit  magnificently  for  75  not  out,  meeting  all  attacks 
with  fierce  freedom.  It  was  a  really  great  effort. 

Again  in  the  second  test  match,  at  the  Oval,  he 
was  dismissed  without  scoring,  being  easily  caught  by 
Hugh  Trumble  at  short  slip  off  the  very  first  ball. 
Indeed  he  ought  to  have  been  dismissed  for  the 
brace  he  never  bagged  in  first-class  cricket,  for  he 
cut  the  first  ball  straight  into  the  usually  safe  hands 
of  Harry  Trott — a  magnificent  point — who  fumbled 
and  dropped  it.  However,  his  stay  this  time  was 
not  long.  At  Scarborough  on  the  second  day,  he 
thought  it  advisable  not  to  have  the  wicket  rolled,, 
and  to  this  was  attributed  the  defeat  of  Lord  Londes- 
borough's  XI  by  8  runs.  In  a  startling  match,  he 
obtained  top  score  in  both  innings  with  14  and  19, 
besides  catching  out  both  Trott  and  Murdoch.  At 
Hastings,  for  the  South,  when  batting  very  finely  for 
84,  his  punishment  of  Charlton  was  something  to 
remember. 

Doing  practically  nothing  for  the  Gentlemen,  the 
rest  of  his  efforts,  handicapped  at  one  period,  how- 
ever, by  an  injured  knee,  were  on  behalf  of  Glouces- 
tershire. He  played  a  remarkable  innings  of  109 
against  Kent,  carrying  his  bat  through  an  innings  of 
231  with  only  one  possible  chance  to  slip.  A  charac- 
teristic effort  was  directed  against  Yorkshire  who,. 
on  first  hands,  led  by  137,  accentuated  by  the  further 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  211 

loss  of  E.  M.  Grace,  W.  W.  F.  Pullen  and  O.  G.  Rad- 

cliffe  for  19.  Then  J.  Cranston  joining  W.  G.,  "  the 
bowling  was  hit  with  power  and  freedom  and,  though 
numerous  changes  were  tried,  50  runs  were  made  in  45 
minutes  and  100  in  85.  At  one  time  120  runs  were 
scored  in  65  minutes.  [It  should  be  remembered 
that  J.  Cranston  was  left-handed.]  Grace,  when 
wanting  only  two  for  his  century,  was  given  out  l.b.w. 
He  and  Cranston  had  put  on  188  runs  in  two  hours 
and  twenty  minutes,  and  what  rendered  their  per- 
formance almost  phenomenal  was  the  fact  that 
neither  gave  any  chance.  Grace  in  his  splendid 
98  had  fifteen  fours,  hitting  at  times  with  all  the 
freedom  of  youth."  Against  Lancashire  his  superb 
94  lasted  nearly  four  hours.  The  brothers  Grace 
put  up  117  for  the  first  wicket  against  Sussex, 
leading  off  to  what  resulted  in  a  single  innings  vic- 
tory. Again  Lancashire  bowling  at  Clifton  was  to 
his  taste,  for  he  scored  90  out  of  176  while  in,  being 
only  second  out,  Baker  catching  him  cleverly  in  the 
deep  field.  This  was  his  third  ninety  within  a  fort- 
night and  nobody  heard  him  grumble  at  none  of  them 
being  centuries.  He  was  also  not  out  against  Notts, 
obtaining  70  out  of  123  whilst  at  the  wicket.  At 
Scarborough  he  claimed  4  I  Zingari  wickets  for  only 
18  runs,  abruptly  terminating  the  match,  his  victims, 
all  caught,  being  G.  F.  Vernon,  H.  J.  Mordaunt, 
W.  C.  Hedley  and  C.  C.  Clarke. 

The     last-named,    most     cheery    of    humorists, 
writes : 

'  It  is  not  for  me  to  deal  with  the  doughty  deeds 
of  W.  G.  Grace.  Others  who  played  with  him  or 
those  who  are  critics  must  vaunt  them.  My  share 
is  only  the  modest  one  of  paying  testimony  to  the 
genuine  kindliness  of  the  dear  old  fellow.  I  was 
very  fond  of  him  and  there  was  never  the  slightest 
jar  on  our  intimacy  and  good  feeling. 

Only  once  did  I  have  a  small  share  in  one  of  his 


212     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

grandest  feats,  for  I  happened  to  be  in  with  him  at 
Canterbury  when  he  was  dismissed  for  that  remark- 
able 344  for  Marylebone  v.  Kent  in  1876.  His 
innings  extended  over  two  days.  On  the  first  even- 
ing he  was  not  out  for  about  150  [133]  and  that 
was  the  most  attractive  contribution  I  ever  saw 
either  from  him  or  any  other  cricketer.  It  did  not 
matter  where  George  Harris  placed  the  field,  whether 
point  was  forward  or  set  back,  nor  how  the  men  in  the 
deep  were  set,  with  clean  cuts  and  strong  pushes  he 
was  sending  ball  after  ball  past  them.  As  sometimes 
happened  he  was  spurred  to  a  big  effort  by  the  side 
having  failed  in  the  first  innings.  '  We'll  make  it 
warm  for  them  this  time,'  he  said  to  me  as  he  was 
fastening  his  glove,  and  right  well  he  kept  his 
promise.  On  the  first  evening  of  his  innings,  he 
observed  to  me  that  something  was  wrong  with  his 
bat.  So,  after  dinner,  he  and  I  tinkered  up  another, 
making  the  handle  bigger  by  splicing  an  old  white 
glove  round  it  and  so  forth.  He  knocked  that  deputy 
bat  about  a  good  deal,  and  after  I  had  rejoined  him 
at  the  close  of  our  effort,  he  remarked  in  his  cheery 
way :  '  I'll  give  it  to  you,  Challie  '  (he  always  called 
me  Challie),  for  one  of  your  slogging  innings/  the 
joke  of  which  lay  in  the  fact  that  I  was  a  strictly 
defensive  bat. 

This  was  not  his  only  gift  to  me.  At  Scarborough, 
off  the  field  he  was  in  the  habit  of  wearing  a  very 
large  white  wideawake  of  a  soft  canvassy  material 
with  a  remarkably  broad  M.C.C.  ribbon  round  it. 
One  day  as  we  were  going  on  the  Esplanade  he  put 
on  my  straw  hat  with  the  I  Z  ribbon.  '  It  fits,'  he 
said,  '  we'll  change,'  and  so  we  did  for  our  morning 
walk.  He  chuckled  at  wearing  the  I  Z  colours  for 
once.  He  never  received  an  invitation  to  join  that 
clubless  subscriptionless  fellowship  and  several  times 
played  for  the  Gentlemen  of  England  against  the 
vagrant  side.  It  amused  him  therefore  to  don  their 
colours :  '  This  is  great,'  he  remarked  with  a  laugh 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  213 

at  the  notion  of  our  changing  headgear.     I  kept  his 
for  years,  but  somehow  it  has  been  lost. 

All  my  best  tales  about  him  have  been  appro- 
priated by  other  contributors  and  I  bear  no  malice. 
But  one  personal  anecdote  showing  his  unbounded 
kindliness  remains  for  me  to  relate.  One  wet  day 
at  Scarborough,  we  all  went  to  the  circus  and  after 
the  performance,  I  perpetrated  an  impromptu 
additional  one,  running  round  the  ring  and  jumping 
about.  I  came  unexpectedly  on  a  barrier  and  came 
a  header  nearly  twenty  feet,  badly  spraining  my 
ankle.  At  that  visit  to  Lord  Londesborough,  I  was 
sleeping  in  the  Lodge,  which  is  a  few  yards  off.  W.  G. 
took  me  back,  dressed  my  ankle,  dressed  me  and 
proceeded  to  carry  me  on  his  back  into  the  house  for 
dinner.  There  was  a  dance  that  night  and  he  bore 
me  to  a  capital  seat.  Then  at  supper-time  up  he 
came  :  '  Challie,  I've  such  a  nice  girl  to  sit  next  you 
at  supper,'  and  he  had  made  up  a  party  to  which  he 
conveyed  me  pick-a-back.  He  bore  me  to  bed  in  the 
wee  hours,  took  my  clothes  off,  put  a  cradle  in  bed 
over  my  leg  and  was  the  very  first  individual  next 
morning  to  pull  up  my  blinds  and  see  how  I  was. 
And  all  in  the  heartiest  manner  too,  adding  to  his 
kindness  by  the  way  he  conferred  it. 

W.  G.  was  very  fond  of  dancing.  '  I  am  not  a  good 
hand  at  a  waltz,  but  give  me  a  polka,'  he  would  say. 
And  as  a  matter  of  fact  at  the  Scarborough  dances 
several  extra  polkas  were  generally  in  the  programme 
for  his  special  benefit.  He  really  danced  them 
awfully  well  and  like  many  big  men  was  very  light 
on  his  feet.  The  prettiest  girls  used  to  beset  him  to 
be  their  partner,  laughing  and  gleeful,  for  they  all 
liked  him  and  he  responded  gaily. 

W.  G.  would  go  anywhere  to  play  a  match  if  he 
had  a  spare  day.  Several  times  a  telegram  on  Friday 
evening  brought  him  for  my  side  on  a  Saturday.  He 
would  ask  to  keep  wicket  and  could  do  it  top-hole. 
He  had  a  real  talent  for  wearing  the  gloves,  which  was 


214     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

not  appreciated  by  the  public.  More  than  once  I 
have  seen  a  temporary  wicket-keeper  perform  with 
real  distinction — A.  J.  Webbe  for  instance — but 
W.  G.  was  by  far  the  best  I  ever  came  across. 

Other  cricketers  will  tell  you  of  their  own  doings, 
but  he  never.  It  was  quite  remarkable.  Another 
case  of  self-effacement  at  personal  loss  can  be  men- 
tioned from  my  personal  knowledge.  On  one  occa- 
sion I  was  the  intermediary  asked  to  make  him  a 
substantial  offer.  It  was  at  the  time  of  his  Daily 
Telegraph  testimonial  that  an  editor  wished  to  get  a 
brief  article  giving  the  champion's  selection  for  a 
test,  an  amateur  and  a  professional  eleven.  For 
those  three  sides,  with  a  little  '  padding  '  as  journal- 
ists call  it,  he  was  to  receive  twenty-five  guineas. 
To  my  surprise,  he  positively  refused.  '  I  might 
hurt  the  feelings  of  cricketers  by  individualizing,' 
was  what  he  persisted  with.  In  fact  it  seemed  to  me 
that  he  refused  for  fear  of  hurting  some  of  those  he 
did  not  include. 

He  never  was  a  very  good  golfer,  but  I  am  a  worse. 
When  the  Stock  Exchange  played  the  Cricketers,  I 
was  drawn  against  him.  He  beat  me  in  the  morn- 
ing, I  won  in  the  afternoon.  But  thirty-six  holes 
was  not  enough  for  him.  With  boyish  zest  he  called 
out :  '  Seven  holes  more  for  the  championship, 
Challie/  and  I  won  by  a  put.  '  Five  holes  more  for 
the  championship/  came  his  breezy  petition,  and 
what  a  capital  contest  we  had.  In  a  bunker,  he 
would  say  to  his  caddie  :  '  Bring  me  my  cleever,'  and 
out  of  his  bag  would  be  brought  a  dreadnought 
which  was  a  cross  between  a  pickaxe  and  a  black- 
smith's affair.  All  who  played  against  the  Old  Man 
will  recall  this  punitive  weapon." 

Reverting  to  cricket,  1891  proved  singularly 
unsuccessful  alike  for  W.  G.  Grace,  whose  average  of 
19  was  the  lowest  by  far  he  had  ever  had,  and  for 
Gloucestershire,  which  suffered  the  most  disastrous 


DR.  W.  G.  GRACE  215 

season  the  Western  county  had  ever  known.  W.  G.'s 
cricket  had  been  fairly  successful  until  the  beginning 
of  July  when  he  hurt  his  knee  playing  at  Edinburgh. 
Unwisely  he  persisted  with  the  game  until  compelled 
to  lay  up  and,  directly  he  was  convalescent,  had  the 
misfortune  to  wrench  his  back  at  practice  at  Trent 
Bridge. 

C.  I.  Thornton  took  a  tremendously  strong  side  to 
play  the  powerful  Cambridge  eleven  for  the  benefit 
of  Watts.  W.  G.  Grace  opened  his  account  that 
summer  with  a  sound  54,  the  highest  score.  For 
Rylott's  benefit  at  Lord's,  he  played  most  brilliantly 
for  61  out  of  87  which  only  took  seventy  minutes  to 
score  and  comprised  nine  fours.  It  was  by  far  his 
best  effort  in  the  summer,  the  attack  he  literally 
pulverized  consisting  of  Attewell,  Pougher,  Peel, 
Barnes  and  Flowers.  The  London  visit  of  his  county 
yielded  good  personal  results.  At  the  Oval  he  took 
ii  Surrey  wickets  for  less  than  10  runs  apiece 
and  batted  stubbornly  for  37  when  no  one  else  could 
look  at  Lohmann.  Despite  tremendous  punishment 
from  Sir  Timothy  O'Brien,  he  bowled  so  persistently 
at  Lord's  that  he  claimed  7  wickets  for  97  runs  and 
scored  a  creditable  38.  Not  until  well  on  in  August 
did  he  again  exceed  50,  but  his  54  v.  Surrey  then  was 
a  capital  performance  when  no  one  else  made  18 
against  Lohmann  and  Sharpe.  On  a  rain-ruined 
pitch,  in  a  sorely  interrupted  innings  he  showed 
profound  caution  for  72  not  out  in  the  return  with 
Middlesex,  but  he  was  so  slow  that  his  effort  occupied 
four  hours  and  a  half.  Finally  at  Hastings  for  the 
South  he  proved  successful  each  time  with  54  and 
36,  two  capital  efforts,  whilst  for  the  Gentlemen  he 
had  once  more  the  honour  of  making  top  score, 
rather  a  barren  honour  on  this  occasion  as  the  ama- 
teurs were  dismissed  for  a  miserably  feeble  68,  of 
which  he  accounted  for  21. 

That  winter  W.  G.  Grace  revisited  Australia  as 
captain  of  Lord  Sheffield's  team.  Except  that  Arthur 


216     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

Shrewsbury  and  William  Gunn  declined  to  accept 
the  terms  offered,  the  side  on  contemporaneous 
form  was  representative,  consisting  of  W.  G.  Grace, 
A.  E.  Stoddart,  G.  MacGregor,  H.  Philipson,  O.  G. 
Radcliffe  with  Lohmann,  Abel,  M.  Read,  Sharpe, 
Attewell,  Peel,  Briggs  and  Bean,  whilst  Alfred  Shaw 
acted  most  successfully  as  manager.  In  his  book,  the 
last-named  states  that  "  the  tour  cost  £16,000,  and 
as  the  receipts  were  about  £14,000  Lord  Sheffield 
was  about  £2,000  out  of  pocket.  Everything  was 
done  on  a  princely  scale  from  the  fee  of  the  captain 
downwards."  W.  G.  Grace  before  starting  had 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  team  would  return 
home  undefeated.  "  Possibly,"  wrote  Alfred  Shaw, 
"  had  they  been  less  confident  of  success  this  ambi- 
tion would  have  been  realized."  After  England  had 
lost  the  first  test  match,  "  Felix  " — the  Tom  Horan  of 
the  1882  tour  in  this  country — exactly  hit  the  nail 
on  the  head  when  he  said  :  "  The  Englishmen  were  in 
too  great  a  hurry  to  get  runs.  Australia's  batting 
was  sounder  if  less  showy."  England  lost  the 
rubber  of  test  matches,  but  of  the  eleven-a-side 
matches  six  were  won  and  two  lost. 

Mr.  Dave  Scott  ("  The  Almanac  ")  writes  : 

"  There  was  an  enormous  crowd  at  Melbourne 
to  meet  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  and  the  team  when  they 
arrived  from  Adelaide  on  November  25,  1891. 
Four-in-hand  drags,  decorated  with  Lord  Sheffield's 
colours,  drove  them  to  the  Association  Rooms  where 
Sir  Robert  Best  warmly  welcomed  them,  and,  on 
rising  to  reply,  the  champion  met  with  a  tremendous 
reception  which  lasted  a  considerable  time.  In  a. 
subsequent  speech  he  said  that  like  Lyons,  our  own 
mighty  smiter,  he  was  a  doer  not  a  talker  :  that  was- 
his  style.  When  the  visitors  were  in  the  Town  Hall, 
he  was  handed  into  the  Mayor's  chair,  and  proposed 
as  Cricket  Mayor  for  the  year.  He  laughingly 
refused  to  be  sworn,  but  added  that  he  not  only 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  217 

would  take  his  seat,  but  could  comfortably  fill  it. 

W.  G.  Grace  received  £3,000  for  the  trip  and  all- 
expenses  paid,  the  largest  sum  ever  given  to  any 
cricketer,  and  he  was  worth  it  as  an  attraction  in 
Australia.  In  fact  cricket  had  become  rather  slow 
until  his  advent  and  he  gave  it  a  boom. 

W.  G.,  talking  to  H.  F.  Boyle,  told  him  how  he  had 
admired  him  hugely  as  a  field  at  short  mid-on,  but 
that  it  was  very  dangerous  and  he  had  always 
expected  he  would  get  badly  hurt  some  day.  Boyle 
replied  :  '  Well,  your  brother  E.  M.  stood  just  as  close 
at  point  on  the  other  side.'  '  Yes,'  assented  W.  G., 
*  but  he  had  more  time  to  get  out  of  the  way  than 
you  had.'  He  told  Boyle  the  best  innings  an 
Australian  ever  played  in  England  was  Percy  McDon- 
nell's 82  out  of  86  against  the  North,  '  so  worrying, 
on  a  fearful  wicket  too.'  Boyle  in  test  matches 
thought  W.  G.  Grace  worth  five  representative 
cricketers,  so  thoroughly  did  he  rise  to  the  big 
occasion." 

Wisden  may  be  quoted  :  "  Beyond  everything 
else  the  tour  was  remarkable  for  the  reappearance  in 
Australia  after  an  interval  of  eighteen  years  of  Mr. 
W.  G.  Grace.  When  the  most  famous  of  all  crick- 
eters visited  the  Colonies  hi  1873,  he  was  at  the  very 
height  of  his  powers,  and  not  a  few  of  his  admirers 
regarded  it  as  rather  a  hazardous  venture  on  his  part 
to  go  out  again  at  so  late  a  period  of  his  career. 
Events  proved,  however,  that  Mr.  Grace's  confidence 
in  himself  was  not  misplaced.  Alike  in  the  eleven- 
a-side  matches  and  in  all  engagements  he  came  out 
head  of  the  batting  averages.  When  we  remember 
that  he  was  in  his  forty-fourth  year,  and  that  his 
position  as  the  finest  batsman  in  the  world  had  been 
established  at  a  time  when  all  the  other  members  of 
the  team  were  children,  this  feat  must  be  pronounced 
nothing  less  than  astonishing.  It  is  true  that  in  the 
matches  against  odds  he  was  favoured  with  more 


2i8     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

than  his  fair  share  of  luck,  but,  so  far  as  we  could 
gather  from  the  detailed  reports  in  the  Australian 
papers,  he  was  not  more  fortunate  in  the  first-class 
fixtures  than  his  colleagues.  His  only  big  score  was 
159  not  out  in  the  first  match  against  Victoria,  but  he 
played  most  consistently  all  through  the  tour  and 
rarely  failed  to  make  runs." 

A  large  scrapbook,  filled  with  Australian  press- 
cuttings  of  the  tour,  furnishes  vivid  glimpses  of  Grace 
at  the  Antipodes.  "  W.  G.  finds  his  adipose  tissue 
a  decided  burden  in  such  a  climate,"  was  an  early 
remark.  He  led  off  by  putting  South  Australia  in, 
having  himself  won  the  toss  ;  and  a  victory  with  an 
innings  to  spare  was  his  reward.  He  cleverly  caught 
out  "  the  Grace  of  Australia,"  George  Giffen.  Later  : 
"  cheer  after  cheer  from  spectators  and  players 
greeted  the  erstwhile  champion  as  he  walked  to  the 
wickets.  When  he  arrived,  Grace  was  very  much  on 
the  big  side,  but  hard  practice  in  a  heavy  sweater 
on  warm  days  has  got  rid  of  a  pound  or  two  of  super- 
fluous flesh.  After  playing  cautiously  at  half  a 
dozen  balls,  he  fancied  himself  a  young  man  again 
and  essayed  to  lift  a  ball  over  the  chains.  Instead, 
he  only  skied  it  and  Reedman,  running  at  least 
thirty  yards,  put  out  his  left  hand — a  pretty  big  one 
— and  clutching  the  ball  as  it  came  straight  down, 
made  the  most  wonderful  catch  ever  seen  on  the 
ground." 

At  Melbourne  Grace  compiled  his  most  prolific 
contribution  on  the  tour,  159  not  out,  carrying  his 
bat  through  the  innings  of  284.  He  played  in  his 
finest  masterly  style,  apparently  treating  all  the 
bowling  with  ease  and  energy.  His  sole  chance  was  a 
sharp  one  to  the  aboriginal  Morris  when  he  had  only 
14  to  his  credit.  There  were  ten  boundary  hits  and 
the  wicket  was  not  playing  anything  like  perfect. 
His  own  score  exceeded  either  of  the  Victorian  totals 
.and  no  one  else  made  as  many  as  40  for  either  side. 

At  Sydney,  matters  did  not  commence  happily, 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  219 

for  Moses,  the  home  captain,  so  strongly  objected  to 
Cotter  being  the  English  umpire  that  an  hour  was 
wasted  in  the  wrangle  with  Grace  before  Alfred 
Shaw  eventually  was  substituted.  On  going  in  to 
bat,  W.  G.  astonished  the  public  by  turning  round 
and  smacking  one  of  the  fastest  of  Turner's  deliveries 
to  leg  for  four  and  repeating  the  same  treatment  to 
Callaway,  who  was  as  rapid,  but  this  was  too  spirited 
to  last  and  Turner  soon  caught  him.  In  the  matches 
against  odds,— three  followed— Grace  surprised  his 
opponents  by  insisting  on  playing  twelve  Englishmen 
and  that  they  should  all  field.  Against  Boural  he 
hit  finely  for  46,  top  score,  and  enjoyed  his  first 
bowling  spell  against  Camden.  Opposed  to  XVI  of 
Melbourne,  he  was  half  an  hour  at  the  wicket  for  4, 
but  at  Ballarat  scored  freely  for  62. 

Tremendous  interest  was  excited  by  the  first  test 
match,  which,  after  a  struggle  of  the  keenest  nature, 
was  won  by  Australia  by  54  runs.  Grace  gave  a  good 
example  to  his  men,  making  50,  a  capital  display,  and 
when  set  213  to  win,  with  Stoddart  knocking  up  60 
before  they  were  parted.  He  was  also  responsible 
for  catching  Lyons  and  Bannerman,  whose  imper- 
turbable stonewalling  was  the  factor  that  really 
turned  the  game,  as  he  took  the  sting  out  of  the 
attack.  Against  XVI  of  South  Melbourne,  W.  G. 
ran  into  double  figures  off  the  three  first  balls  he 
received,  as  they  were  despatched  for  three,  four  and 
five  respectively,  and  he  played  an  excellent  69. 
"  He  is  in  great  buckle  now,"  was  a  quaint  contem- 
poraneous phrase.  But  against  XX  Melbourne 
Juniors,  he  came  near  spectacles,  being  bowled  for 
one  and  badly  running  himself  out  before  he  had 
scored. 

Never  did  the  Australians  play  a  finer  uphill  game 
than  when  they  won  the  second  test  match  by  72 
runs.  But  that  is  another  story,  as  Rudyard  Kip- 
ling used  to  write,  and  the  subject  of  our  theme 
chiefly  came  into  note  by  bringing  off  five  catches  at 


220     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

point,  Lyons  in  both  innings,  Moses,  Bannerman  and 
Callaway  being  his  victims.  He  helped  Abel  to  put 
up  50  for  the  first  wicket,  but  obviously  bothered  by 
a  "  silly  point,"  who  walked  nearly  up  to  the  bat, 
was  bowled  directly  after  this  manoeuvre  was  tried. 
On  fourth  hands,  he  was  much  blamed  for  going  in 
himself  with  only  fifty  minutes  before  the  close  of 
play  on  the  fourth  day.  "  He  soon  realized  the 
wicket  was  too  bad  for  steady  play  and  sent  one  back 
to  Giffen  like  a  shot  out  of  a  gun,  but  the  crack  failed 
to  hold  the  ball  and  a  long-drawn  dismayed  '  oh  '  was 
extracted  from  the  crowd.  But  when  he  snicked  the 
next  ball  into  the  wicket-keeper's  [Blackham's] 
hands,  there  was  a  never-to-be-forgotten  yell.  Such 
a  scene  was  never  seen  on  any  ground  before.  The 
air  was  thick  with  hats  and  for  five  minutes  the 
cheering  lasted." 

After  some  up-country  matches,  came  the  return 
with  New  South  Wales,  and  Grace  at  once  showed 
his  calibre  by  practically  monopolizing  the  run-getting 
at  the  start,  making  45  out  of  52  without  a  chance 
in  splendid  fashion.  Again  there  was  nasty  friction 
about  the  umpiring.  An  appeal  for  a  catch  at  the 
wicket  off  Grace's  bowling  was  disallowed,  and  when 
he  remonstrated  with  the  umpire,  the  latter  declined 
to  proceed  after  the  conclusion  of  the  innings.  After 
a  vexatious  delay  the  famous  Charles  Bannerman 
was  substituted.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  subse- 
quent correspondence  and  discussion.  A  holiday 
tour  in  Tasmania  preceded  the  return  with 
Victoria,  won  decisively  by  the  English,  W.  G.  Grace 
heading  the  score  sheet  with  44  in  a  dull  game. 

Finally  in  the  third  test  match,  one  of  tremendous 
scoring,  the  visitors  atoned  for  having  lost  the  rubber 
by  a  victory  with  an  innings  and  230  runs  to  spare. 
Grace  was  in  until  after  the  century  was  hoisted, 
being  yorked  by  R.  M'Leod  for  58.  At  the  start  he 
was  much  troubled  by  Giffen,  but  after  lunch  hit 
him  for  two  fours  off  successive  balls.  It  was  a 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  221 

faultless  contribution,  the  third  largest  in  an  aggre- 
gate of  499,  and  bigger  than  any  Australian  indivi- 
dual innings  in  the  game.  On  the  morning  of  the 
third  day,  "  the  umpires  gave  it  as  their  fiat  that  the 
wicket  was  unfit  for  play.  This  decision  exceedingly 
annoyed  Grace,  who  talked  wildly  of  abandoning  the 
match  altogether.  This,  of  course,  was  out  of  the 
question."  He  had  previously  expressed  his  strong 
•disapproval  of  what  is  now  the  rule,  namely  the 
covering  of  the  wicket.  Later,  when  rain  was  fall- 
ing, he  wanted  to  come  in,  but  the  umpires  would 
not  consent.  On  the  fourth  day,  the  last  of  the 
campaign,  Grace,  being  told  that  Briggs  and  Attewell 
were  tie  for  the  largest  number  of  wickets,  put  them 
both  on  and  Briggs  was  the  first  to  congratulate  his 
rival  on  bowling  Blackham. 

From  a  review  of  the  tour  may  be  cited  :  "  The 
central  figure  throughout  has  been  W.  G.  Grace.  A 
wretched  stroke  in  the  first  match  gave  emphasis  to 
the  idea  which  members  of  the  team,  as  well  as 
people  in  Australia,  had,  that  he  would  be  a  failure 
with  the  bat.  In  the  very  next  game,  however,  the 
veteran  carried  out  his  bat  for  159.  After  that  the 
tour  was  for  him  one  unbroken  series  of  successes, 
match  after  match  he  scored  and  kept  his  place 
easily  at  the  head  of  the  averages.  He  had  great 
luck,  for  seldom  did  he  make  over  twenty  without 
being  let  off  by  the  field  two  or  three  times.  However, 
he  got  the  runs  on  the  slate,  especially  in  the  eleven- 
a-side  matches  in  which  he  has  remarkably  fine 
figures  [44  average,  448  aggregate].  The  fast  grounds 
suited  his  cutting,  and  that  stroke  must  have  given 
him  at  least  a  third  of  his  runs,  while  he  made  a  large 
number  of  catches  at  point." 

Among  descriptions  of  Grace,  countless  though 
the  number  of  such  perpetrations  be,  few  can  surpass 
this  Australian  one  :  "  He  has  got  no  older  than 
when  he  was  here  half  a  generation  ago,  but  he  is  a 
tremendous  lot  fatter.  He  is  a  very  big,  powerful 


222   BIOGRAPHY   OF  DR.   W.   G.   GRACE 

man,  with  a  bristly  black  beard  nearly  to  his  waist, 
somewhat  slanting  eyes,  great  muscular  arms  and 
huge  hands.  And,  Great  Scott — such  feet !  He 
could  get  £2  a  week  and  his  '  tucker  '  merely  to  walk 
about  in  the  grasshopper  districts  to  kill  off  the  pest. 
He  bats  as  well  as  ever,  his  eye  being  as  true  and  his 
arm  as  strong  as  in  the  days  of  old ;  but  when  it 
comes  to  bowling,  he  is  a  bit  off.  He  rolls  up  to  the 
crease  with  a  lumbering  action  like  a  Clydesdale 
colt,  and  delivers  the  ball  with  a  cunning  spin  that 
wants  watching,  but  he  is  not  dangerous  to  careful 
batsmen.  When  fielding,  he  stands  point,  where  he 
does  not  have  to  run,  and  any  ball  within  possible 
reach  is  sure  to  find  a  resting-place  in  one  of  his  vast 
carpet-bag-like  hands." 

Had  Lord  Sheffield  fulfilled  his  intention  of  taking 
another  team  out  to  the  Antipodes  in  the  following 
winter,  it  is  more  than  doubtful  if  W.  G.  Grace  would 
have  accepted  any  invitation  to  repeat  his  visit. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
Three  Sterling  Seasons 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  A.  C.  M.  CROOME 
AND  C.  J.  ROBINSON 

IT  was  appropriate  that  W.  G.  Grace's  first  re- 
appearance in  England  after  his  Australian  trip 
should  have  been  as  leader  of  the  team  he  had 
captained  against  the  Rest  of  England  and  that  the 
game  should  have  been  for  the  benefit  of  the  manager 
of  the  tour.  For  the  third  time,  unfortunately,  the 
weather  proved  unpropitious  to  Alfred  Shaw  and  the 
match  at  Trent  Bridge  resolved  itself  into  a  series  of 
short  spells  between  irritating  showers.  The  voyagers 
had  only  been  home  a  week  and  were  absurdly  out  of 
form,  with  one  solitary  exception — the  veteran  Grace, 
who,  hitting  with  all  the  vigour  and  brilliancy  of  his 
youth,  scored  63  out  of  80  in  just  over  an  hour.  He 
gave  an  easy  chance  on  the  off-side  when  he  had 
made  8,  but  this  was  his  only  error. 

Emphasis  must  be  laid  on  the  fact  that  in  this  and 
succeeding  seasons  he  was  much  handicapped  by 
trouble  with  his  knee,  which  not  only  affected  his 
bowling,  but  prohibited  short  runs  and  at  times 
obviously  interfered  with  his  batting.  He  bore  the 
infliction  without  grumbling  or  the  least  semblance 
of  fuss  and  never  advanced  it  as  an  excuse  for  any 
momentary  failure.  The  roughs  with  the  smooth 
were  all  taken  as  part  of  the  day's  lot  by  the  keen 
champion,  but  that  ought  to  be  recorded  in  his 

223 


224     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

favour,  for  has  not  one  wit  described  the  amateurs' 
•dressing-room  as  the  grumbling  box  in  excelsis  ? 

At  his  earliest  reappearance  in  London,  for  M.C.C. 
and  Ground  v.  Kent,  he  did  little,  though  he  had 
several  good  yarns  to  tell  of  his  Colonial  experiences, 
but  against  a  very  strong  Cambridge  side  he  played 
well  for  36.  With  Stoddart  opening  the  innings  for 
the  Gentlemen,  he  put  up  91  for  the  first  wicket, 
when  he  obstructed  his  wicket,  Attewell  being  the 
bowler,  having  scored  41  in  less  than  an  hour  and  a 
-quarter.  Previously,  whilst  W.  Gunn  had  been 
compiling  a  masterly  103,  Grace  enjoyed  the  satis- 
faction of  being  the  only  bowler  who  repeatedly  had 
him  in  difficulties ;  moreover,  a  palpable  chance  of 
stumping  off  one  of  his  balls  should  have  abruptly 
terminated  the  tall  Notts  man's  stay  when  only  4 
were  credited  to  him.  In  mid-September  at  Hast- 
ings, with  his  knee  particularly  troublesome,  he 
batted  uncommonly  well  for  54  for  the  Gentlemen, 
making  some  powerful  drives  off  Lohmann  and 
Martin. 

Otherwise  his  work  was  entirely  on  behalf  of  his 
county.  He  enjoyed  quite  a  brilliant  season,  with- 
out any  huge  score,  in  nearly  every  match,  batting 
with  consistent  skill  and  energy.  It  was  thought 
that  his  Colonial  experiences  had  increased  his  aggres- 
siveness in  comparison  with  the  unusually  tame 
cricket  he  had  shown  in  1891.  During  part  of  the 
season  he  gave  up  going  in  first,  finding  that,  if  dis- 
missed cheaply,  it  affected  the  side  unduly  and  not 
himself  feeling  confidence  in  his  knee,  which  also 
caused  him  to  be  longer  at  the  wicket  for  his  scores. 
He  was  obdurate  in  not  permitting  young  partners 
to  induce  him  to  take  anything  like  a  short  run,  and 
he  often  walked  for  a  single  what  would  have  been  a 
safe  two  had  he  been  sound  in  limb. 

On  both  occasions  he  helped  himself  freely  from  the 
Middlesex  bowling.  At  Lord's  he  batted  very  finely 


DR.  W.  G.   GRACE  225 

for  47  and  72  not  out,  whilst  at  Clifton,  with  the  edge 
already  off  the  attack,  he  added  145  in  something  less 
than  four  hours  with  that  patient  bat  R.  W.  Rice,  his 
share  being  an  errorless  89.  This  was  not  his  largest 
effort  for  the  Westerners,  as  against  Sussex  at  Glouces- 
ter he  punished  the  metropolitan  attack  in  masterly 
fashion  for  99.  At  that  score  he  played  several  overs 
without  an  offensive  stroke.  Then,  hitting  out,  he 
skied  the  ball  and  was  caught  and  bowled  by  Bean. 
When  he  came  in  he  glanced  at  the  board  and  finding 
he  was  99,  shouted  to  his  brother  E.  M.  :  "  Ted,  why 
ever  didn't  you  tell  me  ?  I  could  have  scored  off  any 
of  those  balls."  "  Aye,  aye,"  laughed  the  coroner, 
"  and  if  I  had  told  you,  you  would  have  been  the 
first  to  complain." 

Against  Yorkshire  his  scores  were  53,  32  and  61, 
whilst  his  obdurate  43  not  out  cleverly  saved  his  side 
from  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Notts,  for  he  played  out 
time  under  what  had  seemed  decidedly  adverse  con- 
ditions. Though  never  noticed  contemporaneously, 
it  is  a  curious  fact  that  his  colleagues  in  Australia 
during  the  previous  winter  had  a  hand  in  his  dis- 
missal on  no  less  than  nineteen  occasions  during  this 
summer,  though  they  were  of  course  not  opposed  to 
him  in  quite  a  number  of  the  matches  in  which  he 
took  part. 

The  greater  keenness  of  the  old  brigade  was  shown 
when  Richard  Daft,  emerging  from  his  retirement 
and  playing  as  an  amateur,  came  to  represent  Notts 
v.  Gloucestershire  at  Clifton.  On  the  second  day 
rain  fell  in  the  interval,  but  the  veteran  captain 
turned  out  sharp.  The  Notts  professionals  showed 
no  eagerness  to  resume  play.  W.  G.,  under  a  large 
umbrella,  walked  over  to  their  tent  and  threatened 
to  report  them  to  Lord's.  Barnes  replied  they  would 
turn  out  when  the  rain  stopped.  W.  G.  retorted  that 
it  was  not  raining.  Barnes  asked  :  "  Why  have  your 
umbrella  open  then  ?  " 

It  was  in  a  conversation  during  this  match  that 

Q 


226     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

Richard  Daft  said  W.  G.  Grace's  style  was  more 
commanding  than  Parr's  and  his  play  of  a  safer  kind 
than  Caesar's. 

No  more  enthusiastic  amateur  ever  played  under 
W.  G.  than  A.  C.  M.  Croome,  who  has  succeeded  as 
completely  as  critic  as  at  cricket.  Therefore  his 
impressions  have  particular  value.  Covering  a  wide 
space  of  time,  he  writes  : 

"  It  is,  in  all  human  probability,  due  to  W.  G. 
Grace  that  I  survive  to  write  my  reminiscences  of 
him,  for  he  saved  my  life  at  Manchester  in  1887.  I 
ran  into  the  railings  in  front  of  the  Old  Trafford 
pavilion  while  trying  to  save  a  boundary  hit,  and 
fell  on  to  the  spikes,  one  of  which  made  a  deep  wound 
in  my  throat.  They  had  to  send  out  for  a  needle 
and  thread  to  sew  it  up  and  for  nearly  half  an  hour 
W.  G.  held  the  edges  of  the  wound  together.  It  was 
of  vital  importance  that  the  injured  part  should  be 
kept  absolutely  still  and  his  hand  never  shook  all 
that  time.  I  should  have  known  it  if  there  had  been 
any  twitching  of  finger  and  thumb,  for  I  was  con- 
scious most  of  the  time  and  the  nerves  of  my  neck 
and  face  were  severely  bruised.  It  would  have  been 
a  remarkable  feat  of  endurance  under  any  circum- 
stances, but  the  Old  Man  had  been  fielding  out  for 
over  four  hundred  runs  and  had  done  his  full  share 
of  bowling.  I  have  tv,o  reasons  for  mentioning  this 
incident.  One  is  obvious ;  the  other  is  that  it 
affords  evidence  of  W.  G.'s  amazing  stamina. 

His  keenness  matched  his  stamina  ;  he  was  not 
really  happy  during  the  progress  of  a  cricket  match 
unless  he  was  either  batting,  bowling  or  fielding. 
Therefore  it  seems  to  me  that  if  he  could  start  in 
again,  as  a  young  man,  on  modern  wickets,  knowing 
all  that  latter-day  science  has  discovered  about 
footwork  and  the  other  tricks  of  batsmanship,  they 
would  not  get  him  out  three  times  in  a  fortnight. 
When  W.  G.  was  at  his  best,  I  was  too  young  to 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  227 

analyse  the  exhibitions  which  I  admired  with  feelings 
akin  to  worship.  But  I  may  quote  the  opinion  of 
the  late  R.  A.  H.  Mitchell,  who  knew  the  game  from 
A  to  Z.  He  once  told  me  that  W.  G.  never  shifted 
his  feet  like  '  Ranji,'  the  apostle  of  the  new  style, 
and  it  is  notorious  that  he  never  made  great  use  of 
the  back-stroke,  which  has  been  perfected  since  his 
time.  Consequently  the  slow  bowlers  had  something 
of  a  chance  against  him,  and  when  he  was  in  his 
prime  the  fast  men  were  made  unnaturally  difficult 
by  the  wickets.  Supposing  then  that  he  had  passed 
Ms  early  youth  in  learning  the  back-stroke,  with  its 
variations  in  the  shape  of  on-side  slides  and  pushes, 
let  him  go  in  on  what  Lord  Harris  calls  these  bread 
and  butter  wickets,  and  an  intervention  of  Provi- 
dence would  be  required  to  shift  him  ;  for  it  would  be 
practically  impossible  to  tire  him  out  either  mentally 
or  physically.  Perhaps  it  is  all  for  the  best  that  he 
flourished  when  he  did.  Then  he  created  first-class 
cricket  as  a  national  institution.  Now  he  might 
make  it  monotonous  by  the  very  perfection  of  his 
own  play. 

I  first  saw  W.  G.  at  Cheltenham  in  1876.  The 
occasion  was  memorable  to  other  cricketers  besides 
myself,  because  he  scored  318  not  out  against  York- 
shire. Eight  years  later  I  made  his  acquaintance 
when  I  came  to  Bristol  to  play  for  the  Colts  against 
the  county.  The  Australians  were  coming  over  that 
year  and,  before  they  arrived,  had  complained  that 
English  bats  were  of  more  than  regulation  width. 
Accordingly  many  players  had  had  their  bats  gauged 
and,  if  necessary,  reduced  by  planing. 

W.  G.  won  the  toss  against  us  and  came  in  bearing  a 
massive-looking  weapon,  with  which  he  proceeded 
to  construct  a  very  perfect  hundred.  By  the  way, 
I  remember  that  he  pasted  one  of  our  change  bowlers 
cruelly,  and,  after  hitting  him  for  several  fours, 
looked  at  a  piece  of  paper  on  which  the  qualifications 
of  the  various  colts  were  set  out.  This  particular 


228     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

bowler  was  described  as  capable  of  breaking  from  the 
off  or  from  leg  at  will,  and  W.  G.  showed  the  paper  to 
his  partner — Frank  Townsend  was  in  with  him — 
saying  :  '  Frank  o,  I  rather  like  those  bowlers  who 
break  both  ways — to  the  boundary.' 

But  that  is  a  digression.  To  return  to  W.  G.'s 
tree  of  a  bat.  The  edges  of  it  had  apparently  been 
planed  and  the  Old  Man  impressed  upon  us  that, 
after  all,  the  edge  of  the  blade  was  superfluous  : 
so  far  as  he  was  concerned  the  Australians  could 
have  it,  for  all  he  cared,  all  he  wranted  was  the  middle. 
At  lunch-time  he  was  not  out  and  left  the  ground 
to  see  a  patient.  While  we  were  waiting  for  his 
return,  Arthur  Winterbotham,  then  in  the  Rugby 
eleven  and  entirely  lacking  in  reverence  for  any  one 
except  his  school  captain,  H.  T.  Arnall-Thompson, 
got  hold  of  W.  G.'s  bat  and  a  gauge.  He  found  that 
the  blade,  even  at  its  narrowest,  would  not  begin  to 
go  through  the  gauge,  and  was  proceeding  to  remedy 
the  defect — or  rather,  excess — with  a  pocket-knife 
when  Grace  returned  and  strafed  him.  W.  G.  had 
merely  taken  a  piece  of  glass  and  scraped  from  the 
edges  of  his  bat  the  oil  and  dirt  which  had  accumu- 
lated during  the  winter. 

People  who  are  convinced  that  W.  G.  took  advan- 
tage of  his  position  to  bustle  umpires  and  otherwise 
get  the  better  of  opponents  will  welcome  this  story 
as  calculated  to  prove  them  right.  But  they  cannot 
have  known  him  intimately.  I  am  convinced  that 
he  never  did  a  mean  trick  in  his  life  at  cricket  or  any 
other  game.  In  this  instance  he  was  bringing  off 
one  of  the  elaborate  and  trifling  practical  jokes  in 
which  he  delighted.  He  was  absolutely  correct  in 
saying  that  it  mattered  not  one  little  bit  whether  his 
bat  had  much  or  little  edge  ;  and  acting  according  to 
the  spirit  rather  than  the  letter  of  the  law,  he  saw  no 
reason  against  introducing  a  bit  of  fun  into  a  practice 
game.  He  was  so  plentifully  endowed  with  high 
spirits  that  he  could  get  amusement  even  out  of  a  test 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  229 

match.  It  is  all  nonsense  to  say  that  he  habitually 
tried  to  bustle  umpires.  For  one  thing,  the  char- 
acter and  experience  of  the  men  who  stand  in  first- 
class  matches  doom  such  attempts  to  failure.  Did 
not  a  famous  cricketer  once  bring  a  hamper  of  game 
to  Hastings  as  a  present  for  the  umpires  engaged  for 
the  Festival  and  fancy  himself  secure  from  adverse 
l.b.w.  decisions  only  to  find  himself  caught  at  the 
wicket  blob,  twice  in  the  first  match — and  as  he 
explained  afterwards,  in  deep  disgust :  '  It  was  the 
merest  touch.' 

The  Old  Man  used  to  grumble,  of  course,  when  he 
was,  as  he  thought,  wrongly  given  out  l.b.w.,  but  my 
recollection  is  that,  on  the  occasions  when  I  heard 
him  at  it,  he  was  convinced  that  he  had  touched  the 
ball.  He  also  used  to  appeal  for  l.b.w.  very  often 
when  he  was  bowling.  That  was  natural  because  he 
aimed  to  pitch  the  ball  half  on  the  leg-stump,  half  on 
the  batsman's  pads,  and,  after  delivering  it,  ran 
wide  on  the  off-side  to  a  place  whence  he  could  hardly 
see  whether  his  aim  had  been  exactly  true.  He,  if 
any  man,  was  justified  in  trusting  the  combination 
of  his  eye  and  hand.  I  remember  seeing  him,  at 
Cheltenham,  give  a  practical  lesson  to  Fred  Roberts, 
our  fast  left-hander,  in  the  art  of  bowling  yorkers. 
He  said  the  ball  ought  to  pitch  somewhere  near  the 
batting  crease  ;  sent  one  down,  and,  when  the  ball 
came  back  to  him,  it  had  a  large  patch  of  whitening 
on  it. 

Finally,  no  one  can  regularly  bustle  English  first- 
class  umpires,  and  the  bigger  the  man  who  tried, 
the  more  they  would  be  likely  to  go  against  him  in 
doubtful  cases.  Of  course,  Grace  used  to  look  very 
surprised  when  an  appeal  was  made  against  him : 
the  cricketer,  like  an  accused  person  in  a  law-court, 
is  not  bound,  or  even  allowed,  to  give  himself 
away.  But  I  have  met  dozens  of  better  actors  than 
lie  on  the  cricket-field.  The  cleverness  of  those  who 
rub  their  elbows  in  simulated  agony  when  caught 


230     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

at  slip   off  their  fingers  was  foreign  to  his  nature. 

Not  but  what  he  delighted  in  '  spoofing  '  a  worthy 
opponent  in  a  contest  of  wits.  Once  I  happened  to 
be  standing  in  the  middle  of  Clifton  College  Close 
admiring  one  of  the  best  wickets  ever  seen,  when 
W.  G.  and  a  rival  of  long  standing  came  out  to  toss 
for  choice  of  innings.  Grace  won  and  the  other 
fellow  said  '  Damn  ! '  'I  don't  know  so  much  about 
damn/  replied  W.  G.,  'I'm  not  sure  I  shall  not  put 
you  in.  There's  a  little  rise  in  the  ground  just  there 
and  your  chucker  might  be  nasty  off  it.  However, 
I  suppose  we  might  as  well  bat.'  Bat  we  did  until  the 
end  of  the  day,  W.  G.  getting  into  the  nineties. 
The  other  side's  fast  bowler  toiled  most  of  the  time 
from  his  wrong  end  and  his  bag  was  one  wicket- 
keeper,  who  got  several  high-flyers  from  the  little 
rise  which  was  short  of  a  length  and  well  wide  of  the 
stumps.  It  is  unlikely  that  W.  G.  expected  a 
knowing  old  bird  to  walk  into  his  trap,  and  certain 
he  would  not  have  set  it  for  an  unsophisticated  young 
one,  for  instance  the  captain  of  an  University  team. 

Of  course  there  were  occasions  in  minor  cricket, 
notably  at  Thornbury,  when  W.  G.  entered  into  a 
contest  of  wits  with  some  one  who  challenged  him 
to  it.  There  is  the  historic  Bitton  v.  Thornbury 
match,  in  which  it  was  understood  that  the  teams 
should  be  strictly  representative.  Dr.  Henry 
Grace,  who  selected  the  Bitton  side,  turned  up  with 
himself,  one  other  Bitton  man — Christian  name  Tom 
— and  nine  members  of  the  Gloucestershire  and 
Somersetshire  teams,  one  of  whom  when  asked  to 
play  for  Bitton  parodied  a  famous  question  of  W.  G.'s 
and  asked  :  '  Bitton  !  What's  Bitton  ?  Something 
to  eat  ?  '  The  Thornbury  committee,  namely  E.  M. 
Grace,  had  taken  similar  but  rather  less  thorough 
precautions,  and,  having  won  the  toss,  went  in  to  bat 
with  W.  G.  The  latter  had  no  more  than  broken  his 
duck  when  he  was  magnificently  caught  at  deep 
square-leg  by  '  Tom,'  who  took  the  ball  with  one 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  231 

hand  just  as  it  was  carrying  the  wall  which  bounds 
one  side  of  the  ground.  '  Well  caught,  Tom/  shouted 
Uncle  Henry.  '  No,  no/  said  W.  G.,  '  I  shan't  have 
that.  That's  four  to  me.  No,  it's  six,  for  it  was  out 
of  the  ground  when  he  stopped  it/  There  followed 
some  minutes  of  excited  argument,  and  when  it 
seemed  likely  that  Uncle  Henry,  being  the  eldest 
brother  and  also  having  the  better  case,  would 
carry  his  point,  W.  G.  bethought  him  of  the  umpire 
and  appealed  to  him.  '  Oliver/  he  cried,  '  how  often 
have  I  told  you  that  if  he  catches  me  after  the  ball 
has  gone  out  of  the  ground,  it's  six  to  me  ?  '  Before 
any  reply  could  be  made,  Uncle  Henry  was  shaking 
his  fist  in  the  umpire's  face  and  saying  :  '  Be  a  man, 
Oliver,  and  give  him  out/  Out  W.  G.  had  to  go, 
having  failed  to  punish  Uncle  Henry  for  bringing  a 
Gentlemen  of  the  West  team  with  two  or  three  pro- 
fessionals to  represent  Bitton.  Surely,  in  this  case, 
his  attempt  to  get  round  the  printed  law  may  be 
justified  by  the  canons  of  the  higher  morality  ? 

W.  G.  always  was  guided  by  the  spirit  rather  than 
by  the  letter.  Was  it  not  he  who  allowed  the  Surrey 
reserve  wicket-keeper  to  take  Stedman's  place  at 
the  Oval  when  the  latter  was  injured  in  the  first 
few  overs  of  the  match  ?  If  he  had  not  done  so, 
his  old  friend  Walter  Read  must  have  kept  wicket, 
which  would  have  been  a  double  advantage  for 
Gloucestershire,  since  he  might  have  let  some  byes 
to  start  with  and  afterwards  had  to  bat  with  sore 
hands.  Another  time,  at  the  finish  of  a  desperately 
keen  match  the  other  side  wanted  half  a  dozen  runs 
when  Roberts  started  to  bowl  the  first  ball  of  the  last 
over.  He  had  only  taken  a  few  steps  of  his  run 
when  the  clock  struck  and  he  promptly  stopped. 
'  No,  no,  Fred,  I  shan't  have  that.  You  finish  the 
over/  came  Grace's  order.  Fred  Roberts  was  not 
called  upon  to  bowl  all  the  balls  necessary  for  that 
task,  because  the  first  was  missed  and  just  went  over 
the  leg-bail,  the  second,  also  pitched  the  perfect 


232     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

length  under  the  circumstances — he  and  Woof 
bowled  like  angels  that  evening — went  up  mountains 
high  and  we  were  very  pleased  to  see  W.  G.  under- 
neath it. 

He  was  not  going  to  stand  out  for  his  strict  rights 
on  one  of  the  county  grounds  where  the  game  is 
played  pleasantly  and  where  he  and  his  men  had  met 
with  generous  hospitality  on  many  occasions.  That 
match  took  place  at  Canterbury  and,  after  the  first 
day's  play,  a  dinner  was  given  to  celebrate  the  occa- 
sion :  it  was  twenty-three  years  since  W.  G.  had  first 
appeared  at  Canterbury.  After  dinner,  Lord  Harris 
proposed  the  Old  Man's  health  and  said  exactly  what 
everybody  wanted  him  to  say.  During  the  day, 
Leslie  Wilson  had  put  together  a  glorious  hundred. 
I  well  remember  starting  from  near  the  tree  by  the 
players'  tent,  where  there  is  always  a  militia-man  in 
full  uniform,  and  trying  with  intermittent  success  to 
cut  off  his  off-drives  before  they  rattled  up  against 
the  rails.  W.  G.  was  not  out  at  the  call  of  time, 
having  17  or  18  runs  to  his  credit.  When  he  rose  to 
reply  to  the  toast  of  the  evening1,  he  was,  I  think, 
rather  overcome  by  Lord  Harris'  speech  and  the 
other  tokens  of  affection  which  he  had  received. 
Anyway,  he  was  unable  to  get  off  the  eloquent,  and 
thoroughly  edited,  oration  which  had  been  prepared 
during  the  previous  fortnight  or  so.  What  he  did 
say  was  something  like  this  : 

'  I  had  got  quite  a  nice  speech  ready  for  you, 
boys,  but  that  Bishop  there  has  put  it  clean  out  of 
my  head.  I  think  you'll  have  to  have  one  of  my 
Canadian  speeches.  I  never  saw  much  better  batting 
than  I  saw  to-day.  But ' — here  came  a  dramatic 
pause  and  the  laughter  began  to  gather  in  the 
speaker's  eyes — '  I  hope  to  see  as  good  to-morrow.' 

We  adjourned  immediately  for  W.  G.  and  Lord 
Harris  to  have  a  pursuit  race  blindfolded  in  their 
stockinged  feet  round  a  billiard  table.  It  was  not  a 
great  success  because  silence  on  the  part  of  the  on- 


DR.  W.  G.  GRACE  233 

lookers  is  required,  if  pursuer  and  pursued  are  to 
locate  one  another  by  the  sense  of  hearing.  A  subse- 
quent bout  at  tilting  with  the  long  rest  between  the 
same  adversaries  went  better. 

It  is  a  question  whether  W.  G.'s  success  in  minor 
matters  was  due  to  his  self-confidence  or  to  his  luck. 
Certainly  things  used  to  come  off  for  him  in  an 
amazing  way.  George  Bean  used  to  tell  a  story  of 
possum  shooting  in  Australia  which  illustrates  this. 
He  went  out  with  the  Old  Man  and  had  not  had  a 
shot  all  the  evening.  Suddenly  W.  G.  said  :  '  There's 
one,  George,  in  that  tree.'  George  could  not  see  it 
and  said  so.  '  Never  mind/  was  the  reply, '  have  a 
go  at  the  tree.'  George  fired  and  down  came  the 
possum  ! 

Again  there  was  the  occasion  when  he  and  George 
Beldam  were  playing  a  four-ball  match  at  golf  round 
the  Mid-Surrey  course.  Going  to  the  sixth  hole, 
both  played  their  seconds  simultaneously  and  the 
balls  collided  as  they  were  crossing  the  bunker.  One 
fell  straight  into  the  hazard  ;  the  other  went  on  and 
lay  dead  at  the  hole-side.  Beldam  walked  straight 
into  the  bunker  and  picked  up  the  one  lying  there, 
knowing  it  must  be  his — and  it  was.  People  have  a 
way  of  trying  to  adorn  a  good  story  and  it  is  now  said 
that  after  this  incident  occurred,  members  at  the 
club-house  knew  about  it  immediately,  so  terrific 
was  the  noise  of  the  shouting. 

W.  G.  did  not  believe  in  playing  games  silently  and 
naturally  was  in  his  element  on  the  curling-rink. 
Even  county  cricket  matches,  when  he  and  E.  M. 
were  both  engaged,  were  conversational.  A  North- 
country  colt,  playing  against  us  for  the  first  time, 
asked  if  he  was  expected  to  bat  in  a  parrot-house. 
If  he  had  been  an  older  man  there  might  have  been 
trouble,  but  W.  G.  let  him  down  easily  in  considera- 
tion of  his  youth.  All  captains  of  cricket  teams  deal 
gently  with  their  young  players,  provided  that  their 
mistakes  are  not  due  to  slackness.  I  am  not  sure 


234     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

that  W.  G.  strained  the  quality  of  mercy  more  than 
others  did,  but  he  certainly  had  a  peculiarly  jolly 
way  of  saying  the  needed  words  of  encouragement. 

My  first  innings  in  county  cricket  was  terminated 
early  by  James  Robertson,  who  made  one  come 
down  the  hill  at  Lord's  much  too  quick  for  me, 
'  Glad  you  had  that  one  and  not  me/  was  the  phrase 
with  which  W.  G.  greeted  me  on  my  return  to  the 
pavilion.  His  words  altered  my  whole  outlook  on 
life.  Rightly  or  wrongly,  I  thought  that  if  ever  I 
was  asked  to  play  for  the  county  again,  I  might  find 
first-class  bowling  somewhat  easier  than  at  the 
moment  I  supposed  it  to  be.  But  W.  G.  was  much 
too  wise  a  man  not  to  temper  mercy  with  justice. 
In  that  match  I  missed  Stanley  Scott  in  the  first 
innings  of  Middlesex  just  after  he  had  scored  a 
hundred.  It  was  as  easy  a  catch  as  could  be  hit  into 
the  long  field,  and  long  field  catches  were  easier  then, 
before  the  new  pavilion  and  the  mound  stand  were 
built.  That  miss  looked  likely  to  lose  the  match. 
Middlesex  made  over  three  hundred,  Scott  135  not 
out,  in  their  first  innings.  We  had  some  difficulty 
in  saving  the  follow-on  next  morning  :  it  had  rained 
during  the  night.  Then  we  sent  back  Middlesex 
cheaply  and  went  in  to  get  180,  which  in  the  circum- 
stances was  considerably  more  than  150.  In  the 
end,  W.  G.,  Gilbert,  Frank  Townsend  and  Willie 
Pullen  made  the  runs  for  the  loss  of  two  wickets  in  a 
couple  of  hours.  But  when  it  was  all  over,  W.  G. 
pointed  the  moral  to  me,  using  two  of  his  favourite 
phrases  :  '  We  never  hadn't  ought  to  have  been  put 
to  it/  and  '  If  we  had  lost,  you  would  have  been  out 
of  the  family  circle  for  a  bit.1 

We  once  had  W.  G.  himself  out  of  the  family  circle. 
There  were  three  of  us  playing  for  Gloucestershire, 
who  could  still  throw — we  never  had  less  than  six 
jerkers  in  our  team.  W.  G.  rounded  on  one  of  the 
three  for  not  standing  where  he  had  been  put  at  long- 
leg,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  had  his  feet  on  the 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  235 

mark  which  he  had  made  to  show  him  his  place. 
By  way  of  protest  the  three  of  us  agreed  to  address 
the  Old  Man  as  '  Dr.  Grace  '  for  two  days.  But  we 
could  not  keep  it  up.  He  went  round  the  senior, 
members  of  the  team,  plucking  at  his  beard  and 
asking  what  he  had  done  to  make  these  boys  turn 
nasty.  His  distress  was  so  genuine  that  we  had  to 
make  it  up  and  pretend  that  there  had  never  been 
any  vestige  of  a  quarrel.  W.  G.  was  very  popular 
throughout  England,  but  we,  who  played  with  him 
more  or  less  regularly,  loved  him." 

Resuming  the  chronological  narrative  of  the  cham- 
pion's prowess,  1893  showed  an  increase  of  average  of 
4  runs  per  innings  and  of  over  500  runs  in  aggregate. 
This  was  all  the  more  satisfactory,  as  at  home  he 
was  now  once  more  pitted  against  the  pick  of  those 
he  had  met  in  Australia.  The  weather  was  pheno- 
menally fine  for  the  first  half  of  the  season  and  the 
muscles  of  the  veteran  seemed  uncommonly  flexible. 
"  Even  now  he  is  the  mainstay  of  English  cricket 
when  a  real  effort  is  required,"  was  the  observation  of 
Lilly  white.  Fourteen  batsmen  made  over  a  thousand 
runs  that  season,  but  only  A.  E.  Stoddart  and  William 
Gunn  surpassed  him  in  aggregate  and  he  was  seventh 
in  the  year's  averages.  Against  the  Australians  he 
was  fourth  alike  in  representative  and  all  matches, 
his  figures  against  them  being  much  higher  than  for 
the  whole  summer. 

This  tour  of  the  Colonials  was  described  frankly  by 
Australian  writers  as  a  failure,  despite  the  success  of 
Graham,  Sid  Gregory  and  Lyons  as  bats  and  the  fine 
work  with  the  ball  done  at  times  by  Turner,  Hugh 
Trumble  and  George  Giffen.  Grace  certainly  set  his 
mark  on  them.  He  led  off  in  the  very  first  match  of 
then1  tour,  scoring  an  excellent  63  for  Lord  Sheffield's 
XI,  the  highest  innings  in  the  match.  He  and 
Shrewsbury  put  up  101  for  the  first  wicket  and  he 
gave  an  impression  of  particular  alertness,  borne  out 


236     THE   MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

•during  the  rest  of  the  summer.  But  who  ever  saw 
W.  G.  stale  ?  Out  of  form  at  times  of  course.  Slow 
•on  occasions  as  years  increased.  But  stale  or 
lethargic — never. 

A  week  later  he  had  nearly  two  whole  days  hi  the 
field  whilst  the  Australians  were  scoring  503  off 
Gloucestershire  and  then,  not  wishing  to  bat  with 
only  an  hour  to  play,  kept  himself  back  with  dire 
results.  A  wet  third  day  must  have  soothed  his 
feelings.  Travelling  up  to  Lord's,  to  his  confessed 
surprise  he  found  his  powerful  M.C.C.  and  Ground 
side  put  in  when  Blackham  won  the  toss.  The  Club 
total  was  424,  and  after  the  visitors  followed  on, 
Lyons  gave  the  sensational  display  that  will  never  be 
forgotten  by  any  one  who  witnessed  it.  When  the 
home  side  went  in  to  make  167,  despite  two  interrup- 
tions by  showers  Grace  and  Stoddart  made  absurdly 
light  of  all  the  bowling,  a  performance  the  more 
remarkable  because  of  the  difficulty  their  successors 
experienced.  As  a  Gentlemen's  eleven  could  not  be 
gathered,  a  return  match  was  wisely  substituted. 
W.  G.  was  again  at  his  best,  making  a  beautiful 
75  and,  when  his  men  were  set  175,  helped  Stoddart 
to  put  up  120  for  the  first  wicket  in  the  most  confi- 
dent style.  Blackham  thought  he  played  better  on 
this  occasion  than  almost  any  other. 

He  had  but  a  weak  South  of  England  eleven,  but 
led  off  with  an  excellent  innings  of  66  and  enjoyed 
the  satisfaction  of  a  10  wickets  victory.  Practically 
the  England  eleven  gathered  at  Nottingham  for 
Arthur  Shrewsbury's  benefit  could  have  done  battle 
in  a  representative  encounter.  Grace  won  the  toss 
and  with  Stoddart  put  up  114  for  the  first  wicket, 
both  showing  excellent  form.  Then,  owing  to  an 
injured  finger,  he  had  to  stand  down  from  the  test 
match  at  Lord's,  the  first  he  had  ever  missed  in  this 
country.  He  made  up  for  this  in  the  second  test  at 
the  Oval — Maurice  Read's  benefit — going  in  first 
with  Stoddart,  the  pair  being  unseparated  at  lunch- 


DR.  W.  G.   GRACE  237 

time  and  only  being  parted  with  151  on  the  board, 
compiled  in  only  two  hours  and  a  quarter.  "  Though 
the  ball  sometimes  rose  very  awkwardly,  Grace 
played  a  really  admirable  innings  of  68,  in  making 
which  he  displayed  some  of  his  highest  skill."  In 
the  third  test  at  Manchester,  he  had  the  misfortune 
to  run  Stoddart  out  and  this  exercised  a  prejudicial 
effect  on  his  own  batting,  his  40  being  a  very  laboured 
contribution  terminated  by  his  being  bowled  off  his 
pads.  With  only  two  hours  and  a  quarter  in  which 
to  get  198,  he  and  Stoddart  made  no  attempt  to 
obtain  the  runs,  but  were  obdurately  unenterprising, 
his  own  share  being  45. 

In  both  encounters  he  was  of  use  for  the  Gentlemen 
against  the  Players.  At  the  Oval,  with  a  wholly 
unrepresentative  side,  after  being  missed  at  slip  by 
Attewell  before  he  scored,  "  his  play  was  most 
masterly."  He  was  first  out  for  57  out  of  118  while 
in.  In  the  next  innings  W.  Lockwood  and  Mold  were 
apparently  unplayable.  W.  G.  "  was  in  constant 
difficulties  to  begin  with  and  palpably  missed  by  Alec 
Hearne  when  he  had  made  15.  Afterwards  the  great 
cricketer  was  seen  at  his  very  best,  giving  the  other 
members  of  his  side  some  invaluable  lessons  in  the 
method  of  playing  fast  bowling.  He  was  a  little  over 
three  hours  getting  68 — a  high  compliment  to  the 
quality  of  the  bowling,  and  his  defence  was  equal  to 
anything  he  did  during  the  season."  At  Lord's  he 
put  his  legs  before  a  straight  ball  from  Attewell  when 
he  had  compiled  32,  and  came  in  for  sharp  criticism 
as  to  his  management  of  the  bowling.  Previously 
at  headquarters  he  made  his  solitary  century  of  the 
summer  and  his  first  in  England  since  1890,  namely 
128  for  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Kent :  an  exhibition  of 
faultless  cricket,  which  included  seventeen  fours. 

For  Gloucestershire  as  usual  he  was  to  the  fore  in 
the  matches  in  London.  Against  Middlesex  his  96  was 
a  very  fine  display  on  a  difficult  wicket  and  he  sum- 
marily finished  off  the  game  by  dismissing  the  last 


238     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

three  opponents  for  a  dozen  runs.  At  the  Oval  he 
showed  superlative  skill  in  61  not  out  in  an  hour  and 
three-quarters,  the  rest  of  his  side  only  accounting 
for  44  between  them,  his  form  against  Richardson 
and  W.  Lockwood  being  quite  wonderful.  In  the 
return  with  Middlesex  he  played  a  capital  68  and  a 
free  75  against  Sussex.  Against  Yorkshire,  with 
J.  J.  Ferris  and  O.  G.  Radcliffe  out  for  nothing,  he  and 
Painter  put  on  124  in  sixty-five  minutes  for  the  third 
wicket,  whilst  at  Huddersfield  with  19  he  was  actu- 
ally the  only  double-figure  scorer  in  the  innings  of  74. 

In  this  match  he  showed  a  thoroughly  sportsman- 
like spirit  in  the  following  incident.  Peel,  when 
batting,  was  so  badly  hurt  by  a  delivery  from  Roberts 
that  he  was  dancing  about  in  considerable  pain  well 
outside  his  crease.  One  of  the  Gloucestershire  men 
took  advantage  of  this  and  was  on  the  point  of  put- 
ting down  his  wicket  when  W.  G.  raised  his  hand  and 
shouted  "  Stop  "  in  stentorian  tones. 

Mention  of  Fred  Roberts  recalls  that,  at  Liverpool, 
a  Lancashire  batsman  returned  one  very  hard  to  him. 
He  made  a  good  try,  but  instead  the  ball  put  his 
thumb  out  of  joint.  He  walked  up  to  W.  G.  who  in 
a  moment  pulled  the  joint  in  and  sent  him  back  to  the 
dressing-room.  It  was  all  done  so  quickly  and  with- 
out fuss  that  it  gave  the  Liverpool  spectator  who 
furnishes  the  anecdote  "  the  impression  that  Grace 
was  regarded  as  something  of  a  father  as  well  as  their 
captain  by  his  men." 

The  great  demands  due  to  the  many  achievements 
of  the  subject  of  this  volume  have  forced  the  editors 
drastically  to  exclude  all  but  the  barest  reference  to 
others  save  himself.  An  exception  must,  however, 
be  briefly  made  in  one  instance  if  only  to  commemor- 
ate W.  G.  Grace's  own  deep  affection  for  his  offspring. 
In  fact  nothing  was  more  charming  than  the  paternal 
interest  W.  G.  Grace  took  in  his  eldest  son's  cricket. 
W.  G.  Grace,  junior,  was  in  the  Clifton  eleven  of  1891 
and  two  following  summers.  In  his  last  year  he 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  239 

claimed  51  wickets  for  n  runs  apiece  and  averaged 
29  with  the  bat,  but  proved  unsuccessful  when  tried 
for  his  county.  Going  up  to  Cambridge  he  scored  88 
in  the  Freshmen's  match,  making  top  score.  How- 
ever, he  received  no  University  trial  until  Dr.  W.  G. 
Grace,  coming  to  Cambridge  with  M.C.C.,  took  his 
son  in  first  with  him.  The  young  Cantab  had  the 
misfortune  to  be  caught  at  the  wicket  without  scoring 
and  sustained  a  similar  fate  in  the  return  match  at 
Lord's,  though  in  the  second  innings  he  obtained  54 
off  the  weary  and  weak  University  bowling  when  the 
Club  aggregate  was  595  for  7  wickets.  This  was  the 
match  in  which  W.  G.  Grace,  senior,  scored  196,  the 
largest  score  he  ever  made  at  Lord's  and  the  tallest 
in  first-class  cricket  in  1894. 

Again  in  1895,  it  was  not  until  after  his  father  had 
visited  Cambridge — he  was  self-confessedly  anxious 
that  his  son  should  obtain  his  "  blue  " — that  W.  G. 
Grace,  junior,  was  given  any  opportunity.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  he  did  better  in  the  University  match 
than  in  any  other,  for  going  in  first  he  scored  40  and 
28,  making  two  excellent  starts  in  conjunction  with 
Frank  Mitchell.  Next  year  his  best  contribution 
was  68  not  out  when  the  University  visited  Notting- 
ham for  Sherwin's  benefit,  a  fixture  at  which  the 
attendance  was  miserably  small  in  spite  of  the  splen- 
did services  the  fine,  stalwart  wicket-keeper  had 
rendered  to  his  county.  Against  Oxford,  going  in 
first,  W.  G.  Grace,  junior,  had  the  misfortune  "  to 
bag  the  unenviable  brace."  In  the  same  month, 
at  Trent  Bridge,  he  was  credited  with  his  largest 
score  for  Gloucestershire,  62  ;  but  his  average  of  17 
that  season  was  of  course  handicapped  by  his  being 
dismissed  without  a  run  on  seven  occasions. 

Prior  to  this,  in  1894  in  a  minor  fixture  at  Reigate 
for  his  father's  side  v.  W.  W.  Read's  XI,  W.  G. 
Grace,  junior,  had  obtained  148  not  out.  In  the 
testimonial  match  to  G.  F.  Hearne,  a  revival  of  the 
old-time  Gentlemen  of  the  South  v.  Players  of  the 


240     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

South,  in  a  big  scoring  game  he  failed  to  make  a  run. 
Subsequent  to  his  University  career,  his  appearances 
in  first-class  cricket  were  but  few,  and  his  life  figures 
are  :  batting,  80  innings  1,267  runs,  15*83  average  ; 
bowling,  1,520  runs  41  wickets,  37*07  average.  For 
Pembroke  v.  Caius,  Cambridge,  in  1896  he  assisted  to 
put  up  337  for  first  wicket  and  for  London  County  v. 
Erratics  355  for  first  wicket.  He  took  all  ten  wickets 
for  London  County  v.  Bromley.  It  was  curious  that 
his  father's  son  should  have  been  such  a  stiff  cricketer, 
but  his  batting  was  singularly  lacking  in  mobility 
though  he  could  hit  hard.  Always  playing  in  spec- 
tacles, his  bowling  was  fastish,  rather  plain,  without 
much  work  on  the  ball.  After  leaving  Cambridge  he 
became  a  Master  at  Oundle,  and  subsequently  at  the 
Royal  Naval  College,  Osborne.  He  died  at  Cowes 
in  1 905,  from  the  results  of  an  operation  for  appendi- 
citis, in  his  thirty-first  year. 

J.  A.  H.  Rogers  in  1894  went  in  first  with  Green 
from  Cheltenham  for  the  Colts  v.  the  County, 
Roberts  sent  down  a  bumpy  ball  which  Green  edged 
to  Murch  at  first  slip,  who  got  it  in  his  hand.  As 
Green  was  walking  away,  Rogers  nervously  bade  his 
partner  appeal.  Roberts  at  once  rounded  on  Rogers 
with  :  "  Wot's  'e  got  to  appeal  for  ?  'E's  out  right 
enough."  W.  G.'s  voice  rang  out  at  once  :  "  What 
d'ye  mean,  Fred  ?  Mr.  Rogers  is  quite  right — how's 
that  ?  '  "  Out,  sir,"  said  the  umpire.  "  Now, 
Murch,"  resumed  W.  G.,  "  how  did  you  catch 
that  ?  "  "  My  fingers  were  on  the  ground,  sir,"  was 
Murch's  reply.  "  There  you  are,  Fred,"  W.  G.  said, 
"  Mr.  Rogers  was  not  far  wrong."  He  then  came  and 
put  his  arm  round  the  shoulders  of  the  youngster — 
a  favourite  trick  of  his — and  strolled  up  and  down 
the  wicket,  saying  :  "  You  are  quite  right,  Rogers, 
there  are  nine  ways  of  getting  out,  and  if  there  is 
any  reasonable  doubt  whether  you  are  out  or  not, 
always  ask."  That  kind  of  thing  endeared  him  to- 
mere  lads  as  may  well  be  imagined. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  241 

This  was  the  match  in  which,  contrary  to  the  usual 
practice  in  such  games,  the  county  took  first  innings 
and  "  amused  themselves  on  the  first  day  by  hitting 
the  weak  bowling  of  the  colts  to  all  parts  of  the  field. 
E.  M.  Grace  and  Ferris,  who  went  in  first,  scored  173 
for  the  first  wicket,  and  the  total  was  increased  to 
438.  After  this  severe  outing  it  was  not  surprising 
that  the  disheartened  youngsters  gave  a  poor  display 
of  batting." 

W.  G.  Grace  showed  a  falling  off  alike  in  aggregate 
and  average  in  1894  as  compared  with  the  preceding 
season,  his  respective  figures  being  1,293  and  29. 
He  stood  sixteenth  in  the  averages,  Brockwell,  Abel 
and  J.  T.  Brown  exceeding  him  in  the  number  of 
runs  credited.  Four  times  he  failed  to  score,  and  on 
thirteen  other  occasions  was  out  for  a  single-figure 
contribution,  but  against  this  must  be  set  three 
centuries  and  five  other  efforts  exceeding  fifty.  Once 
run  out  and  twice  l.b.w.,  he  was  bowled  fourteen 
times  and  caught  twenty-seven,  only  on  four  occa- 
sions at  the  wicket. 

With  his  son  at  Cambridge,  he  twice  captained 
M.C.C.  and  Ground  against  the  University  and  on 
each  occasion  made  a  hundred.  The  Light  Blues 
were  wretchedly  weak  in  bowling  and  he  took  advan- 
tage of  it.  At  Cambridge  his  139  without  a  mistake 
occupied  him  for  four  hours  and  a  quarter,  Chatter- 
ton  helping  him  to  add  256.  Lord's  witnessed  an 
amazing  return  game  :  the  aggregate  record  for  the 
ground,  1,332  ;  the  highest  total  made  there,  595  ;  and 
the  highest  innings  ever  scored  at  St.  John's  Wood  by 
W.  G.,  196.  It  was  also  the  biggest  individual  score 
of  the  season,  but  one  made  without  effort  owing  to 
his  domination  over  the  feeble  attack.  Just  to  show 
how  much  there  was  in  him,  he  then  took  4  wickets 
for  33  runs. 

Of  far  greater  importance  was  his  notable  work  for 
the  Gentlemen.  At  the  Oval  his  71  was  a  very 
admirable  display  which  lasted  two  hours.  He  was 


242     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

bowled  by  a  fine  ball  from  W.  Lockwood,  which 
broke  back  and  took  his  middle  and  leg  stumps.  At 
Lord's  the  wicket  was  so  wet  that  a  start  could  not 
be  made  until  one.  Grace  and  Stoddart  forced  the 
hitting  in  such  successful  fashion  that  56  was  put 
up  in  forty  minutes  for  the  first  wicket.  Grace  was 
out  at  119,  for  a  noble  effort  amounting  to  56. 
"  Not  for  a  considerable  time,  indeed,  had  the  great 
cricketer  played  a  bolder  game  on  a  pitch  affected 
by  rain."  At  Hastings  his  superb  batting  yielded 
131  in  three  hours  and  forty  minutes,  only  two  other 
scores  in  the  innings  exceeding  17.  No  fault  whatever 
could  be  found  with  his  play,  which  was  marked 
throughout  by  consummate  skill  and  power.  One 
big  drive  off  Alec  Hearne  pitched  out  of  the  ground 
and  he  hit  fifteen  fours.  Early  in  his  effort  a  ball 
from  Mold  glanced  off  his  pads  on  to  the  wickets 
without  removing  the  bails. 

There  had  been  so  much  friction  in  the  Gloucester- 
shire team  in  the  previous  year  and  even  a  spirit  of 
mutiny  prevailing,  that  W.  G.  Grace  had  written  to 
the  committee  expressing  his  desire  to  give  up  the 
captaincy,  but  in  the  autumn  had  withdrawn  his 
resignation.  This  season  for  the  second  time  the 
•county  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  list  and  W.  G.  in  no 
way  maintained  the  standard  of  batting  he  had  dis- 
played in  the  matches  just  mentioned.  An  88  v. 
Sussex  in  an  hour  and  fifty  minutes,  showing  remark- 
able accuracy  in  placing  the  ball,  early  in  May  at 
Brighton  proved  his  best  county  effort,  whilst  a  fine 
61  at  Trent  Bridge  redeemed  an  otherwise  wretched 
display  by  the  Westerners.  On  home  wickets  49  v. 
Lancashire  was  his  largest  contribution.  In  extra 
matches,  he  played  exceeding  well  on  a  soaking 
pitch  for  52  against  Warwickshire  and  gave  the 
South  Africans  a  good  sample  of  his  cricketing 
capacity,  for  after  taking  9  wickets  for  71,  he  scored 
129  not  out,  going  in  fourth  wicket  down.  Previously 
he  had  met  the  visitors,  whose  fixtures  were  not 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  243 

reckoned  as  first-class,  on  behalf  of  M.C.C.  and 
Ground  when  "  for  some  inscrutable  reason  he  put 
them  in  after  winning  the  toss,  losing  the  match  by 
ii  runs."  He  himself  was  the  most  successful 
bowler,  claiming  6  for  56  and  6  for  37,  besides  a 
first  score  of  47. 

C.  J.  Robinson,  who  formerly  played  for  Somerset- 
shire, furnishes  a  string  of  reminiscences  affording 
interesting  side-lights  on  Grace's  attractive  disposi- 
tion : 

"  Amid  the  avalanche  of  recollections  sure  to  pour 
in,  a  few  stories  may  appeal,  if  only  to  vary  the 
narrative,  and  they  come  from  personal  experience 
of  one  who  knew  the  Old  Man  '  at  home '  as  the 
schoolboys  say.  Indeed  all  my  life  I  have  been 
hearing  of  his  doings  and  the  following  are  a  selection. 

W.  G.  was  always  no  end  considerate  to  young 
cricketers,  and  I  well  remember  being  upon  the 
Clifton  College  ground  when  Gloucestershire  was 
playing  Surrey  about  the  middle  eighties  [1888 
actually].  At  that  time  Abel  had  worked  his  way 
more  or  less  regularly  into  the  very  powerful  side 
Surrey  was  building  up.  Hundreds  did  not  come  his 
way  in  those  days  as  they  did  afterwards.  [He  had 
only  made  two  in  first-class  cricket.]  He  had  batted 
with  plenty  of  confidence  until  he  had  gathered 
90.  Then  he  proceeded  to  scrape  and  potter  about 
for  an  unconscionable  period,  when  he  finally  reached 
96.  W.  G.  said  :  '  Bobbie,  I'll  give  you  one  just 
to  put  you  out  of  your  misery/  True  to  his  word, 
he  lobbed  him  up  a  divine  full-toss  well  on  the 
leg-side.  Abel  unfortunately  did  not  get  fully  hold 
of  it  and  hit  straight  into  the  extra-safe  hands  of 
J.  H.  Brain.  Said  W.  G  :  '  I'm  sorry,  Bobbie,  but  I 
could  not  have  done  more  to  help  you  get  that 
century.' 

In  a  Gloucestershire  and  Somersetshire  match  at 
Cheltenham,  an  interesting  discussion  arose  as  to  the 


244     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

various  distances  to  which  sundry  individuals  had 
thrown  the  cricket  ball.  On  our  side  was  a  very  fine 
thrower  indeed,  the  Oxonian  V.  T.  Hill.  W.  G. — well 
informed  as  usual — happened  to  know  he  fancied 
himself  muchly  in  this  department.  Said  he : 
'  Look  here,  Vernon,  I'll  bet  you  a  sovereign  you 
don't  throw  over  a  hundred  yards  three  times  follow- 
ing, with  and  against  the  wind ;  to  toss  for  two 
throws  with  the  wind.'  The  mighty  left-handed 
hitter  appeared  to  think  this  very  soft  business  and 
promptly  accepted  the  challenge.  Moreover,  he 
luckily  won  the  toss.  I  was  appointed  stakeholder. 
Only  a  light  breeze  was  blowing  and  that  from  the 
west,  so  the  first  throw  was  towards  the  chapel  and 
a  magnificent  one  it  was  too  :  we  chained  it :  119 
yards  2  feet.  I  turned  to  W.  G.  and  said  :  '  It's  all 
up  with  your  sovereign.'  He  was  most  emphatic  in 
his  reply  :  '  No,  he  won't  throw  a  hundred  the  other 
way.J  Hill,  looking  brimful  of  confidence  and 
particularly  pleased  with  what  he  had  just  done, 
proceeded  to  discharge  throw  number  two.  In  due 
course  it  was  chained,  the  result  being  91  yards 
dead.  W.  G.'s  shout  of  delight  might  have  been 
heard  half  a  mile  away,  it  was  such  a  stentorian 
bellow  of  triumph,  and  then,  promptly,  came  the 
demand  :  '  Here,  give  me  those  two  sovereigns.' 

Few  people  realized  that  W.  G.  was  one  of  the 
shrewdest  observers  though  he  said  so  little,  and  far 
more  capable  of  looking  ahead  and  taking  a 'broad 
view  than  many  who  boasted  they  did,  but  he  never 
said  so.  Here  is  a  curious  case  in  point.  It  was  the 
morning  of  a  county  match  on  a  home  ground.  The 
two  regular  bowlers  Roberts  and  Murch — each  good 
for  a  hundred  overs  if  they  had  to  be  delivered 
— were  both  in  readiness  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Imagine  the  surprise  of  everybody  to  find  that  Grace 
left  them  both  out.  The  result  was  that  the  oppo- 
nents helped  themselves  to  well  over  four  hundred 
runs  and  the  draw  was  inevitable  after  the  first  day. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  245 

I  happened  to  meet  W.  G.  soon  afterwards  and  asked 
him  how  it  was  he  had  decided  not  to  play  the  pair, 
as  none  of  his  other  bowlers  could  be  described  as 
wicket  collectors  just  then.  '  Well/  he  said,  '  to 
tell  you  the  truth,  the  wicket  was  too  good  and  it 
didn't  look  like  rain,  so  I  thought  us  bad  bowlers  were 
just  as  likely  to  get  them  out  as  the  decent  ones. 
And  besides,'  he  added  in  a  burst  of  confidence, 
*  they  were  both  getting  a  bit  "  uppish  "  and  will  be 
all  the  better  for  standing  out  of  a  match.'  He  was 
thinking  of  the  prospects  of  Gloucestershire,  not  of 
the  mere  game  of  the  hour. 

In  one  of  the  matches  between  eleven  Robinsons 
and  Grace's  XI,  the  respective  totals  were  147  and 
185.  That  difference  was  accounted  for  by  a  trick. 
The  doctor's  eleven  had  batted  first.  Directly  after 
they  came  out  to  field,  a  note  was  brought  out  to  Dr. 
Henry  Grace,  the  eldest  brother,  then  getting  '  a 
very  stiff  'un.'  After  glancing  at  it,  he  asked  to  be 
excused  and  hoped  to  be  back  soon — something  was 
murmured  about  a  professional  engagement — and 
in  the  meantime  could  he  send  out  a  substitute.  Of 
•course  no  objection  was  raised  and  out  came  Jack 
Board,  then  quite  a  youngster,  who  could  sprint 
quite  a  bit  in  those  days.  The  bowling  was  not  of 
a  high  order,  W.  G.'s  knee  was  troubling  him,  and 
there  was  a  deal  of  attempting  to  find  the  boundary. 
Time  passed  and  no  one  seemed  to  notice  that  the 
substitute  was  fielding  in  the  deep  at  both  ends. 
If  ever  a  man  saved  fifty  runs  in  an  innings,  Board 
did  upon  that  afternoon,  and  it  meant  just  the  differ- 
ence between  victory  and  defeat  for  the  Robinsons. 
At  the  close,  from  a  quiet  corner  emerged  Dr.  Henry 
Grace,  who  said  he  had  been  comfortably  watching 
all  the  time  and  warmly  complimented  Board  upon 
his  brilliant  fielding.  The  secret  of  the  note  was 
out,  and  how  W.  G.  roared  with  laughter  at  its  result. 

He  seldom  allowed  a  young  cricketer  to  slip  through 
his  hands,  who  subsequently  proved  of  value  to  any 


246     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

other  county.  But  in  Nichols,  born  at  Fishponds  in 
Gloucestershire,  he  missed  a  professional  who,  if 
persevered  with,  would  have  been  as  much  service  to 
the  county  of  the  Graces  as  he  was  afterwards  to- 
Somersetshire  during  a  considerable  period.  W.  G. 
tried  him  originally  upon  several  occasions — I  think 
he  played  as  an  amateur — but  he  had  no  luck.  The 
climax  came  against  Surrey,  on  a  real  Oval  wicket. 
W.  W.  Read  carted  Nichols  unmercifully,  and  after 
that  he  was  relegated  to  the  long  field  of  all  places 
(he  could  only  field  at  short-slip  at  any  time).  To 
make  matters  worse,  everything  seemed  to  come  his 
way,  including  four  catches,  all  of  which  he  dropped. 
It  was  too  much  for  W.  G.  who  said  :  '  George,  you 
shall  never  play  for  us  again/  and  he  never  did. 
Was  not  H.  T.  Hewett  on  fifty  occasions  at  least 
grateful  for  that  decision  ? 

We  have  all  of  us  been  a  bit  irritated  in  our  time. 
There  was  one  occasion  when  Grace  was  more  than  a 
little  put  out.  The  match  was  between  Gloucester- 
shire and  Somersetshire.  Vexatious  stoppages  of 
play  on  account  of  showers  sometimes  provoke 
spectators.  They  had  no  cause  to  grumble  on  one 
particular  afternoon.  A  most  unpleasant  drizzle 
set  in.  We  were  batting  and  expected  W.  G.  would 
suggest  an  adjournment.  Not  a  bit ;  he  kept 
pounding  away  at  the  pavilion  wicket  for  the  best 
part  of  two  hours.  With  a  wet  ball  the  bowlers 
were  handicapped,  but  the  game  proceeded  until 
nearly  five  when  Grace  said  :  '  I  think  we  might  as 
well  stop  for  a  bit ' — cricket  automatically  ceasing 
for  the  day,  Lionel  Palairet  having  a  hundred  odd  to 
his  credit.  Next  morning  our  innings  ended  twenty- 
two  minutes  before  the  luncheon  interval.  The  sun 
was  shining  with  great  power  and  the  wicket  was 
uncommonly  nasty,  just  such  a  one  as  our  captain— 
H.  T.  Hewett — revelled  in  seeing  his  opponents 
'  scraping  upon.'  The  ground-man  asked  W.  G. 
which  roller  he  should  put  on.  '  Never  mind/ 


DR.  W.   G.  GRACE  247 

was  the  reply,  '  we  are  not  going  on  before  lunch.' 
Now  our  skipper  overheard  the  remark  and  had  no 
intention  of  missing  a  golden  opportunity.  But 
W.  G.  was  a  bit  off  colour  that  morning,  so  I  was 
selected  to  break  to  him  the  fact  that  we  wanted 
the  usual  ten  minutes  play  according  to  rules,  before 
the  luncheon  interval.  W.  G.  was  obdurate,  said 
he  would  not  proceed,  and,  upon  being  pressed, 
added :  '  This  is  a  poor  return  for  our  bowling  to  you 
nearly  three  hours  in  the  rain  yesterday  afternoon.' 
I  replied  :  '  I  don't  think  that  was  any  fault  of  ours.' 
He  then  told  the  man  to  put  the  light  roller  on,  and 
we  fielded  for  eight  minutes.  At  luncheon,  the  tele- 
graph board  read  0-2-0  and  W.  G.  was  not  garru- 
lously amiable  during  the  meal.  We  had  won  by  an 
innings  before  night. 

I  happened  to  be  on  the  county  ground  at  Bristol 
after  W.  G.  had  returned  from  playing  in  1896  in  the 
opening  match  of  the  Australian  tour  for  Lord 
Sheffield's  XI,  in  which  if  I  remember  rightly  he  made 
60  or  70  in  each  innings  [actually  49  and  26].  He 
called  me  into  the  dressing-room  and  said  :  '  Look 
here  what  Ernest  Jones  did  to  me  on  a  wicket  that 
was  real  fiery  and  he  was  sending  them  down  at  a 
rare  pace.'  He  had  six  or  seven  huge  blue  and  black 
marks  all  round  the  region  of  his  heart.  I  asked  : 
'  How  in  the  name  of  fortune  could  you  stand  such 
punishment  ?  '  '  Well,'  he  replied, '  he  did  rap  me  a 
bit  sharp,  but  I  don't  mind  even  now  how  fast  they 
bowl  to  me;  it's  the  slow  ones  I  don't  like,  I  can't  get 
at  them  as  I  used  to.'  Remember  this  man  was 
within  two  months  of  completing  his  forty-eighth 
year  !  Never  shall  we  meet  his  parallel  in  our  time.'r 


CHAPTER  XVII 
Most  Marvellous  of  All 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  R.  W.  RICE,  H.  D.  G. 
LEVESON-GOWER  AND  P.  F.  WARNER 

NOTHING  W.  G.  Grace  ever  did,  nothing  any 
other  champion  at  any  other  game  ever 
achieved,  evoked  such  widespread  and  well-deserved 
enthusiasm  as  his  batting  in  May,  1895,  when  he  was 
in  his  forty-eighth  year  and  so  burly  in  figure.  The 
marvellous  cricket  he  showed  thus  early  in  that 
summer,  at  an  age  when  men  unborn  at  the  time 
of  his  earliest  supremacy  were  now  at  their  zenith, 
presents  such  an  unique  and  phenomenal  source  of 
perennial  interest  that  the  tale  of  achievement  may 
be  told  at  some  length.  In  that  one  month  he  scored 
1,016  runs  as  the  result  of  nine  completed  innings, 
his  average  then  being  112.  He  himself  quietly 
remarked  that  he  had  made  a  thousand  runs  in  a 
month  before,  but  never  at  the  beginning  of  a  season. 
In  the  middle  of  April,  he  had  given  a  foretaste 
of  his  form  by  compiling  101  in  three  hours  and  forty 
minutes  against  XXII  County  Colts  and  then  retiring. 
Though  it  did  not  look  a  very  great  feat  the  number 
of  men  in  the  field  must  be  borne  in  mind.  He 
himself  invariably  began  practising  in  March,  and 
net  practices  on  the  bleak  county  ground  were  often 
somewhat  Arctic  recreations.  He  would  always 
insist  on  "  you  young  'uns  "  putting  on  sweaters 
directly  they  had  finished  batting  and  bowling. 

248 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  249 

Now  and  then  he  would  break  off  the  cricket  for  a 
few  minutes  and  organize  some  races  or  other 
thoroughly  warming  pursuit. 

As  a  contradiction  to  superstition  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that  his  opening — and  lowest — score  in  that 
memorable  May  was  13.  This  was  for  M.C.C.  and 
Ground  v.  Sussex.  Next  time  he  did  not  let  off  the 
county  so  lightly,  for  his  second  effort  yielded  103. 
When  his  score  was  14,  he  was  missed  by  K.  S. 
Ranjitsinhji — usually  a  splendid  field — in  the 
slips  and,  as  he  piled  up  his  runs,  the  veteran  kept 
turning  and  chaffing  him  about  this.  He  only  took 
an  hour  to  make  his  first  fifty,  but  his  second  came 
with  far  greater  rapidity.  His  boundary  hits  were 
as  strong  as  ever  and  his  defence  immaculate.  What, 
however,  pleased  him  far  more  was  that  he  clean 
bowled  the  future  Jam  Sahib  of  Nawanagar  with 
the  very  first  ball  he  ever  sent  down  to  him.  A.  N. 
Hornby  put  him  on  when  the  Cantab  had  compiled  a 
superb  150,  on  his  initial  appearance  for  the  county. 

Against  Yorkshire,  Grace's  contributions  were 
comparatively  moderate,  18  and  25,  but  then  com- 
menced the  succession  of  big  efforts.  It  was  further 
notable  that  this  his  hundredth  century  in  first-class 
cricket — who  will  ever  approach  this  again  ? — should 
have  been  such  a  mammoth  one  as  288.  The  scene 
was  Bristol  and  the  match  Gloucestershire  v.  Somer- 
setshire. The  visitors  had  scored  303 — L.  C.  H. 
Palairet  and  Gerald  Fowler  getting  205  for  the  first 
wicket — and  that  evening  W.  G.  played  out  time  with 
38  to  his  credit.  Next  day  he  was  at  the  wicket 
(ninth  out)  until  past  five.  "  During  all  this  while 
he  met  the  attack  with  the  utmost  ease  and  confi- 
dence. Never  did  he  appear  in  a  difficulty  and 
seldom  indeed  did  the  ball  go  from  any  part  but  the 
middle  of  his  bat.  For  five  hours  and  twenty 
minutes  he  was  busy  knocking  the  leather  all  over 
the  field  and  he  made  his  runs  at  the  astonishing 
rate  of  over  fifty  an  hour.  More  than  this,  no  chance 


250     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

marred  his  great  display,  and  the  power  he  put 
behind  his  strokes  may  be  seen  when  we  say  that  his- 
magnificent  innings  included  thirty-eight  fours  and 
eleven  threes.  He  had  never  previously  made  a 
hundred  runs  in  an  innings  on  the  ground,  and  it 
was  the  third  best  he  had  ever  made  in  eleven-a- 
side matches.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  won- 
derful batting  feat  of  the  champion  created  the 
greatest  enthusiasm.  Spectators  flocked  to  the 
ground  from  town  and  suburbs  when  the  news  of  his 
stand  got  abroad,  and  after  he  had  passed  his  second 
hundred  a  '  magnum  '  was  taken  from  the  pavilion 
and  drunk  at  the  wickets.  Quite  a  smart  fall  of 
snow  fell  and  a  piercing  cold  wind  prevailed  through- 
out the  day."  C.  L.  Townsend  stayed  with  him  for 
two  hours  and  a  half,  adding  223  for  third  wicket 
and  being  unlucky  to  narrowly  miss  his  century. 
He  writes  :  "  This  was  the  one  and  only  time  I  ever 
saw  him  flustered,  namely  when  the  last  runs  were 
needed  for  his  hundredth  hundred.  Poor  Sam 
Woods  could  hardly  bowl  the  ball  and  the  Doctor  was 
nearly  as  bad." 

For  Gentlemen  of  England  v.  Cambridge  Univer- 
sity, Grace  and  Stoddart  actually  put  up  the  first 
hundred  under  the  hour,  altogether  scoring  130  for 
the  first  wicket,  of  which  the  champion's  share  was 
an  aggressive  52.  He  subsequently  captured  half  a 
dozen  opponents. 

Next  came  the  county  match  in  which  Grace  took 
the  largest  share  possible,  being  in  the  field  for 
every  ball  of  a  sensational  game,  and  scoring  330  runs 
for  once  out.  Apart  from  his  marvellous  prowess, 
if  that  can  be  detached  from  any  aspect  of  the 
encounter,  this  was  the  earliest  instance  in  first-class 
cricket  in  England  of  a  side  winning  after  having 
to  face  a  first  innings  of  over  400.  It  was  fifteen 
years  since  Grace  had  been  at  Gravesend  and  he  com- 
menced by  fielding  out  whilst  Kent  compiled  470, 
of  which  Alec  Hearne  made  a  splendid  155.  To  this 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  251 

Gloucestershire  replied  with  443,  out  of  which  W.  G. 
was  accountable  for  257,  the  only  other  scores  over 
20  being  Painter's  40  and  S.  A.  P.  Kitcat's  52. 
Beyond  one  chance  at  the  wicket  when  he  had  com- 
piled 80,  Grace  never  made  a  slip.  It  is,  of  course, 
very  easy  to  repeat  that  "  it  was  faultless,  but  realize 
what  it  meant  for  a  man  approaching  forty-seven  to- 
bat  for  seven  and  a  half  hours  against  four  such 
excellent  bowlers  as  J.  R.  Mason,  Alec  Hearne, 
Walter  Wright  and  Martin  as  well  as  useful  changes, 
and  persistently  prevent  the  ball  coming  within 
reach  of  eleven  men  eager  to  catch  him.  His  placing 
was  the  despair  of  the  Kent  captain — F.  Marchant. 
As  Walter  Wright  remarked  :  "  There  is  only  one 
thing  the  Doctor  has  yet  to  learn  and  that  is  to- 
hit  'em  up  high."  "  Right  up  to  the  finish  he 
retained  his  freshness  and  hit  twenty-four  fours. 
Nothing  finer  than  this  innings  could  be  imagined." 

At  lunch-time  on  the  third  day  only  an  innings 
apiece  had  been  played,  but  then  Kent  collapsed 
before  Roberts  and  Painter.  So  with  an  hour  and 
a  quarter  in  which  to  make  104  runs,  W.  G.  Grace 
went  in  a  second  time  and,  by  the  grand  cricket  he 
showed,  fairly  pulled  the  match  off  from  his  own  bat. 
Fifty  was  hoisted  after  thirty-five  minutes  play  and, 
mainly  by  severe  and  well-timed  punishing  shots 
from  Grace,  the  runs  were  made  in  an  hour  for  the 
loss  of  but  one  wicket,  his  share  being  73  not  out. 
Needless  to  state,  he  was  vociferously  cheered  on 
returning  to  the  pavilion.  It  may  be  added  that, 
judging  from  the  correspondence  evoked  by  the 
preparation  of  this  biography,  this  master-achieve- 
ment alike  in  skill  and  endurance  seems  more  than 
any  other  single  game  to  have  been  appreciated  by 
his  many  admirers. 

The  revival  of  Surrey  v.  England  for  W.  W.  Read's 
testimonial  match  gave  the  spectators  an  oppor- 
tunity of  testifying  their  admiration  for  what  Grace 
had  just  done,  namely  twice  exceeding  250  in  ten 


252     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

days.  But  after  he  had  scored  18  rather  freely,  Tom 
Richardson  clean  bowled  him.  As  the  game  ended 
in  a  single  innings  victory  for  his  side,  this  afforded 
him  no  further  opportunity  to  bat,  therefore  on  the 
evening  of  May  29  his  aggregate  was  847.  Hence 
it  seemed  out  of  the  realms  of  possibility  that  the 
general  desire  for  him  to  score  a  thousand  runs  in 
May  could  be  realized. 

The  dramatic  element,  however,  was  still  to  come 
in.  Gloucestershire  brought  a  weak  side  to  Lord's 
to  oppose  Middlesex  on  May  30.  But  Grace  not 
only  won  the  toss  but,  by  scoring  169,  compiled 
1,016  within  the  month.  "  Language  fails  to  give 
adequate  expression  to  the  feeling  of  admiration 
and  astonishment.  There  would  seem  to  be  no  limit 
to  his  capabilities  and  his  run-getting  powers  are  as 
great  as  in  the  seventies."  This  innings  was  not 
comparable  in  pace  or  in  punishing  force  with  some 
just  dealt  with.  He  was  playing  well  within  himself, 
obviously  desiring  to  complete  his  tremendous  task. 
At  luncheon  he  had  only  made  58,  and  for  some 
time  afterwards  E.  A.  Nepean  puzzled  him  with  his 
slow  deliveries,  which  presented  obvious  difficulties. 
Then  he  seemed  to  regain  his  old  efficient  command 
and,  scoring  aggressively,  looked  like  getting  the 
coveted  153.  At  149,  Nepean  gave  him  a  friendly 
long-hop  on  the  leg-side,  and  as  it  reached  the  boun- 
dary the  crowd  raised  a  succession  of  cheers.  He 
had  a  splendid  reception  after  he  was  out,  and  at 
the  drawing  of  stumps  there  was  an  additional 
demonstration  in  front  of  the  pavilion. 

A  national  shilling  testimonial  was  promoted  by 
the  Daily  Telegraph,  which  amounted  to  £5,281  95.  id. 
In  forwarding  a  cheque  for  the  amount,  the  late  Sir 
Edward  Lawson  (afterwards  Lord  Burnham)  wrote 
to  Grace  : 

"  I  take  occasion  to  congratulate  you  upon  the 
sustained  progress  and  happy  issue  of  this  movement 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  253 

in  your  honour,  originated  also  in  honour  of  the 
great  national  game  of  which  you  are  the  most 
eminent,  accepted  and  popular  representative.  The 
subscription,  commencing  amid  the  hearty  good-will 
and  approbation  of  all  the  manly  and  open-air-loving 
section  of  our  community,  has  broadened  and  deep- 
ened during  its  extraordinary  and  unparalleled 
course,  until  it  has  become,  by  the  variety  and  signi- 
ficance of  the  countless  names  included  in  it,  an 
epitome  of  English  life  in  all  localities  and  latitudes. 
You  yourself  must  have  observed,  with  pleasure  and 
with  pride,  how  widespread  and,  indeed,  universal, 
was  the  desire  thus  generously  evinced  to  celebrate 
at  once  the  national  pastime,  and  your  own  honour- 
able proficiency  in  it.  It  is  impossible,  in  less  space 
than  the  list  itself  has  occupied,  to  attempt  any 
compendium  of  so  all-comprehensive  and  astonishing 
a  catalogue,  which  indeed  confers  of  itself — as  I  am 
sure  you  will  agree — a  reward  and  a  recognition 
beyond  anything  which  money  could  supply. 

Such  a  magnificent  demonstration,  sir,  is  due  in  the 
first  place  to  a  warm  appreciation  felt  throughout 
the  land  and  the  Empire  for  your  own  high  and 
worthy  qualities  as  an  English  cricketer.  It  com- 
prises, however,  above  and  beyond  this — as  cannot 
possibly  be  doubted — a  very  notable  and  emphatic 
expression  of  the  general  love  for  those  out-of-door 
sports  and  pursuits,  which — free  from  any  element 
of  cruelty,  greed  or  coarseness — most  and  best  develop 
our  British  traits  of  manliness,  good  temper,  fair 
play,  and  the  healthy  training  of  mind  and  body  ;  at 
the  same  time  giving  pleasure  and  amusement  to  the 
greatest  possible  number.  In  this  aspect  I  permit 
myself  to  regard  the  progress  and  result  of  the 
'  National  Shilling  Testimonial '  as  a  manifestation, 
by  classes  and  masses  alike,  of  their  abiding  prefer- 
ence for  wholesome  and  honest  amusements  in  con- 
tradistinction to  sickly  pleasures  and  puritanical 
gloom,  thus  conferring  upon  you,  sir,  the  happy 


254     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

distinction  of  a  substantial  personal  tribute,  which  is 
at  the  same  time  a  public  approval  of  your  salutary 
example  to  the  youth  and  manhood  of  your  time. 
I  have  only  to  add  that,  in  handing  you  this 
cheque,  I  pray  for  you  long  and  prosperous  years  to 
enjoy  and  maintain  such  well-deserved  popularity, 
and,  in  a  word,  I  wish  you  throughout  all  the  phases 
of  this  game  of  life,  a  '  good  innings.'  ' 

It  was  desirable  to  reproduce  a  letter  in  facsimile 
from  W.  G.  Grace  in  the  present  volume  and  none 
could  possibly  be  found  more  suitable  than  the  one 
in  which  he  acknowledged  receipt  of  this  great 
donation. 

The  Committee  of  M.C.C.  also  inaugurated  a  Grace 
Fund,  to  which  was  credited  the  sum  of  £249  35.  gd. 
collected  by  The  Sportsman.  The  total  amount 
collected  was  £2,377  2S-  6d.,  which  sum,  less 
£21  85.  10^.  expenses,  was  handed  to  the  famous 
cricketer.  W.  G.  addressing  the  President  of  M.C.C. 
wrote  : 

"  I  heartily  thank  you  and  the  M.C.C.  Committee 
for  the  part  you  took  in  raising  the  handsome  testi- 
monial which  has  been  given  to  me.  As  long  as  I 
live,  I  shall  remember,  with  feelings  of  pride  and 
gratitude,  the  kindness  of  my  many  friends  and 
others  who  do  not  even  know  me.  I  know  that  I 
have  not  at  all  adequately  expressed  my  indebted- 
ness to  all,  but  I  hope  that  I  have  made  it  plain  that 
I  am  not  unmindful  of  all  that  has  been  done  in  my 
honour." 

The  Gloucestershire  county  local  fund,  which 
reached  £1,436  35.  8^.,  was  paid  direct  to  Grace,  who 
thus  by  these  three  separate  collections  received 
£9^73  8s.  3<f. 

Innumerable  tributes  too  poured  in,  alike  from  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  from  personal  friends  and  from  other 
admirers  as  well  as  in  the  columns  of  the  Press.  He 
was  entertained  at  dinners  both  at  Bristol  and  at  the 


;_,    \'icii>r:a    Square,    Clifton, 


/ 


ic>^i. 


/ 


* 


<Vvw 


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i  U  h> 


f<x 


W.    U^j 


/ 


, 

/***!- v      » 


AV^^^V^.         >V      ^<. 


/ 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  255 

Sports  Club.  On  the  latter  occasion  he  protested 
he  had  been  brought  there  under  false  pretences  as 
he  was  told  there  would  be  no  "speechifying."  He 
was  a  bit  of  a  liar  himself,  but  never  mind  that.  On 
the  menu  was  this  verse  : 

Now  the  hundredth  hundred's  up, 

W.  G., 

You  have  filled  the  bowler's  cup, 

W.  G., 

You  have  filled  his  cup  of  sorrow, 

Solace  he  of  hope  can't  borrow, 

For  you'll  do  the  like  to-morrow, 

W.  G. 

Naturally  the  rest  of  Grace's  achievements  that 
summer  were  less  consistent  and  sensational,  but 
he  produced  several  other  delightful  innings.  Going 
from  Lord's  to  Brighton,  a  huge  Bank  Holiday  crowd 
had  the  delight  of  seeing  him  play  splendidly  for  91 
and  25  terminated  by  a  wonderful  right-handed 
catch  by  G.  L.  Wilson  at  third  man.  No  less  than 
nineteen  thousand  people  passed  the  turnstiles  at 
the  Oval  on  the  two  days  that  Gloucestershire  met 
Surrey,  and  Grace's  small  scores  (17  and  10)  caused 
great  disappointment.  However,  he  afforded  ample 
compensation  at  Lord's  for  M.C.C.  v.  Ground  v.  Kent, 
when,  on  a  crumbling  wicket,  he  compiled  his  fifth 
century  of  the  season,  going  in  first  and  being  ninth 
out  with  125  out  of  298  during  a  stay  of  three  and  a 
half  hours.  Considering  the  state  of  the  ground  no 
one  could  have  anticipated  any  one  making  such  a 
score  and  the  spectators  were  greatly  excited.  At 
Birmingham,  where  he  was  twice  caught  at  the 
wicket,  his  43  was  rattled  up  in  an  hour. 

The  Jubilee  of  I  Zingari  was  celebrated  by  a  match 
at  Lord's  between  that  club  and  the  Gentlemen  of 
England,  one  of  the  most  delightful  games  ever 
played.  The  Gentlemen  were  much  the  weaker,  but 
they  won  in  triumphant  fashion.  Set  172  to  win, 
Grace  and  A.  Sellars  actually  made  them  without 


256     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

being  parted  in  the  remarkably  quick  time  of  an 
hour  and  three-quarters  by  most  exhilarating  batting, 
the  bowling  consisting  of  F.  S.  Jackson,  H.  R.  Brom- 
ley-Davenport, A.  G.  Steel,  L.  C.  V.  Bathurst  and 
A.  E.  Stoddart.  It  seemed  as  if  Grace  could  not  get 
a  century  before  the  runs  were  hit  off,  but  he  settled 
all  doubt  by  hitting  a  four  and  then  a  huge  five,  thus 
making  101  not  out.  He  next  turned  his  attention 
to  the  two  Universities,  particularly  weak  in  bowling, 
and  treating  them  very  lightly  scored  47  and  72  off 
them  respectively. 

Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Lord's  was  fought  on  a 
confessedly  defective  pitch.  But  this  troubled  Grace 
little.  The  Players  having  made  231,  he  and  Stod- 
dart played  out  time  with  137  registered  for  no 
wicket.  Their  partnership  eventually  realized  151. 
"  Grace  stayed  in  till  the  total  reached  241  and  for 
the  first  time  since  1876  played  an  innings  of  over 
100  for  the  Gentlemen  at  Lord's.  Taking  into  con- 
sideration the  quality  of  the  bowling  and  the  state 
of  the  wicket,  we  are  inclined  to  think  this  was  the 
finest  innings  he  played  during  the  season.  He  was 
at  the  wicket  a  little  over  four  hours,"  and  never 
gave  a  vestige  of  a  chance  nor  an  apparent  mishit. 
The  bowlers  against  him  were  Richardson,  Mold, 
Peel,  Attewell,  Davidson  and  Tom  Hayward.  In 
that  first  innings  of  the  amateurs,  the  other  nine 
only  made  48  between  them. 

For  the  next  five  weeks,  Grace's  only  score  of 
importance  was  a  fine  70  in  the  return  between 
Gloucestershire  and  Warwickshire.  Then,  against  a 
sorely  depleted  Notts  side,  he  batted  admirably  for 
119  out  of  254  on  a  very  difficult  wicket.  Consider- 
ing nobody  else  made  forty,  his  achievement  was 
indeed  remarkable.  Finally  at  Hastings  for  South 
v.  North  he  ran  up  his  ninth  century  of  the  season, 
a  capital  104.  With  Stoddart  he  opened  the  innings 
in  great  style,  the  pair  scoring  150  in  less  than 
two  hours,  Mold,  Briggs,  Pougher  and  Davidson 


DR.  W.  G.  GRACE  257 

hardly  sending  down  any  maiden  overs  until 
they  were  separated.  Amid  all  the  bewildering 
plethora  of  runs  the  veteran  had  amassed,  his  own 
head  was  quite  unturned  by  all  the  praises  so 
deservedly  lavished  upon  him.  He  took  success  as 
imperturbably  as  failure,  but  he  enjoyed  it  fervently 
in  his  quiet  way. 

R.  W.  Rice,  often  associated  with  Grace  in  long 
partnerships,  sends  what  he  terms  "  one  or  two- 
random  recollections  "  as  follows  : 

"  Somewhere  about  1895,  when  MacLaren  was  at 
his  best,  batting  against  Gloucestershire  at  Old  Traf- 
ford,  he  trod  on  his  wicket  when  placing  a  ball  to  leg. 
Taking  no  notice,  he  started  to  run.  I  can  still  hear 
the  Old  Man's  plaintive  :  '  Aren't  you  going  out, 
Archie  ?  '  and  the  confident  reply  :  '  No,  no,  I  am 
not.'  Umpire's  decision  on  appeal  that  the  Old 
Harrovian  did  it  after  the  stroke  was  completed — 
not  out. 

W.  Me  G.  Hemingway  was  a  better  scholar  than 
most  of  us  and  was  often  to  be  found  in  the  dressing- 
room  with  his  back  to  the  window  reading  some 
Greek  play.  The  Old  Man  was  all  for  the  rigour  of 
the  game,  and  when  the  other  once  complained  of 
his  own  temporary  lack  of  success,  replied  very 
solemnly  :  '  How  can  you  make  runs,  Bill,  when  you 
are  always  reading  ?  I  am  never  caught  that  way.' 

Two  of  us  were  in  the  out-field  very  close  together, 
on  each  side  of  the  screen  at  Cheltenham  when  Kent 
were  playing.  A  skier  went  up,  which  one  of  us 
could  certainly  have  reached.  The  ustaal  thing :  both 
started,  then  stopped  and  the  ball  fell  uncaught. 
W.  G.  said  nothing  to  us,  but  we  heard  coming 
down  the  wind  a  growl :  '  Some  of  these  young 
fellows  are  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  ropes.'  W.  G. 
forgave  everything  but  slacking — or  what  he  took  as 
such. 

I  was  sitting  next  the  Old  Man  at  Old  TrafEord 


258     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

when  a  certain  colt  made  his  first  appearance  for  the 
county.  The  first  over  he  had  from  Mold  produced 
three  fourers.  W.  G.'s  slow  smile  of  satisfaction  was 
good  to  see  as  it  broadened  after  each  boundary,  and 
then  :  '  Well,  we've  found  something  this  time.' 
We  had  ;  the  novice  was  G.  L.  Jessop." 

H.  D.  G.  Leveson-Gower,  who  had  a  very  deep 
affection  for  W.  G.  Grace,  was  the  youngest  member 
of  M.C.C.  who  ever  sat  on  the  Committee  of  the  club, 
a  fact  of  interest  in  a  book  produced  under  their 
auspices  and  for  which  he  has  shown  characteristic 
enthusiasm.  He  writes  : 

"  I  think  it  would  be  presumptuous  of  me  to  allude 
to  dear  old  W.  G.  except  from  the  personal  aspect. 
Probably  others  will  have  written  that  an  outstand- 
ing feature  of  this  greatest  cricketer — or  so  it  appears 
to  me — was  his  encouragement  to  young  cricketers. 
Individually  I  can  say  that  he  almost  made  one 
think  one  was  a  cricketer  of  something  approaching 
his  own  calibre,  until  reflection  made  one  realize  the 
hiatus  between.  Moreover,  he  was  so  extraordin- 
arily kind  in  little  ways,  such  as  signing  his  auto- 
graph on  charity  bats  and  in  coming  to  play  in  mere 
village  matches.  I  recall  once  when  he  played  for 
me  on  a  bitterly  cold  day  on  a  wicket  which  he 
described  afterwards  as  '  an  undertaker's  pitch/ 
Those  episodes  leave  precious  memories  difficult  to 
convey  in  printers'  ink. 

When  I  first  had  the  honour  of  making  his  acquaint- 
ance— I  think  it  was  at  Hastings — I  was  introduced 
to  him  as '  Shrimp,'  a  nickname  that  has  stuck  to  me 
closer  than  my  baptismal  ones.  That  same  evening 
he  called  me'  Snipe.'  No  one  else  ever  has  on  any 
occasion. 

Coming  from  such  a  source,  his  advice  on  cap- 
taincy was  always  invaluable.  I  remember  his  tell- 
ing me,  just  before  I  left  for  South  Africa  in  charge  of 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  259 

the  England  team,  never  to  mind  criticism.  He 
added  :  '  No  captain  was  ever  worth  his  salt  unless 
he  was  criticized.  When  you  take  on  a  captaincy, 
you  take  on  the  criticism  it  entails  as  well/  No 
truer  remarks  were  ever  made,  not  only  about  cricket, 
but  about  other  responsibilities  in  life. 

Possibly  others  may  have  suggested  that  as  a 
captain  W.  G.  adhered  to  what  prevailed  in  his  young 
days.  I  recollect  that  he  altogether  disapproved  of 
the  modern  idea  of  giving  a  mere  change  bowler 
the  first  turn  with  the  new  ball.  '  No,  no,  start  your 
innings  with  your  best  bowler.  Give  him  the  best 
chance.  It's  the  best  way  to  bowl  out  the  best  bats 
on  the  other  side.' 

When  I  was  one  of  the  selection  committee  for 
choosing  the  England  side  in  test  matches  against 
Australia,  W.  G.  advised  me  that  two  left-handed 
batsmen  ought  to  be  selected.  '  There  are  so  many 
good  bowlers  who  cannot  bowl  well  to  left-handed 
batsmen.  And  as  any  one  batsman  may  fail,  why 
not  have  a  second  left-handed  one  to  bother  the  other 
side  ?  ' 

One  anecdote,  possibly  only  amusing  to  those 
who  personally  knew  the  two  individuals.  It  was 
Surrey  v.  Gloucestershire  at  the  Oval  and  the  visitors 
were  batting.  Some  favourite  of  W.  G.'s  was  given 
out  by  a  doubtful  decision.  Up  rose  the  champion 
in  the  front  seats  of  the  pavilion  :  '  Shan't  have  it ; 
can't  have  it,  and  I  won't  have  it,'  he  shouted. 
W.  W.  Read  was  fielding  out  in  the  deep  just  in  front 
of  the  pavilion  and  with  that  famous  smile  of  his 
replied  :  '  I  am  afraid,  W.  G.,  you've  got  to  have  it.' 

Well  do  I  remember  how  the  dear  Old  Man 
cordially  congratulated  me  on  my  captaincy  of  the 
Oxford  eleven  in  the  University  match  of  1896. 
It  was  the  more  generous  because  his  own  son  had 
played  for  Cambridge  and  had  failed  to  score  in 
either  innings.  But  that  made  no  difference  to  big- 
hearted,  big-bodied  W.  G.  He  could  criticize  pretty 


260     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

acutely  on  occasion,  so  praise  from  him  was  well 
worth  having.  And  he  was  not  backward  with  it, 
though  no  power  on  earth  would  make  him  flatter  or 
say  he  thought  something  good  which  he  really 
thought '  tosh.'  He  was  intrinsically  sincere,  inevit- 
ably individual,  a  delightfully  unique  personality." 

Strangely  enough,  the  succeeding  season,  1896, 
furnished  little  anti-climax  so  finely  did  Grace  con- 
sistently play,  not  even  omitting  some  phenomenal 
achievements.  It  was  a  busy  year  and  three  batsmen 
exceeded  the  two  thousand  aggregate,  K.  S.  Ranjit- 
sinhji  compiling  2,780,  Abel  2,218  and  W.  G.  Grace 
2,135.  The  latter  was  fifth  in  the  year's  averages, 
only  the  Jam  Sahib,  Captain  E.  G.  Wynyard,  W. 
Gunn  and  W.  N.  Roe  being  ahead  of  him. 

The  Australians  enjoyed  a  most  successful  and  by 
far  the  pleasantest  tour  yet  experienced.  W.  G. 
Grace,  as  before,  met  them  on  many  occasions.  As 
had  been  the  case  in  several  preceding  tours,  he 
played  the  first  ball  the  Colonials  delivered,  on  this 
occasion  scoring  a  capital  49  and  26  for  Lord  Shef- 
field's powerful  side,  besides  bowling  out  Iredale 
and  S.  Gregory.  Once  more  the  Gloucestershire 
attack  was  punished  unmercifully  by  the  visitors, 
and  though  the  county  also  cut  up  badly  with  the 
bat,  W.  G.  saved  his  men  from  absolute  discredit  by 
making  27  and  66.  He  batted  soundly,  if  without 
feature  calling  for  special  remark,  for  66  in  the  first 
test  match,  at  Lord's.  Lameness  kept  him  out  of 
some  engagements,  and  before  the  conquering  test 
encounter  at  the  Oval  an  official  statement,  arising 
from  the  observations  in  the  Press  as  to  the  allow- 
ance made  for  the  expenses  of  amateurs,  intimated 
that  "  during  many  years  on  the  occasions  of  Dr. 
W.  G.  Grace  playing  at  the  Oval,  at  the  request  of 
the  Surrey  County  Committee,  in  the  matches  Gentle- 
men v.  Players  and  England  v.  Australia,  Dr.  Grace 
has  received  the  sum  of  £10  a  match  to  cover  his 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  261 

expenses  in  coming  to  and  remaining  in  London 
during  the  three  days.0 

The  actual  game,  which  had  been  preceded  by 
other  and  more  sensational  differences,  showed  W.  G. 
Grace  to  advantage.  He  profited  by  the  state  of 
the  wicket  to  play  a  crisp  24,  worth  many  a  seventy, 
and  won  the  match  by  his  judgment.  The  Austra- 
lians went  in  to  make  in.  Richardson  began  with 
a  maiden,  but  seeing  the  wicket  did  not  suit  him, 
Grace  at  once  took  him  off,  substituting  Peel,  though 
the  latter  had  never  found  his  length  in  the  first  inn- 
ings. The  Yorkshireman  took  6  wickets  for  23  runs 
and  the  Colonials  were  out  for  44,  thus  giving  the 
Mother  Country  the  rubber.  Soon  afterwards,  Glou- 
cestershire made  the  smallest  score,  17,  ever  recorded 
in  England  against  the  Australians,  out  of  which 
W.  G.  was  responsible  for  9.  Finally,  at  Hastings, 
for  the  South,  he  contributed  by  far  the  highest 
individual  effort,  53,  hitting  M'Kibbin,  Trumble 
and  Giffen  with  great  severity. 

In  each  of  the  Gentlemen  v.  Players  he  exceeded  the 
half-century.  At  the  Oval  the  amateurs  won  by  a 
wicket,  largely  due  to  his  fine  judgment,  for  he  carried 
out  his  bat  for  53  which  the  quality  of  the  bowling  of 
the  professionals — Richardson,  J.  T.  Hearne  and  Loh- 
mann — forced  him  to  take  two  hours  and  a  half  to 
obtain.  At  Lord's  too  his  54  was  mainly  instru- 
mental in  the  victory  by  6  wickets.  He  was  badly 
missed  by  Storer  at  short-leg  off  the  first  ball,  but, 
on  a  wicket  by  no  means  perfect,  made  no  other 
mistake. 

His  chief  displays  of  the  year  were,  however,  for 
Gloucestershire.  Against  the  weak  bowling  of 
Sussex,  he  proved  more  aggressive  than  on  any  other 
occasion,  scoring  243  not  out  at  Brighton  and  301 
at  Bristol.  Obviously  he  was  in  his  very  best  form 
each  time,  contributing  much  more  than  half  the 
total.  The  remarkable  effort  on  the  home  ground 
was  not  only  the  highest  of  the  season,  but  the  third 


262     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

best  he  himself  had  ever  made  in  first-class  matches. 
"  On  the  first  day  he  scored  193  out  of  341  for  three 
wickets  and  he  was  ninth  out  with  the  total  at  548. 
He  was  at  the  wickets  for  eight  hours  and  a  half  and 
so  grandly  did  he  play  that  he  gave  no  actual  chance. 
His  great  score  was  made  up  by  twenty-nine  fours, 
sixteen  threes,  twenty-seven  twos  and  eighty-three 
singles." 

Against  Lancashire  at  Bristol,  Grace  batted  very 
finely  for  51  and  102  not  out.  When  the  last  man 
Fred  Roberts  came  in,  his  captain  needed  16  to  com- 
plete his  century,  but  somehow  the  professional 
managed  to  stay  for  half  an  hour  without  making  a 
run.  Grace  gave  a  masterly  display,  notable  alike 
for  restraint  and  range  of  scoring,  for  he  placed  his 
shots  all  round  the  wicket,  Briggs  for  once  being 
entirely  non-plussed.  Immediately  in  succession 
came  a  splendid  innings  of  186  against  Somersetshire. 
He  went  in  first  and  was  last  out,  giving  only  one 
chance,  playing  throughout  with  great  vigour,  his 
effort  including  no  less  than  twenty-five  fours.  By 
a  coincidence,  his  two  long  partnerships  with  C.  L. 
Townsend  and  Board  each  amounted  to  133.  In  the 
earlier  match  with  the  neighbouring  county,  he  had 
quite  baffled  opposing  batsmen  with  his  slows, 
claiming  10  wickets  for  82  runs,  much  to  his  own 
glee.  An  excellent  70  against  Yorkshire,  absolutely 
free  from  blemish,  and  a  capital  64  against  Kent  were 
also  innings  worthy  of  his  reputation. 

Playing  at  the  Oval  for  Gloucestershire  v.  Surrey, 
W.  G.  stopped  a  tremendously  hard  cut  which  made 
a  bad  wound  in  his  hand  and  he  took  no  further  part 
in  the  game  before  the  interval.  At  lunch  he  com- 
plained of  the  way  in  which  the  ball  was  made,  declar- 
ing it  could  not  be  properly  constructed  inside 
because  it  was  too  hard.  The  Surrey  captain — K.  J. 
Key — assured  him  that  at  the  Oval  all  match  balls 
were  kept  for  two  years  to  season  them  properly. 
The  argument  was  getting  animated  until  W.  G. 


DR.  W.  G.   GRACE  263 

asked  to  have  the  ball  cut  open.  This  was  agreed 
to  and  E.  S.  de  Winton,  who  was  playing,  was 
deputed  to  operate.  Upon  unwinding  the  interior, 
he  drew  out  a  piece  of  newspaper  upon  which  was  the 
date  of  a  month  in  that  very  year.  Great  was  the 
glee  of  W.  G.  That  night  from  the  bottom  of  the 
long  flight  of  stairs  at  Fenchurch  Street  Station,  he 
shouted  to  a  friend  at  the  top  how  he  had  scored  off 
"  the  Surreyites,"  and  he  went  on  talking  of  this  for 
many  a  day  afterwards. 

Except  when  his  appeals  against  batsmen  for 
obstruction  were  given  against  him,  most  people  will 
concur  that  W.  G.  Grace  was  only  once  conspicuously 
ruffled  in  the  field.  That  was  at  Lord's  in  the  test 
match  in  this  year,  when  the  Colonial  tearaway  bowler 
E.  Jones  bowled  the  first  express  ball  of  the  game 
deliberately  short  and  it  shot  through  W.  G.'s  beard 
hard  to  the  screen  for  four  byes.  The  veteran 
looked  volumes,  was  so  seriously  discomfited  that 
he  took  some  time  to  recover  his  composure  and  then 
only  after  having  made  some  observations  to  the 
wicket-keeper,  while  the  twelve  thousand  spectators 
positively  hummed,  so  general  were  their  audible 
comments.  Ever  afterwards  Grace  was  wont  to 
speak  of  Jones  as  "  the  fellow  who  bowled  through 
my  beard,"  but  the  only  immediate  effect  was  to 
induce  him  to  lay  on  extra  hard  to  the  subsequent 
deliveries.  He  scored  66  and  Jones  that  innings 
only  could  claim  J.  T.  Brown's  wicket  at  a  cost  of 
64  runs. 

Lord  Harris,  commenting  on  the  foregoing, 
observes : 


"  I  saw  the  incident.  W.  G.  was  not  quite  quick 
enough.  The  ball  grazed  his  beard,  touched  the  top 
of  the  handle  of  his  bat,  ricocheted  far  over  the 
wicket-keeper's  head  and  went  to  the  screen  for  four. 
I  did  not  notice  his  being  at  all  upset,  and  I  was  told 


264     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

that  the  remark  he  made  to  Jones  as  he  ran  up  the 
wicket  was  :    '  Whatever  are  ye  at  ?  ' 

In  dealing  with  W.  G.  Grace's  cricket  in  1897 
nothing  can  so  admirably  analyze  it  as  the  excellent 
criticism  in  Wisden  which  must  be  quoted  in  full. 
"  The  appreciable  drop  in  Mr.  Grace's  figures  is  not 
in  any  way  attributable  to  any  falling  off  in  skill. 
It  was  brought  about  by  a  strange  lack  of  judgment 
during  the  early  part  of  the  season.  For  several 
weeks  the  great  batsman  laboured  under  the  impres- 
sion that  it  was  imperative  upon  him  to  make  runs  at 
a  quick  pace.  The  result  was,  that  though  playing 
several  bright  innings  he  frequently  lost  his  wicket 
at  a  time  when  he  might  have  been  considered  well 
set,  and  so  long  did  he  continue  to  play  in  a  manner 
quite  foreign  to  his  normal  methods  as  to  create  a 
feeling  of  dismay.  However,  a  finely  played  66  for 
the  Gentlemen  against  the  Players  at  Lord's  appar- 
ently convinced  him  of  the  error  of  his  ways,  as  from 
that  point  he  recovered  his  patience  and  returned 
to  his  proper  game.  No  sooner  had  he  done  so  than 
he  at  once  resumed  his  old  place  among  batsmen, 
again  becoming  one  of  the  most  dependable  run- 
getters  in  the  country.  He  thus  gave  proof  that 
when  content  to  take  his  time  over  his  runs  and 
thoroughly  play  himself  in,  he  was  still  a  great  bats- 
man, and  it  was  unfortunate  that  he  should,  through 
some  misapprehension  as  to  his  powers,  have  allowed 
May  and  June — two  months  of  hard  wickets — to  slip 
without  making  one  really  big  score.  Still,  on  the 
whole,  he  had  a  thoroughly  successful  season,  obtain- 
ing 1,532  runs  with  an  average  of  39.  This  record, 
of  which  the  best  of  batsmen  might  well  be  proud, 
becomes  remarkable  indeed  when  one  reflects  that  the 
great  cricketer  is  now  in  his  fiftieth  year."  Actually 
he  was  thirteenth  in  the  batting  averages  and  in  aggre- 
gate seventh,  the  only  amateur  surpassing  him  in 
both  tables  being  K.  S.  Ranjitsinhji. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  265 

With  regard  to  the  foregoing  stricture,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  quote  the  opinion  he  gave  to  a  representa- 
tive of  the  Birmingham  Post  in  June,  1895  :  "  I  think 
young  batsmen  as  a  rule  play  too  slow  a  game.  They 
should  hit  more  and  not  play  so  steady.  Of  course 
some  batsmen  are  not  made  for  hitting  and  it  would 
be  fatal  for  them  to  try  it ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
good  free  cricket  should  certainly  be  encouraged." 
True  words  applicable  to  the  game  at  every  epoch. 

H.  B.  Daft,  in  1897,  elicited  from  W.  G.  Grace  the 
remarkable  opinion  that  fast  bowling  was  not  so  good 
then  as  it  used  to  be.  Yet  the  fast  bowlers  then  in- 
cluded such  masters  of  the  ball  as  S.  M.  J.  Woods, 
C.  J.  Kortright,  F.  S.  Jackson,  Richardson,  W.  Lock- 
wood,  Hirst,  Mold  and  Woodcock — a  phalanx  most 
people  who  saw  them  bowl  might  think  had  never 
been  surpassed. 

Grace's  highest  score  until  July  was  79  for  M.C.C. 
and  Ground  v.  Oxford  University  at  Lord's,  he  and 
G.  J.  Mordaunt  putting  up  140  runs  in  an  hour  and 
twenty  minutes  for  the  first  wicket.  One  of  the 
players  in  the  match  is  the  authority  for  the  follow- 
ing anecdote.  The  ground  bowlers  were  proving  too 
much  for  the  University,  so  that  wickets  were  falling 
fast.  Either  owing  to  his  well-known  kindly  desire 
to  encourage  youthful  players  or  to  his  equally 
known  pleasure  in  doing  a  bit  of  trundling,  he  made 
an  excuse  to  put  himself  on  to  bowl,  with  the  result 
that  things  looked  much  better  for  Oxford.  Now  the 
amateur  who  tells  the  tale  had  a  fiver  on  that  M.C.C. 
would  beat  Oxford,  and  as  runs  began  to  come  he 
viewed  the  change  of  bowling  in  a  very  different 
light  to  W.  G.,  who  was  amused  and  pleased  at  the 
game  becoming  alive  again.  After  deliberation  and 
as  the  crisis  was  approaching,  he  went  up  to  W.  G., 
told  him  of  his  wager  and  asked  if  he  would  not  like 
to  share  it  with  him.  W.  G.  caught  on  at  once  and 
turning  to  the  most  effective  professional,  he  said  : 
"  I  think  you've  had  long  enough  rest ;  better  have 


266     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

another  turn,"   and   M.C.C.   came   out   victorious. 

Seldom  have  so  many  as  thirty  thousand  spectators 
paid  to  witness  Gentlemen  v  Players  at  Lord's,  and  the 
game  proved  worthy  of  the  attention  it  attracted. 
Grace  gave  a  superb  demonstration  of  his  batting 
powers  by  playing  a  magnificent  innings  of  66  against 
Richardson  when  such  cricketers  as  A.  E.  Stoddart, 
J.  R.  Mason,  J.  A.  Dixon,  K.  S.  Ranjitsinhji,  and  F.  S. 
Jackson  were  completely  baffled  by  his  deliveries. 
Further  he  proved  of  service  by  getting  out  Chat- 
terton  and  Storer  at  a  critical  period,  but  it  was 
generally  considered  that  the  Players  were  consider- 
ably assisted  towards  their  victory  by  his  putting  on 
F.  G.  Bull  at  the  pavilion  wicket.  At  the  Oval  for  a 
poor  side  he  scored  41  and  took  the  wickets  of  Abel, 
W.  G.  Quaife,  Baker  and  Storer  for  108  runs.  In  the 
mid-September  encounter  at  Hastings,  his  stand 
with  F.  Mitchell  was  the  only  one  of  importance  in 
either  innings  of  the  amateurs. 

For  Gloucestershire,  which  enjoyed  a  much  more 
successful  season,  Grace's  most  remarkable  efforts 
were  a  century  in  each  match  with  Notts.  He 
played  a  wonderfully  good  126  at  Trent  Bridge,  but 
his  131  at  Cheltenham  was  even  better,  for  "  he  was  at 
the  wicket  for  four  hours  without  giving  a  chance  and 
scarcely  made  a  bad  hit."  He  followed  up  his  bat- 
ting triumph  with  a  remarkably  successful  spell  with 
the  ball,  capturing  6  wickets  for  36  runs,  five  being 
caught  and  one  stumped.  Against  Sussex  his  116 
was  without  a  mistake,  but  it  was  a  slow  innings.  It 
was  curious  that  the  other  "  centurion "  in  this 
match  should  have  been  the  other  veteran  W.  L. 
Murdoch.  Grace  had  one  of  his  escapes  from  bag- 
ging a  brace  against  Surrey.  Richardson  had 
bowled  him  for  o.  On  the  second  evening  most  of  the 
cricketers,  professionals  as  well  as  amateurs,  were 
the  guests  of  a  Gloucestershire  host.  At  the  close  of 
the  festivities,  the  last-named  patted  Richardson 
on  the  back,  saying,  "  Do  your  best  to-morrow,  Tom, 


DR.  W.   G.  GRACE  267 

but  the  Old  Man  must  not  get  a  pair."  The  Surrey 
fast  bowler  was  the  most  good-natured  of  men  and 
W.  G.  speedily  relieved  the  anxiety  of  his  friends, 
but  Richardson  claimed  12  wickets  for  54  runs  in 
that  match.  According  to  his  custom,  Grace  distin- 
guished himself  against  a  touring  side.  The  Phila- 
delphians  not  only  saw  him  score  113,  but  7  of  their 
side  were  his  victims  at  a  cost  of  91  runs.  For  the 
benefit  of  Fred  Roberts,  he  made  the  largest  contri- 
bution, 51,  against  Middlesex,  and  once  more  his 
bowling  proved  baffling  to  Somersetshire.  A  month 
earlier  at  Liverpool  he  had  punished  Lancashire  with 
two  singularly  bright  contributions  of  47  and  37, 
whilst  for  South  v.  North  at  Hastings  he  headed  the 
list  each  time  with  36  and  30. 

As  an  instance  of  Grace's  originality  in  criticism, 
it  is  of  interest  to  quote  the  reply  he  made  that 
winter  to  C.  J.  Robinson,  who  asked  him  his  opinion 
of  Rhodes  as  a  bowler,  the  Yorkshireman  having 
done  wonders  with  the  ball  in  the  previous  season. 
W.  G.  said  :  "  Well,  I  didn't  think  much  of  him  the 
first  time  I  saw  him,  but  when  I  came  to  have  a 
good  look  at  him,  I  found  he  kept  the  ball  out  of 
sight  such  a  time  and  didn't  seem  to  let  you  have  a 
look  at  it  until  it  was  almost  upon  you.  I  never 
knew  a  bowler  hide  it  longer." 

P.  F.  Warner,  keenest  jf  observers  as  well  as 
keenest  of  cricketers,  writes  : 

'  To  me  W.  G.  was  a  colossus.  He  was  practically 
cricket  and  a  great  era  of  the  game  ended  with  his 
retirement.  There  never  was  such  an  outstanding 
figure,  either  metaphorically  or  literally,  associated 
with  the  game.  If  one  was  going  past  the  Oval  on  the 
outside  of  an  omnibus,  well  as  we  know  the  Surrey 
men  it  might  not  be  possible  to  identify  them  in  the 
field,  but  W.  G.  would  have  been  unmistakable  at 
any  distance  within  range  of  sight. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  when  I  was  a  little  boy,  I 


268     THE   MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

saw  him  bat  fully  half  a  dozen  times  at  Lord's  before 
I  watched  him  make  twenty.  The  mere  fact  of 
recollecting  such  a  circumstance  and  thinking  it 
worth  recording  is  in  itself  an  amazing  tribute  to  his 
skill.  The  earliest  great  innings  I  saw  him  play  was 
in  that  splendid  partnership  with  A.  Sellars  against 
I  Zingari,  and  if  I  had  never  seen  him  get  another 
run  I  should  still  have  realized  that  he  had  no  rival. 
For  my  own  sake  I  am  thankful  to  add  that  I  wit- 
nessed many  a  long  score  obtained  in  his  great 
fashion,  more  by  force  than  by  style,  but  with  incom- 
parable skill. 

Once  at  Rugby  at  the  nets  I  was  bowled  by  that 
wily  coach  old  Tom  Emmett  with  a  ball  that  seemed 
dead  on  the  leg  stump  but  broke  and  took  the  off 
bail.  '  Never  mind,  sir/  said  Tom,  '  that  was  a 
sostenuter.'  '  A  what  ?  '  I  inquired  flabbergasted. 
'  A  sostenuter,  sir.  Why,  what  else  could  you  call 
it  ?  I  remember  bowling  W.  G.  first  ball  with  just 
such  a  one  in  Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  the  Oval,  but/ 
laying  his  finger  against  his  nose  in  that  inimitable 
characteristic  fashion  of  his,  'he  made  90  in  the 
second  innings/ 

The  first  time  I  played  against  W.  G.  was  my 
second  match  for  Middlesex  in  1894.  It  was  at 
Bristol,  and  I  remember  him  coming  on  to  the  ground 
in  his  white  flannel  trousers  with  a  cut-a-way  coat 
and  the  curious  half  topper  black  hat  he  was  addicted 
to.  Directly  he  was  within  hail  of  us,  he  sang  out : 
'  Eight  o'clock,  Webbie :  don't  forget  it's  down  the 
well/  referring  to  the  fact  that  we  were  all  dining 
with  him  that  night — eight  Middlesex  amateurs — 
and  that  he  was  icing  the  liquid  refreshment.  In 
that  match  I  was  missed  at  point  by  E.  M.  off  C.  L. 
Townsend.  '  You  ought  to  have  caught  it/  shouted 
W.  G.  instantly,  and  there  was  a  furious  brotherly 
silence. 

That  reminds  me  that  when  W.  G.  was  last  in 
Australia  and  Alec  Bannerman  won  a  test  match  by 


DR.  W.   G.  GRACE  269 

occupying  seven  hours  in  scoring  91,  the  Englishmen 
came  thronging  so  close  round  the  wicket  that  a 
fellow  in  the  crowd  shouted,  '  Look  out,  Alec,  W.  G, 
will  have  his  hand  in  your  pocket  in  a  minute/ 

W.  G.  was  always  awfully  nice  ;  his  manner  had 
a  particularly  affectionate  way  about  it  which  was 
very  charming.  At  lunch  at  a  county  match  in 
Gloucestershire,  if  a  youngster  was  playing  in  the 
visiting  side,  he  would  invariably  call  to  him  by 
name :  '  How  are  you  getting  on  ?  Are  they  looking 
after  you  properly  ?  '  Just  one  of  those  kindly 
attentions  which  set  a  shy  colt  at  his  ease.  What  a 
jolly  good  judge  of  a  young  player  he  was  !  And  he 
had  a  good  word  for  a  tryer  on  the  opposing  side. 
Once  at  Lord's,  he  was  cleverly  annexed  by  an 
unknown  running  wide  from  cover-point,  who  after- 
wards became  an  England  cricketer.  As  he  trudged 
away  to  the  pavilion,  W.  G.  said :  '  You  caught  it  well, 
you  caught  it  well.' 

He  could  be  a  trifle  inconsiderate  as  captain  some- 
times. Once  for  M.C.C.  v.  Australia,  Wrathall  was 
fielding  long-on  to  J.  T.  Hearne  and  long-off  to  C.  L, 
Townsend  bowling  at  the  other  end,  which  meant  he 
had  to  sprint  practically  the  length  of  Lord's  bet  ween 
each  over.  So  I  suggested  to  W.  G.  that  I  should  go 
into  the  country  at  one  end  to  save  him.  '  Not  a  bit. 
Do  him  good.  Harry  is  lazy,'  said  the  Old  Man. 
Now  if  ever  there  was  a  hard-working  energetic  pro- 
fessional it  was  Harry  Wrathall.  But  that  day  the 
champion  was  hard  on  him  :  an  exception  to  his 
customary  thought  fulness  for  others. 

Batting  with  him  for  the  Gentlemen  or  for  M.C.C. 
in  his  veteran  days,  one  had  to  put  a  curb  on  one's 
natural  propensity  to  cover  ground  quickly  between 
the  wickets,  for  his  knee  was  often  bad  and  what 
would  have  been  a  reasonable  three  he  walked  for  a 
single.  He  could  pound  down  the  pitch  at  a  fairly 
good  pace  for  a  long  run,  but  it  was  turning  and 
starting  again  which  bothered  him. 


270     BIOGRAPHY   OF  DR.  W.   G.   GRACE 

When  I  toured  in  Australia,  it  was  after  his  day 
at  the  Antipodes,  but  everywhere  when  people  talked 
cricket,  W.  G.'s  name  always  came  up.  I  remember 
at  a  dinner  in  South  Australia,  in  a  speech,  some  one 
spoke  of  George  Giffen  as  the  greatest  cricketer  that 
had  ever  been  seen.  In  my  reply  I  said  that  we  at 
home  regarded  W.  G.  as  by  far  the  greatest  cricketer 
the  world  had  ever  known,  but  thought  George 
Giffen  the  W.  G.  of  Australia.  This  was  heartily 
applauded — and  of  course  it  was  true,  for,  splendid 
cricketer  as  Giffen  was  on  Australian  wickets,  he  was 
never  a  very  good  player  on  a  wet  English  pitch.  I 
think  the  Old  Man  cared  less  about  the  state  of  the 
ground  when  he  was  going  to  bat  than  any  prominent 
batsman  I  ever  met,  with  the  possible  exceptions  of 
Victor  Trumper  and  Hobbs. 

Of  all  the  feats  I  witnessed  by  W.  G.  the  one  that 
most  surprised  me  was  a  bowling  one.  It  was  in 
1902 — he  was  then  nearly  fifty-four — against  the 
Australians  when  Trumper  was  at  his  very  best. 
The  Old  Man  took  the  ball  and  I  thought  we  were 
in  for  it.  Instead  the  Australians  were — 5  for  29  ; 
marvellously  baffling  too,  not  a  pinch  of  luck  to  help 
an  analysis  of  which  Tom  Richardson  would  have 
been  proud." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Grace's  Jubilee  and  the  End  of  his  County 

WITH  REMINISCENCES    BY  F.  S.  ASHLEY-COOPER, 
HIRST  AND  LILLEY 

THE  Committee  of  M.C.C.,  with  their  usual  fore- 
thought, selected  the  date  of  Grace's  jubilee 
for  the  decision  of  the  annual  match  between  Gentle- 
men and  Players  at  Lord's.  The  fact  of  the  cham- 
pion on  his  fiftieth  birthday  being  able  to  play  with 
and  in  skill  to  equal  cricketers  some  of  whom  were 
not  born  when  he  first  appeared  in  the  greatest 
match  of  the  year,  thirty-three  summers  before, 
caught  the  public  imagination  to  a  remarkable  degree. 
Eulogies  were  as  general  as  when  he  had  scored  his 
thousand  runs  in  May  three  seasons  previously.  A 
crowd  exceeding  twenty  thousand  gathered  at  St. 
John's  Wood  and  many  more  had  to  be  excluded 
from  lack  of  space.  "On  all  sides  the  Doctor  was 
congratulated  and  wherever  he  went  people  were 
pressing  round  to  wish  him  very  many  happy  returns 
of  the  day." 

The  game  itself  proved  worthy  of  the  occasion  and 
every  man  who  took  part  in  it  was  presented  by  the 
M.C.C.  with  a  medal  struck  in  honour  of  the  event. 
"  Feeling  no  doubt  the  honour  of  having  been 
chosen  on  such  an  occasion,  the  cricketers  of  both 
sides  played  quite  as  keenly  as  though  the  match  had 
been  England  and  Australia,  and  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence a  superb  display  was  given."  The  Gentle- 

271 


272     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

men  were  represented  by  W.  G.  Grace,  A.  E.  Stod- 
dart,  F.  S.  Jackson,  C.  L.  Townsend,  A.  C.  MacLaren, 
J.  R.  Mason,  J.  A.  Dixon,  S.  M.  J.  Woods,  E.  G. 
Wynyard,  G.  MacGregor  and  C.  J.  Kortright. 
The  Players  selected  were  Shrewsbury,  Abel,  W. 
Gunn,  Storer,  Tunnicliffe,  Brockwell,  A.  Hearne, 
Lilley,  W.  Lockwood,  Haigh  and  J.  T.  Hearne, 
Wilfred  Rhodes  being  twelfth  man.  Ultimately 
the  latter  were  the  victors  by  137  runs. 

Grace  himself  was  handicapped  both  by  lameness 
and  a  severe  blow  on  the  hand,  but  he  took  a  memor- 
able share  in  the  match,  though  he  did  not  field 
throughout.  On  the  first  day  he  effected  a  very 
much-needed  separation  of  Tunnicliffe  and  Storer. 
Next  morning  at  noon  he  went  in  first  with  A.  E. 
Stoddart.  Though  he  limped  painfully,  yet  his 
defence  "  was  of  the  most  stubborn  and  determined 
character,  and  though  some  thought  he  might  have 
been  caught  at  the  wicket  when  he  had  made  a  single, 
he  gave  his  admirers  a  batting  display  which  lasted 
an  hour  and  a  half,"  his  score  of  43  being  terminated 
by  a  catch  by  Lilley  off  Lockwood.  On  the  last 
day  when  the  amateurs  had  to  obtain  296  in  less  than 
three  hours,  he  did  not  intend  to  bat,  owing  to  his 
bruised  hand.  When  with  J.  T.  Hearne  irresistible, 
• — he  was  breaking  the  ball  back  six  or  seven  inches — 
7  wickets  had  fallen  for  77,  Grace  himself  went  inr 
his  appearance  being  greeted  with  tremendous  cheer- 
ing. Two  more  wickets  fell  at  80  and  with  an  hour 
and  a  quarter  to  play  Kortright  came  last.  A  thrill- 
ing partnership  followed  which  created  unbounded 
excitement.  Despite  constant  changes,  both  batted 
steadily,  making  runs  where  they  could,  but  intent 
on  saving  the  game  if  possible.  Grace  was  playing 
with  extreme  confidence  and  Kortright  showed  judi- 
cious restraint.  The  minutes  passed  away  and  hopes 
of  a  draw  began  to  grow.  At  four  minutes  to  seven 
the  batsmen  were  still  together,  when  Lockwood 
went  on  for  a  final  effort  from  the  pavilion  end. 


W.    G.    GRACE    ON     HIS     FIFTIETH     BIRTHDAY. 

From  a  photograph  taken  at  Lords,  July   18th.   1898. 


DR.  W.  G.  GRACE  273 

Kortright  faced  him  and  cut  the  third  ball  high  over 
Haigh's  head  at  cover-point,  but  the  Yorkshireman 
ran  back  and  brought  off  a  good  catch,  thus  winning 
the  game  about  two  minutes  from  time.  The  spec- 
tators rushed  across  the  grass  and  cheered  the  two 
batsmen  to  the  echo,  especially  their  hero  Grace, 
who  was  undefeated  though  so  physically  handi- 
capped. 

He  was  entertained  at  a  large  dinner  at  the  Sports 
Club,  with  Lord  Alverstone — then  Sir  Richard 
Webster,  Q.C.,  M.P. — in  the  chair.  In  proposing  his 
health,  the  future  Lord  Chief  Justice  ended  with  : 
"  In  days  to  come  he  trusted  that  W.  G.  from  his 
fireside  would  be  able  to  contemplate  with  satisfac- 
tion his  cricket  days,  in  which  he  had  not  thought  of 
himself,  but  set  an  example,  and  would  die  as  he  had 
lived,  admired  of  the  British  nation  as  a  straight- 
forward type  of  an  Englishman." 

W.  G.'s  reply  was  not  lengthy,  but  to  the  point. 
He  said  he  had  not  deserved  half  the  kind  things  Sir 
Richard  had  said  of  him  and  regarded  it  as  the 
greatest  honour  of  his  life,  though  he  wished  he  could 
have  called  upon  "  Stoddie  "  to  make  his  reply.  He 
had  written  out  nothing  of  a  speech  and  therefore 
would  not  detain  them  three  or  four  hours.  His 
remarks  would  be  few  and  short.  When  he  was 
pleased  his  remarks  were  always  all  right  and  when 
he  was  not — well,  they  were  all  wrong.  That  night, 
however,  they  were  all  right,  though  he  could  not 
claim  that  he  was  quite  so  kind  to  colts  as  their 
chairman  had  tried  to  make  out.  He  remembered 
when,  in  a  match  at  Lord's,  they  brought  up  an  unfor- 
tunate colt,  who  had  taken  a  few  wickets  in  a  match 
the  week  before.  His  first  ball  went  over  the  garden 
by  the  old  armoury,  the  second  followed  suit,  the 
third  and  fourth  went  into  the  pavilion  and  they  never 
bowled  that  poor  fellow  again.  He  was  only  too 
pleased  to  captain  such  a  side  as  he  had  had  under  his 
command  at  Lord's  that  day,  and  their  score  had, 

T 


274     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

moreover,  been  secured  by  hard  work  all  round. 
Had  the  Players  not  won  the  toss  he  would  venture 
to  say  they  would  have  been  a  beaten  side  that  night. 
Of  course  Grace's  jubilee  proved  a  theme  for  dozens 
of  minor  poets,  and  to  make  a  selection  of  their  out- 
pourings might  seem  invidious.  However,  as  J.  P. 
Kingston  was  so  actively  associated  with  county 
cricket  in  Northamptonshire,  the  fact  of  his  being  an 
excellent  bat  may  be  regarded  as  an  additional 
reason  for  quoting  his  ode. 

To  W.  G.  GRACE 

Well  done,  Leviathan  !    We  send  thee  here 

A  birthday  greeting  for  thy  jubilee ; 
Unparalleled  in  scoring,  now  this  year 

Another  half  hundred  brings  to  thee. 
Straight  as  thy  bat  has  been  thy  course  in  life 

And  still  thy  force  unwasted  forward  plays ; 
Thy  splendid  vigour  with  decay  holds  strife, 

And  Time,  that  runs  out  all,  with  thee  delays ; 
Thy  fame  has  spread  wherever  bat  and  ball 

Ring  with  their  joyous  clatter  o'er  the  field. 
On  this  thy  birthday  may  no  shadow  fall 

And  may  it  still  a  further  hundred  yield ; 
Thou  art  the  centre  of  a  million  eyes 

Who  love  one  summer  game  and  sunny  skies. 

L.  S.  Wells,  who  often  played  with  the  champion,  has 
sent  a  stirring  jubilee  song,  which  originally  appeared 
in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

Ah,  he  has  seen  where  the  grass  is  green, 

A  host  of  warriors  strive 
Since  the  days  of  old  when  a  stripling  bold, 

He  first  stepped  out  to  drive ; 
When  of  those  who  play  with  him  here  to-day 

But  a  few  had  learnt  to  creep, 
Though  some,  may  be,  on  their  nurse's  knee 

Were  lulled  with  a  song  to  sleep. 

His  comrades  then  are  grey-haired  men, 

Whose  fading  eyes  grow  dim, 
As  they  call  to  mind  what  is  left  behind 

When  they  are  watching  him. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  275 

Yet  his  arm,  they  vow,  is  as  lusty  now, 

His  eye  is  just  as  keen, 
His  reach  as  long,  and  his  nerve  as  strong, 

As  when  he  was  but  nineteen. 

Since  he  treats  each  ball  as  he  treated  all 

In  the  days  that  are  no  more ; 
For  he  cracks  the  slow  of  any  "  pro  " 

To  the  boundary  rails  for  four  ; 
Shooters  he  stops,  cuts  wide  long-hops, 

They  come  to  him  all  the  same, 
While  he  lets  very  few  of  the  fast  ones  thro' 

When  he  plays  his  forcing  game. 

So  every  friend  at  his  innings'  end — 

May  it  be  a  distant  day — 
Will  remember  still  the  champion's  skill, 

How  he  got  that  yorker  away ! 
Nor  shall  we  forget,  with  a  keen  regret, 

When  his  glorious  course  is  run, 
To  be  proud  that  he  was  born  to  be 

Athletic  England's  son. 

In  that  jubilee  year  of  his,  Grace  scored  1,513 
runs  with  an  average  of  42,  standing  ninth  in  a 
summer  of  prolific  scoring  and  eleventh  in  aggregate, 
with  three  centuries  to  his  credit  and,  on  occasions, 
a  remarkable  revival  of  success  with  the  ball  to  boot. 

He  had  indulged  in  some  effective  practice  against 
XXII  County  Colts,  scoring  146  not  out  in  five  hours 
and  twenty  minutes,  whilst  in  the  first  match  of  the 
season  at  Lord's,  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v.  Sussex,  his  65 
was  a  long  way  the  largest  and  best  effort  in  the 
match.  For  the  Gentlemen  at  the  Oval  he  contri- 
buted 50,  patiently  defending  for  over  two  hours, 
whilst  at  Hastings  he  headed  the  score  sheet  with  58 
for  the  Rest  of  England  v.  Stoddart's  Australian  XI 
and  with  40  was  second  highest  for  Rest  of  England 
v.  Surrey  and  Sussex. 

A  prominent  personage  exercising  much  authority 
at  the  Oval  writes  that  W.  G.  was  always  very 
anxious  that  the  Gentlemen  should  put  up  a  good 


276     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

fight  against  the  Players,  which,  having  regard  to  the 
calibre  and  experience  of  the  latter,  became  in  his 
later  years  a  matter  of  real  difficulty,  especially  as  it 
was  the  custom  to  give  a  chance  to  some  young 
amateur  who  had  shown  ability  and  promise  under 
less  trying  ordeals.  One  day  it  was  communicated 
to  the  selection  committee  that  W.  G.,  who  was  going 
to  captain  the  side,  had  sent  up  a  polite  and  friendly 
intimation  that  he  hoped  amateurs  would  not  be 
chosen  who  were  out  before  they  went  in — a  remark 
of  course  directed  against  "  nervy  "  cricketers,  of 
which  there  were  a  good  many. 

Gloucestershire  enjoyed  a  remarkable  advance, 
taking  third  place  in  the  championship  table  with 
a  percentage  of  fifty,  being  only  below  Yorkshire  and 
Middlesex.  Grace  with  an  average  of  47  and  an 
aggregate  of  1,141  was  far  ahead  of  the  rest  of  the  side 
in  batting.  His  greatest  achievement  was  in  the 
one-wicket  success  over  Essex  at  Leyton.  He  began 
with  an  astonishing  piece  of  bowling  on  the  easiest 
batting  wicket  in  the  country,  for  he  captured  7 
wickets  for  only  44  runs,  clean  bowling  H.  G.  Owen 
and  Charles  MacGahey,  catching  P.  Perrin  off  one 
of  his  own  deliveries,  inducing  C.  J.  Kortright  to 
obstruct,  A.  J.  Turner  and  F.  G.  Bull  being 
secured  by  the  wicket-keeper  Board,  and  Walter  Mead 
being  caught  in  his  favourite  trap.  He  followed  this 
up  with  a  marvellous  126  out  of  203  whilst  he  was  in. 
Not  only  was  there  no  chance  in  this  display,  but  the 
attack  of  C.  J.  Kortright  was  absolutely  terrific.  He 
was  banging  ball  after  ball  down  with  almost  reckless 
virulence,  but  Grace  never  seemed  perturbed  even 
though  severely  knocked  on  the  hand  several  times. 
He  shaped  at  the  really  dangerous  bowling  with 
perfect  coolness,  and  in  the  second  innings  his  49 
was  again  by  far  the  best  and  largest  contribution. 
A  good  deal  of  feeling  ran  high  between  the  great 
batsman  and  the  fast  bowler  in  this  game,  but 
thanks  to  the  friendly  offices  of  C.  E.  Green  all  ended 


DR.  W.  G.  GRACE  277 

happily,  and  ten  days  later  the  Essex  amateur  pro- 
vided the  remarkable  stand  with  the  champion  at 
Lord's,  which  has  already  been  described. 

Though  very  lame  Grace  was  batting  for  six  and  a 
half  hours  at  Trent  Bridge  for  168  against  Notts, 
during  the  whole  of  which  he  did  not  make  the  vestige 
of  an  error,  whilst  at  the  conclusion  he  played  out 
time  with  38  out  of  56.  In  each  match  with  Somer- 
setshire he  was  in  vein.  Once  more  his  neighbours, 
who  traditionally  indulged  in  aggressively  lively 
batting  tactics,  were  troubled  by  his  bowling — 7  for 
85  and  5  for  53 — and  at  Taunton,  if  favoured  by 
luck,  his  109  was  remarkably  brilliant.  Opening  the 
defence  with  W.  Troup,  he  was  first  out  at  169,  having 
hit  fifteen  fours.  "  Did  you  say  I  made  that  score 
on  a  small  ground  ?  "  he  once  asked  a  friend;  "  let 
me  tell  you  it  takes  as  much  trouble  to  hit  to  the 
ropes  at  Taunton  as  at  the  Oval." 

"His  highest  score  in  a  home  match  was  93  not  out 
v.  Sussex  at  Bristol,  and  on  that  occasion  he  declared 
the  innings  of  his  side  closed.  The  explanation  of 
this  seemingly  curious  proceeding  was  to  be  found  in 
the  fact  that  with  the  exception  of  93  he  had  pre- 
viously made  in  first-class  cricket  every  score  from 
o  to  100  and  he  was  desirous  of  obtaining  this  parti- 
cular number."  It  may  be  added  that  he  took  no 
particular  risk  in  adopting  this  policy  as  nine  wickets 
had  already  fallen.  Other  excellent  efforts  were  63 
against  Notts,  with  R.  W.  Rice  putting  up  106 
for  the  first  wicket,  55  v.  Middlesex  terminated  by  a 
wonderful  catch  by  A.  E.  Stoddart  at  short-slip 
which  Grace  himself  acknowledged  by  grasping  his 
hand  in  cordial  compliment  before  he  returned  to  the 
pavilion,  and  51  at  the  Oval,  the  highest  on  the  side, 
but  a  forlorn  effort  as  it  came  after  Surrey  had 
declared  with  500  on  the  board  and  only  four  wickets 
down.  Few  professionals  have  ever  been  the  com- 
peers of  George  Hirst,  and  he  writes  thus  delightfully 
about  Grace : 


278     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

"  As  a  lad  I  always  wanted  to  see  and  play  against 
the  greatest  of  cricketers,  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace,  and  at 
last  I  had  my  wish.  I  have  seen  in  the  papers  lately 
letters  as  to  who  had  taken  his  wicket  most  times. 
Well,  I  can  tell  you  who  took  it  less  times  than  most 
bowlers — myself.  I  never  got  Dr.  Grace's  wicket,  to 
my  regret. 

This  little  story  comes  out  of  that.  We  were  play- 
ing Gloucestershire  at  Sheffield,  Schof  Haigh  having 
first  bowl  at  W.  G.  Of  course  I  had  told  him  my 
experience.  He  goes  on  and  slams  a  fast  full  toss 
shoulder  high.  W.  G.  pops  his  bat  up  to  prevent  it 
killing  him,  skied  the  ball  a  few  feet  straight  into 
David  Hunter's  hands.  I  do  not  know  which  of  us, 
W.  G.  or  myself,  was  the  more  disgusted.  I  can  see 
him  yet,  walking  down  the  pitch  and  patting  the  end 
quite  near  Haigh,  while  Haigh  was  kindly  explaining 
to  me  the  way  to  get  W.  G.  out. 

The  Doctor  himself  knew  I  had  never  taken  his 
wicket  and  one  day,  in  a  little  chaff  he  mentioned  the 
fact.  My  only  consolation  in  reply  was :  '  Well, 
Doctor,  we  are  quits.  You  have  never  got  mine  !  r 

Another  tale,  round  Hastings  Festival,  where  the 
Doctor  was  so  very  popular.  It  was  a  North  v. 
South  or  Gents  v.  Players  match :  Schof  Haigh 
wanted  to  catch  a  train.  He  asked  the  Doctor's 
leave,  and  just  before  the  time  Haigh  wanted  to  leave, 
W.  G.  was  batting.  Haigh  was  fielding  short-leg. 
He  skied  a  soft  one  to  him,  and  as  he  was  running 
down  the  wicket  W.  G.  cried  :  '  If  you  catch  it,  I 
shall  not  let  you  go  home.'  Result :  he  missed  it, 
not  his  train. 

What  a  pity  the  Doctor  died  at  this  sad  time. 
For  the  greatest  of  all  cricketers  the  fitting  end  should 
have  been  at  Lord's  at  a  great  match." 

All  students  of  cricket  must  realize  that  most 
judicious  observations  on  the  game  are  to  be  found 
in  the  annual  volumes  of  Wisden — the  only  books  by 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  279 

the  way  that  Grace  himself  loved  and  his  set  of  the 
series  were  well  read,  not  put  on  a  high  shelf  only  for 
reference.  Therefore,  on  what  may  be  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  discussed  episodes  in  the  champion's 
career,  Wisden  may  be  quoted  as  the  safest  guide  : 

"  In  connection  with  Gloucestershire  cricket  in 
1899,  the  most  important  fact  was  the  secession  of 
Mr.  W.  G.  Grace  from  the  eleven.  Mr.  Grace  took 
part  in  four  games  in  May,  his  last  appearance  for 
the  county  being  against  Middlesex  at  Lord's.  It 
then  became  known  that  he  had  resigned  the  cap- 
taincy and  retired  from  the  team  It  was  under- 
stood that  his  relations  with  the  county  committee 
had  been  somewhat  strained  and  there  is  not  much 
doubt  that  his  acceptance  of  the  post  of  manager  to 
the  new  London  County  Club,  organized  by  the 
Crystal  Palace  authorities,  was  a  source  of  irritation. 
It  would  be  idle,  even  if  one  were  in  a  position  to  do 
so,  to  enter  into  the  merits  of  the  dispute,  but  the 
upshot  was  that  he  withdrew  from  a  post  he  had 
held  since  the  formation  of  the  Gloucestershire 
county  club  thirty  years  ago.  When  interviewed 
on  the  subject,  Mr.  Grace  said  that  he  had  not 
refused  to  play  for  Gloucestershire,  but  as  he  was  not 
seen  in  the  eleven  after  May,  it  may  fairly  be  assumed 
that  his  connection  with  the  county  has  finally 
ceased.  It  is  a  matter  for  regret  that  his  county 
career  should  have  ended  in  such  an  unfortunate 
manner,  but  whatever  the  real  rights  of  the  quarrel, 
his  retirement  marked  the  close  of  a  great  and 
glorious  chapter  in  cricket  history."  To  this  it 
would  be  superfluous  as  well  as  fruitless  to  add. 
Nothing  further  is  required  for  the  purpose  of  his 
biography  except  to  mention  that  he  himself  never 
displayed  the  slightest  ill-will  about  the  matter. 

He  did  not  have  a  sufficiency  of  first-class  practice 
to  keep  himself  in  form  in  1899,  but  on  important 
occasions  showed  little  deterioration  as  a  batsman, 
though  his  average  fell  to  23.  He  gathered  a  power- 


280     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

ful  eleven  of  the  South  of  England  to  encounter  the 
Australians  at  the  Crystal  Palace  in  the  opening 
match  of  their  tour.  Contrary  to  his  previous  custom 
he  did  not  go  in  first  and  score  the  first  run  chronicled 
against  them,  but  in  the  second  innings  batted  with 
all  his  old  judgment  for  47,  enjoying  an  admirable 
stand  with  K.  S.  Ranjitsinhji.  He  also  dismissed 
Clement  Hill,  l.b.w.  Subsequently  he  appeared  in 
the  first  test  match  at  Nottingham,  going  in  first, 
and  after  he  had  compiled  28  judiciously,  losing  his 
wicket  through  over-eagerness  to  score  from  M.  A. 
Noble  on  the  off-side. 

As  this  was  the  last  test  match  in  which  he  ever 
appeared,  it  seems  a  suitable  opportunity  to  insert 
the  recollections  of  that  great  English  wicket-keeper 
A.  A.  Lilley,  who  writes  : 

"  I  little  thought  that  when  a  lad  I  read  and  heard 
of  the  prowess  of  W.  G.  on  the  cricket  field,  I 
should  have  the  pleasure  and  privilege  of  becoming 
intimately  acquainted  with  him,  yet  for  twenty-four 
years  that  was  granted  me.  During  my  first-class 
career — from  1888  to  1912 — I  either  played  with  or 
against  him  several  times  each  year  till  1909.  The 
first  time  was  the  opening  of  the  County  Ground, 
Bristol,  when  Warwickshire  had  not  aspired  to  first- 
class  cricket,  and  the  last  occasion  was  in  1909  in  a 
tea-party  match  at  Shillinglee  Park,  Sussex.  He  was 
just  as  keen  on  the  game  in  the  last  match  as  the  first, 
and  throughout  his  career  this  intense  love  for  the 
game  of  cricket  struck  me  so  prominently  in  him. 
As  in  later  years  I  knew  W.  G.  Grace  better,  so  my 
personal  regard  for  him  and  my  unstinted  admiration 
for  the  cricketer  correspondingly  increased. 

His  knowledge  and  judgment  were  as  comprehen- 
sive as  his  skill.  I  have  met  him  in  test  matches, 
North  and  South,  Gentlemen  v.  Players  and  in 
lighter  house-party  games,  and  his  motto  was  ever 
to  play  the  game  as  it  should  be  played.  In  other 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  281 

branches  of  sport  he  was  really  good,  be  it  game- 
shooting,  fishing  or  golf.  I  well  remember  Mr. 
Robert  Sevier  had  invited  W.  G.  to  bring  a  team  to 
Doddington  Hall.  The  Doctor  brought  with  him 
his  bosom  friend  W.  L.  Murdoch,  that  grand  cricketer 
€.  L.  Townsend  and  several  other  county  players. 
Mr.  Sevier  got  a  good  side  including  A.  C.  MacLaren, 
C.  Robson,  Len  Braund,  Frank  Field  and  myself. 
The  match  was  very  enjoyable  and  a  few  friendly 
bets  made  it  very  keen.  Mr.  Sevier's  side  won,  and 
it  was  arranged  the  party  should  have  a  day's  shoot- 
ing on  the  morrow.  To  show  how  keen  W.  G.  was 
on  his  sport,  one  gentleman  was  allowed  to  walk  the 
stubble  with  his  gun  carelessly  handled.  This  was 
noticed  by  the  Doctor  and  the  gentleman  was 
asked  to  leave  the  ground  and  put  his  gun  up. 

He  was  a  great  friend  to  the  professional  cricketers 
and  I  can  recall  many  kindly  acts  and  words  of 
encouragement  given  them  by  him.  Many  of  us  owe 
much  to  him — the  pat  on  the  back— the  stroking  of 
that  beard  when  things  were  not  going  well — will 
ever  be  remembered  by  us.  On  the  other  hand  he 
never  spared  '  a  slacker '  in  the  field  and  delighted 
to  take  '  the  rise '  out  of  a  swollen  head.  On  one 
occasion — the  second  test  match  of  1896  at  Man- 
chester— I  had  my  only  bowling  experience  in  a  test 
game.  The  previous  week  I  had  taken  6  wickets  for 
46  runs  against  Derbyshire  and  W.  G.  had  heard  of 
it.  During  the  first  innings  of  the  Australians, 
Harry  Trott  and  Clem  Hill  got  going,  so  I  was  called 
on  to  bowl.  J.  T.  Brown  took  my  place.  My  first 
over  yielded  a  wide  and  14  runs,  but  I  was 
allowed  to  continue.  The  last  ball  of  the  fifth  over, 
I  sent  down  a  long-hop  on  the  off — Harry  Trott  had 
a  lunge  at  it  and  just  touched  it.  Several  of  us 
shouted  and  J.  T.  Brown  seemed  quite  surprised  to 
have  the  ball  in  his  hands.  I  had  taken  my  only 
wicket  in  a  test  match  and  I  naturally  expected  to 
continue  bowling,  but  W.  G.  came  to  me  and  said, 


282     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

'  Put  the  gloves  on,  Dick,  I  shall  not  want  you  to 
bowl  again  ;  you  must  have  been  bowling  with  your 
wrong  arm/ 

It  is  well  known  that  W.  G.  Grace  never  '  bagged 
a  pair  '  in  a  first-class  match.  Apropos  to  this,  I 
remember  in  one  of  the  Gentlemen  v.  Players 
matches,  poor  Tom  Richardson  clean  bowled  the 
champion  for  a  duck.  When  he  came  out  for  his 
second  innings,  he  turned  to  me  and  said,  '  Tell  Tom 
I  have  never  "got  a  brace"  in  my  life — there  is  a 
bottle  of  wine  on  this.'  The  Doctor  made  a  good 
score  and  Tom  and  I  had  some  of  the  wine." 

When  M.C.C.  and  Ground  met  the  Australians, 
Grace  was  in  excellent  vein,  batting  first,  playing 
E.  Jones — who  was  bowling  tremendously  fast— 
with  absolute  imperturbability  and  finding  himself 
credited  with  50.  The  match  was  suspended  on  the 
second  day  for  the  cricketers  to  be  presented  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Duke  of  York.  Grace, 
quite  at  his  ease,  much  amused  the  Prince  with  some 
remarks  about  the  game  and,  being  a  non-smoker, 
refused  a  cigar  from  his  case  which  was  accepted  by 
the  Australian  captain  Joe  Darling. 

Next  time  Grace  met  the  Colonials  was  in  a  very 
slack  game  at  the  Crystal  Palace.  Though  the  team 
was  called  his  Eleven,  it  virtually  was  similar  to  one  of 
those  that  subsequently  represented  London  County 
on  fairly  important  occasions.  W.  G.  again  found 
M.  A.  Noble  his  master  after  scoring  25,  but,  in  the 
concluding  hour,  when  a  draw  was  inevitable,  he 
took  three  Australian  wickets  very  cheaply.  A 
patient  29  at  Hastings  was  his  only  subsequent  effort 
of  any  importance  against  them. 

For  the  Gentlemen  at  the  Oval  he  scored  28  and 
60,  in  the  latter  instance  commencing  very  badly, 
though  batting  much  better  when  he  settled  down. 
At  Lord's  he  and  J.  R.  Mason  played  out  time  on  the 
first  day,  scoring  64  in  seventy  minutes.  "  On  the 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  283, 

following  morning,  the  two  batsmen  played  with  far 
more  freedom  and  by  fine  cricket  carried  the  score 
to  439.  Then,  just  when  he  seemed  well  set  for  his 
hundred,  Grace  was  run  out,  his  partner,  forgetful 
of  his  age  and  weight,  foolishly  calling  him  for  a 
short  run.  It  was  altogether  an  unfortunate  busi- 
ness. Thirty-one  years  have  elapsed  since  Grace 
made  his  first  hundred  for  the  Gentlemen  at  Lord's 
and  every  one  would  have  been  delighted  to  see 
him  once  more  perform  the  feat  in  what  one  may  call 
the  autumn  of  his  career.  Whereas  it  took  him  an 
hour  and  forty  minutes  to  score  33  runs  on  the 
Monday,  he  made  his  last  45  in  barely  an  hour. 
While  they  were  together  he  and  Mason  put  on  130 
runs  for  the  seventh  wicket."  An  instance  of  his 
kindness  may  be  cited.  In  the  last  encounter  of  the 
year,  Home  Counties  v.  Rest  of  England,  Grace  kept 
C.  L.  Townsend  on  bowling  for  an  unconscionable 
time  so  that  he  might  secure  his  hundred  wickets 
in  conjunction  with  scoring  two  thousand  runs  in  the 
season. 

In  December,  W.  G.  Grace  was  elected  a  life- 
member  of  the  M.C.C.  on  the  suggestion  of  Lord 
Harris. 

Although  in  part  somewhat  anticipatory,  here 
may  be  introduced  the  impressions  of  Grace's  warm 
friend  and  admirer  F.  S.  Ashley-Cooper,  who  writes  : 

"  In  glancing  over  the  career  of  W.  G.  Grace,  one 
cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  amount  of  work  he 
got  through  before  he  had  reached  the  age  of  thirty. 
Each  of  the  three  Graces  was  a  cricket  phenomenon. 
E.  M.  was  picked  for  West  Gloucestershire  against 
All  England  Eleven  when  only  thirteen  and  G.  F. 
played  for  South  of  the  Thames  at  Canterbury  in 
1866  at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  for  England  at  Lord's 
two  years  later.  W.  G.  was  only  sixteen  when — at 
headquarters  in  1865 — he  made  his  first  appearance 
for  the  Gentlemen,  being  then  given  his  place  more 


284     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

on  account  of  bowling  than  batting,  and  in  the 
following  season  by  means  of  224  not  out  and  173 
not  out  in  representative  matches  at  the  Oval  had 
gained  the  title  of  champion — at  an  age  when 
many  of  our  famous  amateurs  were  not  yet  in  their 
school  elevens.  It  may  here  be  mentioned  that, 
among  cricketers,  Alfred  Mynn  and  W.  G.  Grace 
alone  have  been  termed  the  champion  and  that, 
when  the  latter  burst  on  the  world  of  cricket,  an 
•enthusiast  brought  Mynn's  pads  to  him,  declaring 
ihat  only  he  was  worthy  to  wear  them. 

Some  idea  of  the  wonderful  nature  of  his  career 
may  be  obtained  from  the  fact  that  in  first-class 
•cricket  at  Lord's  alone  he  scored  12,690  runs  and  was 
dismissed  345  times,  averaging  3678.  Such  a  record 
would  have  been  noteworthy  if  he  had  been  a  Middle- 
sex man,  playing  county  cricket  regularly  on  the 
ground,  instead  of  being  identified  with  Gloucester- 
shire, which,  for  many  years,  arranged  compara- 
tively few  matches.  But  the  further  point  that 
very  many  of  the  matches  in  which  he  took  part  at 
Lord's  were  representative,  test  and  picked  fixtures 
•enhances  the  extraordinary  character  of  his  record, 
as  so  many  of  his  runs  were  made  against  such  skilled 
opponents,  and  also  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  how 
rough  a  ground  Lord's  was  until  about  1875,  and  even 
.now  it  is  often  exceptionally  difficult  to  play  on. 
When  Grace  made  134  there  in  the  Gentlemen  v. 
Players  match  of  1868,  the  late  Fred  Gale  ('  the 
•Old  Buffer  ')  wrote  :  '  The  wicket  reminded  me  of  a 
middle-aged  gentleman's  head  of  hair,  when  the 
middle-aged  gentleman,  to  conceal  the  baldness  of  his 
•crown,  applies  a  pair  of  wet  brushes  to  some  favourite 
long  locks  and  brushes  them  across  the  top  of  his 
head.'  Cricketers  are  more  exacting  in  the  twentieth 
•century  and  with  the  greatest  care  and  precision  will 
remove  half  an  inch  of  straw  or  a  dead  fly  from  the 
pitch. 

The  influence  the  Old  Man  had  on  the  game  was 


DR.  W.   G.  GRACE  285 

remarkable.  A  writer  in  The  Jubilee  Book  of  Cricket 
aptly  observed  :  '  He  revolutionized  cricket.  He 
turned  it  from  an  accomplishment  into  a  science.  .  .  . 
Before  W.  G.  batsmen  were  of  two  kinds — a  batsman 
played  a  forward  game  or  he  played  a  back  game. 
.  .  .  What  W.  G.  did  was  to  unite  in  his  mighty  self 
all  the  good  points  of  all  the  good  players  and  to 
make  utility  the  criterion  of  style.  ...  He  turned 
the  old  one-stringed  instrument  into  a  many-chorded 
lyre.  But,  in  addition,  he  made  his  execution  equal 
his  invention.'  These  are  brave  words,  but  they 
do  not  state  more  than  the  truth.  When  he  was  at 
his  zenith — say  in  the  middle  seventies — bowlersr 
instead  of  attacking  him,  seemed  at  his  mercy,  and 
more  than  one  professional  on  obtaining  his  wicket 
threw  his  cap  in  the  air  in  triumph.  Only  a  man  who 
took  every  care  of  his  health  could  have  found  it 
possible  to  play  so  well  and  so  long  in  the  great 
matches  of  the  day. 

Bob  Thorns,  the  finest  of  all  umpires,  told  me  that 
if  Grace  had  not  been  the  best  batsman  of  all  time, 
he  would  have  been  the  best  bowler.  Being  always 
quick  to  discover  a  batsman's  weakness,  he  obtained 
a  wicket  directly  he  went  on  to  an  extent  not  appre- 
ciated. Southerton  once  wrote  :  '  It  was  in  the 
North  v.  South  [1869],  and  after  Willsher,  Silcock  and 
I  had  in  vain  tried  to  secure  a  separation  of  the  bats- 
men, Mr.  W.  G.  Grace  took  the  ball  and  got  three 
wickets  in  six  balls,  not  one  of  which  was  within  a 
foot  of  being  straight.'  In  1877,  Gloucestershire 
played  Notts  at  Cheltenham.  In  the  first  innings, 
the  visitors  collapsed  for  in,  W.  G.  taking  nine 
wickets.  Daft  kept  himself  back  in  the  follow-on 
and,  as  batsman  after  batsman  fell  into  the  trap  of 
Grace's  leg  ball,  so  did  his  wrath  increase.  At 
length,  his  patience  being  exhausted,  he  himself  went 
in  to  stop  the  rot,  and  all  those  who  had  been  tempted 
and  had  fallen  were  naturally  anxious  to  see  what 
the  captain  would  do.  Alas  for  brave  resolutions  t 


jz86     THE   MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

Daft  was  quite  as  human  as  his  comrades,  for  the 
score  sheet  read  '  c  Gilbert  b  W.  G.  Grace,  o,'  and 
W.  R.  Gilbert  was  fielding  on  the  leg-side.  The 
champion  captured  seventeen  wickets  in  that  match, 
which  his  county  won  without  having  to  go  in  a 
second  time.  With  the  last  17  balls  that  innings, 
W.  G.  claimed  seven  wickets  without  a  run  being 
made  from  him. 

Against  men  he  met  for  the  first  time,  he  was 
almost  invariably  successful.  A.  G.  Steel  evidently 
divined  the  reason  for  this  because,  writing  in  the 
Badminton  volume,  he  remarked  :  '  The  batsman 
seeing  an  enormous  man  rushing  up  to  the  wickets 
with  both  elbows  out,  great  black  beard  blowing  on 
each  side  of  him,  a  huge  yellow  cap  on  the  top  of  a 
dark,  swarthy  face,  expects  something  more  than 
the  gentle  lobbed-up  ball  that  does  come  ;  he  cannot 
believe  that  this  baby  bowling  is  really  the  great 
man's,  and  gets  flustered  and  loses  his  wicket.' 

With  the  ring  too  Grace  was  always  very  popular, 
for  he  invariably  played  with  a  robust  cheerfulness. 
Sometimes,  in  the  old  days  at  Lord's,  when  the  crowd 
grew  a  little  out  of  hand  or  encroached  into  the  field, 
he  would  put  matters  right  with  some  well-chosen 
words  and,  as  often  as  not,  a  few  hand-shakes  with 
admiring  strangers. 

Grace  was  always  ready  to  go  out  of  his  way  to 
play  in  a  benefit  match.  For  example,  Notts 
wanted  him  to  play  on  the  same  day  as  Rowbotham 
had  fixed  for  his  benefit.  He  had  promised  to  play 
for  the  latter  and  Rowbotham  went  up  specially  to 
London  from  Yorkshire  to  ask  him  what  he  would 
do.  The  answer  was  :  '  Joe,  I  will  play  for  you  and 
no  one  else  on  that  day  as  I  promised.'  Notts  had 
to  put  off  his  visit. 

The  good  nature  he  showed  to  young  cricketers 
is  proverbial.  Board,  the  Gloucestershire  wicket- 
keeper,  for  one,  speaks  eloquently  of  the  kindness 
shown  him  by  the  champion  in  introducing  him  to 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  287 

first-class  cricket.  One  day,  early  in  1891,  he 
received  a  telegram,  asking  him  to  call  on  Mrs.  Grace 
and,  to  use  his  own  words  :  '  When  I  got  to  the  house, 
she  said  :  "  Here's  two  pounds.  W.  G.  has  wired  me 
to  send  you  up  to  Lord's  on  Monday  morning."  I 
did  not  know  where  Lord's  was.  I  was  only  a  poor 
gardener  and  Mrs.  Grace  wrote  out  on  a  piece  of 
paper  all  instructions.  I  was  to  take  a  ticket  to 
Paddington  and  then  a  cab  to  Lord's  and  I  was  not 
to  pay  the  cabman  more  than  eight eenpence.  At 
Lord's  I  was  to  ask  for  Dr.  Grace.  When  I  got  there, 
I  was  told  by  W.  G.  that  I  was  to  keep  wicket  for  the 
South  against  the  North  for  Rylott's  benefit  match. 
He  introduced  me  to  the  professionals'  room  and  I 
remember  him  saying  to  a  group  of  players  :  "  Look 
after  him."  When  the  match  was  over — and,  mind, 
I  had  to  stand  up  to  Lohmann,  Sharpe,  Ferris  and 
Martin  that  I  had  never  seen  before — W.  G.  took  me 
in  at  the  amateurs'  gate  and  saw  that  I  was  paid. 
They  wanted  to  deduct  a  sovereign  from  me  for 
Rylott's  benefit  and  he  said  :  "  No,  take  half -a-sove- 
reign.  He's  a  youngster  who  has  never  played  in 
first-class  before."  Then  he  drove  me  in  his  cab  to 
Paddington,  travelled  with  me  and  I  rode  through 
the  streets  of  Bristol  with  him  to  his  home.  Mind 
you,  W.  G.  was  W.  G.  in  those  days.  His  name 
was  a  household  word  the  world  over.  I  felt  some- 
body. There  was  a  lot  of  pride  in  me.  W.  G.  told 
the  cabman  to  drive  me  home  and  a  week  later  I 
played  my  first  county  match.'  One  can  well  believe 
Board  when  he  adds  :  '  The  Old  Man  was  almost  a 
father  to  me.' 

The  affection  felt  for  W.  G.,  especially  by  those 
who  had  played  with  him  frequently,  was  very 
strong  and  formed  a  remarkable  tribute  to  his  kind- 
heartedness.  Many  years  ago,  when  talking  about 
cricket  with  Frank  Townsend  in  Devonshire,  some- 
thing prompted  me  to  ask  :  '  I  suppose  you  were  very 
fond  of  him  ?  '  Looking  straight  into  my  eyes  and 


288     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

emphasizing  every  word,  he  replied  thoughtfully  and 
slowly  :  '  Yes,  I  love  every  inch  of  the  Old  Man/ 
It  was  more  than  a  mere  figure  of  speech,  for  the 
impressive  manner  in  which  the  words  were  spoken 
showed  they  came  from  the  heart. 

Like  every  other  cricketer,  Grace  rejoiced  (in  a 
quiet  way)  when  he  did  well.  Few  innings,  I  know, 
caused  him  greater  personal  satisfaction  during  the 
latter  part  of  his  career  than  his  74  for  Gentlemen 
v.  Players  on  his  fifty-eighth  birthday.  I  happened 
to  be  in  the  dressing-room  when  he  came  in  after 
being  dismissed.  The  Old  Man,  as  brown  as  a  berry, 
was  greeted  with  an  unanimous  chorus  of  congratula- 
tion, which  must  have  sounded  musical  in  his  ears, 
though  it  was  far  from  being  so  in  reality.  Looking 
as  delighted  as  a  schoolboy,  he  lumbered  across  the 
room  and,  throwing  his  bat  on  a  table,  remarked : 
'  There  !  I  shan't  play  any  more.'  Of  course  he 
meant  against  the  Players,  for  on  the  very  next  day 
he  was  cutting  and  driving  the  ball  in  all  directions 
at  the  Crystal  Palace. 

Naturally  there  was  a  reverse  side  to  the  medal. 
One  year,  at  Hastings,  I  arrived  a  few  minutes  late 
and,  seeing  the  cricketers  standing  idly  in  the  centre 
of  the  ground,  assumed  that  the  game  had  not 
commenced  and  sat  down  in  the  second  row  of  the 
pavilion  seats.  Almost  immediately  W.  G.  came  out 
and  reclined  directly  in  front  of  me,  which  seemed 
strange  as  it  was  evident  his  was  the  batting  side, 
As  soon,  therefore,  as  he  had  settled  down,  I  tapped 
him  on  the  shoulder  and  inquired  when  he  was  going 
in.  To  my  surprise,  the  question,  asked  in  all  inno- 
cence, irritated  him  and  he  returned  an  answer 
which  would  not  look  quite  courteous  in  print. 
Leaning  back  in  my  seat,  sorely  puzzled,  I  was 
addressed  by  a  friend  :  '  You  ass  !  Didn't  you  know 
he  had  been  in  and  was  bowled  for  a  single  ?  '  A 
little  later,  I  followed  W.  G.  into  the  pavilion  and 
explained,  whereupon  he  threw  his  right  arm  round 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  289 

my  shoulders  and  said  :  '  I  am  so  sorry.  I  thought 
you  were  trying  to  "  pull  my  leg,"  and  besides  I  don't 
like  to  fail,  as  I  did  to-day.' 

He  possessed  a  '  school  buoyancy  '  which  he  never 
lost :  he  loved  a  bit  of  fun,  even  when  it  told  against 
himself,  to  the  very  last.  I  well  remember  how  we 
had  a  bit  of  chaff  at  his  expense  at  Hastings.  During 
his  innings  he  made  one  magnificent  hit  off  Rhodes 
over  mid-on,  sending  the  ball  beyond  some  tents 
which  lined  the  ground.  When,  shortly  after,  he 
was  dismissed,  and  was  wending  his  way  in,  he  called 
out,  evidently  as  happy  as  a  boy  who  has  made  his 
first  fifty  :  '  That  was  a  very  fine  hit  I  made  just  now 
off  Rhodes.'  The  remark  was  thoroughly  justified 
and  almost  all  of  us  in  the  small  enclosure  were 
personal  friends.  Some  one  wickedly  suggested  we 
should  pretend  not  to  have  seen  it  and  accordingly  he 
was  greeted  with  cries  of  '  What  hit  ?  '  '  When  was 
it  ?  '  '  Strange  we  should  have  missed  it,'  etc. 
W.  G.  of  course  saw  a  little  harmless  fun  was  being 
indulged  in,  and  he  came  in,  chuckling  softly,  with 
bowed  head  and  a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  Once  well 
inside  the  pavilion,  he  called  out  to  Mr.  Fellows, 
whom  he  espied  a  short  way  off  :  'I  say,  Harvey, 
here's  Ashley-Cooper  didn't  see  that  big  hit  of  mine. 
He  must  have  been  asleep.'  There  the  matter  was 
allowed  to  rest  and,  having  had  the  last  word,  W.  G. 
was  happy. 

At  times  he  was  doubtful  whether  a  remark  was 
deliberately  intended  against  him  or  not,  and  then 
the  uncertainty  he  showed  was  amusing.  A  delight- 
ful instance  of  this  occurred  whilst  he  was  enjoying 
a  foursome  at  golf.  His  partner  :  '  What  a  lovely 
day.'  W.  G.  (cheerily)  :  '  Yes,  ideal  weather  for 
cricket.'  His  partner  :  '  Cricket !  Are  you  inter- 
ested in  cricket  ?  '  It  was  perhaps  not  surprising 
that  he  was  put  off  his  game  for  a  couple  of  holes. 

Again,  many  years  ago,  a  cricket  enthusiast  wit- 
nessed a  match  at  Thornbury  in  which  E.  M.  Grace, 

u 


290     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

for  private  reasons,  played  under  a  nom  de  guerre  and 
made  a  very  long  score  in  double  quick  time  by  his 
own  peculiar  methods.  Immediately  afterwards  a 
spectator  wrote  to  W.  G.  Grace  recommending 
him  to  keep  his  eye  on  a  promising  player  named 
Green  at  Thornbury,  whose  style  was  distinctly 
agricultural,  but  who  might  turn  out  well  as  the 
result  of  a  little  sound  coaching.  The  champion 
forwarded  the  letter  to  his  brother  and  an  explana- 
tion followed,  but  W.  G.  was  never  quite  certain  that 
a  little  fun  had  not  been  perpetrated  at  their  expense. 

Quite  as  amusing,  in  its  way,  was  the  Old  Man's 
experience  when,  walking  across  Durdham  Downs 
one  afternoon,  he  saw  several  small  boys  playing. 
At  once  recognizing  that  the  stumps  were  almost 
thirty  yards  apart,  he  genially  set  things  right  and 
(in  a  silence  that  could  be  felt)  offered  to  give  them 
a  few  hints  on  batting.  To  see  a  huge  bearded  man 
stoop  over  him,  and  put  out  a  giant  paw  for  the  bat, 
was  more  than  the  youthful  batsman  could  endure, 
so  he  blurted  out :  '  Garn  !  Wot  do  an  old  man 
like  you  know  about  cricket  ?  '  Thus  he  effectually 
put  W.  G.  to  rout,  for  the  dear  old  champion  lum- 
bered away,  pulling  his  beard  in  thoughtful  silence. 

How  plainly  he  showed  his  feelings  by  the  way  in 
which  he  toyed  with  his  beard.  Thus  could  satis- 
faction, doubt,  mortification,  delight  and  many  other 
emotions  be  recognized  by  those  who  knew  him  well. 
For  years  W.  G.'s  beard  and  W.  E.  G.'s  collar  were 
the  most  familiar  things  in  the  country  to  the 
average  Englishman,  and  just  as  the  former's  state  of 
mind  could  be  gauged  in  the  way  stated,  so  could  the 
latter's  by  the  distance  his  neck-tie  had  travelled 
towards  his  ear. 

W.  G.  not  only  loved  to  make  a  joke,  but  he  could 
appreciate  one  which  told  against  himself.  Some 
years  ago,  at  Lord's,  it  was  considered  necessary  to- 
request  all  members  to  show  their  cards  or  sign  the 
book  on  entering  the  ground.  A  short  time  after 


DR.  W.  G.  GRACE  291 

the  regulation  had  been  made,  the  secretary  noticed 
the  Old  Man  engaged  in  a  very  animated  discussion 
with  the  janitor.  A  few  minutes  later  he  burst  into 
the  secretary's  room  and  exclaimed  :  '  What  do  you 
think  ?  They  wanted  to  refuse  to  let  me  in  because 
I  had  not  my  card  of  membership  with  me.  I  have 
never  brought  it  and  I  never  will.'  With  incompar- 
able blandness  and  suppressing  a  smile,  came  the 
reply  :  '  Well,  I'm  sorry,  but  in  that  case  I  am 
afraid  we  shall  not  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
here  again.'  For  a  moment  W.  G.  stared  in  amaze- 
ment, but  recognizing  the  humour  of  the  situation, 
threw  back  his  head  and  roared  with  laughter. 

One  of  my  pleasantest  recollections  of  the  cham- 
pion concerns  a  visit  to  the  Crystal  Palace.  I 
arrived  in  good  time  and,  as  I  strolled  on  to  the 
ground,  met  him  going  out  to  practise.  '  I  will  bowl 
you  a  few,'  I  remarked,  and  with  my  fourth  removed 
one  of  the  bails.  As  this  was  the  only  time  I  ever 
bowled  to  him,  my  elation  was  excusable.  It  is 
difficult  to  say  who  was  the  more  surprised,  batsman 
or  bowler,  but  I  ejaculated  :  '  I  soon  found  out  your 
weak  point,  Doctor,'  before  he  had  quite  recovered 
from  the  shock,  whereupon  he  emitted  a  noise 
between  a  snort  and  a  grunt  and  bade  me  '  do  it 
again  '  with  a  very  keen  glance.  For  the  next  twenty 
minutes  I  laboured  to  accomplish  his  request,  but, 
like  Dick  Swiveller,  soon  discovered  that  destiny  was 
too  strong  for  me. 

As  a  medical  man,  by  his  kindness  and  considera- 
tion W.  G.  gained  the  affection  of  those  amongst 
whom  he  practised.  To  them  he  was  a  kind  of  com- 
bined fairy  god-uncle  and  Father  Christmas.  For 
years  after  he  left  Bristol,  poor  people  would  relate 
how,  after  a  thing  day  in  the  field,  he  would  visit 
them,  not  in  a  professional  capacity,  but  as  a  friend, 
doing  much  to  alleviate  pain  and  spread  cheerfulness. 
Is  that  nothing  in  our  times  ? 

W.  G.  was  not  eloquent  as  a  talker,  but  his  remarks 


292     BIOGRAPHY  OF   DR.   W.   G.   GRACE 

were  to  the  point,  and  in  a  few  words  he  often  made 
plain  what  had  been  getting  confused.  Canon 
Edward  Lyttelton  gave  a  good  instance  of  this 
ability.  At  Cambridge,  one  year,  several  well-known 
cricketers  discussed  at  great  length  the  best  way  to 
deal  with  the  ordinary  break-back  from  the  off  as 
bowled  by  Alfred  Shaw  and  Southerton.  At  length 
W.  G.  was  asked  his  opinion  and,  in  the  simplest 
way,  as  if  there  could  be  no  doubt  in  the  matter, 
replied  :  '  I  think  you  ought  to  put  the  bat  against 
the  ball.'  " 


CHAPTER  XIX 
The  Close  of  his  First-class  Cricket 


important  cricket  of  W.  G.  Grace  was  now 
nearly  over.  He  had  played  his  last  test 
match,  for  the  last  time  had  represented  the  Gentle- 
men against  the  Players  at  Lord's,  besides  having 
severed  his  connection  with  Gloucestershire.  There 
is  no  reason  editorially  to  discuss  why  the  cricket  of 
the  London  County  Club  failed  to  arouse  adequate 
public  support  and  interest.  It  provided  many 
pleasant  matches  for  those  participating,  produced 
a  number  of  good  players  afterwards  of  service  to 
first-class  counties,  and  was  justifiably  remunerative 
to  Grace  himself,  who,  for  five  years,  received  an 
annual  fee,  it  is  said,  of  a  thousand  pounds  for  manag- 
ing its  cricket.  Naturally,  after  that  period,  even  he 
—  bowled  out  by  anno  domini  —  gradually  fell  out  of 
first-class  cricket,  in  which  it  was  absolutely  unprece- 
dented for  a  man  of  his  age  and  bulk  to  have  taken 
so  prolonged  a  part. 

But  when  years  necessitated  that  his  cricket 
should  be  less  strenuous,  greater  scope  was  afforded 
for  the  charm  and  geniality  of  the  veteran.  Conse- 
quently the  many  delightful  traits  and  incidents  in 
the  concluding  portion  of  this  volume  serve  to  show 
the  attractiveness  of  the  champion  in  his  declining 
summers.  If  the  strenuousness  was  over,  the  plea- 
sure was  not  diminished.  It  is  felt  that  though  the 
remainder  of  the  varied  reminiscences  deal  with  less 
important  fixtures,  they  afford  a  fascinating  illustra- 

293 


294     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

tion  of  what  Grace  was  in  the  enjoyable  aftermath 
of  an  unparalleled  and  unspoilt  career. 

Dealing  with  comparative  brevity  with  the  rest  of 
his  first-class  cricket,  credit  for  many  excellent 
innings  in  1900  must  be  accorded  to  him.  The 
finest  effort  was  in  the  late  September  match  at 
Lord's  between  North  and  South  for  the  benefit  of  the 
shrewd  and  polite  dressing-room  superintendent 
Philip  Need.  Grace  went  in  first  and  showed  wonder- 
ful form  for  a  masterly  126  out  of  274  in  three  hours, 
a  notable  display  against  the  bowling  of  Briggs,  J. 
Gunn,  J.  T.  Brown,  Ernest  Smith,  Hirst,  Thompson 
and  Rhodes.  In  the  first  innings  of  the  South,  P.  F. 
Warner  drove  back  a  ball  to  Ernest  Smith  who 
turned  it  on  to  the  broad  back  of  W.  G.  who  was 
batting  at  the  other  end.  Off  the  rebound  Smith 
made  the  catch,  Warner  being  caught  and  bowled. 
Grace  laughed  most  heartily  at  the  incident.  For 
the  Gentlemen  at  the  Oval,  heplayed  admirably  for  58. 

The  responsibilities  of  captaincy  and  management 
never  affected  his  cricket.  Once  at  the  wicket  he 
concentrated  his  attention  on  the  bowling  and  played 
it  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  That  summer  he  com- 
piled a  number  of  most  useful  scores  on  the  Crystal 
Palace  ground  for  his  new  L.C.C.  club.  Among 
them  may  be  cited  87  and  44  v.  Derbyshire,  72  and 
no  not  out  v.  Worcestershire,  76  v.  Warwickshire 
and  no  against  M.C.C.  and  Ground,  though  out 
of  the  two  sides  composing  the  last-named  match 
one  first-class  eleven  could  barely  have  been  formed. 
In  both  out  and  home  encounters  with  Cambridge 
University  he  was  in  rare  vein,  scoring  93  in 
two  and  a  half  hours,  as  well  as  86  and  62,  whilst 
each  time  he  baffled  the  undergraduates,  tempting 
them  to  hit  out  at  his  slows  to  the  destruction  of  their 
wickets.  At  Birmingham  he  put  up  122  and  74 
respectively  for  the  first  wicket  with  Arnold,  his  own 
share  being  82  and  48. 

Perhaps  the  worst  punishment  Grace  ever  received 


DR.  W.  G.  GRACE  295 

as  a  bowler  in  a  first-class  match  was  at  the  hands  of 
R.  E.  Foster  on  the  occasion  of  the  L.C.C.C.  visit  to 
Oxford.  "  Tip "  proceeded  to  score  169  in  his 
customary  brilliant  fashion,  the  sensational  feature 
being  that  he  hit  W.  G.  four  times  in  succession  oft 
consecutive  balls  for  six  each  into  the  shrubbery — 
all  straight  drives.  It  was  a  wonderful  display  of 
vigorous  onslaught.  "  Not  very  respectful  to  an  old 
man,  was  it,  Tip  ?  "  said  the  champion,  "  but  it  was 
worth  seeing."  There  was  no  malice  about  Grace, 
only  appreciation  of  genuine  skill.  When  playing 
for  Strutt  Ca veil's  XI  v.  XVIII  of  Twickenham  in 
1905,  W.  G.  was  hit  for  28  ofi  six  consecutive  balls  by 
R.  Hiscock. 

In  1901,  his  57  for  the  Gentlemen  at  the  Oval  was 
nothing  short  of  a  personal  triumph  on  a  side  so 
weak  that  the  title  was  a  misnomer.  At  Hastings 
in  the  match  under  the  same  nomenclature,  in  which 
he  made  54,  he  achieved  what  is  an  unparalleled 
example  of  captaincy,  namely  never  to  change  the 
bowling  in  an  innings  of  238,  the  pair  accountable 
for  the  wickets  being  J.  R.  Mason  and  the  South 
African  J.  H.  Sinclair.  So  far  as  L.C.C.C.  matches 
went,  all  Grace's  important  efforts  were  on  the  Palace 
ground.  These  included  76  v.  Warwickshire,  83  v. 
Leicestershire  and  72  v.  Cambridge.  Against  Surrey 
with  C.  J.  B.  Wood  he  caused  the  hundred  to  be 
hoisted  each  time  before  the  first  wicket  fell,  his  own 
contributions  being  71  and  80.  He  occupied  three 
hours  and  fifty  minutes  in  compiling  132  against 
M.C.C.  and  Ground,  and  his  association  with  L 
Walker  yielded  281  in  less  than  three  hours.  The 
latter  has  testified  that  W.  G.  pluckily  played  with  a 
bandaged  hand.  He  was  suffering  from  a  bad  cut, 
but  it  healed  like  the  flesh  of  a  little  child,  so  wonder- 
fully healthy  was  he  despite  advancing  years.  At 
Lord's,  v.  M.C.C.  and  Ground,  he  revelled  in  one  of  his 
successes  with  the  ball,  his  remarkable  figures  being 
7  for  30  and  6  for  80 — "  just  to  show  I  can  still 


296     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

stick  some  of  them  up,"  as  he  himself  phrased  it. 

In  1902  against  the  Australians,  his  premature 
closure  for  M.C.C.  v.  Ground  nearly  cost  his  side  the 
match,  chiefly  owing  to  Victor  Trumper's  perfectly 
pyrotechnical  displays  which  yielded  105  and  86. 
All  the  same  Grace  himself  proved  no  negligible 
quantity,  because  besides  scoring  29  and  23,  he 
proved  amazingly  delusive  with  the  ball,  his  figures 
being  5  for  29,  R.  Duff  and  A.  J.  Hopkins  both  put- 
ting their  leg  in  front  of  his  deliveries.  At  the 
Oval,  for  the  Gentlemen  v.  the  Players,  his  82  was 
the  highest  contribution,  but  marred  by  a  couple  of 
chances  to  Lilley,  though  characterized  by  powerful 
driving.  With  G.  W.  Beldam  he  put  up  119  for  the 
first  wicket,  a  performance  all  the  more  creditable  in 
view  of  the  collapse  of  the  others  in  the  innings.  A 
resolute  70  for  the  Rest  of  England  v.  Kent  and 
Sussex  at  Hastings  fairly  won  the  game  and  was 
terminated  by  a  positive  ovation.  For  M.C.C.  and 
Ground  v.  Lancashire,  he  took  in  W.  L.  Murdoch  with 
him — their  united  ages  being  101 — and  the  Old 
Boys,  as  Murdoch  himself  called  them,  scored  120 
before  they  were  parted.  If  they  could  have  run  with 
agility  this  would  have  been  doubled.  Grace  made  a 
hit  off  Hallows  to  leg,  the  ball  going  over  the  grand- 
stand and  out  of  the  ground  into  an  adjoining  garden. 

For  L.C.C.C.,  his  97  v.  Surrey,  amassed  in  three 
and  a  half  hours,  contained  only  one  bad  stroke,  whilst 
his  late  cutting  was  particularly  fine.  Nor  was  his 
analysis  a  bad  one  :  5  for  33.  131  v.  M.C.C.  and 
Ground  was  pregnant  with  hard  driving.  Against 
Warwickshire,  having  been  missed  by  Devey  at  long- 
on  before  he  had  scored,  he  compiled  129,  Braund 
helping  him  to  add  164.  At  the  Oval,  in  his  61  v. 
Surrey  he  was  also  seen  to  great  advantage.  The 
present  writer  remembers  a  small  boy  watching  the 
Old  Man  with  breathless  delight  and  then  saying  in 
tones  of  awe  :  "  Why  he  bats  even  better  than  our 
captain  at  school."  Against  Ireland,  Grace  and 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  297 

Murdoch  made  75  for  the  first  wicket,  but  the  whole 
side  was  out  for  90. 

In  1903,  so  far  as  Grace  was  concerned,  only  two 
matches  need  be  alluded  to.  On  Easter  Monday, 
April  13,  Surrey  arranged  a  premature  but  popular 
game  with  L.C.C.C.  and  the  spectators  saw  the  hero  of 
old  times  bat  with  the  utmost  coolness  for  43  and  81. 
An  encounter  in  which  he  took  great  interest  was 
with  Gloucestershire,  and  his  old  county  had  the 
unusual  experience  of  losing  the  game  after  making 
so  large  a  total  as  397.  Grace  had  most  to  do  with 
this,  for  he  captured  6  wickets  for  102  and  then 
scored  150  "  of  the  very  best,  as  well  made  as  though 
he  had  been  five  and  twenty  years  younger." 

Age  was  telling  in  1904  and  he  did  not  appear 
either  for  the  Gentlemen  at  the  Oval  or  at  the  Hast- 
ings Festival.  Still  there  were  days  when  he  was 
quite  himself.  He  had  a  rare  tussle  for  runs  against 
Leicestershire  with  his  old  rival  and  devoted  comrade 
W.  L.  Murdoch,  his  own  efforts  being  73  and  54  and 
the  Anglo- Australian's  74  and  57.  "  Beaten  by 
four  runs  and  I  seven  years  his  senior — the  cheek  of 
the  youngster,"  was  W.  G.'s  delighted  commentary. 
On  his  fifty-sixth  birthday  the  Grand  Old  Man  of  the 
cricket-field  scored  166  v.  M.C.C.  and  Ground.  If 
the  latter  side  was  a  wretched  one,  still  the  bowling 
of  A.  E.  Relf,  Fielder,  Walter  Mead  and  Alec  Hearne 
could  test  any  batsman  and  Grace  resisted  them  for 
five  and  a  quarter  hours,  crediting  himself  with  four- 
teen fours,  albeit  there  were  some  faulty  strokes. 
51  by  W.  L.  Murdoch  was  the  next  highest  effort,  so 
Grace  was  easily  foremost.  Other  scores  were  52  v. 
Surrey  and  45  v.  Cambridge  University.  He  played 
his  last  match,  in  first-class  cricket,  at  Lord's,  repre- 
senting M.C.C.  and  Ground,  v.  South  Africans,  scoring 
27,  Halliwell  making  an  exceptionally  brilliant  catch 
behind  the  wicket  off  the  fast  bowler  Kotze  who, 
though  bowling  at  a  great  pace,  had  been  played  with 
genuine  ease  by  the  old  stager. 


298     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

In  1905  only  three  games  in  which  Grace  took  part 
demand  mention.  Playing  for  Gentlemen  of  Eng- 
land v.  Surrey  at  the  Oval,  he  pulled  a  ball  from  J.  N. 
Crawford  right  out  of  the  ground,  scoring  six,  and  sent 
the  next  delivery  from  the  same  bowler  almost  as 
far  for  four.  The  L.C.C.C.  had  come  to  an  end,  but 
with  a  thoroughly  misnamed  Gentlemen  of  England 
side,  he  appeared  at  Oxford,  scoring  71  out  of  192 
whilst  in  against  the  University,  his  partnership  for 
the  first  wicket  with  Alan  Marshal  yielding  168. 
For  the  Gentlemen  of  the  South  v.  Players  of  the 
South  at  Bournemouth  he  compiled  45. 

A  diverting  case  of  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  having  a 
double  occurred  at  the  Hambledon  commemoration 
match.  Broad  Halfpenny  Down  is  six  miles  from 
the  nearest  station.  Twenty-four  prominent  crick- 
eters were  playing  for  the  Hambledon  team  or  the 
opposing  All  England  side.  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  had 
been  announced  to  unveil  the  granite  memorial  on 
this  historic  ground.  At  mid-day  was  delivered  a 
telegram  to  say  he  had  missed  his  train  and  would  be 
at  Droxford  Station  later.  A  train  arrived  and  a 
burly  bearded  figure  emerged.  "  Dr.  Grace,"  cried 
an  enthusiastic  porter  who  ushered  him  into  the  only 
vehicle.  On  the  way  the  local  photographer  man- 
aged several  snap-shots  and  found  it  singularly 
difficult  to  elicit  anything  about  cricket  from  the 
smiling  traveller.  On  arrival  at  the  ground,  the 
cricketers  of  course  at  once  recognized  that  this  was 
W.  G.'s  double,  Mr.  Henry  Warren  of  West  Byfleet. 
It  was  discovered  later  that  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  was 
prevented  coming  and  the  memorial  was  unveiled  by 
the  Hampshire  captain  E.  M.  Sprot.  The  double 
was  subsequently  introduced  to  Dr.  Grace,  who  was 
amused  by  his  description  of  his  reception  at  Hamble- 
don and  gave  him  his  signed  photo. 

Virtually  the  champion's  swan-song  came  in  1906 
for  the  Gentlemen  v.  the  Players  at  the  Oval,  when, 
after  breaking  up  a  partnership  of  182  between  King 


DR.  W.  G.  GRACE  299 

and  Hardstaff  with  his  first  ball,  he  scored  74  off  the 
bowling  of  Lees,  J.  Gunn,  Jayes,  Trott,  Hayes, 
King  and  Quaife.  He  was  fifty-eight  years  old  (it 
was  his  birthday)  and  this  was  his  eighty-fifth  and 
last  appearance  for  the  amateurs,  the  first  having 
been  made  forty-one  years  before.  But  he  shaped 
with  much  of  his  old  power,  placing  the  fast  bowling 
with  the  old  certainty  and  showing  the  same  consum- 
mate ease  at  the  wicket.  "  Though  he  tired  towards 
the  end  of  his  innings,  his  play  while  he  was  getting 
his  first  fifty  runs  was  good  enough  to  give  the 
younger  people  among  the  crowd  an  idea  of  what  his 
batting  was  like  in  his  prime."  The  magnitude  of  the 
performance  delighted  everybody  and  it  was  only 
lack  of  endurance  that  prevented  him  from  getting 
the  century  everybody  desired  he  should  make.  He 
was  naturally  delighted  with  his  own  prowess  and 
received  numberless  congratulations. 

This  was  not  his  only  success  that  season,  for  he 
had  already  displayed  really  fine  form  and  decisive 
mastery  of  the  Cambridge  bowling  when  scoring  64 
and  44  not  out.  In  one  instance  his  own  slows  were 
treated  with  contemptuous  disrespect,  A.  E.  Harri- 
gin  of  the  West  Indians  in  one  over  scoring  three 
sixes  and  a  two  off  his  deliveries.  No  one  praised 
him  for  his  big  hits  more  heartily  than  Grace  himself. 

The  rest  of  his  first-class  career  was  confined  to  the 
opening  match  of  the  two  following  seasons  at  the 
Oval.  In  1907  for  the  Gentlemen  against  Surrey  he 
was  credited  with  16  and  3.  In  1908  the  same  fixture 
was  arranged  as  early  as  April  20.  Not  only  was  it 
bitterly  cold,  but  snow  actually  fell.  Grace  scored 
15  and  25  and  bowled  twelve  balls  for  five  runs  with- 
out taking  a  wicket.  Never  again  did  he  figure  in 
important  averages.  The  longest  and  greatest 
career  ever  recorded  in  those  statistics  had  reached 
an  honoured  conclusion. 


CHAPTER  XX 
Happy  L.C.C.C.  Memories 

BY  E.  H.  D.  SEWELL,  WITH  REMINISCENCES 
BY  P.  G.  GALE  AND  G.  W.  BELDAM 

PRECISELY  at  what  date  W.  G.  Grace  first 
thought  of  going  to  the  Crystal  Palace  is  not 
recorded,  but  his  first  inspection  of  the  cricket 
ground  there  was  in  September,  1898,  and  it  was  in 
the  beginning  of  1899  that  he  arrived  and  began  to 
get  his  staff  together.  His  departure  from  Glouces- 
tershire was  the  result  of  a  letter  from  a  director  of 
the  Crystal  Palace  Company,  who  wrote  to  him 
asking  for  an  interview  :  "at  which  it  was  suggested 
that  he  should  become  manager  and  secretary  of  a 
new  club  which  the  Company  wished  to  form  for 
first-class  cricket."  This  statement  of  the  facts 
from  an  unimpeachable  source  proves  that  Grace 
was  sought,  he  did  not  seek. 

Nor  did  he  let  the  grass  grow  under  his  feet,  for 
several  elms  were  soon  doomed,  a  new  pavilion  was 
built  and  he  decided  to  keep  on  Dickinson,  who  had 
been  thirty  years  ground-man,  and  "  Razor  "  Smith, 
later  of  Surrey.  I  have  a  letter  from  the  Old  Man 
written  just  after  the  test  match  at  Leeds  in  1909,  the 
postscript  of  which  runs  :  '*  Smith  (W.  C.),  not 
always  good  enough  for  Surrey,  might  even  yet  play 
for  England." 

"  Razor  "  has  a  very  warm  corner  in  his  heart  for 
the  Doctor,  to  whose  encouragement  he  owes  so 

300 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  301 

much.  It  is  only  in  a  joking  way  that  he  refers  to 
an  occasion  when  he  was  umpiring  at  the  Palace  and 
gave  W.  G.  out  l.b.w.  Called  up  after  the  match  to 
the  corner  of  the  dressing-room  which  was  set  apart 
as  a  sort  of  sanctum  for  the  Old  Man,  he  had  to  explain 
matters,  whereupon  came  the  prompt  rejoinder  : 
"  I  always  thought  you  a  fool,  now  I  know  you  are 
one."  And,  much  to  his  relief,  Smith  did  not  often 
umpire  after  that.  There  was,  however,  one  occasion 
on  which  Wiltshire  provided  the  opposition  and 
Razor  sallied  forth  in  the  white  coat  with  his  watch 
in  his  pocket.  W.  G.  had  won  the  toss  and  just 
after  Smith  had  seen  that  his  watch  showed  the  time 
to  be  one-fifty,  he  heard  a  clock  outside  the  ground 
strike  two.  Grace  was  batting — "  as  per  usual,"  to  use 
Smith's  words  when  telling  the  story — so  he  asked 
him  what  to  do.  The  Old  Man  replied  :  "  We'll 
have  this  over  and  then  go  in."  It  was  tempting 
Providence.  W.  G.  was  caught  and  bowled  before 
the  adjournment. 

With  Grace  from  Gloucestershire  came  Murch  to 
be  head  of  the  ground-staff.  Once  swallows  were 
flying  very  low  when  the  men  were  working  at  the 
pitch.  W.  G.  remarked  :  "I  say,  Bill,  any  one 
might  catch  one  of  those  birds  if  only  he  were  quick 
•enough."  Scarcely  had  he  uttered  the  words  when 
he  made  a  grab  at  one  and  actually  knocked  it  down 
with  his  hand  at  Murch' s  feet.  The  bird  was  borne 
away  in  triumph  and  he  had  it  stuffed.  It  is  now  in 
the  hall  of  his  house  in  Kent.  He  was  then  over 
fifty  years  of  age. 

The  Doctor  always  carried  a  whistle  and  it  became 
a  habit  with  him  whenever  he  came  within  sight  of 
the  cricket  ground  to  use  it.  This  was  the  signal 
for  Murch  to  materialize.  In  the  event  of  his  being 
unable  to  achieve  the  impossible — for  he  was  very 
deaf — it  fell  to  Dyer,  who  looked  after  W.  G.'s 
cricket  gear,  to  appear  on  the  scene.  Grace  could  not 
do  things  in  a  small  way.  Thus  when  he  blew  that 


302     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

whistle,  there  was  no  doubt  about  the  fact.  In- 
stantly the  hitherto  seemingly  sleeping  pavilion 
became  alive  with  men.  From  all  corners  they 
seemed  to  tumble  out  of  it,  every  one  of  them  des- 
perately anxious  to  know  "  whether  Bill  'ad  'card 
it."  Yes,  the  Old  Man  was  monarch  of  all  he  sur- 
veyed on  those  few  beautiful  acres,  but  a  kindly 
hearted  old  monarch. 

That  he  was,  however,  also  something  of  an  auto- 
crat few  would  deny.  None  held  more  decided 
views  than  he,  and  he  had  a  way  with  him  that 
brooked  no  evasion  on  the  part  of  others.  An  inci- 
dent at  a  certain  club  game  showed  this.  In  order 
to  make  the  most  of  his  ground,  he  was  obliged  now 
and  then  to  play  more  than  one  match  on  the  same 
pitch.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  a  certain  wicket 
on  which  two  comparatively  small  scoring  games  had 
already  been  played  was  selected  for  a  full  day  match. 
The  visitors  had  their  ground-man  playing  for  them. 
W.  G.  won  the  toss.  On  reaching  the  pitch,  the 
ground-man  said  to  his  captain  loud  enough  for  the 
Doctor  to  hear :  "  Surely  we  ain't  going  to  play  on 
this  wicket  ?  JI  "  Why  not  ?  "  rapped  out  W.  G.  at 
once.  "  Why  it's  an  old  pitch.  I  s'pose  it's  some 
old  dodge  of  yours,"  replied  the  fellow  very  rudely. 
Grace  wheeled  round  to  walk  to  the  pavilion  and  as  he 
did  so  he  thundered  to  the  visiting  captain  :  "  Unless 
that  man  apologizes,  there'll  be  no  match  to-day," 
and  went  on  his  way.  The  match  was  played  and 
any  one  who  knew  W.  G.  can  picture  the  delight 
with  which  he  kept  the  visitors  in  the  field  until 
nearly  five  o'clock  :  "  just  to  show  'em  there's 
nothin'  much  the  matter  with  the  wicket,"  as  he  put 
it.  The  biter  generally  was  badly  bitten  when  he 
tried  to  fix  his  teeth  in  the  Doctor. 

Sometimes  he  seemed  a  little  perturbed  by  the 
number  opposed  to  him.  Once  in  April  he  lost  the 
toss  against  XVIII  of  Sydenham  and  District. 
Alan  Marshal  bowled  the  first  ball  which  was  duly 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  303 

snicked  into  my  hands  only  just  clear  of  the  turf,  at 
first  slip.  Being  in  a  generous  mood,  I  flung  the 
ball  straight  back  to  Marshal.  W.  G.  at  point 
looked  first  at  me  then  at  the  Queenslander — I  can 
see  his  hand  now  in  the  favourite  position,  stroking 
his  beard  as  his  head  moved  quickly  from  side  to  side 
—and  then,  sharply  :  "  Wasn't  it  a  catch,  Sewell  ?  " 
"  I  thought  so,"  I  replied,  "  but  I  saw  the  batsman 
didn't,  so  I  chucked  it  back."  "  Don't  Jet's  have 
any  more  of  that,"  he  said  ;  "  there  are  sixteen  more 
of  them  in  the  pavilion." 

Wiltshire  arrived  one  day  at  the  Palace  with  a 
bowler  whom  W.  G.  had  never  seen  and,  to  do  Audley 
Miller,  the  Wiltshire  captain,  full  justice,  I  do  not 
think  that  he  had  seen  much  of  his  man  either.  Of 
course  the  Doctor  won  the  toss  and  just  as  Miller  was 
arranging  the  field  for  the  new  bowler,  W.  G.  took 
his  soundings  :  "  Say,  Audley,  what  kind  of  a  bowler 
is  this  ?  '  Miller  was  not  in  the  least  anxious  to 
show  his  hand,  so  he  replied  cheerily  :  "  He  mixes 
'em  up  a  bit,  Old  Man."  The  over  passed  off 
quietly  ;  to  the  intense  relief  of  the  colt  W.  G.  appear- 
ing to  find  unseen  trouble  in  almost  every  ball.  As 
they  were  crossing  before  the  next  over,  Grace  did  not 
fail  to  whisper  :  "  Audley,  we'll  give  him  mix-up 
before  we've  done  with  him."  "  And,"  as  Miller 
remarked  emphatically  to  me,  "  he  did."  It  was 
one  of  the  strongest  points  of  W.  G.'s  game  that  he 
never  took  a  fresh  bowler  on  trust.  He  treated  each 
new  one  as  a  Turner  or  a  Briggs  until  he  had  satisfied 
himself  to  the  contrary,  a  duty  which  did  not  take 
him  long.  He  never  applied  the  full  weight  of  his 
art  until  he  was  sure  what  he  was  up  against — and 
then  he  just  leant  on  the  ball  to  take  his  four. 

There  was  one  marked  peculiarity  about  his  con- 
duct of  the  day's  play  which  I  have  never  heard  any 
other  cricketer  comment  on.  When  writing  down 
the  order  of  going  in  and  you  asked  him  where  your 
place  was,  or  he  happened  to  look  up  and  see  you 


304     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

anxiously  awaiting  the  verdict,  he  would  always  use 
the  verb  "  to  come  "  and  not  "  to  go."  Thus  invari- 
ably it  was  :  "  You  come  in  such  and  such  a  wicket," 
never  "  you  go  in  such  and  such  wicket  down." 
Force  of  habit  no  doubt.  For  years  he  had  seen 
practically  the  whole  of  his  eleven  come  in  to  him 
to  try  to  keep  up  an  end  while  he  won  the  match, 
but  rarely  had  he  sat  and  watched  them  go  in  to 
save  it,  if  possible,  after  he  was  out. 

The  following  incident  is  typical  of  many  wickets 
he  obtained  in  London  County  matches.  A  batsman 
strange  to  his  methods  came  in.  W.  G.  began 
assiduously  to  rearrange  his  field,  waving  short-leg 
a  yard  or  two  this  way,  mid-on  four  deeper  and  then, 
to  all  appearance  satisfied,  he  would  bring  his  right 
arm  round  with  the  well-known  circular  motion  as 
he  paused  at  the  beginning  of  his  shufHe  up  to  bowl. 
Suddenly  something  wrong  in  the  position  of  short- 
slip  arresting  his  attention,  he  would  stop  and  motion 
him  a  foot  wider.  Meanwhile  the  hapless  victim  of 
all  these  careful  preparations  stood  rooted  to  the 
spot  where  he  had  last  placed  his  feet.  He  would 
follow  all  the  Old  Man's  movements  by  the  uncom- 
fortable process  of  screwing  his  neck  round.  When 
his  muscles  were  stiffened  by  this  effort,  he  would 
look  up  just  in  time  to  see  that  the  huge  man  had 
recommenced  his  shuffle.  Of  course  he  anticipated  a 
much  faster  ball  was  coming  than  W.  G.  ever  bowled. 
There  followed  a  slow,  painfully  careful,  forward 
stroke,  neither  foot  answering  the  helm  in  the  least 
— there  was  stamping  down  the  pitch  as  of  a  battery 
galloping  into  action — a  cocked-up  ball — a  catch — a 
chuckle — the  ball  thrown  by  a  sort  of  under-arm 
jerk  to  the  nearest  fieldsman — and  a  pensive  batsman 
wending  his  way  pavilion-wards  wondering  how  such 
a  slow  ball  was  ever  likely  to  have  reached  short-slip. 

There  can,  I  imagine,  be  little  doubt  that  very 
often  W.  G.  unintentionally  bowled  a  very  close 
resemblance  to  the  "  googlie."  The  lurch  of  his 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  305 

delivery  and  the  way  the  ball  left  his  hand  gave  it  a 
certain  amount  of  spin  from  leg — infinitesimal  com- 
pared with  that  of  Braund  or  of  G.  A.  Faulkner — 
but  also  with  a  certain  amount  of  top-spin.  With 
the  wind  blowing  from  the  direction  of  point  such  a 
ball  began  to  lose  its  momentum,  would  incline 
inwards  from  the  off  in  the  air.  I  have  never  seen 
any  other  bowler  at  all  like  W.  G.  He  appeared 
to  be  much  faster  than  he  was,  he  appeared  to  be  sure 
to  break  from  leg,  whereas,  he  often  "  went  "  the 
other  way  and  yet  his  bowling  was  much  faster  off 
the  pitch  than  seemed  likely  while  the  ball  was  in  the 
air. 

Of  course  he  was  long  past  his  best  as  a  batsman 
when  I  played  with  him.  To  me  his  batting  appeared 
to  be  largely  a  matter  of  fore-arm  power.  He  made 
a  number  of  strokes  in  which  his  body  did  not  seem 
to  take  much  more  interest  in  the  proceedings  than 
merely  to  lean  in  the  required  direction  for  his  fore- 
arms to  do  the  rest.  An  exception  was  in  the  case  of 
the  skied  hit  over  or  towards  long-on  made  off  an 
off-break.  Here  there  was  a  kind  of  momentary 
heave  from  the  hips  upwards  while  getting  the  begin- 
ning of  the  hit  and  then,  with  his  left  cheek  tucked 
into  his  left  shoulder,  he  let  the  ball  have  it  fair  and 
square,  finishing  up  with  the  left  side  of  his  left 
leg  still  towards  the  bowler  and  bat,  hands  and 
wrists  brought  round  over  his  left  shoulder.  His  cut 
was  more  of  a  heavy  dab  at  the  ball,  which  he  caused 
so  accurately  to  find  the  driving  part  of  the  bat, 
than  the  slashing  flashing  stroke  Tyldesley  played 
so  well.  He  rarely  cut  late,  but  generally  past 
point's  left  hand — the  cut  proper.  He  cut  off  the 
right  foot  the  long-hop  which  others  often  cut  off.  the 
left  foot,  sending  it  past  cover's  right  hand.  He 
never  played  straight  bowling  anywhere  but  straight, 
except  an  occasional  sort  of  push  stroke  beyond  mid- 
on.  Invariably  when  he  was  in  doubt,  and  almost 
always  in  any  event,  his  right  leg  was  moved  to 


306     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

before  the  stumps.  This  was  done  in  obedience  to 
the  principle  of  getting  over  the  ball,  and  in  this 
respect  W.  G.  in  action  was  an  everlasting  and  insur- 
mountable obstacle  to  those  experts  who  animadvert 
against  placing  the  right  leg  before  the  stumps  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  not  cricket. 

As  to  the  type  of  bowling  W.  G.  seemed  to  prefer 
in  these  years,  I  never  noted  any  marked  preference. 
If  there  was  any  it  was  for  medium  fast.  Very  slow 
or  very  fast  appeared  to  bother  him.  It  was  a 
bother  of  limb  and  not  of  failing  eyesight,  as  that 
remained  wonderful.  I  remember,  in  a  match  with 
Leicestershire  in  1901,  how  he  stopped  a  very  quick 
off-break  from  Geeson  and  then  shook  his  finger 
warningly  at  the  bowler.  Geeson  had  been  put  on 
the  Index  Expurgatorius  of  bowlers  during  the 
previous  winter  and  it  was  generally  known  that 
while  his  leg-break  was  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche 
the  same  could  not  be  said  of  his  off-break.  In 
spite  of  the  very  bad  light  in  which  he  was  batting, 
W.  G.  had  spotted  instantly  the  only  off-break  sent 
down. 

I  saw  him  have  one  of  his  narrowest  squeaks  of 
"  bagging  a  brace  "  in  first-class  cricket.  This  was 
at  the  Palace  in  June,  1906,  against  Cambridge 
University.  He  was  c.  Eyre  b.  May  o  in  the  first 
innings  and  should  have  been  run  out  easily  before 
scoring  in  the  second,  but  third  man  threw  wide  in  his 
legitimate  keenness.  A  single  was  scored  and  W.  G. 
was  out  in  the  next  over,  c.  Eyre  b.  Napier  i.  Alas 
batsman,  catcher  and  bowler  all  died  within  a  short 
time  of  each  other  in  the  same  year. 

That  the  Old  Man  did  a  lot  to  bring  forward  com- 
paratively unknown  cricketers  is  undeniably  and 
cordially  acknowledged  by  them.  Among  the  num- 
ber may  be  cited  the  Oxfordshire  amateur  W.  Smith, 
both  the  Kent  and  Northants  Seymours,  Alan  Mar- 
shal— who  came  with  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
Dr.  Macdonald— "  Razor  "  Smith,  Bale,  L.  Walker, 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  307 

P.  R.  May,  E.  C.  Kirk  and  J.  Gilman.  Braund  was 
known  before  he  played  with  W.  G.,  but  he  learnt  a 
great  deal  from  that  experience. 

To  Murdoch,  the  Old  Man  himself  was  generally 
Bill  Grace  or  "  The  Kent  Colt,"  as  he  would  have  it 
that  his  real  reason  in  coming  to  the  Crystal  Palace 
was  to  qualify  for  Kent.  I  can  fully  agree  with  the 
Anglo- Australian  that  only  the  joys  of  cricket  were 
experienced  in  W.  G.'s  company.  It  was  his  ever 
effervescent  boyish  ways  that  sometimes  gave  an 
air  of  "  ragging  "  to  a  particular  game.  Slackness, 
never ;  his  ailment  was  over-keenness,  if  the  truth 
must  be  told. 

From  his  life  at  the  Crystal  Palace  there  were  two 
inseparable  associations.  One  was  an  ancient  pair 
of  pads  which  he  wore  at  practice.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  know  where  they  were  made.  They 
had  several  holes  punched  in  them  for  ventilation 
and  year  after  year  turned  up  as  part  of  his  kit,  never 
seeming  much  the  worse  for  wear.  The  other  was 
the  boyish  joke  he  used  to  spring  on  new-comers. 
Rising  after  lunch,  he  would  stoop  as  though  to  pick 
up  something  and  cry  out :  "  Hullo,  any  one  lost  half 
a  sovereign  ?  "  After  a  general  fidgeting  and 
examination  of  exchequers  all  round,  perhaps  some 
novice  would  reply  :  "  Yes,  Doctor,  I  think  I  have." 
Whereupon  W.  G.  would  fling  him  a  coin  with  : 
"Well,  there's  a  ha'penny  of  it  I  have  just  found." 

At  practice  I  never  saw  W.  G.  without  pads  or 
gloves.  He  always  favoured  those  gloves  with  the 
big  pieces  of  black  indiarubber  on  the  fingers  and 
never  wore  skeleton  pads,  because,  as  he  said,  off 
them  the  ball  retains  a  certain  liveliness  which  may 
take  it  on  to  your  wicket,  whereas  the  ordinary  kind 
kills  the  ball.  His  boots  were  naturally  of  very 
useful  dimensions  and  he  always  had  plenty  of  short 
nails  in  the  soles  and  heels.  He  was  never  the  least 
bit  bothered  about  his  foothold  on  any  kind  of  turf, 
and  I  cannot  recollect  ever  having  seen  him  hit  on  the 


308     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

fingers.  But  there  was  one  terrific  welt  over  the 
heart  I  saw  him  get.  He  missed  a  full  toss  from  the 
Australian  express  bowler  Cotter  and  the  force  of  the 
ball  was  not  broken  by  having  touched  bat  or  fingers 
before  it  landed  on  his  left  chest.  Next  day  I  saw 
the  bruise  :  without  exaggeration  it  was  as  large  as 
a  saucer  and  on  a  somewhat  stormy  background  as 
it  was,  it  reminded  one  rather  of  Turner's  "  Fighting 
Temeraire." 

From  the  remarks  he  let  fall,  W.  G.  enjoyed  the 
evening  of  his  cricket  career  quite  as  much  as  he  had 
its  high  noon.  Few  of  us  ever  played  more  enjoy- 
able cricket  than  in  our  London  County  matches, 
whether  first  or  second  class.  The  very  presence  of 
the  great  Englishman,  a  big  man  so  typical  of 
a  great  race,  with  his  jovial  manliness  and  his  warm 
heart  made  our  spirits  rise.  The  high-pitched  voice 
or  cheery  laughter  of  that  dear  old  boy  was  ever  and 
anon  wafted  to  us  as  evidence  of  what  a  jolly  game 
we  were  taking  part  in.  I  cannot  do  better  than 
conclude  with  the  lines  of  a  capital  cricketer  D.  L.  A. 
Jephson.  To  any  one  who  had  the  honour  of  know- 
ing W.  G.,  they  must  appear  particularly  apposite. 

"  With  what  great  zest  through  all  your  merry  years, 
Did  you  not  cast  into  a  million  hearts 
The  golden  spirit  of  our  England's  game, 
To  hearts  that  otherwise  had  passed  it  by ! 
Dead  ;    and  from  Death  a  myriad  memories  rise 
Deathless ;    we  thank  you,  friend,  that  once  you  lived." 

Percy  G.  Gale  writes  : 

"  If  my  friendship  with  W.  G.  Grace  began  late  in 
life,  it  became  a  warm  one.  In  fact  the  inner  group 
of  the  London  County  Club  was  like  a  happy  family. 
Grace  himself  was  known  as  Father,  W.  L.  Murdoch 
as  Muvver,  '  Livey '  Walker  as  the  Babe  and  I  as 
Granny — why  I  was  given  that  nickname  I  do  not 
remember,  unless  it  was  because  I  was  slow  in  the 
field.  I  never  played  a  first-class  match  until  I 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  309 

was  thirty-seven  and  my  only  prolonged  season  was 
then,  in  1900.  But  I  played  a  rare  lot  of  club  cricket 
with  W.  G.,  and  invariably  he  showed  the  same 
tremendous  relish  for  the  game,  always  extremely 
kind  to  younger  players,  himself  rather  like  a  big 
rollicking  lovable  boy — in  fact  it  was  love  he  in- 
spired amongst  those  often  with  him. 

No  story  about  W.  G.  is  so  well  known  as  his 
writing  to  Phil  May  to  know  why  in  a  caricature  he 
had  sketched  short-leg  wearing  gloves,  and  the 
artist  replying  on  a  post-card  '  to  keep  his  hands 
warm.'  But  here  is  a  sequel :  I  have  myself  played 
in  a  cricket-match  with  W.  G.  in  the  present  century 
in  which  he  actually  fielded  at  point  wearing  wicket- 
keeping-gloves  for  precisely  the  same  purpose. 

I  once  ran  W.  G.  out  very  badly  when  I  was  his 
partner.  I  would  have  given  the  world  to  have 
crossed  him  after  my  call,  but  could  not  do  it.  He 
was  very  angry  at  my  getting  him  out,  and  he  told 
me  so  pretty  forcibly  when  I  soon  followed  him  com- 
pulsorily  to  the  pavilion.  But  fury  was  soon  spent 
with  the  dear  old  man,  and  not  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
afterwards,  his  big  hand  was  laid  on  my  shoulder 
as  he  invited  me  '  to  come  and  have  a  whisky.'  I 
remember  running  Murdoch  out  just  as  badly,  but, 
as  he  passed  me  on  the  way  to  the  tent,  all  he  said 
was,  '  Now  you've  to  make  a  century  just  because  I 
cannot.'  He  did  not  mind  for  even  the  space  of  an 
instant. 

Once  W.  G.  was  the  victim  of  a  small  boy.  It  was 
at  Chesterfield  and  he  had  something  on  a  race  and 
wanted  to  know  the  result.  He  and  I  were  walking 
inside  the  ropes  during  the  match  when  a  boy 
shouted  '  Special.'  '  Here  you  are,'  said  W.  G., 
giving  him  twopence.  I  noticed  the  boy  made  a 
precipitate  bolt.  On  opening  the  paper,  Grace  found 
it  was  the  advertisement  sheet  of  a  morning  half- 
penny issue. 

I  was  always  struck  with  the  fatherly  way  W.  G. 


310          THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

looked  after  his  people.  There  can  be  no  harm  now 
in  saying  that  at  times  the  authorities  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  found  difficulty  in  meeting  their  financial 
obligations,  so  every  Saturday  morning  Grace  made 
a  point  of  going  to  see  that  his  groundsmen  were 
duly  paid.  Dyer,  the  pavilion  attendant  at  the 
Palace,  was  a  quaint  individual.  Once  I  asked  W.  G. 
why  he  had  brought  him  from  Bristol.  '  Well  it  was 
this  way,'  replied  the  Old  Man  in  his  characteristic 
fashion  ;  '  when  I  was  leaving  for  the  Crystal  Palace, 
Dyer  told  me  he  had  had  a  dream  that  I  was  taking 
him  with  me,  so  of  course  he  had  to  come.  And 
when  I  was  moving  to  Eltham,  he  said  to  me  that  it 
was  an  odd  thing  but  he  had  had  another  dream  that 
he  was  going  to  be  my  gardener,  and  so  it  had  to  be, 
of  course.'  I  saw  Dyer  on  a  mourning  coach  at  the 
great  man's  funeral. 

W.  G.  had  a  jolly  way  of  proclaiming  what  was  to  be 
done.  In  Cyphers  v.  London  County,  he  said, '  Come, 
along,  Granny,  we've  both  to  make  hundreds,'  and 
we  did.  On  this  occasion  he  went  in  pretty  late. 

Every  one  will  truly  tell  you  W.  G.  never  played 
for  his  averages,  but  here  is  a  burlesque  incident  to 
prove  the  contrary.  It  was  in  this  century  and  the 
last  match  of  the  season.  I  perpetrated  the  fact  that 
in  club  cricket  Murdoch  averaged  70  and  Poidevin 
99.  '  And  what  do  I  average  ?  '  asked  Grace.  '  If 
you  made  86  not  out  to-day,  you  would  average  ioo/ 
was  my  reply.  '  Very  good,'  he  ejaculated  into  his 
beard.  He  proceeded  to  bat  admirably  and  when 
his  own  score  was  86,  declared  the  innings  closed. 
'  Must  beat  those  boys  once  more,'  was  his  chuckling 
comment.  This  is  the  only  time  I  ever  heard  him 
refer  to  his  own  average. 

The  last  time  he  and  SpofEorth  ever  met  in  a 
match  was  L.C.C.  v.  Hampstead.  Each  bowled  the 
other  out,  and  curiously  enough  each  of  them  took  no 
other  wicket  in  the  innings. 

Once,  at  Sutton,   W.   G.   declared  and  lost  the 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  311 

match.  He  had  fifteen  catches  missed  off  his  own 
bowling.  He  stood  watching  misses  at  last  with  an 
expression  almost  of  amusement  on  his  face.  At 
length  he  dropped  one  himself.  '  Missing  catches 
seems  catching/  he  grumbled  as  he  picked  up  the 
ball. 

He  had  a  masterful  way  with  him  at  need.  I 
recollect  a  batsman  disputing  an  l.b.w.  decision  on  an 
appeal  W.  G.  made  off  his  own  bowling.  The  cham- 
pion raised  his  head  and  thundered  :  '  Pavilion  you.' 
Those  two  words  were  enough.  The  batsman  retired 
instantly. 

On  Victoria  Day,  I  recollect  our  team  singing 
'  God  Save  the  Queen  '  in  the  field,  W.  G.  conducting 
by  waving  a  stump.  He  made  top  score  on  that 
occasion — remembering  all  his  career,  one  is  almost 
tempted  to  add,  as  usual." 

G.  W.  Beldam,  as  thoughtful  in  criticism  as  at 
cricket,  golf  or  photography,  writes  : 

"  I  well  remember  my  first  meeting  with  W.  G., 
the  idol  of  every  one's  boyhood.  I  had  been  fairly 
successful  for  some  years  as  a  club  cricketer  and  my 
friends  were  even  keener  than  I  was  myself  that  I 
should  come  into  first-class  cricket ;  but  for  some 
three  years  before  W.  G.  came  to  London  or  even 
thought  of  doing  so,  I  had  a  strong  presentiment 
that  if  I  came  into  first-class  cricket  it  would  be 
through  knowing  W.  G.  For  some  time  after 
London  County  Cricket  Club  was  founded  I  preferred 
to  play  for  my  old  clubs,  but  one  day  in  the  Oval 
pavilion  I  was  introduced  to  W.  G.  by  D.  L.  A. 
Jephson  and  it  seemed  to  me  I  had  known  him 
a  long  time.  Thus  commenced  an  acquaintance 
which  became  one  of  close  personal  intimacy. 

In  the  first  matches  I  soon  saw  what  a  great  and 
genuine  desire  he  had  to  be  of  real  assistance  to  aspir- 
ants for  first-class  cricket,  and  how  naturally  and 


312     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

quickly  he  made  excuses  for  any  failure  where  he  saw 
he  was  dealing  with  '  triers '  ;  but  there  was  no 
doubt  about  his  attitude  towards  '  slackers/  and 
because  of  this  those  who  knew  him  only  by  name, 
were  apt  to  misjudge  his  attitude  in  this  respect. 
There  never  was  any  man  more  ready  to  make  an 
excuse  or  to  sympathize  with  failure  or  more  keenly 
joyful  at  the  success  of  those  playing  under  him 
than  the  dear  Old  Man.  To  play  under  him  was  to 
worship  him,  so  that  he  drew  out  the  highest  effort. 
To  know  him  was  to  love  him. 

I  remember  in  the  match  London  County  v.  Wilt- 
shire being  fearfully  bewildered  at  something  he  did. 
He  was  standing  point  and  twice  appealed  for  '  leg 
before  wicket '  from  that  position.  Having  only  just 
come  to  know  him  I  did  not  like  even  to  mention  it 
to  any  one,  but  I  remember  it  struck  me  as  very 
extraordinary  that  he,  with  such  a  knowledge  of  the 
game,  should  appeal  from  a  position  in  which  it  was 
evident  that  he  could  only  be  approximately  sure 
that  the  ball  had  pitched  in  a  fine  between  the 
wickets. 

In  the  pavilion  he  gave  me  the  opportunity  which 
I  hardly  expected.  When  Wiltshire  were  in  the 
field  he  turned  to  me  and  said  :  '  I  say,  George,  that 
chap  fielding  point  isn't  much  good,  is  he  ?  '  I  said  : 
'  Do  you  mean  because  he  doesn't  appeal  for  leg 
before  wicket,  Doctor  ?  '  Then  I  thought  I  had  gone 
too  far,  but  my  doubts  were  immediately  dispelled 
by  him  coming  for  me,  laughing  all  over  his  face  and 
chasing  me  round  the  table. 

The  only  time  I  ever  remember  him  even  look- 
ing angry  for  the  moment  with  me,  was  when  he  was 
bowling,  and  I  was  put  in  the  long  field.  The  ball 
was  skied  and  dropped  about  fifteen  yards  over  mid- 
on's  head.  I  started  to  run  from  long-on  and  then 
seeing  I  could  not  possibly  get  to  it,  was  hoping  to 
get  the  batsmen  to  run  two,  with  a  chance  of  a  '  run- 
out/ Then  I  heard  :  '  Come  to  her,  George,  come  to 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  313 

her.'  They  ran  two  and  the  '  run-out '  nearly  came 
off,  but  W.  G.  was  too  intent  on  his  own  idea  that  I 
ought  to  have  attempted  the  catch.  I  remember 
saying  :  '  Look  here,  Doctor,  I  can't  do  the  hundred 
in  five  seconds  ! '  and  heard  some  mumbled  words 
from  him.  He  may  have  been  right,  but  I  didn't 
think  he  was. 

Another  little  anecdote  which  will  show  one  of  his 
characteristics  so  well  known  to  those  who  played 
with  him  often.  When  he  was  bowling,  just  as  he 
was  about  to  start  his  '  run  up  '  to  deliver  the  ball 
(and  just  as  the  batsman  had  prepared  to  watch  him) 
he  would  stop  and  order  short-leg  to  move  a  little 
this  way  or  that,  or  deep  long-on  to  move  further 
round,  etc.,  and  then  he  would  proceed  most  likely 
to  bowl  the  ball  well  on  the  off-side  of  the  wicket. 
One  day  '  Billy '  Murdoch  was  fielding  nearly  all  day 
at  short-leg  and  W.  G.  bowled  a  good  deal  that  day — 
(I  think  it  was  Surrey  v.  London  County).  When 
Murdoch  came  into  the  pavilion  he  slapped  the  Old 
Man  on  the  back  and  said  :  '  Look  here,  Old  Man, 
the  next  time  I  play  with  you  I'll  have  a  large  packet 
of  small  flags  in  my  pocket,  and  every  time  you  move 
me,  I'll  place  one  in  the  ground  and  before  the  match 
is  over,  I  shan't  have  any  place  to  put  my  feet  !  ' 
There  were  roars  of  laughter  for  '  Billie  '  had  humor- 
ously laid  bare  one  of  the  Old  Man's  favourite  little 
tricks.  Yet  even  in  these,  the  Doctor  was  a  true 
artist — very  rarely  did  he  overdo  it ;  the  batsman 
was  only  kept  just  for  a  fraction  of  a  second  during 
which  his  attention  was  distracted  from  the  bowler 
to  the  man  who  was  being  moved  just  a  little  further 
this  way  or  that,  but  possibly  enough  to  make  him 
wonder  what  was  in  the  champion's  mind  and  hence 
gave  less  concentration  to  the  ball.  But  in  this,  as 
I  saw  and  observed,  the  dear  Old  Man  had  to  do  with 
the  finer  points  of  the  game — a  question  of  general- 
ship. I've  seen  other  generals  go  much  further  with 
nothing  like  the  artistic  ability  of  W.  G.  To  W.  G. 


314     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

these  finer  points  were  simply  the  question  of 
strategy.  No  one  ever  spotted  the  weakness  of  a 
batsman  quicker  than  W.  G.,  or  knew  how  best  to 
bring  about  his  downfall  or  cramp  his  shots. 

Another  story  which  happened  in  a  match,  London 
County  v.  Worcester  Beagles  on  the  Palace  ground. 
W.  G.  captained  the  Beagles  and  got  a  well-known 
M.C.C.  cricketer  to  captain  London  County.  The 
Beagles  batted  first  and  the  innings  was  nearly  com- 
pleted, when  two  other  men  appeared  and  begged  W.  G, 
to  see  if  the  eleven  aside  could  not  be  altered  to 
twelve  aside  :  W.  G.  asked  the  permission  of  the  Lon- 
don County  skipper,  who  readily  agreed.  When  the 
Beagles  were  led  into  the  field  by  W.  G.  the  London 
County  captain  noticed  he  was  taking  twelve  into 
the  field,  and  objected,  '  As,'  said  he,  '  we  have  only 
fielded  eleven  through  the  greater  part  of  your 
innings.'  'Oh!  but,'  said  W.  G.,  'we  have 
agreed  to  play  twelve  aside  and  I'm  going  to  field 
twelve.'  '  Very  well,'  said  the  London  County 
skipper,  '  in  that  case  I  shall  not  bat,  but  sit  and 
smoke  a  cigar  and  watch  you.'  '  Do  just  as  you  like,' 
said  W.  G.  And  the  London  County  skipper  was 
as  good  as  his  word.  On  coming  in  from  the  field 
W.  G.  walked  up  to  the  London  County  captain  with  : 
'  Well,  old  man,  you  did  as  you  said  you  would,  and  I 
don't  blame  you,'  and  patting  him  on  the  shoulder 
added,  '  I  should  have  done  the  same  myself.' 

In  spotting  promising  young  players  he  had 
scarcely  an  equal,  and  any  one  mentioned  in  the  dis- 
patches of  W.  G.  was  sure  of  achieving  high  honours. 
His  judgment  was  rarely,  if  ever,  at  fault.  He  knew 
by  instinct  and  was  quick  to  place  the  true  value  on 
the  cricketer,  though  to  others  it  was  not  so  evident. 

There  is  a  story  told  that  in  a  certain  London 
County  match,  a  club  cricketer  was  playing  for  the 
first  time,  and  when  W.  G.  asked  him  where  he 
would  like  to  go  in,  he  answered  :  '  Well,  Doctor, 
I  don't  mind,  but  I've  never  made  a  "  duck  "  in  my 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  315 

life.'  W.  G.  looked  at  him  only  as  he  could  look — 
as  at  some  rare  avis — for  nothing  ever  escaped  his 
observant  eyes,  and  said  :  '  What !  never  made  a 
blob  in  your  life  ?  then  last  is  your  place  :  you 
haven't  played  long  enough  !  ' 

One  would  often  get  a  letter  from  him,  asking  one 
to  turn  out  for  him  in  such  and  such  a  match,  and  as 
an  inducement,  where  the  player  was  a  bowler  as 
well  as  a  bat,  he  would  add,  '  Thornbury  Rules.' 
This  meant  you  went  in  first  with  him  and  went  on 
to  bowl  first  also.  I  suspect  this  came  from  a  habit 
in  vogue  in  the  village  of  Thornbury,  famous  for"  the 
Graces  in  earlier  years. 

The  secret  of  W.  G.'s  power  in  drawing  out  the 
best  in  those  playing  under  him,  was  not  altogether 
his  great  and  fascinating  personality  on  the  field, 
but  he  saw  to  it  that  those  forming  his  team  were  a 
happy  family.  He  never  could  have  '  put  on  side  * 
— he  was  far  too  natural  for  that.  He  was  one  with 
nature  and  a  most  keen  observer.  Nothing,  how- 
ever small,  seemed  to  escape  him,  and  his  abundant 
and  never- varying  keenness  just  showed  that  in  the 
big  frame  was  the  heart  of  a  child — enjoying  every- 
thing to  the  full.  It  was  just  the  same  whether  it 
was  a  village  match,  or  some  team  he  had  taken 
down  to  a  country  house,  or  Gentlemen  v.  Playersr 
or  England  v.  Australia — just  the  same  keenness, 
just  the  same  boyish  delight.  The  remembrance  of 
him  will  always  bring  to  me  the  sunshine,  the  green 
fields,  and  everything  worth  remembering.  All  the 
greatest  cricketers  of  many  generations  loved  the 
Old  Man  :  had  he  not  seen  them  all  grow  up  ;  had  he 
not  given  them  all  many  a  valued  and  cheery  word  ? 
I've  never  come  across  any  great  cricketer  who  was 
jealous  of  W.  G.'s  reputation,  but  was  rather  jealous 
for  his  reputation. 

His  style  seemed  to  be  a  blend  of  all  the  styles 
which  came  after  him,  and  the  action  photos  show 
his  exceptional  wrist  work,  timing  the  blow  with  the 


3i6     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

wrists  on  to  the  ball,  and  notwithstanding  his  colossal 
frame,  making  strokes  with  perfect  ease  and  little 
or  no  apparent  effort.  I  was  especially  keen  when 
he  took  up  golf  to  compare  his  golf  shots  with  his 
cricket  strokes — displace  the  cricket  bat  by  a  golf 
club  in  many  of  his  photos  and  you  have  a  perfect 
finish  for  a  golf  shot,  and  it  was  not  surprising  that 
lie  showed  exceptional  form  for  one  taking  up  golf 
when  well  over  fifty  years  of  age.  It  may  interest 
some  to  know  that  he  owned  he  never  attempted  to 
'  pull '  a  ball  at  cricket  till  after  he  was  forty. 

Every  one  seemed  to  know  W.  G.  Wherever  you 
went  with  him  boys  came  past  him,  just  to  touch 
him  and  say  :  '  I  touched  'im  '  ;  and  one  constantly 
heard,  '  There's  W.  G.,'  and  he  seemed  hardly  able 
to  move  anywhere  without  being  at  once  publicly 
recognized ;  and  yet  he  was  least  conscious  of  all — 
always  his  simple  natural  self.  He  was  once  playing 
for  me  v.  Hanwell  Asylum,  where  he  was  recognized 
and  remembered  as  '  W.  G.'  by  many  of  the  inmates 
who  had  seen  him  on  the  field,  some  running  up  and 
.shaking  hands  with  him.  One  wrote  him  a  long 
letter  and  its  contents  were  especially  humorous 
and  caused  W.  G.  to  laugh  heartily.  The  writer 
remembered  W.  G.  playing  somewhere  in  the  seven- 
ties at  Clifton  and  he  placed  the  time,  because  he 
well  remembered  that  the  weather  cock  on  the  church 
steeple  came  down  and  fed  on  the  green  ! 

One  can  only  give  impressions  ;  for  where  W.  G. 
was  playing  many  incidents  occurred  too  numerous 
lo  mention.  It  was  given  to  those  who  were  privi- 
leged to  know  him  in  his  home-life,  to  see  his  true 
character.  In  the  lives  of  great  men  one  notices 
how  much  they  owed  to  the  simplicity  of  their  home- 
life,  of  which  their  careers  are  a  reflex.  This  was 
essentially  true  of  W.  G. ;  if  you  had  learnt  to  love 
him  on  the  field  you  would  love  him  even  more  when 
you  saw  him  in  his  home — just  the  simple,  natural, 
and  true  English  gentleman. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  317 

It  was  rarely  indeed  that  he  could  be  persuaded 
to  stay  away  from  his  home  for  week-ends  or  a  visit. 
He  was  wholly  attached  to  his  home  and  all  that 
made  it  home  to  him.  He  was  no  mean  gardener 
and  kept  his  putting  green  to  perfection,  where  he 
developed  in  later  years  his  ability  in  putting,  and 
this,  as  well  as  his  straightness  down  the  course,  made 
him  a  partner  worth  having  in  a  foursome. 

He  rarely  forgot  a  promise  ;  he  was  generally  as 
good  as  his  word.  I  remember  before  the  last 
match  he  played,  Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  the  Oval 
in  1906,  he  took  a  fancy  to  a  bat  in  my  bag.  I  gave 
it  to  him  on  one  condition,  viz.  :  that  he  should  return 
it  to  me  if  he  made  100  with  his  signature  on  it,  and 
the  score,  etc.  ;  he  thought  that  quite  a  good  bargain 
and  not  likely  to  be  fulfilled,  but  he  went  very  near 
and  made  74 — the  last  innings  he  ever  played  for  the 
Gentlemen.  He  kept  the  bat  but  sent  it  back  to  me 
at  the  end  of  the  season,  duly  signed  and  attested, 
and  I  prize  it  greatly." 


Final  Matches  and  Anecdotes 

WITH  REMINISCENCES  BY  H.R.H.  PRINCE 
CHRISTIAN,  A.  C.  M.  CROOME,  ETC.,  ETC. 

NO  more  impressive  tribute  to  the  personal  worth 
of  W.  G.  Grace  could  be  afforded  than  the 
way  in  which  his  individuality  appealed  favourably 
to  men  in  every  rank  of  life.  In  these  pages  will  be 
found  abundant  testimony  that  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowliest  in  the  whole  Empire  his  name  was  not 
only  a  household  word,  but  also  that  without  excep- 
tion he  himself  created  a  marked  and  favourable 
impression  on  everybody  with  whom  he  came  in  con- 
tact. It  was  not  only  the  cricketer  but  the  man 
who  was  universally  liked.  In  proof  of  this,  it  was 
with  particular  pleasure  that  the  co-editors  received 
an  intimation  that  H.  R.  H.  Prince  Christian  of 
Schleswig-Holstein  would  be  good  enough  to  accede 
to  their  desire  that  he  should  contribute  his  impres- 
sions of  the  champion.  The  Prince  had  been  so 
regular  a  spectator  of  the  principal  matches,  gener- 
ally sitting  between  Lord  Coventry  and  Lord  Cado- 
gan,  that,  had  he  chosen,  he  could  have  written  in 
much  more  decisive  fashion,  but  the  quiet  modesty 
of  the  communication  in  itself  demonstrates  the 
unostentatiously  kindly  fashion  in  which  one  veteran 
— himself  excelling  at  some  sports  and  a  critical 
patron  of  others — put  forward  an  appreciative  and 
appreciated  memorandum.  He  wrote  as  follows  : 

318 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  319 

"  I  gladly  accede  to  the  request  to  write  a  few 
lines  for  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace's  biography,  because  I  had 
a  strong  liking  and  respect  for  W.  G.  I  lack  the 
expert  knowledge  necessary  to  justify  me  in  attempt- 
ing to  discuss  his  cricket  from  the  technical  point  of 
view.  But  although  I  have  not  myself  played 
cricket,  I  feel  that  a  tolerably  wide  experience  of 
other  great  sports,  such  as  hunting,  shooting  and 
racing,  enabled  me  to  sympathize  with  the  ideas  of 
-cricketers  and  to  take  an  intelligent  interest  in  their 
doings.  My  two  sons  began  at  an  early  age  to  show 
more  than  average  promise  at  the  game  ;  so  it  is  now 
a  good  many  years  since  I  commenced  to  watch  the 
play  on  my  own  and  on  other  grounds  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Windsor,  and  also  at  Lord's  and  the  Oval, 
encouraging  them  to  persevere  at  a  recreation  of 
whose  value  I  have  a  high  opinion.  As  they  con- 
tinued to  make  progress,  the  one  at  Wellington,  the 
other  at  Charterhouse,  the  class  of  cricket  played  at 
Cumberland  Lodge  naturally  improved. 

Later,  when  my  dear  elder  son,  the  late  Prince 
Christian  Victor,  was  making  for  himself  at  Oxford 
a  reputation  as  batsman  and  wicket-keeper  of  which 
I  was,  and  still  am,  extremely  proud,  he  brought 
to  our  ground  men  bearing  names  famous  in  the 
history  of  the  game.  One  was  C.  I.  Thornton  who, 
by  the  way,  made  one  of  his  biggest  hits  at  Cumber- 
land Lodge  :  we  still  show  to  visitors  where  the  ball 
struck  the  stable  wall,  some  hundred  and  forty  yards 
from  the  wicket.  It  was  either  through  him  or  my 
«lder  son,  that  I  made  W.  G.'s  acquaintance  at  Lord's. 
I  do  not  think  that  it  needed  any  great  insight,  or  a 
varied  experience  of  men  and  affairs,  to  detect  that  he 
possessed  the  qualities  which  produce  greatness  in 
any  sphere  of  activity — courage,  endurance,  self- 
confidence,  concentration  and,  I  would  add,  geni- 
ality. W.  G.'s  success  at  cricket  was  a  foregone 
conclusion  and  is  now  a  matter  of  history.  My  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  him  enables  me  to  under- 


320     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

stand  why  that  success  was  welcome,  not  only  to  his 
own  side,  and  to  the  general  public,  but  even  to  his 
opponents. 

As  I  think  over  the  occasions  on  which  I  met  him 
I  particularly  remember  the  last  match  in  which  I 
saw  him  play  against  the  Australians  at  Lord's.  He 
was  past  even  his  second  youth  ;  I  believe  he  was 
already  a  grandfather,  and  certainly  not  more  than 
two  or  three  of  his  colleagues  had  been  born  when  he 
made  his  first  century  off  Australian  bowling.  He 
made  an  indifferent  stroke  in  his  first  over  and  the 
expert  critics  I  was  sitting  with  suggested  that  his 
day  was  over  and  that  he  should  have  resigned  his 
place  to  a  younger  player.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to 
remember  that  I  bade  them  wait  and  see.  W.  G. 
batted  splendidly  after  his  one  mistake  and  made 
well  over  fifty.  Just  to  show  that  his  first  feeble 
stroke  was  an  accident,  he  hit  the  ball  almost  into 
the  clock  towards  the  finish  of  his  innings.  Perhaps 
it  was  rash  of  me  to  set  my  opinion  against  that  of 
the  connoisseurs,  but  I  knew  W.  G.  to  be  a  great  man 
and  greatness  has  a  way  of  rising  to  critical  occasions. 

Others  better  qualified  than  I  must  do  justice  to 
the  deeds  of  the  Grand  Old  Man  on  the  cricket- 
field.  It  is  one  which  ought  to  be  accomplished  with 
all  possible  thoroughness  ;  for  W.  G.  made  cricket 
what  it  is,  and  cricket,  I  have  no  doubt  whatever, 
is  among  the  most  valuable  possessions  of  the 
Empire." 

Once  more  A.  C.  M.  Croome  consents  to  help  with  a 
lively  narrative  of  the  match  in  which  Prince  Chris- 
tian displayed  such  good-natured  interest  as  well  as 
hospitality.  He  writes  : 

"  The  last  time  that  I  met  W.  G.  Grace  on  the 
cricket-field  was  at  Cumberland  Lodge,  when  we 
played  for  Prince  Christian's  Veterans  Team  v. 
Charterhouse.  I  fancy  this  was  the  last  match  of 


W.    G.    GRACE    AND    A.    G.    STEEL. 

Taken  on  the  last  occasion  when  they  both   played  in  the  same  match. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  321 

more  than  local  interest  in  which  W.  G.  took  part. 
Our  team  consisted  of  Prince  Albert  (captain),  W.  G. 
Grace,  A.  G.  Steel,  A.  J.  Webbe,  P.  J.  de  Paravicini, 
E.  Smith,  C.  C.  Clarke,  F.  Dames  Longworth,  W.  H. 
Brain,  A.  C.  M.  Croome  and  J.  R.  Mason.  I  put 
Jack  Mason  last  because  he  was  not  properly  a 
veteran,  but  when  Stoddart  had  to  cry  off,  he  was 
brought  in,  in  case  of  accidents. 

Before  the  end  of  the  day  we  needed  him  badly, 
because  the  Charterhouse  boys  declined  to  be  per- 
suaded out  by  W.  G.  and  made  over  320.  We  did 
not  miss  a  great  many  catches  either  and  Webbe 
caught  a  marvellous  one  at  mid-off.  Mason,  in 
consequence,  had  quite  a  nice  bowl.  In  reply  we 
made  280  odd,  but  W.  G.,  to  everybody's  extreme 
annoyance,  failed  to  score.  He  went  in  first  with 
'  Nab  '  Steel,  and  in  the  Carthusian  fast  bowler's 
first  over  received  one  to  cut.  He  made  the  stroke 
beautifully  with  all  the  old  snap  of  the  wrists  and  a 
good  deal  of  shoulder-punch  behind  it,  but  a  boy, 
standing  where  no  fielder  normally  stands,  got  one 
hand  down  to  the  ball  just  before  it  hit  ground  to  race 
to  the  boundary  and  held  it. 

At  luncheon  I  sat  next  a  boy  whose  father  had 
played  for  Gloucestershire.  He  told  me  of  the  fact 
and  afterwards  I  introduced  him  to  W.  G.  '  Very 
glad  to  make  your  acquaintance/  said  the  Old  Man, 
'  and  I  hope  you're  a  better  fielder  than  your  father 
was.  He  was  the  worst  that  ever  I  did  see.'  I  do 
not  suppose  anybody  ever  minded  criticism  of  this 
kind  from  W.  G.  It  was  of  course  absolutely  authori- 
tative and  it  was  expressed  with  a  simple  geniality 
which  removed  all  cause  of  offence. 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  the  Prince  of  Wales 
came  over  from  Windsor,  where  he  had  that  day 
been  admitted  Knight  of  the  Garter.  He  and  W.  G. 
had  a  long  talk  on  the  Cumberland  Lodge  ground 
and  were  sufficiently  interested  to  let  their  attention 
wander  from  the  game.  They  had  a  narrow  escape 

Y 


322     THE   MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

of  being  cut  over  by  an  on-drive  of  Paravicini's. 
Thanks  to  the  kindness  of  Prince  Christian,  it  is 
possible  to  illustrate  these  pages  with  a  photograph 
of  the  meeting  of  the  Prince  and  the  Past-master." 

To  the  memoir  of  H.H.  Prince  Christian  Victor, 
W.  G.  Grace  himself  contributed  some  recollections 
from  which  may  be  extracted : 

"  I  first  met  him,  I  remember,  at  the  Oval,  when 
he  was  looking  on  at  one  of  the  big  matches  with  his 
good  father.  The  next  occasion  was  when  he  was 
at  Oxford  in  1886,  when  I  was  asked  to  meet  him  at 
breakfast  at  Oriel  College  by  the  Rev.  A.  G.  Butler, 
Dean  of  Oriel.  He  came  with  the  President  of 
Magdalen,  to  whose  college  he  belonged.  He  was 
a  fine  bat  and  good  safe  field  and  wicket-keeper. 
We  were  always  great  friends ;  I  never  saw  him  at 
Lord's  or  the  Oval — and  I  met  him  often  at  both 
places — without  having  a  good  chat  with  him  ;  he 
was  always  the  same  nice,  good  fellow.  It  was  at 
Lord's  I  saw  him  last  just  before  he  went  to  the  front. 
Little  did  I  think  as  we  chatted  that  I  should  never 
see  him  again." 

Numerous  instances  have  been  received  of  Grace's 
kindness  to  children.  For  example,  a  lady  writes  : 

"  A  great  many  years  ago,  my  small  brother  and  I 
were  spending  the  day  on  the  Sussex  County  Ground 
at  Brighton,  watching  a  match  in  which  Dr.  Grace 
was  playing.  During  the  luncheon  hour  we  were 
gazing  at  the  pitch  when  Dr.  Grace  came  up  and 
began  talking  to  us.  He  asked  first  if  we  had  had 
our  lunch  and  was  much  amused  when  we  cheerfully 
said  :  '  Rather ;  buns  and  lemonade.'  He  then 
inquired  if  we  were  fond  of  cricket  and  often  watched 
matches.  We  told  him  in  the  holidays  we  did 
nothing  else.  Then  he  told  my  brother  to  give  him 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE   AND   H.R.H.   THE    PRINCE    OF    WALES. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  323 

'  a  ball  or  two  '  and  turning  to  me  :  '  You  can  go  and 
field.'  For  about  five  minutes  he  played  with  us, 
much  to  the  amused  interest  of  the  audience  and  to 
our  own  pride  and  pleasure.  Neither  of  us  could 
ever  forget  his  kindness  and  he  always  remained 
our  cricket  hero." 

On  another  occasion  W.  G.  Grace  was  practising 
at  the  nets  in  the  Park  at  Oxford  and  spectators 
were  throwing  back  the  balls  he  hit  to  the  bowlers 
as  they  fielded  them.  One  small  boy  instead  of 
returning  the  ball,  walked  up  to  the  stump  and  when 
his  turn  came  sent  quite  a  good  delivery  down  and 
lo !  W.  G.  was  bowled.  Nobody,  not  the  boy  himself , 
was  more  pleased  than  the  champion,  who  beckoned 
the  little  chap  to  come  up  to  him  and  grasped  him 
heartily  by  the  hands,  obviously  commending  him. 

In  1875,  a  small  boy  of  twelve  (who  as  a  veteran 
forwards  the  reminiscence)  wandered  on  to  the 
ground  to  see  the  practice  before  the  Sussex  v. 
Gloucestershire  match  at  Brighton.  In  his  hand 
was  a  new  ball  just  given  to  him,  which  he  was 
examining  carefully.  Suddenly,  over  his  shoulder 
loomed  a  tall  bearded  figure  and  in  kindly  tones  came 
the  question  :  "  Hullo,  youngster,  can  you  bowl  ? 
Come  and  give  me  a  ball."  Highly  excited,  for  the 
lad  knew  who  he  was  bowling  to,  he  sent  down  three 
deliveries  which  W.  G.  Grace  was  good  enough  to 
play  back,  but  the  fourth  pitching  a  bit  short,  he 
stepped  out  and  landed  it  right  on  to  the  old  skating- 
rink  which  at  that  time  formed  a  part  of  the  ground. 
The  boy  quickly  recovered  the  ball,  but  to  his 
dismay — through  travelling  along  nearly  the  whole 
length  of  the  concrete  surface — it  was  severely 
chipped,  and  whilst  he  ruefully  contemplated  it,  he 
was  aroused  by  a  cheery  :  "  Has  it  scratched  it  a  bit  ? 
Never  mind.  Come  along  with  me  and  get  some 
chocolates."  So  the  small  lad  trotted  and  the 
Leviathan  strode  down  to  Julian's  (the  ground 


324     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

caterer)  and  the  latter  compensated  the  former  with 
a  shilling  box  of  chocolates.  "  The  news  of  W.  G.'s 
death  almost  brought  the  taste  of  those  particular 
chocolates  to  my  mouth  again  after  forty  years. 
It  may  have  been  a  small  matter,  but  it  throws  a 
light  on  his  kindly  actions." 

When  W.  G.  Grace  was  living  at  Bristol,  he  came 
striding  down  Ashley  Hill  one  breezy  morning  at 
that  pace  his  friends  knew  so  well  and  his  eye  caught 
the  up-turned,  admiring  gaze  of  a  little  chap,  who 
had  just  been  told  by  his  father  :  "  Here  conies 
W.  G."  The  great  man  greeted  him  :  "  Hullo,  are  you 
going  to  be  a  cricketer  too  ?  "  "  Yes,  sir,"  said  the 
boy,  who  had  already  began  to  cherish  aspirations 
for  centuries.  "  Then  give  me  your  hand  on  it  and 
enjoy  the  game  as  much  as  I  do,"  answered  W.  G. 
and  heartily  shook  hands.  Imagine  the  unforget- 
table pleasure  that  gave  to  the  little  fellow. 

F.  S.  Ashley-Cooper  furnishes  additional  testimony 
as  follows : 

"  One  year  at  Hastings,  W.  G.  was  challenged  to 
play  a  single-wicket  match  by  Miss  Mariquita  Kath- 
leen Smith,  the  little  daughter  of  that  superb  hitter 
Ernest  Smith.  Owing  to  rain  there  was  delay  in 
admitting  the  public  to  the  ground  and  it  was  during 
the  enforced  wait  that  the  encounter  took  place  in 
front  of  the  pavilion.  Ernest  Smith  and  Lord 
Hawke  fielded  for  the  fair  enthusiast,  off  whose  first 
delivery  the  great  man  was  caught  by  her  father. 
W.  G.  was  eventually  beaten  hands  down,  but  took 
the  discomfiture  gleefully,  remarking  that  he  might 
have  done  better  on  a  prepared  pitch.  Even  when 
that  young  lady  has  grey  hair  she  is  still  sure  to 
recall  the  incident  of  her  victory  with  a  thrill  of 
amused  pleasure." 

When  Grace  came  to  Sydenham,  one  of  the  boys 
at  Dulwich  College  conceived  an  ingenious  plan  for 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  325 

seeing  him.  He  was  unwell  and  absolutely  refused 
the  attentions  of  the  family  practitioner,  declaring 
that  the  only  physician  he  would  see  was  Dr.  W.  G. 
Grace.  Accordingly,  as  the  lad  was  really  ill,  W.  G. 
was  called  in  by  the  parents.  Whether  it  was  through 
his  advice  or  through  the  success  of  the  boy's  own 
scheme,  the  patient  recovered  with  remarkable 
rapidity  and  ever  since  has  remembered  with  delight 
the  professional  visits  of  the  champion. 

He  was  always  pursued  by  autograph  hunters. 
Once,  at  Brighton,  a  schoolboy  brought  him  an  auto- 
graph book  and  a  fountain  pen,  asking  for  his  signa- 
ture which  was  duly  given.  A  few  weeks  later  at 
Lord's  the  same  boy  approached  him  with  the  same 
request.  "  But  I  gave  you  my  autograph  last 
month  at  Brighton,"  said  the  Doctor,  who  had  a 
keen  memory  for  faces.  '  Yes,"  replied  the  boy, 
"  but  I  swopped  that  for  Dan  Leno  and  a 
bishop." 

Such  is  fame.  And  in  proof  of  its  widespread 
character  so  far  as  Grace  was  concerned,  J.  A.  S. 
McArthur  writes  that  some  twenty  years  ago  he  was 
travelling  in  the  ulterior  of  Fiji  and  there  met  an  old 
chief  in  a  large  wharre,  who  had  been  a  cannibal  and 
regretted  the  meals  that  were  no  more.  By  some 
incongruous  chance,  his  room  was  decorated  with 
two  oleographs  :  one  was  of  the  late  King  Edward, 
then  Prince  of  Wales,  the  other  of  W.  G. 

Several  instances  have  been  given  of  the  way  in 
which  Grace  had  the  knack  of  getting  the  last  word, 
but  once  at  least  he  was  scored  off.  He  was  waiting 
at  Eynesford  for  the  beagles  and  with  a  friend  walked 
up  to  examine  the  ancient  stocks  that  still  stood  on 
the  village  green.  Whilst  they  were  talking  about 
them,  a  rustic  came  close  beside  them.  With  his 
face  wreathed  in  smiles,  W.  G.  turned  to  him  and 
said  :  "I  should  like  to  see  you  in  them."  Slowly 
the  fellow  contemplated  the  burly  veteran  and  then 
replied  :  "I  think,  sir,  as  'ow  you  would  fill  'em  out 


326     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

better  than  me,"  which  W.  G.  received  with  a  hearty 
lit  of  laughter. 

Ernest  Brown  writes  that  W.  G.  Grace  frequently 
visited  him  at  Upminster  when  he  had  a  cricket  club 
and  ground  of  his  own  there.  On  one  occasion  the 
team  were  playing  at  Warley.  A  few  old  cricketing 
fogies  came  to  see  the  match  as  they  heard  Grace  was 
likely  to  play,  and  asked  our  correspondent  if  they 
could  speak  to  him.  So  in  due  course  Grace  was 
brought  round,  each  was  introduced  individually 
and  then  the  fun  began.  He  gripped  each  man's 
hand  with  a  cheery  word,  but  that  grip,  which  we  all 
knew  so  well,  left  such  an  impression  on  them  that 
the  tears  rolled  down  the  cheeks  of  several  of  them. 
None,  however,  would  say  a  word,  but  slyly 
watched  the  effect  on  his  neighbour  when  it  came  to 
be  his  turn  to  be  introduced.  As  the  Old  Man 
quitted  them,  he  inquired  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  : 
"  Brown,  d'ye  think  they'd  all  like  to  shake  hands 
over  again  ?  " 

In  small  L.C.C.C.  fixtures,  W.  G.  "  seemed  as 
merry  and  mischievous  as  a  schoolboy,  a  typical 
example  of  one  who,  in  heart  at  any  rate,  had  never 
grown  up.  Rain  stopped  play  on  a  certain  occasion 
and  the  sides  waited  patiently  whilst  it  poured  in 
torrents.  At  last  Grace  grew  restless  and  getting  a 
brassie  and  a  pocketful  of  old  golf  balls,  he  sallied 
forth.  From  the  front  of  the  pavilion  he  proceeded 
to  make  a  score  of  drives  across  the  ground  (and  very 
good  some  were),  and  then  striding  to  the  other  side 
he  drove  as  many  as  he  could  find  back  again. 
This  went  on  for  an  hour  at  least  in  the  pelting  rain 
and  then,  with  a  mashie,  he  insisted  on  hitting  up 
catches  with  golf  balls  to  friends  in  the  pavilion. 
He  must  have  been  wet  through,  but  he  did  not  seem 
to  mind  a  bit,  though  he  was  then  in  his  fifty-eighth 
year." 

He  was  playing  for  Worcester  Park  Beagles  v. 
L.C.C.C.  at  the  Crystal  Palace  and  the  opposing  cap- 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  327 

tain,  who  was  batting,  was  rather  too  intent  on 
backing  up,  which  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  W.  G. 
Presently,  instead  of  delivering  the  ball,  he  stepped 
back  and  whipped  off  the  bail,  causing  that  captain 
to  retire  run  out,  much  to  his  own  disgust,  but  to  the 
unconcealed  delight  of  Grace.  The  remark  that  he 
made  :  "  Just  as  well  to  make  a  cast-back  some- 
times," was  singularly  appropriate  and  witty  since 
he  was  playing  for  Beagles. 

"  When  L.C.C.C.  was  batting  against  Beddington 
in  1909  " — writes  one  who  played  in  the  match — 
"  the  bowler  was  about  to  deliver  the  ball,  but 
dropped  it  and  it  rolled  up  the  pitch  and  rested  just 
half  way  between  the  wickets.  He  was  just  going 
to  pick  it  up  when  W.  G.,  who  was  batting,  strode 
up  the  pitch,  shouting  "  Don't  touch  it."  He 
took  careful  aim  and  then  hit  the  ball  to  the  boun- 
dary, whilst  about  four  fieldsmen  close  by  stood 
watching  him,  all  looking  highly  bewildered  and 
taken  aback.  Grace  then  returned  to  his  crease  and, 
with  his  broad  shoulders  shaking  with  laughter, 
said  :  "I  should  have  looked  silly  if  I  had  missed  it, 
shouldn't  I  ?  "  He  would  have  been  out  if  he  had 
attempted  to  hit  the  ball  twice,  and  as  he  was  natur- 
ally not  very  fast  at  this  period,  if  he  had  mishit  it 
the  ball  would  have  been  returned  to  the  wicket- 
keeper  and  he  would  have  been  stumped. 

E.  A.  C.  Thomson,  the  energetic  secretary  of  the 
London  Club  Cricket  Conference,  is  responsible  for 
the  tale  of  W.  G.  playing  in  a  country  cricket  match 
and  going  in  amidst  tremendous  applause  from  all 
the  assembled  village  luminaries  who  settled  down 
to  see  the  great  man  perform.  The  local  umpire 
was  the  postman,  whose  knowledge  of  the  game  was 
certainly  of  a  doubtful  nature.  The  third  ball  sent 
down  struck  the  doctor  on  the  side  of  the  left  leg. 
'  How's  that  ?  "  yelled  the  expectant  bowler. 
Without  moving  a  muscle  of  his  face,  the  postman- 
umpire  shouted  :  "  Not  out,  the  ball  hit  the  wrong 


328     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

leg."  At  that  W.  G.  laughed  heartily  and  said : 
"  Quite  so ;  he  delivered  the  ball  to  the  wrong  address, 
didn't  he  postman  ?  " 

The  last  time  Grace  played  in  Bristol  was  for  the 
benefit  match  of  Spry,  who  was  head  ground-man 
at  Ashley  Down.  When  W.  T.  Thompson  caught 
him  for  a  small  score,  general  regret  was  expressed. 
Later  two  professionals  were  discussing  the  matter 
and  one  said  if  the  catch  had  gone  to  him  he  should 
have  dropped  it.  W.  G.  overheard  the  remark  and 
sternly  rebuked  him:  "Thompson  was  quite  right; 
he  played  the  game,"  was  his  subsequent  summing- 
up. 

Rev.  Walter  Hawkins,  President  of  the  London 
Wesleyan  Cricket  League,  writes  that  W.  G.  Grace 
took  quite  a  paternal  interest  in  their  play.  He 
would  gather  a  really  good  side  from  those  under 
him  at  the  Crystal  Palace  annually  to  oppose  the 
Nonconformist  team  and  invariably  played  against 
it  himself.  The  zest  with  which  he  laid  his  short- 
leg  trap  for  these  novices  and  the  praise  he  accorded 
to  those  who  "  went  for  his  bowling  "  with  vigour 
have  been  recalled  by  some  serving  at  the  front,  one 
"  tenderly  remembering  the  departed  W.  G.,  who  was 
never  too  busy  to  rock  our  cricket  cradle." 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  Grace's  last  match  for 
M.C.C.  was  played  on  June  26,  1913,  against  Old 
Charlton,  when  he  scored  18. 

James  Hall,  writing  from  the  Chief  Censor's  Office, 
relates  that  he  was  umpire  in  the  last  match  that 
W.  G.  Grace  ever  played  in,  Eltham  v.  Grove  Park  on 
July  25,  1914.  The  champion  gave  an  excellent 
exhibition,  for  he  "  batted  admirably,  going  in  with 
the  score  at  31  and  carrying  his  bat.  He  got  his 
runs  all  round  the  wicket,  being  especially  strong 
on  the  off  side.  His  chief  hits  included  one  five, 
six  fours  and  seven  twos."  He  had  previously 
played  throughout  the  Eltham  cricket  week,  a  fort- 
night before,  the  last  big  club  match  in  which  he 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  329 

participated  being  against  Blackheath  when  he  went 
in  last  and  saved  the  game  for  his  side,  playing  out 
time.  Hall  writes  of  Grace's  popularity  in  the  dis- 
trict and  how  he  helped  on  the  game  so  much  at 
Eltham — where  he  resided  after  leaving  Sydenham 
— evidence  that  he  still  loved  cricket  at  an  age  when 
hardly  any  one  can  indulge,  in  it,  but  in  which  his 
hand  and  eye  had  not  lost  their  skill  until  the  end. 
H.  D.  G.  Leveson-Gower  recalls  how  after  the  out- 
break of  the  war,  when  he  himself  was  stationed  at 
the  Supply  Reserve  depot  at  Deptford,  he  often 
motored  over  for  half  an  hour's  chat  with  W.  G.,. 
recalling  past  matches  and  getting  him  to  give  his 
opinions  on  cricketers  they  had  both  known.  On 
one  occasion  Grace  came  to  see  all  the  girls  working 
at  the  Foreign  Cattle  Market,  and  when  he  appeared 
they  proceeded  to  sing  "  You  made  me  love  you." 
The  Old  Man  stroked  his  beard  and  said: '"  It  strikes 
me  I  could  be  quite  comfortable  here."  Probably 
the  last  match  he  ever  watched  was  the  charity  one  at 
Catford  Bridge  on  behalf  of  the  British  Red  Cross 
on  Whit  Monday,  1915,  when  he  had  a  long  conversa- 
tion with  H.  D.  G.  Leveson-Gower  and  Hobbs,  yield- 
ing to  the  photographer's  persuasion  with  good- 
natured  acquiescence.  The  last  time  Leveson-Gower 
motored  over,  W.  G.  gave  his  photo  to  the  soldier- 
driver,  and  this  is  believed  to  be  the  last  he  ever 
signed. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
Grace  at  Other  Sports 

WITH  CONTRIBUTIONS  BY  SIR  GEORGE  RIDDELL, 
G.  W.  BELDAM,  C.  K.  FRANCIS,  REV.  A.  G. 
WHITEHEAD,  A.  E.  HAMILTON,  S.  FERRIS,  H. 
COXON,  P.  J.  DE  PARAVICINI 


Grace's  enthusiasm  was  not  confined  to 
X  cricket  has  been  revealed  in  many  instances 
in  previous  chapters.  That  he  kept  himself  fit  in 
winter  by  exercise  of  various  sorts  was  in  his  opinion 
essential  for  his  mature  and  prolonged  success  at  the 
game  with  which  he  ever  will  be  associated.  It 
may,  however,  prove  surprising  to  many  who  only 
connected  him  with  the  summer  pursuit  to  learn 
with  what  enthusiasm  he  took  part  in  other  sports. 
In  lieu  of  a  more  formal  account,  it  has  been  con- 
sidered that  it  will  prove  of  greater  interest  if  some 
personal  narratives  be  provided  by  friends  who  par- 
ticipated with  him  in  the  respective  pursuits. 

GOLF 

Sir  George  Riddell  writes  : 

"  W.  G.  was  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  golfers 
I  have  ever  met  —  never  tired  and  never  bored. 
No  weather  deterred  him.  I  have  played  with  him 
in  rain,  snow,  hail  and  thunderstorms.  When  he 
started  for  a  day's  golf,  nothing  kept  him  in  the 
club-house.  In  the  early  days  of  motoring  we  made 
.a  trip  to  Huntercombe.  On  the  road  we  had  a 

330 


W.    C.    GRACE    AS    A    GOLFER. 

(From  a  photograph  by  G.  W.   Beldam.) 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  331 

breakdown  which  detained  us  for  several  hours. 
W.  G.  wasted  no  time.  He  spent  all  the  morning 
in  an  adjoining  field,  practising  approach  shots  with 
great  care  and  assiduity.  When  at  last  we  arrived 
at  our  destination,  he  insisted  on  playing  two  rounds. 

He  played  a  good  steady  game,  the  chief  character- 
istic of  which  was  remarkable  wrist  work.  James 
Braid  told  me  on  several  occasions  that  he  had  never 
seen  any  one  who  made  such  effective  use  of  his 
wrists  as  W.  G.  He  had  a  strong  belief  in  practice, 
and  frequently  spent  an  hour  in  practising  putting 
and  approaching.  The  result  was  great  proficiency. 
He  rarely  missed  a  holeable  put.  Difficult  lies 
appeared  to  give  him  great  satisfaction.  Indeed,  I 
think  a  large  niblick  which  he  possessed  and  which 
he  called  his  cleaver  was  his  most  treasured  club. 
W.  G.  loved  playing  in  competitions,  and  invariably 
put  in  an  appearance  on  competition  days  at  Walton 
Heath.  For  some  years  he  and  a  few  friends,  whose 
names  I  forget,  were  in  the  habit  of  playing  a  monthly 
competition  for  a  medal  provided  by  the  players,  the 
temporary  ownership  of  whi^n  caused  W.  G.  much 
.gratification. 

He  was  always  full  of  fun  and  jocularity.  One 
day  I  had  a  caddy  who,  as  it  turned  out,  had  a  glass 
•eye,  which,  unobserved  by  me  but  not  by  W.  G.,  he 
removed  on  the  round.  I  said  to  W.  G.,  '  When  that 
boy  started  I  am  sure  he  had  two  eyes  !  What  has 
happened  to  him  ?  '  '  Nothing  !  '  replied  W.  G. 
'  He  has  two  eyes  all  right.  It's  your  imagination  ! 
It's  all  due  to  your  being  a  teetotaler  !  Drunken 
men  sometimes  see  double,  and  sometimes  tee- 
totalers only  see  a  half  !  If  you  will  take  a  glass  of 
whisky  when  you  get  into  the  club-house,  you  will 
no  doubt  think  the  boy  has  four  eyes  instead  of 
one  ! ' 

Aeroplanes  had  a  great  attraction  for  W.  G.  His 
maternal  grandfather  invented  a  carriage  drawn  by 
huge  kites,  on  which  he  travelled  from  Bristol  to 


332     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

London  on  several  occasions  at  a  high  rate  of  speed. 
The  chief  difficulty  was  in  rounding  the  corners. 
W.  G.  delighted  to  tell  how  every  journey  resulted  in 
claims  for  damages  by  frontagers  owning  corner  pro- 
perties. His  mother  frequently  accompanied  her 
father  on  his  expeditions  and  was  an  expert  in  hand- 
ling the  machine — no  small  achievement. 

W.  G.  attributed  his  marvellous  eyesight  in  a  great 
measure  to  being  a  non-smoker.  He  said  that  he 
tried  to  smoke  on  one  occasion  ;  it  did  not  agree 
with  him,  and  he  never  tried  again. 

He  was  singularly  modest.  I  said  to  him  one  day, 
'  You  are  one  of  the  best-known  Englishmen  in  the 
world.'  He  replied,  '  You  are  wrong.  I'm  only 
known  to  people  interested  in  cricket.'  I  said, 
jokingly,  '  Not  at  all !  When  you  die  you  will  get  a 
page  in  the  Times  ! '  He  laughed  and  said,  '  Only 
two  columns  !  '  Had  it  not  been  for  the  war,  I 
should  have  been  nearer  the  mark  than  he  was." 

G.  W.  Beldam  writes  : 

"  During  the  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life  W.  G, 
was  one  of  the  keenest  golfers,  and  though  the  happy 
days  in  his  life  were  many,  I  think  I  may  say,  none 
were  happier  than  his  golfing  days.  On  the  links  he 
seemed  to  brim  over  with  joy ;  the  heath,  the 
breeze,  the  sunshine,  the  comradeship,  he  enjoyed 
them  all  to  the  full,  and  his  happy  childlike  nature 
was  so  much  more  evident  on  account  of  his  huge 
form. 

Though  he  did  not  require  much  persuasion,  he 
was  at  first  doubtful  about  taking  up  the  game  of 
golf.  Like  so  many  other  cricketers,  he  thought  it 
might  not  go  well  with  cricket  and  interfere  some- 
what with  one's  form.  I  argued  with  him  and  told 
him  I  thought  so  myself  at  one  time,  and  I  knew  it 
was  a  prevalent  idea,  till  one  day  I  read  something 
which  Leslie  Balfour-Melville  wrote  (himself  no  mean 
cricketer  and  once  golf  amateur  champion)  in  which 
he  stated,  that  golf  would,  if  anything,  help  one's 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  333 

cricket  but  cricket  might  spoil  one's  golf.  That 
decided  him  as  it  did  me,  and  the  finishing  touch  was 
given  by  my  bringing  down  to  the  cricket  ground  at 
the  Crystal  Palace  a  few  clubs  for  W.  G.  to  try  his 
powers  on  the  little  ball  which  lies  so  still  and  looks 
so  easy  to  get  away.  It  was  the  usual  story  ;  W.  G. 
was  bitten  badly  !  and  some  golf  matches  were 
arranged.  I  gave  him  one  or  two  principles  which 
he  was  not  to  violate,  but  W.  G.  never  had  much 
sympathy  with  theory.  When  Great  Golfers  was 
published,  I  sent  him  an  author's  copy,  and  he  wrote 
me  that  it  was  no  good  to  him,  though  he  felt  happy 
in  possessing  a  copy.  I  replied  that  it  was  not 
meant  to  appeal  so  much  to  beginners,  for  which  he 
pretended  he  would  never  forgive  me,  though  I've 
often  heard  him  tell  the  story  with  glee. 

One  of  the  first  games  was  with  J.  H.  Taylor  at 
Mid-Surrey.  Taylor  himself,  a  keen  follower  of 
cricket,  was  extremely  pleased  to  meet  W.  G.  and  I 
told  the  Doctor  this.  '  Let's  have  a  little  joke  with 
him/  he  said.  '  You  have  got  some  old  clubs  made 
years  ago  with  long  faces  and  twisted  shafts,  let  us 
take  these  down  and  give  them  to  Taylor  and  ask 
him  what  he  thinks  of  my  clubs.'  So  the  day  came 
and  they  were  mutually  delighted  to  meet  one 
another.  The  clubs  were  kept  in  the  background 
till  we  were  ready  to  start.  '  Where  are  your  clubs, 
Doctor  ? '  said  Taylor.  '  Oh,  here  they  are,  I  want  a 
bag  for  them;  just  undo  them  for  me,  will  you  ? ' 
Never  shall  I  forget  the  look  that  came  into  Taylor's 
face  as  he  came  to  the  fearful  and  wonderful  weapons. 
4  We  must  fit  you  out,  Doctor,'  said  he ;  '  you  can't 
play  with  these  ! '  Then  he  saw  the  Doctor's  face 
just  enjoying  the  joke,  and  I  don't  think  Taylor  was 
far  behind. 

But  the  Doctor  had  one  more  surprise  ready. 
When  he  came  to  the  first  green,  he  surveyed  his 
"  put '  of  about  twenty  yards  and  took  from  the 
bottom  of  his  bag  a  cricket  bat  with  half  the  blade 


334     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

cut  off,  and  then  Taylor's  face  was  a  study;  the 
Doctor  proceeded  to  lay  the  ball  dead,  but  Taylor  in 
all  seriousness  told  him  he  mustn't  use  such  a  club, 
even  though  he  could  hole  the  puts  from  all  parts  of 
the  green.  The  Doctor,  therefore,  at  the  next  green 
brought  out  his  aluminium  putter  with  which  he 
was  to  perform  nameless  feats  during  his  golfing 
career.  No  man  had  better  judgment  of  a  long  run- 
up put  of  about  forty  yards,  part  on  rough  and  part 
on  the  green,  and  often  he  would  lay  the  ball  '  dead,' 
and  it  was  his  ability  to  do  this  which  made  him  far 
more  useful  as  a  partner  in  a  foursome  than  many 
men  of  lower  handicap.  His  drive,  too,  was  excep- 
tionally straight  and  of  quite  good  length,  but  his 
iron  play  was  not  so  good  as  the  other  parts  of  his 
game.  He  had  the  happy  knack  of  making  his 
partner  feel  he  believed  in  his  ability  to  get  him  out 
of  any  difficulty,  and  one  could  absolutely  rely  on 
his  nerve  and  on  his  bringing  off  some  special  shot 
at  a  crucial  stage  of  the  game. 

One  day  some  of  us  were  talking  about  the  '  follow 
through '  at  golf  and  W.  G.  overheard  us,  and  nearly 
took  my  breath  away  by  saying,  he  had  no  '  follow 
through '  either  at  cricket  or  golf,  it  was  all  bunkum  ! 
I  could  not  believe  he  was  in  earnest  but  found  that 
he  was.  I  then  told  him  I  would  prove  by  action 
photos  that  he  had  a  '  follow  through,'  and  this  is  the 
reason  of  the  series  taken  at  the  wickets  with  golf 
clubs  and  cricket  bat.  Thinking  it  out  before  I 
took  the  photos,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
'Old  Man's'  '  follow  through '  was  the  best  of  all; 
it  was  unconscious  and  the  outcome  of  putting 
everything  in  at  the  ball  through  the  medium  of  his 
wrists.  His  club  would  swish  through  after  impact, 
and  as  quickly  recoil  back  as  it  were,  and  not  come  to 
rest  over  his  left  shoulder ;  it  was  essentially  a  blow 
with  the  wrists  almost  entirely,  the  wrists  timed  on 
to  the  ball.  When  he  saw  the  photos,  he  had  to 
own  that  they  surprised  him,  and  that  he  must  have 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  335 

some  kind  of  '  follow  through/  though  he  could  never 
have  shown  any  one  what  it  was. 

He  often  took  his  golf  clubs  away  with  him  to  the 
Hastings  or  Bournemouth  cricket  festivals,  and  in 
case  of  rain  spoiling  all  chance  of  cricket,  a  foursome 
was  sure  to  be  made,  up.  On  one  occasion  four  of  us 
(W.  G.  included)  returned  from  a  round,  to  find, 
contrary  to  all  anticipation,  play  had  been  announced 
possible  before  lunch.  Not  being  cognisant  of  this,  we 
were  half  an  hour  late  and  an  early  lunch  resulted 
with  expressions  of  opinion  decidedly  against  the 
culprits  and  quite  reasonably  so,  but  all  the  offenders 
condoned  by  making  the  only  runs  on  the  side  in  that 
innings.  Who  after  this,  will  say  that  golf  does  not 
help  one's  cricket  ! 

On  another  occasion,  right  at  the  beginning  of 
W.  G.'s  golfing  career  he  was  driven  into  twice  by 
some  one  behind  him.  The  second  time  W.  G.  said, 
'  Surely  that's  against  the  rules,'  and  being  assured 
that  it  ought  not  to  have  occurred,  he  stepped  on  to 
the  ball  as  if  by  accident,  and  then  said,  '  Now  he'll 
think  he  hasn't  a  good  lie/  and  when  the  owner 
reached  the  ball,  his  language  was  something  to 
remember.  He  said  he  would  report  W.  G.  to  the 
Committee  and  was  as  good  as  his  word,  but  W.  G. 
reported  him  for  using  bad  language  and  in  the  end 
the  Committee  considered  he  owed  W.  G.  an  apology  ! 
W.  G.  used  to  tell  the  story  and  look  upon  it  as  a  huge 
joke. 

In  this  same  game  Billie  Murdoch,  also  a  beginner, 
was  left  struggling  in  a  huge  bunker  after  about  a 
dozen  attempts  to  get  out,  but  no  sooner  had  the 
others  disappeared  from  sight,  than  Murdoch  picked 
up  the  ball  and  threw  it  after  them  and  a  handful  of 
sand  with  it.  But  some  one  looking  on  gave  the 
show  away,  and  discounted  Murdoch's  recital  of  the 
wonderful  stroke  he  made  too  late  for  them  to  see. 

Some  few  years  ago,  a  series  of  matches  were 
played  between  Prince  Albert  of  Schleswig-Holstein 


336     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

and  P.  J.  de  Paravicini  and  the  Doctor  and  myself. 
We  had  to  give  a  few  strokes  on  handicap.  The 
Prince  would  travel  all  night  from  the  Continent 
and  arrive  at  the  golf  course  in  time  for  a  round 
before  lunch,  and  considering  all  the  circumstances 
it  was  surprising  how  little  it  seemed  to  affect  his 
game.  One  of  these  series,  known  as  the  Boat-four- 
some, was  played  at  Mid-Surrey  on  the  day  when  the 
Prince  had  to  return  to  the  Continent,  and  I  well 
remember  the  day,  for  after  the  match  was  over,  we 
all  motored  up  to  the  skating  rink  at  Prince's,  and 
saw  the  Doctor  perform  at  curling,  and  after  dining 
with  the  Prince  we  saw  him  off  at  Victoria.  In  a 
well-known  London  paper  next  day,  there  appeared 
three-quarters  of  a  column  on  its  most  prominent 
page,  giving  full  details  of  how  the  great  W.  G. 
had  been  playing  golf  with  little  Prince  Albert,  had 
taken  him  afterwards  to  Prince's,  where  the  little 
chap  ran  beside  the  burly  form  of  W.  G.  clapping  his 
hands  in  delight,  and  had  afterwards  been  taken 
to  Buckingham  Palace  by  the  Old  Man,  who,  after 
dining  there,  caught  the  last  train  back  to  the  Crystal 
Palace.  The  ubiquitous  reporter  had  heard  about 
him  playing  with  Prince  Albert,  had  immediately 
jumped  to  conclusions,  and  the  filling  in  of  all  the 
details  was  then  an  easy  matter. 

When  W.  G.  was  about  sixty  the  following  was  a 
typical  day's  sport  which  would  have  been  too  much 
for  many  a  younger  man.  He  would  leave  his 
house  at  Sydenham  at  eight  in  the  morning,  and  play 
two  rounds  on  some  London  links,  travel  to  London 
and  have  a  slight  meal,  start  curling  at  Prince's  at 
about  seven  p.m.,  catch  the  last  train  to  the  Crystal 
Palace,  arriving  home  about  midnight.  He  did  not 
do  this  every  day,  but  I  believe  once  a  week  at  least. 

He  had  some  weird  names  for  his  clubs.  He  was 
especially  fond  of  referring  to  his  niblick  as  the 
'  cleaver ' :  it  was  one  specially  designed  by  James 
Braid  for  the  tough  heather  encountered  at  Walton 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  337 

Heath,  where  most  of  W.  G.'s  golf  was  played,  and 
where  many  of  his  golfing  joy-days  were  spent.  Sir 
George  Riddell  who  started  the  Club,  paid  W.  G.  the 
honour  of  electing  him  an  honorary  member,  a 
compliment  which  was  much  appreciated  by  him. 

There  is  a  story  told  about  the  '  cleaver.'  W.  G. 
was  stranded  at  a  place  where  there  were  two  lines 
to  the  Crystal  Palace  and  asked  at  the  booking  office 
if  his  ticket  was  available  by  that  line.  On  hearing 
the  answer  to  be  unfavourable,  he  put  the  cleaver 
through  the  ticket  office  opening  and  said  :  '  What ! 
not  available  ! '  'Oh  yes,'  said  the  booking  clerk ; 
'  it's  aU  right.' 

One  thought  W.  G.  had  many  years  yet  to  enjoy 
the  game  which  he  came  to  love  almost  as  much  as 
cricket,  though  to  him  cricket  was  life,  no  game  to  be 
compared  with  it,  but — the  remembrance  of  those 
golfing  days  will  be  a  joy  for  ever  ;  the  huge  frame, 
the  big  heart,  the  merry  laughter,  the  comradeship, 
the  sunshine,  the  breeze,  the  firm  turf — joyous  days 
indeed  and  a  high  privilege  to  have  known  such  a 
man." 

P.  J.  de  Paravicini  writes  : 

"  I  played  a  lot  of  golf  with  him.  Strangely 
enough  he  was  quite  a  short  driver,  with  a  very  bad 
style.  He  was  a  capital  putter  and  pretty  good  at 
the  short  game.  On  one  occasion  Prince  Albert 
and  I  were  playing  a  four-ball  match  against  George 
Beldam  and  W.  G.  By  some  mysterious  fluke  the 
two  both  drove  off  at  the  same  moment  and  their 
balls  actually  collided  in  the  air.  W.  G.'s  ball  was 
knocked  considerably  nearer  the  hole  than  it  would 
otherwise  have  been,  just  the  sort  of  thing  that 
would  happen  to  him. 

Once  we  were  playing  at  Richmond,  Prince  Albert 
having  come  straight  from  Germany  to  the  match. 
At  the  third  hole  we  saw  some  very  weary-looking 
sheep  under  a  tree.  Said  W.  G. :  '  Why  those  sheep 
look  as  if  they  had  just  come  off  the  boat  too/ 


338     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

The  Bishop  of  London  never  having  met  W.  G., 
I  arranged  they  should  have  a  game  with  me  at 
Sunningdale.  As  we  were  changing  afterwards, 
thinking  he  might  want  to  be  taken  to  the  local 
station,  the  Bishop  said  :  '  Doctor,  can  I  give  you  a 
lift  ? '  '  Certainly/  was  the  reply :  '  anywhere  near 
Victoria  will  do  me  all  right/  When  I  saw  them  off, 
I  insisted  that  the  Bishop  should  sit  on  the  same  side 
of  the  car  as  the  chauffeur,  otherwise  I  felt  the 
balance  would  be  too  utterly  unequal. 

Prince  Albert,  W.  G.  and  I  had  been  playing  two 
rounds  at  Walton  Heath  and  agreed  to  dine  in  town 
together.  But  W.  G.  said  he  must  go  ahead  as  he 
had  to  play  a  game  at  bowls.  We  knew  where  it 
was,  so  we  thought  we  would  look  in.  There  he  was, 
full  of  vitality,  '  bossing '  just  a  bit  and  working  as 
hard  as  if  he  had  not  finished  two  tough  matches  on 
a  trying  as  well  as  long  course.  That  was  it :  the 
keenness  of  him  at  whatever  he  put  his  hand  to. 
Genial  keenness — those  are  my  associations  with  the 
revered  name  of  Grace — genial  keenness,  combined 
with  unrivalled  skill  at  the  finest  of  all  games." 

R.  E.  Howard,  in  The  Sportsman,  wrote  on  "  W.  G. 
at  his  happiest "  as  follows  : 

"  Golf  was  indeed  proud  to  claim  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace 
as  one  of  its  devotees,  and  only  those  who  have 
enjoyed  the  splendid  contagion  of  his  boyish  enthu- 
siasm and  simple-hearted  good  humour  during  a 
round  of  the  links  are  in  a  position  to  realize  that  a 
real  personality  has  gone  out  of  the  game.  Abler 
pens  will  describe  what  W.  G.  was  to  cricket,  but  I 
do  know  that  it  was  always  an  inspiration  when  one 
visited  a  golf  course  to  learn  that  he  was  playing  on 
it.  He  had  all  due  respect  for  the  rules  of  the  links, 
but  his  sheer  bonhomie  made  him  love  a  match  which 
was  not  taken  too  seriously,  and  in  which  temporary 
laws  could  be  introduced  for  the  benefit  of  both  sides, 
so  that  the  ball  should  not  have  to  be  played  from 
unduly  awkward  positions.  How  he  enjoyed  those 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  339 

games  !  That  he  practised  golf  assiduously  in  quiet 
hours  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that,  although 
he  started  it  late  in  life,  he  soon  reduced  his  handicap 
to  9.  But  he  liked  best  to  play  it  in  that  spirit  of 
easy  good  nature  which  was  his  outstanding  char- 
acteristic. His  laughter  could  be  heard  almost  any- 
where on  the  course  ;  it  was  the  most  spontaneous, 
infectious  laugh  ever  known  in  golf.  Solemn-minded 
people,  whose  nature  it  was  to  take  the  game  in  deadly 
earnest,  enjoyed  W.  G.'s  laugh  quite  as  much  as 
more  flippant  souls  ;  it  had  such  a  genuine  ring  that 
the  justification  for  it  could  not  be  doubted.  I  do 
not  think  that  anybody  ever  learnt  how  to  extract 
so  much  pleasure  from  a  round  as  W.  G." 

BEAGLING 

Sam  Ferris  writes  : 

"  I  came  in  contact  with  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  with  the 
Clifton  Beagles.  Occasionally,  through  my  invita- 
tion, they  came  to  Wiltshire.  Then  he  always 
accompanied  them,  sometimes  with  a  son  or  Charles 
Townsend.  On  these  occasions  he  was  as  keen  on 
hunting  as  he  was  in  the  cricket-field  and  would  find 
more  hares  than  any  other  ten  men  who  were  out. 
One  day  the  hounds  and  forty  to  fifty  of  the  field 
went  into  a  large  field  of  about  thirty  acres  and  were 
half  way  across  it  before  he  and  I  entered  it.  Directly 
we  did,  a  few  yards  from  the  gate,  he  saw  a  bunch  of 
nettles  and  said :  '  They've  gone  and  not  drawn  this ; 
let's  beat  it.'  We  did  and  up  jumped  a  hare. 

W.  G.  Grace  did  not  run,  but  kept  on  walking  for 
six  or  seven  hours  without  stopping,  whilst  others 
sat  on  a  gate  or  lay  down  until  we  had  found.  This 
was  the  reason  he  found  the  hares — because  he 
worked.  One  evening,  when  he  reached  the  station, 
there  were  a  few  members  of  the  local  football  team. 
Directly  they  saw  W.  G.,  they  gave  a  loud  cheer.  I 
said  to  the  captain :  '  What  is  all  this  about  ?  '  'A 
compliment  to  the  best  sportsman  in  England/  was 


340     THE  MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

his  spontaneous  reply.     In  response  to  their  wish, 
W.  G.  shook  hands  with  them  all. 

One  day  the  Clifton  Beagles  met  at  eleven  ;  we 
had  a  very  hard  day  and  left  off  about  five.  Knowing 
it  was  over  three  miles  to  the  station  I  took  Grace 
to  a  very  hospitable  farmer,  Burbidge,  brother  of 
the  renowned  head  of  Harrods.  When  we  started, 
after  an  hour,  I  mounted  him,  for  I  had  been  riding 
all  day  and  he  had  been  walking.  He  was  then 
seventeen  stone  one  and  subsequently  often  told  me 
that  mine  was  the  last  horse  he  ever  rode.  He  was 
not  a  horseman.  After  he  left  Bristol,  he  kept  up  his 
love  for  hunting  and  never  missed  a  day  with  the 
Worcester  Park  Beagles,  if  he  could  go." 

CURLING 

Rev.  A.  Goram  Whitehead,  D.D.,  of  Killearn, 
writes  : 

"  It  was  in  the  early  spring  of  1906,  at  Prince's 
Skating  Club,  Knightsbridge,  that  I  was  enabled  to 
add  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  to  the  list  of  distinguished 
men  I  had  had  the  honour  of  meeting.  We  were 
introduced  by  that  veteran  Knight  of  the  broom  Sir 
John  Heron  Maxwell.  What  passed  were  mere 
words  of  courtesy,  but  the  personality  of  the  man 
was  photographed  on  my  memory.  At  that  time  his 
great  cricketing  career  was  over  and  he  had  become 
a  keen  player  of  '  Scotland's  ain  game  of  curling.' 
Needless  to  say  he  played  it  with  the  same  zest  as  he 
played  the  game  in  the  annals  of  which  he  had  won 
imperishable  renown.  His  figure,  erect,  broad  and 
towering,  had  something  kingly,  and  for  all  that  he 
was  built  on  such  massive  lines,  his  well-knit  trunk 
and  limbs  possessed  the  spring  of  a  step-dancer.  A 
man  unspoiled  by  the  fame  that  his  feats  had 
achieved,  the  sunny  light  and  interest  of  unquench- 
able boyhood  lingered  on  his  brow  and  in  his  keen 
kindly  eye." 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  341 

A  cutting  from  the  Daily  Telegraph  of  January  24, 
1905,  reads  : 

"  A  number  of  curling  enthusiasts  started  a  pitch 
on  the  frozen  pond  at  the  Crystal  Palace  on  Satur- 
day, and  the  stones  were  merrily  humming  along 
the  ice  when  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  appeared  and  joined 
the  ranks  of  the  curlers.  The  ice,  however,  could  not 
sustain  his  commanding  figure,  and  after  a  very  short 
stay  on  the  ice  the  Doctor  found  a  weak  spot  and  went 
through.  The  wetting  was  not  very  serious,  but  it 
necessitated  his  retirement  from  the  pleasures  of 
curling  for  the  day." 

BOWLS 

A.  H.  Hamilton,  S.C.C.,  writes  : 

"  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace's  interest  in  the  game  of 
bowls  may  be  taken  as  commencing  with  his  official 
connection  with  the  Crystal  Palace.  In  the  month 
of  March,  1901,  he  applied  on  behalf  of  London  County 
Bowling  Club  for  application  with  the  Scottish  Bowl- 
ing Association  which  occupies  the  same  position 
in  the  game  as  the  M.C.C.  does  in  cricket.  After  the 
London  County  B.C.  was  admitted  to  membership 
of  the  S.B.A.,  Dr.  Grace  invited  me  as  Secretary  of 
that  Association  to  bring  a  team  of  two  rinks  (four 
players  in  each  rink)  to  London  and  engage  a  similar 
number  of  rinks  of  his  club  at  the  Crystal  Palace 
green.  That  game  took  place  there  and  was  greatly 
enjoyed  by  all  the  players  who  were  most  hospitably 
entertained  by  Dr.  Grace.  The  Doctor  skipped  one 
of  the  rinks  and  played  a  capital  game.  So  much 
pleased  were  the  Scotsmen  with  their  reception  that 
they  presented  Dr.  Grace  with  a  pair  of  silver- 
mounted  bowls,  a  gift  which  he  greatly  prized. 

The  following  summer — 1902 — Dr.  Grace  sent 
another  invitation  to  me  to  take  a  team  to  London, 
which  I  did,  and  Dr.  Grace  and  his  players  returned 
the  visit  in  August  of  that  year.  At  that  time 
Edinburgh,  Glasgow  and  Ayr  were  visited.  At  each 


342     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  those  places  his  presence  caused  great  interest — 
several  hundred  bowlers  and  cricketers  viewing  the 
games. 

Dr.  Grace  soon  realized  the  good  international  con- 
tests would  do,  and  during  his  visit  to  Scotland  he 
urged  their  claims.  A  ready  response  was  given  by 
the  Scottish  players  who  already  possessed  a  national 
association  consisting  of  between  300  and  400  clubs. 
England,  Ireland  and  Wales  had  not  at  that  time  a 
national  body,  but  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Grace 
I  approached  J.  C.  Hunter  (Belfast)  and  W.  A. 
Morgan  (Cardiff),  two  well-known  bowlers  in  Ireland 
and  Wales  respectively,  who  were  cordially  in  agree- 
ment with  the  proposal  to  establish  international 
contests.  Conditions  and  rules  were  adjusted,  and 
the  result  was  that  the  first  international  matches 
took  place  in  London  (out  of  respect  to  Dr.  Grace)  at 
the  Crystal  Palace  and  South  London  bowling  greens 
in  July,  1903.  After  a  most  exciting  finish  England 
won  the  contest,  and  this  result  gave  the  game  in 
England  a  great  impetus  and  Dr.  Grace  great 
pleasure.  The  following  year  the  contests  were 
played  in  Scotland,  then  in  Wales  and  after  in  Ire- 
land, and  until  1915  when  the  international  contests 
were  abandoned  on  account  of  the  war  this  routine 
was  followed. 

During  the  first  two  years  of  the  international 
contests  Dr.  Grace  won  five  out  of  the  six  games  his 
rink  played,  the  other  game  being  drawn,  so  that 
during  that  time  he  was  undefeated.  For  six  years 
he  captained  the  English  team,  his  last  game  taking 
place  in  Edinburgh  in  1908.  On  that  occasion  he 
dined  with  the  members  of  the  Carlton  Cricket  Club 
in  their  pavilion  and  received  a  very  hearty  welcome. 
In  his  speech  he  advocated  international  cricket 
between  Scotland,  Ireland  and  Wales.  This  was 
Dr.  Grace's  last  appearance  in  Edinburgh. 

In  1906  Dr.  Grace  through  his  friend  Sir  George 
Riddell  procured  from  the  proprietors  of  the  News 


DR.  W.   G.  GRACE  343 

cf  the  World  newspaper  a  magnificent  challenge 
trophy  for  international  competitions,  the  winning 
country  holding  it  for  a  year.  This  trophy  was 
presented  to  the  International  Bowling  Board  in 
Ireland  that  year.  England  won  it,  and  it  was  a 
very  popular  win. 

Dr.  Grace's  association  with  the  game  of  bowls 
was  most  beneficial  to  the  game,  especially  in  Eng- 
land, Ireland  and  Wales,  and  it  was  largely  through 
the  international  games  that  the  bowling  associations 
of  these  countries  were  formed.  Dr.  Grace's  striking 
personality  was  a  great  asset.  In  deliberations  he 
was  never  aggressive  and  a  more  reasonable  and 
congenial  colleague  was  not  on  the  Board.  The 
Doctor's  keen  eye  was  a  great  help  to  him  in  picking 
up  the  points  of  the  game.  In  the  games  he  was  a 
great  enthusiast.  He  was  a  good  opponent,  and 
while  his  players  were  sometimes  reminded  in  the 
Doctor's  own  way  that  better  play  was  expected  of 
them,  he  had  many  encouraging  remarks  for  them. 
No  man  enjoyed  a  victory  better,  although  he  accepted 
it  with  moderation.  In  defeat  he  was  a  good  sports- 
man. He  was  extremely  popular  at  all  the  Inter- 
national games  in  which  he  took  part  and  was  as  fond 
of  a  practical  joke  or  a  bit  oi  fun  as  any  one." 

E.  A.  C.  Thomson  writes  : 

"  Grace  frequently  took  the  London  County 
bowling  team  to  various  places  and  always  managed 
thoroughly  to  enjoy  himself  on  these  excursions. 
On  one  occasion  his  side  met  the  Heathfield  Bowling 
Club  on  their  excellent  rink  at  Wandsworth  Com- 
mon and  the  play  proved  exciting  and  close.  The 
Doctor,  who  was  skip  of  his  team,  was  loudly  urging 
his  colleagues  to  play  to  a  certain  position.  After 
one  shot  had  gone  wide,  growing  highly  excited  and 
anxious  to  win  the  match,  he  shouted  to  one  of  his 
men,  a  Highlander  :  '  Play  to  my  foot,  man,  play 
to  my  foot,  and  it  will  get  there  all  right/  Then 
came  the  retort  swift  and  altogether  unexpected  from 


344      THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

the  Scottish  International :  '  Play  to  your  fut,  mon, 
play  to  your  fut,  why  your  fut  is  all  over  the  green.' 
The  joke  was  greatly  appreciated,  but  Grace  remained 
quiet  for  several  minutes  :  the  Scottish  wit  had  gone 
home." 

FISHING 

Harry  Coxon  writes  : 

"  W.  G.  Grace  hardly  ever  visited  Nottingham 
to  play  cricket  with  Gloucestershire  against  Notts 
unless  he  indulged  in  some  early  morning  fishing  in 
the  Trent.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of  mine  and  it 
was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  pilot  him  to  some  of 
the  best  swims  on  the  Holme  Pierrepont  waters. 
One  soft,  balmy  summer  morning  we  had  a  rare 
set-to  with  the  worm  amongst  the  barbel  and  big 
bream  inhabiting  the  deep  run  at  the  head  of  Col- 
wick  Weir,  which  we  commanded  from  a  punt. 
The  Doctor  was  delighted — he  had  not  previously 
tested  the  fighting  qualities  of  barbel — and  later  in 
the  day  he  proceeded  to  Trent  Bridge  and  scored 
over  a  '  century '  against  the  home  county's  crack 
bowlers." 

P.  J.  de  Paravicini  writes  : 

"  The  last  match  in  which  I  ever  met  W.  G.  was 
as  an  opponent.  He  brought  an  L.C.C.C.  side  to 
Chesham  and  I  was  one  of  Lowndes'  side.  We  were 
all  put  up  in  the  house.  As  there  was  some  fishing 
going,  of  course  W.  G.  wanted  to  be  in  it.  He  left 
his  line  out  all  night  and  some  one  put  a  red  herring 
on  it.  I  can  still  hear  his  cheery  tones,  as  with 
perfect  good-will,  next  morning,  he  inquired : 
'  Which  of  you  boys  has  been  having  me  over  this 
game  ?  ' 

SHOOTING 

C.  K.  Francis  writes : 

"Another  annual  sporting  event  "in  the  life  of 
W.  G.  Grace  should  not  be  omitted,  and  this  in  his 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  345 

own  county.  By  permission  of  the  Duke  of  Beau- 
fort, a  day's  partridge  shooting  was  provided  for  the 
Graces  over  the  Duke's  Dormalin  property.  This 
generally  came  off  early  in  September.  It  was  the 
custom  of  the  guns,  including  W.  G.,  the  Coroner 
[E.  M.],  Dr.  Alfred  Grace,  G.  F.  and  other  members  of 
the  family,  to  assemble  at  the  inn  at  Toll  Down  for 
breakfast  at  eight  o'clock,  after  which  the  serious 
operation  of  the  day  commenced,  which  was  walking 
after  partridges.  I  may  mention  that  one  John 
Roe,  a  sort  of  keeper  from  Badminton,  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  field  forces,  which  he  directed  from  the 
pivot,  while  W.  G.  generally  took  the  outside  because 
his  legs  were  the  longest  and  those  of  John  Roe  the 
shortest. 

The  bag  was  never  very  heavy  as  foxes  in  that  part 
of  the  country  are  reared  in  large  numbers,  educated 
and  encouraged  to  keep  down  the  head  of  game  to* 
within  reasonable  proportions.  Still  the  Grace  party 
generally  managed  to  kill  about  as  many  partridges 
as  they  walked  miles,  which  Roe  always  assured  me 
was  between  thirty-five  and  forty,  and  it  was  always 
a  question  with  him  at  the  end  of  the  day  whether 
he  or  the  dogs  or  the  partridges  were  the  most  tired. 
I  need  not  say  that  to  W.  G.  the  day  was  mere 
child's  play,  as  after  a  season's  cricket  when  he  had 
run  many  thousands  of  runs  and  bowled  many 
hundreds  of  overs  he  was  in  pretty  hard  condition 
for  any  such  small  emergency  as  walking  after 
partridges. 

Now  that  I  have  diverged  from  cricket  to  sport, 
which  I  believe  W.  G.  really  enjoyed  as  much,  an 
Apethorpe  incident  of  interest  comes  to  my  mind, 
some  of  the  details  of  which  have  been  supplied  to  me 
by  Lord  Westmorland,  who  was  an  eyewitness.  It 
was  as  far  back  as  1876,  when  W.  G.  was  invited 
by  the  late  Lord  Westmorland  to  play  for  Ape- 
thorpe against  Lord  Exeter's  XI  at  Burghley  and, 
in  spite  of  the  champion's  assistance,  Apethorpe 


346     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

retired  defeated  amid  a  considerable  amount  of 
crowing  from  Burghley.  The  only  person  on  the 
Apethorpe  side  who  really  enjoyed  himself  was  the 
present  Lord  Westmorland,  who  made  45  (W.  G.'s 
score  being  only  15),  and  was  in  consequence  pre- 
sented with  a  pair  of  bats  by  Grace,  which  are  now,  I 
believe,  amongst  the  family  heirlooms.  For  twelve 
months  revenge  was  brooding  over  Apethorpe  and 
in  1877  not  only  was  W.  G.  again  retained  for  the 
match,  but  G.  F.,  W.  R.  Gilbert  ('  the  Colonel '  long 
prior  to  H.  T.  Hewett  possessing  the  nickname)  and 
Southerton,  the  rest  of  the  team  being  composed  of  a 
couple  more  professionals  and  some  Eton  boy  friends 
of  Lord  Burghersh,  as  he  was  then.  Needless  to  say 
sparks  were  knocked  out  of  Burghley  and  the  laurels 
taken  back  in  triumph  to  Apethorpe  (W.  G.  himself 
getting  no). 

This,  however,  was  considerably  damped  and  a 
gloom  cast  over  Apethorpe  on  the  following  day, 
which  as  usual  was  devoted  to  shooting,  the  annual 
sequel  to  the  Burghley  match.  It  was  on  September 
6,  1877,  always  afterwards  remembered  as  a  sort  of 
Waterloo  day  at  Apethorpe.  The  cricket  team  were 
the  guns.  Everything  went  swimmingly  until  four 
p.m.,  when  they  had  annexed  seventy  brace  of  part- 
ridges and  twenty  hares  and  all  were  keen  to  bring  the 
total  up  to  100  brace  in  honour  of  W.  G.  At  that 
time  a  lot  of  birds  were  in  a  large  field  of  roots  and  a 
good  drive  anticipated.  The  guns  were  all  placed  in 
position,  but  unfortunately  W.  G.  took  upon  himself 
to  change  his  stand  and  slip  up  a  high  hedge  out  of 
the  line,  the  rest  of  the  guns  not  knowing  of  this 
extremely  dangerous  manoeuvre  on  his  part.  Need- 
less to  say,  at  this  point  he  got  severely  bombarded 
as  many  of  the  birds  went  over  his  head,  each  one 
getting  from  the  Etonians  and  other  guns  anything 
from  two  to  twenty-two  barrels.  Small  wonder  that 
W.  G.  was  receiving  a  sort  of  '  curtain  fire,'  more 
familiar  now  than  then,  got  hit  and  not  only  hit,  but 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  347 

hit  in  the  eye.  Of  course  to  the  Eton  boys  nothing 
more  awful  could  have  happened  than  that  the  great 
hero,  whom  they  looked  up  to  and  almost  wor- 
shipped, should  have  been  thus  seriously  maimed. 

It  could  hardly  be  realized,  but  it  was  a  fact  and 
all  approached  with  bated  breath,  G.  F.  Grace  lead- 
ing the  way.  At  that  time  I  fancy  G.  F.  had  not 
passed  his  medical.  The  guns  were  all  unlimbered 
and  thrown  into  the  game  cart  with  the  cartridges 
to  prevent  further  mishap  and  everybody  stood 
round  in  watchful  silence  watching  G.  F.  winding 
bandages  round  W.  G.'s  head,  the  Eton  boys  wonder- 
ing if  he  really  would  die  and  what  sort  of  souvenirs 
might  be  obtained  if  such  was  to  be  his  sad  end.  The 
impromptu  bandages  having  been  adjusted  to  G.  F.'s 
satisfaction,  a  kind  of  funeral  procession  was  formed 
consisting  of  shooters,  farmers,  keepers,  beaters, 
Etonians  and  the  dogs,  with  their  tails  between 
their  legs,  bringing  up  the  rear,  W.  G.  and  G.  F. 
leading,  the  former  blinded  with  bandages. 

Arriving  at  Apethorpe,  the  case  was  carefully 
diagnosed  by  G.  F.,  the  rest  waiting  to  hear  the 
result,  when  he  rushed  in  to  announce,  to  their  joy, 
that  he  had  saved  his  brother's  eye  and  that  his  sight 
would  not  be  impaired.  A  few  days  later  their 
pleasure  was  redoubled  by  W.  G.  Grace  himself 
wiring  to  say  he  had  played  the  best  innings  of  his 
life.  Thus  ended  the  Apethorpe  adventure. 

I  have  also  been  reminded  by  Lord  Londesborough 
— to  whose  hospitality  W.  G.  and  every  one  else 
who  has  figured  in  Scarborough  Festivals  owes  so 
much  appreciative  gratitude — that  on  the  occasion 
£alluded  to  in  an  earlier  chapter  by  C.  W.  Burls] 
Grace  and  two  others  bagged  sixty-seven  brace  of 
partridges  one  morning  before  stumps  were  pitched, 
•one  of  the  Young's — Lord  Londesborough' s  cele- 
brated family  of  keepers — said  that  there  were 
'  more  partridges  than  had  ever  been  since  Adam 
was  a  little  boy.'  " 


348     BIOGRAPHY   OF    DR.  W.   G.  GRACE 

From  The  Irish  Field  is  culled  this  incident  : 
"  On  one  occasion  when  shooting  with  Mr.  George 
Harnett,  W.  G.  was  greatly  chagrined  at  missing  a 
covey  of  partridges  which  was  close  to  him  and  he 
allowed  to  escape.  He  turned  and  said  :  '  Why, 
George,  I  could  have  caught  'em.'  " 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
The  Closing  Scenes 

THE  last  two  public  appearances  of  W.  G.  Grace 
were  among  the  most  dignified  of  his  career. 
At  the  dinner  in  commemoration  of  the  centenary 
of  Lord's  Cricket  Ground,  held  at  the  Hotel  Cecil  on 
June  23,  1914,  no  one  was  more  widely  greeted  or 
met  with  such  a  warm  welcome  as  the  veteran 
champion,  cheerful  as  ever  though  disfigured  by  a 
black  eye,  the  result  of  an  accident. 

The  President  of  M.C.C.,  Lord  Hawke,  in  propos- 
ing the  toast  of  Lord's  and  the  M.C.C.,  alluded  to  "  the 
grand  old  man  whom  we  all  heartily  welcome  here 
to-night."  C.  E.  Green,  in  concluding  his  speech, 
said  :  "I  will  only  now  give  you  the  toast  of  '  County 
Cricket/  and  I  am  asked  to  associate  with  it  the 
names  of  Lord  Harris  and  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace.  The 
former,  as  you  all  know,  was  in  his  time  a  great 
cricketer  and  was  mainly  instrumental  hi  bringing 
his  county  (that  champion  county — Kent)  to  the 
proud  position  which  it  now  occupies,  and  he  is  now 
one  of  the  great  mainstays  of  theM.C.C.  and  a  power 
in  the  cricketing  world.  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  is,  as  you 
all  know,  the  greatest  cricketer  that  ever  lived  or 
ever  will  live,  and  it  is  one  of  my  proudest  recollec- 
tions that  I  have  in  years  gone  by  been  associated 
with  him  in  many  a  hard-fought  match  on  the 
cricket-field." 

When  he  rose  to  reply,  W.  G.  was  given  an  over- 
whelming reception.  As  usual  he  was  very  brief. 

349 


350     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

He  said  he  considered  county  cricket  was  as  good  as 
ever  it  was.  He  would  only  say  about  county 
cricket  that  the  young  players  did  not  make  enough 
use  of  their  legs  as  they  ought  for  punishing  the 
bowling.  He  had  not  seen  much  first-class  cricket 
of  latter  years  because  he  considered  that  the  test 
match  play  was  rather  too  slow.  He  would  like  to 
give  them  four  days  for  test  match  cricket  and,  "  if  the 
game  could  not  be  finished  in  that  time,  they  had 
better  begin  it  all  over  again." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  out  of  the  large 
assemblage  not  one  relished  the  occasion  so  much  as 
he.  Yet  there  was  bound  to  be  the  shadow  of  sad- 
ness for  comrades  who  had  passed  away,  and  in 
speaking  of  this  to  Coulson  Kernahan,  a  few  days 
afterwards,  he  remarked  :  "It  shows  how  old  I  am 
getting  that  there  is  hardly  any  one  now  left  to 
call  me  Gilbert." 

On  one  further  occasion  only  did  Grace  witness  a 
match  at  Lord's.  He  came  during  Hobbs'  benefit, 
transferred  from  the  Oval  which  was  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  military  authorities.  Friends  crowded 
round  him  to  find  that  his  thoughts  were  far  from 
cricket,  concentrated  on  the  war.  A  few  days  later, 
on  August  27,  came  this  trumpet-call  in  print : 

CRICKETERS  AND  THE  WAR 

DR.  w.  G.  GRACE'S  VIEW 

To  the  Editor  of  "  The  Sportsman" 

SIR, — There  are  many  cricketers  who  are  already 
doing  their  duty,  but  there  are  many  more  who  do 
not  seem  to  realize  that  in  all  probability  they  will 
have  to  serve  either  at  home  or  abroad  before  the 
war  is  brought  to  a  conclusion.  The  fighting  on  the 
Continent  is  very  severe,  and  will  probably  be  pro- 
longed. I  think  the  time  has  arrived  when  the 
county  cricket  season  should  be  closed,  for  it  is  not 


DR.  W.  G.   GRACE  351 

fitting  at  a  time  like  the  present  that  able-bodied  men 
should  play  day  after  day  and  pleasure-seekers  look 
on.  There  are  so  many  who  are  young  and  able, 
and  yet  are  hanging  back.  I  should  like  to  see  all 
first-class  cricketers  of  suitable  age,  etc.,  set  a  good 
example,  and  come  to  the  help  of  their  country  with- 
out delay  in  its  hour  of  need. — Yours,  etc., 

W.  G.  GRACE. 

Amid  all  the  preoccupations  of  the  great  war,  the 
public  was  deeply  moved  by  the  intelligence  that 
"  W.  G.'s  very  ill,"  and  in  two  or  three  days  learnt 
with  profound  sorrow  that  he  had  passed  away.  It 
seemed  almost  impossible.  As  P.  F.  Warner  truly 
observed  after  the  funeral :  "  Life  to  lots  of  us  can 
never  be  the  same  because  of  the  loss  of  the  dear  Old 
Man.  This  is  a  chapter  in  our  existence  that  has  the 
mournful  '  finis  '  appended  to  it."  It  was  generally 
believed  that  a  Zeppelin  raid  in  the  neighbourhood 
gave  the  veteran  a  shock  when  he  was  in  a  danger- 
ously weak  condition,  and  the  German  papers 
actually  stated  that  he  was  a  victim  of  an  aerial 
visitation. 

It  was  on  a  bitterly  cold  afternoon,  October  26, 
1915,  that  a  great  gathering  assembled  at  Elmer's 
End  Cemetery  to  pay  the  last  tribute  of  respect  "  to 
the  man  of  all  others  whose  name  will  for  generations 
to  come,  as  it  has  been  for  nearly  half  a  century,  be 
pre-eminently  linked  with  our  great  summer  game 
played  wherever  Englishmen  set  foot."  The  church 
was  filled  to  overflowing  and,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
first  portion  of  the  service,  the  lengthy  procession  of 
mourners  made  its  way  to  the  grave,  where,  under 
the  shadow  of  a  hawthorn  tree,  the  hero  of  cricket 
was  laid  to  rest  beside  a  son  and  daughter  who  had 
preceded  him  into  the  land  of  shadows. 

Behind  the  chief  mourners,  composed  of  the  family 
and  C.  L.  Townsend,  walked  Lord  Hawke  and  Lord 
Harris  representing  the  Marylebone  Cricket  Club. 


352     THE   MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

From  "  the  county  of  the  Graces  "  came  J.  A.  Bush, 
R.  F.  Miles,  O.  G.  Radcliffe  and  F.  Townsend. 
Veterans  included  C.  E.  Green,  H.  W.  Bainbridge, 
F.  G.  J.  Ford,  W.  H.  Fowler  who  was  with  Sir  George 
Riddell,  W.  Foord-Kelcey,  A.  P.  Lucas,  C.  K.  Francis, 
C.  I.  Thornton,  C.  C.  Clarke,  P.  J.  de  Paravicini, 
F.  T.  Welman,  George  Brann  and  S.  A.  P.  Kitcat. 
In  khaki  stood  the  Jam  Sahib  of  Nawanagar  (Ranjit- 
sinhji  of  yore)  with  Sir  Home  Gordon,  Captain  P.  F. 
Warner,  Captain  H.  D.  G.  Leveson-Gower  and  Cap- 
tain H.  T.  Hewett.  Other  noted  cricketers  included 
J.  R.  Mason,  G.  MacGregor,  C.  J.  Burnup,  and 
Captain  G.  J.  V.  Weigall.  Among  the  professionals 
were  Alec  Hearne,  Huish,  Martin,  W.  C.  Smith,  Hen- 
derson, with  Cannon  and  Philip  Need  from  Lord's. 
And  not  a  tithe  of  those  who  came  to  that  sad  scene 
have  been  enumerated. 

Lord  Hawke,  on  behalf  of  M.C.C.,  received  the 
following  cablegram  :  "  Kindly  convey  condolence 
of  the  club  to  the  Grace  family — Trumble,  Melbourne 
C.C."  ;  also  from  Christ  church,  New  Zealand : 
"  Dominion  mourns  loss  of  Grace — Moon,  Cricket 
Council."  A  most  kind  message  was  also  received 
from  His  Majesty  the  King. 

Of  all  the  memorial  accounts,  couched  in  language 
of  deserved  appreciation,  none  was  finer  than  that 
appearing  in  the  columns  of  Punch,  which  had  con- 
tained so  many  tributes  to  the  great  cricketer  during 
his  career.  It  is  no  secret  that  the  author  was  E.  V. 
Lucas,  who  is  as  devoted  to  cricket  as  to  literature, 
and  it  cannot  be  omitted  from  this  volume.  Thus  he 
wrote  : 

"  So  W.  G.  is  no  more  !  Cricket  itself  has  suffered 
the  cruellest  wounds  since  August  of  last  year,  and 
now  the  Father  of  it  is  laid  low.  And  his  place  will 
never  be  filled  again.  There  could  not  be  another 
W.  G.  ;  there  can  be,  if  the  Fates  allow  the  game  to 
recover,  great  cricketers ;  but  there  can  never  be 
another  so  immeasurably  the  greatest — never  another 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  353 

not  only  to  play  cricket  as  Grace  did,  but  to  be 
cricket  as  Grace  was. 

Cricket  and  W.  G.  were  indeed  one.  Popular 
superstition  and  the  reporters  had  it  that  he  was  a 
physician,  and  it  is  true  that,  when  a  wicket-keeper 
smashed  his  thumb  or  a  bumping  ball  flew  into  a 
batsman's  face,  first  aid  would  be  administered  in  the 
grateful  shade  of  the  '  Doctor's  '  beard  ;  but  it  was 
impossible  really  to  think  seriously  of  his  medical 
activities,  or  indeed  of  any  of  his  activities  off  the 
field.  Between  September  and  May  one  thought  of 
him  as  hibernating  in  a  cave,  returning  to  life  with 
renewed  vigour  with  the  opening  of  the  season,  his 
beard  a  little  more  imposing,  his  proportions  a  little 
more  gigantic  ;  so  that  each  year  the  bat  in  his  hand, 
as  he  walked  to  the  wicket  with  that  curious  rolling 
tumbling  gait,  seemed  a  more  trifling  implement. 

With  the  mind's  vision  one  sees  him  in  many 
postures.  At  the  wicket :  waiting,  striking  and 
running  ;  and  again  bowling,  in  his  large  round 
action,  coming  in  from  the  leg,  with  a  man  on  the 
leg  boundary  a  little  finer  than  square,  to  catch  the 
youngsters  who  lunged  at  the  widish  ball  (his 
'  bread-and-butter  trick  '  W.  G.  called  it).  One  sees 
him  thus  and  thus,  and  even  retiring  to  the  pavilion, 
either  triumphantly — with  not,  of  course,  a  sufficient 
but  an  adequate  score  to  his  credit — or  with  head 
bent  pondering  how  it  was  he  let  that  happen  and 
forewarning  himself  against  it  next  time.  But  to 
these  reminiscent  eyes  the  most  familiar  and  charac- 
teristic attitude  of  all  is  W.  G.  among  his  men  at  the 
fall  of  a  wicket,  when  they  would  cluster  round  to 
discuss  the  event  and,  no  matter  how  tall  they  were, 
W.  G.'s  beard  and  shoulders  would  top  the  lot. 
Brave  days  for  ever  gone  ! 

Of  late  years,  since  his  retirement,  the  Old  Man, 
as  he  was  best  known  among  his  fellow  amateurs,  was 
an  occasional  figure  at  Lord's.  More  than  a  figure, 
a  landmark,  for  he  grew  vaster  steadily,  more  mas- 

A  A 


354     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

sive,  more  monumental.  What  must  it  have  been 
like  to  have  that  Atlas  back  and  those  shoulders  in 
front  of  one  in  the  theatre  !  At  the  big  matches  he 
would  be  seen  on  one  of  the  lower  seats  of  the  pavilion 
with  a  friend  on  either  side,  watching  and  comment- 
ing. But  the  part  of  oracle  sat  very  lightly  upon 
him  ;  he  was  ever  a  man  of  action  rather  than  of 
words  ;  shrewd  and  sagacious  enough,  but  without 
rhetoric.  That  his  mind  worked  with  Ulysses-like 
acuteness  every  other  captain  had  reason  to  know  ; 
his  tactics  were  superb.  But  he  donned  and  doffed 
them  with  his  flannels.  In  ordinary  life  he  was 
content  to  be  an  ordinary  man. 

Although  sixty-seven,  he  did  not  exactly  look  old  ; 
he  merely  looked  older  than  he  had  been,  or  than 
any  such  performer  should  be  permitted  to  be. 
There  should  be  a  dispensation  for  such  masters,  by 
which  W.  G.  with  his  bat,  and  John  Roberts  with  his 
cue,  and  Cinquevalli  with  his  juggling  implements 
would  be  rendered  immune  from  Anno  Domini. 
Almost  to  the  end  he  kept  himself  fit,  either  with 
local  matches,  where  latterly  he  gave  away  more  runs 
in  the  field  than  he  hit  up,  not  being  able  to  '  get 
down  '  to  the  ball,  or  with  golf  or  beagling.  But  the 
great  beard  grew  steadily  more  grizzled  and  the 
ponderous  footfall  more  weighty.  Indeed  towards 
the  last  he  might  almost  have  been  a  work  by  Mestro- 
vics,  so  colossal  and  cosmic  were  his  lines. 

Peace  to  his  ashes  !  We  shall  never  look  upon  his 
like  again.  The  days  of  Grace  are  ended." 

The  long  innings  is  closed.  The  grand  record  of 
W.  G.  has  been  told.  His  memory  will  never  die 
so  long  as  the  game  is  played  with  which  he  is 
pre-eminently  associated.  Perhaps  his  most  fitting 
epitaph  is  what  the  Bishop  of  Hereford  once  said  at 
a  banquet  to  him  at  Bristol.  "  Had  Grace  been  born 
in  ancient  Greece,  the  Iliad  would  have  been  a 
different  book.  Had  he  lived  in  the  Middle  Ages,. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  355 

he  would  have  been  a  crusader  and  would  now  have 
been  lying  with  his  legs  crossed  in  some  ancient 
abbey,  having  founded  a  great  family.  As  he  was- 
born  when  the  world  was  older,  he  was  the  best 
known  of  all  Englishmen  and  the  king  of  that  English 
game  least  spoilt  by  any  form  of  vice." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

Statistics  of  W.  G.  Grace's  Cricket 

BY  F.  S.  ASHLEY-COOPER 
W.  G.  GRACE  IN  FIRST-CLASS  CRICKET 


BATTING 

BOWLING 

Com- 
pleted 

T 

Runs 

Aver- 

Year 

Runs 

Wickets 

Aver- 

Inn- 

age. 

age. 

ings 

7 

189 

27-00 

1865 

268 

20 

13-40 

ii 

581 

52-81 

1866 

434 

31 

14-00 

5 

154 

30-80 

1867 

292 

39 

7-48 

ii 

625 

56-8I 

1868 

{  686 

I 
48 

14-29 

23 

1,320 

57-39 

1869 

i,i93 

73 

16-34 

33 

1,808 

5478 

1870 

782 

50 

15-64 

35 

2,739 

78-25 

1871 

i,346 

79 

17-03 

29 

1,561 

53-82 

1872 

(736 

6 
62 

11-87 

30 

2,139 

71-30 

1873 


1,307 

5 

IOI 

12-94 

32 

1,664 

52-00 

1874 

1,780 

140 

12-71 

46 

1,498 

32-56 

1875 

2,468 

191 

12-92 

42 

2,622 

62-42 

1876 

2,458 

129 

19-05 

37 

i,474 

39'83 

1877 

2,291 

179 

12-79 

40 

1,151 

28-77 

1878 

2,204 

152 

14-50 

26 

993 

38-19 

1879 

i,49i 

H3 

13-19 

24 

95i 

39-62 

1880 

1,480 

84 

17-61 

24 

917 

38-20 

1881 

1,026 

57 

18-00 

37 

975 

26-35 

1882 

i,754 

IOI 

I7-36 

356 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE  357 

W.  G.  GRACE  IN  FIRST-CLASS  CRICKET— continued 


BATTING 

BOWLING 

Com- 

Year 

pleted 

•f 

Runs 

Aver- 

Runs 

Wickets 

Aver- 

Inn- 

age 

age 

ings 

39 

1,352 

34'66 

1883 

2,077 

94 

22-09 

40 

I,36l 

34-02 

1884 

1,762 

82 

21-48 

39 

1,688 

43-28 

1885 

2,199 

117 

18-79 

52 

1,846 

35-50 

1886 

2,439 

122 

19-99 

38 

2,062 

54-26 

1887 

2,078 

97 

21-42 

58 

1,886 

32-51 

1888 

1,691 

93 

18-18 

43 

i,396 

32-46 

1889 

.1,019 

44 

23-15 

52 

1,476 

28-38 

1890 

1,183 

61 

19-39 

39 

771 

19-76 

1891 

.   973 

58 

16-77 

10 

448 

44-80 

1891-2 

134 

5 

26-80 

34 

1,055 

31-02 

1892 

958 

3i 

30-90 

45 

1,609 

35-75 

1893 

854 

22 

38-81 

44 

i,293 

29-38 

1894 

732 

29 

25-24 

46 

2,346 

51-00 

1895 

527 

16 

32-93 

50 

2,135 

42-70 

1896 

1,249 

52 

24-01 

39 

i,532 

39-28 

1897 

1,242 

56 

22-17 

36 

i,5i3 

42-02 

1898 

917 

36 

25-47 

22 

515 

23-40 

1899 

482 

20 

24-10 

30 

1,277 

42-56 

1900 

969 

32 

30-28 

31 

1,007 

32-48 

1901 

i,  in 

51 

21-78 

32 

1,187 

37-09 

1902 

1,074 

46 

23-34 

26 

593 

22-80 

1903 

479 

IO 

47-90 

25 

637 

25-48 

1904 

687 

21 

32-71 

13 

250 

19-23 

I9°5 

383 

7 

54-71 

9 

241 

26-77 

1906 

268 

13 

20-61 

2 

19 

9-50 

1907 

— 

— 

— 

2 

40 

20-00 

1908 

5 

0 

— 

1,388 

54,896 

39*55 

Totals   j 

51,488 

12 

2,8  64 

17-97 

358     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 


FOR   GENTLEMEN  v.  PLAYERS 


Com- 
pleted 

Runs 

Aver- 

Ground and 
Date  of  Fkst 

Runs 

Wickets 

Aver- 

Inn- 
ings 

age 

Appearance 

age 

61 

2,582 

42-38 

Oval,  1865     . 

2,403 

110 

21-84 

59 

2,398 

40-64 

Lord's,  1865  . 

1,863 

108 

17-25 

2 

217 

108-50 

Brighton,i87i 

123 

7 

17-57 

8 

28l 

35-12 

Prince's,  1873 

473 

39 

12-12 

i 

174 

174-00 

Scarborough, 

60 

3 

2O-OO 

1885 

IO 

356 

35-6o 

Hastings,i889 

171 

4 

4275 

141 

6,008 

42-60 

5,093 

271 

18-78 

DR.  W.   G.   GRACE 


359 


SIDES  FOR  WHICH  W.  G.  GRACE  OBTAINED 
HIS  RUNS 


Tnn- 

"NTnf 

Most  in 

J.1111* 

ings 

i^l  \J  W 

Out 

Runs 

an  Inn- 
ings 

Average 

Anglo-American  XI     . 

2 

0 

157 

152 

78-50 

England  v.  Australia  .     . 

36 

2 

1,098 

170 

32-29 

England  in  Australia  (non 

test)    

6 

I 

284 

159* 

56-80 

England      

23 

3 

wi_nf 

996 

Jy 

224* 

»JW 

49-80 

England  XI      .... 

50 

2 

1,267 

92 

26-39 

Gentlemen  v.  Players  . 

151 

10 

6,008 

217 

42-60 

Gentlemen  of  England 

43 

2 

i,595 

165 

38-90 

Gentlemen  of  South    . 

37 

2 

1,625 

1  80 

46-42 

Gloucestershire 

618 

49 

23,083 

318* 

40-56 

Gloucestershire  and  Kent 

6 

i 

346 

121 

69-20 

Gloucestershire  and  York- 

2 

0 

162 

1  10 

81-00 

shire 

Grace's  XI  

15 

4 

511 

81* 

46-45 

Kent    (with   W.    G.    and 

A.  W.  Ridley)     .     .     . 

2 

0 

10  8 

58 

54-00 

London  County 

103 

i 

3,483 

166 

34-14 

Marylebone  C.C.    . 

224 

17 

7,780 

344 

37-58 

Non-Smokers    .... 

I 

o 

10 

10 

10-00 

Non-University  Gentlemen 

I 

0 

12 

12 

12-00 

Orleans  Club     .... 

I 

0 

34 

34 

34-00 

Over  Thirty      .... 

8 

o 

193 

51 

24-12 

Right-Handed  .... 

i 

0 

35 

35 

35*00 

Single     

i 

I 

1  80 

180* 

189-00* 

South     

137 

8 

*-vy 

y 
268 

30/76 

South,  United  .... 

•j/ 
15 

i 

'492 

126 

•J.7    / 
35-14 

South  of  the  Thames  . 

7 

i 

260 

130 

43-33 

United  XI  

3 

o 

38 

23 

12-66 

Totals  

1,493 

105 

54,896 

344 

39-55 

*•  <j 

\jy  \}J 

*  Signifies  not  out. 


360     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

SIDES  AGAINST  WHICH  W.  G.  GRACE  OBTAINED 

HIS  RUNS 


Inn- 
ings 

Not 
Out 

Runs 

Most  in 
an  Inn- 
ings 

Average 

Anglo-Australian  XI. 
Australia     

7 

I4Q 

I 
8 

161 

4  4Q3 

58 
170 

26-83 

31-86 

Cambridge  University 
Derbyshire  
England      
England  XI      .... 
Essex     

59 
24 

22 

4 

Q 

4 

i 
i 

0 

o 

2,098 

539 

852 
153 

IQ< 

196 
87 
121 

81 

126 

38-14 
23-43 
40-57 
38-25 
6^-00 

Gentlemen  of  Kent 
Gentlemen  of  Middlesex  . 
Gentlemen  of  North    . 
Gloucestershire 
Herts     

3 

2 

5 

3 

4 

o 

0 

I 

0 

o 

*-y3 

61 
82 
270 
179 
148 

54 
48 
118 
150 

7< 

20-33 
41-00 
67-50 
59-66- 
37-oa 

Home  Counties 
Ireland  

2 
•3 

I 
o 

36 

QG. 

21* 

AA 

36-00 
31-66 

I  Zingari     

II 

I 

470 

IOI* 

47-00 

Kent      

76 

13 

3  3Q4 

344 

53-87 

Kent,  XIII  of  .... 
Kent  and  Sussex   . 
Lancashire  

4 

2 
Q4 

I 

0 

Q 

101 

79 

2.4Q4 

63* 
70 
112 

33-66 
39-50 
20-34 

Lancashire  and  Yorkshire 
Left-Handed    .... 
Leicestershire   .... 
M.C.C.  and  Ground 
M.C.C.,  XV  of,  with  Rylott 
Married       

2 

I 

14 
22 
2 
I 

o 

0 
0 

I 

0 

I 

30 

35 

339 
1,061 

157 
180 

28 

35 

83 
172 

152 

1  80* 

15-00 
35-oo 
24-2r 

50-5* 
78-50 
189-00* 

Middlesex    

73 

7 

3,036 

J.«_>V> 

221* 

46-00 

New  South  Wales  . 
North     

3 

120 

0 

6 

79 
4,568 

45 
268 

26-33 
40-07 

North  of  the  Thames  . 
North,  United  .... 
Notts     

7 
ii 

96 

I 
I 
6 

260 

435 
3,768 

130 
126 
182 

43-33 
43-50 
41-86 

Notts  and  Yorkshire  .     . 
Oxford  University  . 
Philadelphians 
Players  

i 
28 
i 
1*51 

I 
I 

0 
10 

170 
1,169 

H3 
6,008 

170* 
117 

H3 

217 

170-00 

43-29 
113-00 
42-60 

Players  of  the  North  . 
Players  of  the  South  .     . 
Rest  of  England  f  .     .     . 
Smokers      
Somerset     

10 
22 
2 
I 
33 

0 
2 
0 

o 
o 

399 

884 

65 

10 

1,373 

145 
180 

63 
10 

288 

39-90 
44-20 

32-50 
10-00 
41-60 

*  Signifies  not  out.     t  Lord  Sheffield's  Anglo-Australian  XI. 


DR.  W.   G.   GRACE 


361 


SIDES  AGAINST  WHICH  W.  G.  GRACE  OBTAINED 
HIS   RUNS — continued 


Inn- 
ings 

Not 
Out 

Runs 

Most  in 
an  Inn- 
ings 

Average 

South     

4 

o 

Q2 

44 

2"VOO 

South  Africans  .... 
South  Australia 
Staffordshire     .... 
Surrey   

7 

I 
I 
I3Q 

o 

0 

o 

IO 

94 

2 
67 

4,583 

37 
2 

67 
224* 

13-42 
2  '00 
67-00 
3£5">2 

Surrey  and  Middlesex  .     . 
Surrey  and  Sussex 
Sussex   

2 

5 

88 

o 

0 

8 

43 
97 
3,688 

24 
40 
301 

21-50 
19-40 
46-10 

University  Gentlemen 
Under  Thirty    .... 
Victoria  

i 
8 

2 

o 

0 

I 

12 

193 
203 

12 

51 

I=;Q* 

12-00 
24-I2 
203-00 

Warwickshire   .... 
West  Indians    .... 
Worcestershire. 
Yorkshire    

29 
2 

4 

122 

I 

0 

I 
6 

915 
32 
232 
4,E5Q:> 

129 

23 

no* 

318* 

32-67 

16-00 

77-33 
3Q-6i 

Totals  . 

i.  4Qi 

10^ 

"U.8o6 

344 

30-^ 

Signifies  not  out. 


362     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 


W.   G.  GRACE  FOR  GLOUCESTERSHIRE 


Com- 

pleted 

T 

Runs 

Aver- 

Year 

Runs 

Wickets 

Aver- 

Inn- 

age 

age 

ings 

2 

37 

18-50 

1868 

I 

— 

v/ 

*J 

47 

4 

H'75 

4 

366 

91-50 

1870 

209 

23 

9-08 

7 

435 

62-14 

1871 

291 

*9 

I5-3I 

6 

284 

47-33 

1872 

406 

40 

10-15 

8 

497 

62-12 

1873 

430 

21 

20-47 

7 

594 

84-85 

1874 

690 

59 

11-69 

14 

54i 

38-64 

1875 

787 

54 

14-57 

ii 

890 

80-90 

1876 

659 

43 

I5-32 

12 

367 

30-58 

1877 

864 

88 

9-81 

19 

605 

31-84 

1878 

1,184 

79 

14-98 

13 

709 

52-53 

1879 

919 

75 

12-25 

16 

614 

38-37 

1880 

1,054 

63 

16-73 

18 

720 

40-00 

1881 

853 

47 

18-14 

22 

666 

30-27 

1882 

1,254 

74 

16-94 

:22 

871 

39-59 

1883 

1,415 

64 

22-10 

18 

672 

37-33 

1884 

1,107 

40 

27-67 

24 

1,034 

43-o8 

1885 

1,403 

68 

20-63 

24 

714 

29-75 

1886 

1,460 

73 

20-00 

22 

1,405 

63-86 

1887 

1,407 

64 

21-98 

27 

i,  068 

39-55 

1888 

1,094 

55 

19-89 

24 

884 

36-83 

1889 

824 

32 

25-75 

27 

930 

34-44 

1890 

I,OI2 

49 

20-65 

21 

440 

20-95 

1891 

622 

37 

16-81 

22 

802 

36-45 

1892 

773 

26 

29-73 

27 

747 

27-66 

1893 

784 

22 

35-63 

32 

633 

19-78 

1894 

440 

12 

36-66 

28 

1,424 

50-85 

1895 

247 

7 

35-28 

33 

1,693 

5I-30 

1896 

820 

37 

22-16 

28 

1,192 

41-84 

1897 

950 

44 

21-59 

24 

1,141 

47-54 

1898 

832 

34 

24-47 

7 

108 

15-42 

1899 

192 

10 

19-20 

569 

23,083 

40-56 

Totals  | 

25,029 

i 
1,363 

18-36 

DR.   W.   G.   GRACE 


363 


W.  G.   GRACE'S  SCORING  ON  CHIEF  LONDON 
GROUNDS 


en 

J3 
o 

Inn- 

Not 

Highest 

Aver- 

rt 

ings 

Out 

Score 

age 

2J 

Lord's 

208 

364 

19 

12,690 

196 

36-78 

Oval  .     .      . 

122 

209 

18 

8,261 

268 

43-25 

Prince's   . 

17 

28 

O 

1,321 

261 

47-17 

Crystal  Palace 

40 

60 

I 

2,535 

166 

42-96 

HOW  W.   G.   GRACE  WAS  OUT 

Caught 760 

Bowled 439 

Caught  and  bowled 76 

L.B.W 54 

Run  out 27 

Stumped 26 

Hit  wicket  6 


Completed  innings 1,388 


HOW  W.   G.   GRACE  SCORED 

o 

i  to  9 

10  to  19  

20  to  29  

30  to  39  

40  to  49  

50  to  59  

60  to  69  

70  to  79  

80  to  89  

90  to  99  

Centuries . 


83 
345 

251 
190 

148 
96 

9l 
56 

49 

34 

25 

126 


Innings  commenced M93 


364     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

SUMMARY  OF  W.  G.   GRACE'S  CENTURIES 

100  to  149 78 

150  to  199  .     .  _.,     1     ....  35 

200  to  249 6 

250  to  299 4 

300  to  344  ...    ..     .     .     .     .  3 

Total 126 

These  126  scores  were  obtained  thus  : 

For  England 5 

,,     Gentlemen  v.  Players       ...  15 

Gentlemen  of  England    ...  5 

Gentlemen  of  South  ....  7 

Gloucestershire 51 

M.C.C.  (or  M.C.C.  and  Ground) .  19 

South 10 

London  County     7 

Various 7 

TWO  SEPARATE  HUNDREDS  IN  ONE  MATCH 

130  &  102*  South  of  the  Thames  v.  North  of 

the  Thames  at  Canterbury  .  1868 
101  &  103*  Gloucestershire  v.  Kent  at  Clifton  1887 
148  &  153  Gloucestershire  v.  Yorkshire  at 

Clifton 1888 

The  following  feats  are  also  noteworthy  : — 
94  &  121     Kent  and  Gloucestershire  v.  Eng- 
land at  Canterbury.      .      .      .     1874 
92  &  183*  Gloucestershire  v.   Yorkshire  at 

Gloucester 1887 

126  &  82      United  South  v.  United  North  at 

Hull 1876 

*  Signifies  not  out. 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  365 

THREE  SEPARATE  HUNDREDS  IN  SUCCESSION 

118     Gentlemen  of   South  v.   Gentlemen  of\ 

North  at  Lillie  Bridge 

178     South  v.  North  at  Lord's I  1871 

102     Gentlemen   of   England   v.    Cambridge 
University  at  Cambridge    .      .      .      J 

112     Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Lord's  .      .      .\ 

117     Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Oval     .      .      .1  1872 

170*  England  v.  Notts  and  Yorkshire  at  Lord's] 

134    Gentlemen  of  South  v.  Players  of  South\ 

at  Oval I     « 

163     Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Lord's  .  f      '  •* 

158     Gentlemen  v.  Players  at  Oval     .      .      J 

121     Kent  and  Gloucestershire  v.  England  at\ 

Canterbury I 

123     M.C.C.  v.  Kent  at  Canterbury     .      .      .  [   1874 
127    Gloucestershire  v.  Yorkshire  at  Clifton  J 

344    M.C.C.  v.  Kent  at  Canterbury     .      .      .\ 
177     Gloucestershire  v.  Notts  at  Clifton  .      .  I     «  ,- 
318     Gloucestershire  v.  Yorkshire  at  Chelten-  [ 
ham J 


CONSECUTIVE  COUNTY  INNINGS 

179    Gloucestershire  v.  Sussex  at  Brighton    .") 

167     Gloucestershire  v.  Yorkshire  at  Sheffield  >  1874 

127    Gloucestershire  v.  Yorkshire  at  Clifton.  J 

In  consecutive  innings  for  Gentlemen  v.  Players  in 
1871, 1872, 1873,  W.  G.  Grace  scored  217,  77  and  112, 
117, 163, 158,  70  :  average  130-57  against  the  bowling 
of  Alfred  and  J.  C.  Shaw,  Martin,  Mclntyre, 
Southerton,  Emmett,  Willsher,  Fillery,  Hayward, 
Lockwood,  Oscroft,  Richard  Daft  and  Lilly  white. 

*  Signifies  not  out. 


366     THE   MEMORIAL   BIOGRAPHY   OF 

In  May,  1895,  in  his   forty-seventh  year,  W.  G. 
Grace  made  the  following  scores  in  succession   for 
Gloucestershire  : 
288     v.  Somerset  at  Bristol. 

257  and  73  not  out  (winning  the  match  by  9  wickets) 
v.  Kent  at  Gravesend. 

169  v.  Middlesex  at  Lord's. 
91     v.  Sussex  at  Brighton. 

CARRYING  BAT  THROUGH  A  COMPLETED 
INNINGS 

138  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v. 

117  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v. 

189  Single 

81  W.  G.  Grace's  XI 

170  England 
192  South 

318  Gloucestershire 

221  Gloucestershire 

81  M.C.C.  and  Ground  v. 

113  Gloucestershire 

37  Gloucestershire 

127  Gloucestershire 

109  Gloucestershire 

159  England 

61  Gloucestershire 

243  Gloucestershire 

102  Gloucestershire 

EIGHT  OR  MORE  WICKETS  IN  AN  INNINGS 


v.  Surrey 

Oval       .     . 

1869 

v.  Notts 

Lord's    .     . 

1870 

v.  Married 

Lord's    . 

1871 

v.  Kent 

Maidstone   . 

1871 

v.  Notts  &  Yorks 

Lord's    . 

1872 

v.  North 

Oval      .     . 

1873 

v.  Yorkshire 

Cheltenham 

1876 

v.  Middlesex 

Clifton   .     . 

1885 

v.  Sussex 

Lord's    . 

1887 

v.  Notts 

Clifton   .     . 

1887 

v.  Lancashire 

Bristol   .     . 

1889 

v.  Middlesex 

Cheltenham 

1889 

v.  Kent 

Maidstone   . 

1890 

v.  Victoria 

Melbourne  .il 

391-2 

v.  Surrey 

Oval       .     . 

i893 

v.  Sussex 

Brighton 

1896 

v.  Lancashire 

Bristol   .     . 

1896 

Wickets.  Runs. 
8  for  40     Gentlemen  of 

V. 

Players  of  the    Oval     . 

1865 

the  South 

South 

8 

„  25 

Gentlemen 

v. 

Players 

Lord's  . 

1867 

8 

„  33 

Gloucestershire 

v. 

Yorkshire 

Sheffield    . 

1872 

10 

„  92 

M.C.C. 

V. 

Kent  (12  a 

Canterbury 

1873 

side) 

9 

,,  48 

South 

V. 

North 

Lough- 

1875 

borough 

8 

„  69 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Notts 

Clifton 

1876 

8 

»  36 

South 

V. 

North 

Lord's  . 

1877 

8 

,.  54 

M.C.C.  and 

V. 

Derbyshire 

Lord's  .     . 

1877 

Ground 

DR.  W.   G.   GRACE 

Wickets.  Runs. 


367 


y 
8 

ior  s^u 
„    34&. 

^Gloucestershire 

V. 

Notts 

Cheltenham 

1877 

8 

»    23 

M.C.C.    and 

V. 

Derbyshire 

Lord's 

1878 

Ground 

8 

„  81 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Surrey 

Cirencester 

1879 

8 

„  3i 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Somerset 

Gloucester 

1882 

8 

»  93 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Australians 

Clifton.      . 

1882 

9 

„    20 

M.C.C.    and 

V. 

Notts 

Lord's  . 

1885 

Ground 

10 

»  49 

M.C.C.    and 

V. 

Oxford  Uni- 

Oxford 

1886 

Ground 

versity 

8 

„  37 

M.C.C.    and 

V. 

Sussex 

Lord's 

1889 

Ground 

THIRTEEN   OR  MORE  WICKETS 

IN  A  MATCH 

Wickets.  Runs. 

13 

for  84 

Gentlemen   of 

V. 

Players  of  the 

Oval     .     . 

1865 

the  South 

South 

15 

»  79 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Yorkshire 

Sheffield 

1872 

15 

M.C.C. 

V. 

Kent  (12  a 

side) 

Canterbury 

1873 

14 

„  66 

Gloucestershire 

0. 

Surrey 

Cheltenham 

1874 

13 

„  98 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Yorkshire 

Clifton 

1875 

14 

,,108 

South 

V. 

North 

Lough- 

1875 

borough 

14 

,,109 

M.C.C.    and 

V. 

Derbyshire 

Lord's  . 

1877 

Ground 

17 

„  89 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Notts 

Cheltenham 

1877 

13 

,,106 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Sussex 

Cheltenham 

1878 

15 

,,116 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Surrey 

Cirencester 

1879 

16 

„  60 

M.C.C.    and 

V. 

Notts 

Lord's  .     . 

1885 

Ground 

13 

,,IIO 

London  County 

V. 

M.C.C.    and 

Lord's  . 

1901 

Ground 

FOUR  WICKETS 

OR  MORE  FOR  THREE 

RUNS 

OR  LESS 

Wickets.  Runs. 

6 

for  10 

M.C.C.    and 

V, 

Lancashire 

Lord's  . 

1869 

Ground 

7 

„  19 

M.C.C.     and 

V 

.Herts 

Chorleywood  1873 

Ground 

7 

„  18 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Surrey 

Cheltenham 

1874 

8 

„  23 

M.C.C.    and 

V. 

Derbyshire 

Lord's  .     . 

1878 

Ground 

6 

»  18 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Sussex 

Cheltenham 

1878 

6 

„  16 

Gloucestershire 

V. 

Middlesex 

Lord's  . 

1879 

9 

„  20 

M.C.C.    and 

V. 

Notts 

Lord's  . 

1885 

Ground 

368     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

BOWLING  UNCHANGED  THROUGH  BOTH 
COMPLETED  INNINGS 

With 

I.  D.  Walker      Gentlemen  of  the  v.  Players  of  the  Oval    f  1865 

South  South 

Wootton  (G.)  M.C.C.  and  v.  Staffordshire  Lord's     1873 

Ground 

W.  R.  Gilbert    Gloucestershire  v.  Lancashire     Clifton    1878 

f  Aged  16. 

A  THREE-FIGURE  INNINGS  AND  TEN  WICKETS 
OR  MORE  IN  ONE  MATCH 

Score.     Bowling. 

134*  10  for  81  Gentlemen  v.  Players  Lord's      .  1868 

117    12   „  146  M.C.C.  v.  Kent  (12  Canterbury  1871 

a  side) 

114    ii   ,,126  South  v.  North  Oval        .  1872 

150    15   ,,  79  Gloucestershire  v.  Yorkshire  Sheffield  .  1872 

179    12  ,,158  Gloucestershire  v.  Sussex  Brighton.  1874 

2^l  10   ,,119    Gentlemen  v.  Players       Prince's   .     1874 

167    ii    ,,  101    Gloucestershire    v.  Yorkshire  Sheffield  .  1874 

94)  10   „  i6of  Gloucestershire    v.  England  Canterbury  1874 
121  J                          and  Kent 

123    ii   „  129!  M.C.C.  v.  Kent  (12  Canterbury  1874 

a  side) 

127    10   ,,121-f  Gloucestershire   V.Yorkshire  Clifton     .  1874 


12   ,,125    Gentlemen  v.  Players       Lord's      .     1875 

261     ii    „  139    South  v.  North          Prince's  .  1877 

221*  ii   ,,120    Gloucestershire  v.  Middlesex  Clifton  .  1885 

104    12  „  109  J  M.C.C.  and  v.  Oxford        Oxford  .  1886 

Ground  University 

*  Signifies  not  out.  |  Consecutive  matches. 

J  Including  all  ten  wickets  in  second  innings. 

W.   G.   GRACE'S  HUNDREDS  IN  FIRST-CLASS 
CRICKET  (126) 

FOR  ANGLO-AMERICAN  XI  (i). 
152    v.  XV  of  M.C.C.  (with        Lord's  1873 

Rylott) 


DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  369 


FOR  ENGLAND  (5). 

224*  v.  Surrey                              Oval 

1866 

170*  v.  Notts  and  Yorkshire      Lord's 

1872 

152     v.  Australia                         Oval 

1880 

170    v.  Australia                         Oval 

1886 

159*  v.  Victoria                           Melbourne 

1891-2 

FOR  GENTLEMEN  (15). 

134*  v.  Players                            Lord's 

1868 

215     v.  Players                            Oval 

1870 

109    v.  Players                             Lord's 

1870 

217    v.  Players                            Brighton 

1871 

112     v.  Players                            Lord's 

1872 

117     v.  Players                            Oval 

1872 

163    v.  Players                            Lord's 

1873 

158    v.  Players                            Oval 

i873 

no     v.  Players                            Prince's 

1874 

152    v.  Players                            Lord's 

1875 

169    v.  Players                            Lord's 

1876 

100     v.  Players                            Oval 

1881 

174    v.  Players                            Scarborough 

1885 

131     v.  Players                            Hastings 

1894 

118    v.  Players                            Lord's 

1895 

FOR  GENTLEMEN  OF  ENGLAND  (5). 

162    v.  Cambridge  University    Cambridge 

1871 

107     v.  Australians                      Oval 

1884 

148     v.  Australians                      Oval 

1886 

165     v.  Australians                      Lord's 

1888 

10  1*  v.  I  Zingari                          Lord's 

1895 

FOR  GENTLEMEN  OF  SOUTH  (7). 

173*  v.  Players  of  South             Oval 

1866 

180     v.  Players  of  South             Oval 

1869 

118    v.  Gentlemen  of  North       West  Bromp- 

1871 

ton 

145     v.  Players  of  North             Prince's 

1873 

134    v.  Players  of  South             Oval 

1873 

150     v.  Players  of  South             Oval 

1874 

104    v.  Players  of  North             Prince's 

1874 

*  Signifies  not  out. 

B  B 


370     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 


143  v. 

IJ2   V. 

n6  v. 

150  v. 

160*  v. 

179  v. 

167  v. 

127  v. 

in  v. 

119  v. 

104  v. 

177  v. 

318*  v. 

116  v. 

123  v. 

IO2   V. 

113  v. 

106  v. 
182  v. 

112  V. 

116*  v. 
132  v. 
104  v. 

221*  V. 

no  v. 

113  v. 
183*  v. 
113*  v. 

IOI 

103* 

215 
148} 

153} 

IOI   V 

127*  V 
109*  v 

288  V 


V. 


FOR  GLOUCESTERSHIRE  (51). 
Surrey 

M.C.C.  and  Ground 
Nottinghamshire 
Yorkshire 
Surrey 
Sussex 
Yorkshire 
Yorkshire 
Yorkshire 
Nottinghamshire 
Sussex 

Nottinghamshire 
Yorkshire 
Nottinghamshire 
Surrey 

Nottinghamshire 
Somerset 
Lancashire 
Nottinghamshire 
Lancashire 
Australians 
Yorkshire 
Surrey 
Middlesex 
Australians 
Middlesex 
Yorkshire 
Nottinghamshire 

Kent 

Sussex 

Yorkshire 

Middlesex 
Middlesex 
Kent 
Somerset 

*  Signifies  not  out. 


Oval 

1870 

Lord's 

1870 

Nottingham 

1871 

Sheffield 

1872 

Clifton 

1873 

Brighton 

1874 

Sheffield 

1874 

Clifton 

1874 

Sheffield 

1875 

Clifton 

1875 

Brighton 

1876 

Clifton 

1876 

Cheltenham 

1876 

Nottingham 

1878 

Oval 

1879 

Nottingham 

1879 

Clifton 

1879 

Clifton 

1880 

Nottingham 

1881 

Clifton 

1883 

Clifton 

1884 

Bradford 

1885 

Cheltenham 

1885 

Clifton 

1885 

Clifton 

1886 

Lord's 

1887 

Gloucester 

1887 

Clifton 

1887 

Clifton 

1887 

Brighton 

1888 

Clifton 

1888 

Lord's 

1889 

Cheltenham 

1889 

Maidstone 

1890 

Bristol 

1895 

DR.   W.   G.   GRACE  371 

257    v.  Kent  Gravesend  1895 

169    v.  Middlesex  Lord's  1895 

119    v.  Nottinghamshire  Cheltenham  1895 

243*  v.  Sussex  Brighton  1896 

102*  v.  Lancashire  Bristol  1896 

186    v.  Somerset  Taunton  1896 

301     v.  Sussex  Bristol  1896 

113    v.  Philadelphians  Bristol  1897 

126    v.  Nottinghamshire  Nottingham  1897 

116    v.  Sussex  Bristol  1897 

131    v.  Nottinghamshire  Cheltenham  1897 

126    v.  Essex  Leyton  1898 

168    v.  Nottinghamshire  Nottingham  1898 

109    v.  Somerset  Taunton  1898 


FOR  GLOUCESTERSHIRE  AND  KENT  (i). 
121     v.  England  Canterbury         1874 

FOR  GLOUCESTERSHIRE  AND  YORKSHIRE  (i). 
no    v.  England  Lord's  1877 


FOR  LONDON  COUNTY  (7). 

no*  v.  Worcestershire  Crystal  Palace  1900 

no    v.  M.C.C.  and  Ground         Crystal  Palace  1900 

132     v.  M.C.C.  and  Ground        Crystal  Palace  1901 

131     v.  M.C.C.  and  Ground        Crystal  Palace  1902 

129    v.  Warwickshire  Crystal  Palace  1902 

150     v.  Gloucestershire  Crystal  Palace  1903 

166    v.  M.C.C.  and  Ground        Crystal  Palace  1904 

*  Signifies  not  out. 


372     THE  MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 


FOR  MARYLEBONE  (19). 

117    v.  Oxford  University          Oxford 

1869 

138*  v.  Surrey                              Oval 

1869 

121     v.  Nottinghamshire             Lord's 

1869 

127    v.  Kent                                Canterbury 

1869 

117*  v.  Nottinghamshire            Lord's 

1870 

181     v.  Surrey                              Lord's 

1871 

146    v.  Surrey                             Oval 

1871 

117    v.  Kent                                Canterbury 

1871 

101     v.  Yorkshire                        Lord's 

1872 

123    v.  Kent                                Canterbury 

1874 

344    v.  Kent                                Canterbury 

1876 

101     v.  Australians                      Lord's 

1884 

104    v.  Oxford  University          Oxford 

1886 

1  1  6*  v.  Cambridge  University    Lord's 

1887 

128    v.  Kent                                Lord's 

1893 

139    v.  Cambridge  University    Cambridge 

1894 

196    v.  Cambridge  University    Lord's 

1894 

103     v.  Sussex                              Lord's 

1895 

125     v.  Kent                                Lord's 

1895 

FOR  SINGLE  (i). 

189*  v.  Married                            Lord's 

1871 

FOR  SOUTH  (10). 

122     v.  North                               Sheffield 

1869 

178    v.  North                               Lord's 

1871 

268     v.  North                               Oval 

1871 

114    v.  North                               Oval 

1872 

192*  v.  North                               Oval 

1873 

114*  v.  North                              Nottingham 

1876 

261     v.  North                               Prince's 

1877 

154    v.  North                               Scarborough 

1889 

104    v.  North                               Hastings 

1895 

126    v.  North                               Lord's 

1900 

FOR  SOUTH,  UNITED  (i). 

126    v.  North,  United                 Hull 

1876 

FOR  SOUTH  OF  THAMES  (2). 

io2*lu'  North  of  Thames          Canterbury 

1868 

*  Signifies  not  out. 

DR.  W.  G.  GRACE 


373 


RESULTS  OF  THE  MATCHES  IN  WHICH 
W.   G.   GRACE  PLAYED 


Season  Won 

Lost  Drawn 

Total 

Season  Won 

Lost  Drawn  Total 

I865 

3 

I 

I 

5 

1888 

14 

13 

6 

33 

1866 

4 

3 

I 

8 

1889 

6 

12 

6 

24 

1867 

4 

o 

O 

4 

1890 

14 

10 

6 

30 

1868 

5 

3 

0 

8 

1891 

6 

II 

7 

24 

1869 

10 

4 

I 

15 

1891-2 

6 

2 

o 

8 

1870 

ii 

6 

4 

21 

1892 

3 

8 

10 

21 

1871 

15 

4 

6 

25 

1893 

9 

13 

6 

28 

1872 

13 

5 

4 

22 

1894 

6 

14 

7 

27 

1873 

18 

2 

4 

24 

1895 

15 

9 

5 

29 

1874 

15 

5 

i 

21 

1896 

ii 

13 

6 

30 

1875 

12 

9 

5 

26 

1897 

10 

9 

6 

25 

1876 

II 

3 

12 

26 

1898 

ii 

7 

8 

26 

1877 

17 

i 

6 

24 

1899 

3 

5 

5 

13 

1878 

9 

10 

5 

24 

1900 

2 

8 

8 

18 

1879 

6 

5 

8 

19 

1901 

7 

4 

8 

*9 

1880 

6 

4 

6 

16 

1902 

6 

3 

13 

22 

1881 

9 

2 

4 

15 

1903 

5 

6 

5 

16 

1882 

4 

12 

6 

22 

1904 

5 

7 

3 

15 

1883 

7 

12 

3 

22 

1905 

0 

4 

4 

8 

1884 

9 

II 

6 

26 

1906 

2 

2 

i 

5 

1885 

8 

10 

7 

25 

1907 

O 

I 

0 

i 

1886 

9 

12 

12 

33 

1908 

O 

I 

o 

i 

1887 

3 

14 

7 

24 

Totals 

349 

300 

229 

878 

374     THE   MEMORIAL  BIOGRAPHY  OF 


MEN  WHO  HAVE  CLEAN  BOWLED  W.  G.  GRACE 
IN  FIRST-CLASS  CRICKET  MORE  THAN  THREE 
TIMES 


20  TIMES. 
Shaw  (A.) 

14  TIMES. 
Richardson  (T.) 

13  TIMES. 
Barlow  (R.  G.) 

ii  TIMES. 
Morley  (F.) 

10  TIMES. 
Briggs  (J.) 
Emmett  (T.) 
Hill  (A.) 

9  TIMES. 
Peate  (E.) 
Shaw  (J.  C.) 

8  TIMES. 
Flowers  (W.) 
Southerton  (J.) 

7  TIMES. 

Lohmann  (G.  A.) 
F.  R.  Spofforth 
C.  T.  B.  Turner 


6  TIMES. 
Bates  (W.) 
Hearne  (J.  T.) 
Martin  (F.) 
G.  E.  Palmer 
Peel  (R.) 
A.  G.  Steel 
Wootton  (G.) 

5  TIMES. 
Attewell  (W.) 
Barnes  (W.) 
G.  Giffen 

Lillywhite  (J.  jun.) 
Mold  (A.) 
Wainwright  (E.) 

4  TIMES. 
Hearne  (A.) 
Mycroft  (W.) 
Tate  (F.  W.) 
H.  Trumble 
Watson  (A.) 


DR.   W.  G.   GRACE  375 


MEMORABILIA  OF  W.  G.  GRACE  IN 
MINOR  CRICKET 

SPECTACLES. 

1863  XXII  of  Lansdown  v.  England  XI  at  Bath, 
c.  Clarke  (A.)  b.  Tinley,  c.  Anderson  b. 
Tinley. 

1863  Clifton  v.  Lansdown  at  Bath,  b.  E.  M.  Grace, 
b.  E.  M.  Grace. 

1868  U.S.E.E.  v.  XXII  of  Cadoxton  (with  Howitt) 
at  Neath,  c.  Struve  b.  Howitt,  c.  and 
b.  Howitt. 

1870  Bedminster  v.  G.W.R.  at  Bedminster,  c.  and 
b.  Laverick,  c.  Dormand  b.  Laverick. 

He  never  was  twice  dismissed  for  o  in  a  first-class 
match. 


AGGREGATE  OF  3,000  RUNS  IN  A  SEASON. 

Completed  Innings  Runs  Average 

1870  67  3,255  48-58 

1871  48  3,234  67-37 
18720         63  3,030  48-09 

18746  74  3,505  47-36 

1876  72  3,908  54-27 

a  Including  the  trip  to  America ;  and  b  the  tour  through  Australia. 

W.  G.  Grace  took  over  300  wickets  in  1874,  1875, 

1877  and  1878. 

W.  G.  Grace  scored  91  centuries  in  minor  matches, 
five  being  over  200  and  one  reaching  400. 

It  is  estimated  that  during  his  career  W.  G.  Grace 
made  about  80,000  runs  and  took  about  7,000 
wickets. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 
BY  ALFRED  D.  TAYLOR 

As  a  contributor  to  cricket  literature,  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace 
committed  the  result  of  his  experience  to  paper  in  plain 
language.  His  first  contribution  to  appear  in  book  form 
was  not  published  until  the  champion  had  been  before  the 
public  for  twenty-seven  years.  It  bears  the  crisp  title 
Cricket,  and  ran  through  several  editions,  the  publisher  being 
his  own  neighbour,  the  late  Mr.  J.  W.  Arrowsmith,  of  Bristol. 
The  first  edition  was  priced  at  six  shillings,  but  the  instruc- 
tive portion  was  reprinted  separately  at  one  shilling  with 
the  title  Batting,  Bowling  and  Fielding. 

When  the  proprietors  of  the  English  Continental  Library 
decided  to  add  to  their  series  a  book  on  cricket,  Dr.  W.  G. 
Grace  was  invited  to  supply  the  letterpress  and  the  volume, 
bearing  his  signature,  appeared  at  Leipzig  in  1892. 

Of  more  interest  to  the  non-exponent  was  "  W.  G." 
Cricket  Reminiscences  and  Personal  Recollections  (James 
Bowden,  1899) .  Another  book  of  entertaining  reminiscences 
by  the  champion  was  "  W.  G.'s  "  Little  Book  (Newnes,  1909), 
with  chapters  on  the  "  New  Bowling,"  ""  Cricket  Journalism," 
and  "  Cricket  and  Go."  On  the  attainment  of  W.  G. 
Grace's  hundredth  century  in  first-class  cricket,  L.  Upcott 
Gill  issued  a  shilling  book  entitled  The  History  of  100 
Centuries.  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace's  name  appears  on  the  title 
page  "as  that  of  the  author,  but  the  book  was  really  com- 
piled by  the  late  Mr.  W.  Yardley,  who  modestly  posed  as 
the  editor. 

To  the  innumerable  publications  that  have  appeared  in 
connection  with  the  game,  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  was  a  frequent 
contributor.  The  Badminton  Library  of  Cricket  contains 
two  excellent  articles  to  which  his  name  is  attached,  "  How 
to  Score  "  and  "  Outfit."  "  Cricket  as  a  Sport  "  is  a  subject 
in  Dewar's  Cricket  Annual  for  1892,  whilst  his  "  Hints  on 
Batting,"  which  appeared  in  the  first  edition  of  James  Lilly- 

377 


378  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL    NOTE 

-white's  Cricket  Annual  in  1872,  found  such  favour  that  it 
was  reprinted  for  twelve  successive  years.  In  the  Boys' 
Own  Bookshelf  series  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  was  responsible  for 
three  chapters,  "  Cricket  and  How  to  Excel  in  It,"  "  The 
Cricket  Bat ;  How  to  Make  it,  Choose  it,  and  Keep  it,"  and 
"  Cricket  Clubs,  their  Formation  and  Management."  An 
article,  "  Big  Hitting  and  Fast  Scoring  :  a  Remedy  for 
Unfinished  Matches,"  is  to  be  found  in  the  Cricket  Hand- 
book (Greening). 

To  tabulate  the  numerous  articles  that  have  appeared 
above  his  signature  in  various  magazines  would  be  impos- 
sible at  this  distance  of  time,  but  many  a  grown-up  school- 
boy still  cherishes  his  advice  which  frequently  appeared 
in  the  columns  of  The  Boys'  Own  Paper  and  the  early 
volumes  of  Cricket  when  that  admirable  weekly  publication 
was  under  the  editorship  of  the  late  C.  W.  Alcock. 

Articles  in  praise  of  W.  G.  Grace  have  appeared  in  count- 
less cricket  books,  but  those  solely  devoted  to  his  powers 
comprise  the  following  :  W.  G.  Grace,  a  Biography,  by  W. 
Methven  Brownlee,  with  a  treatise  on  cricket  by  W.  G. 
Grace  (Iliffe  &  Son,  London,  1887)  ;  "  W.  G.,"  or  the 
Champion's  Career,  by  Arthur  J.  Waring  (Alexander 
&  Shepheard,  London,  1895) ;  "  W.  G."  Up  to  Date  :  The 
Doings  of  W.  G.  Grace  from  1887  to  1895,  published  at 
Ootacamund ;  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace,  the  King  of  Cricket,  by 
Frederick  G.  Warne  (H.  A.  Burleigh,  Bristol,  1899)  ;  Dr. 
W.  G.  Grace,  by  Acton  Wye  (H.  J.  Drane,  London) ;  The 
Hero  of  Cricket,  an  Appreciation  of  W.  G.  Grace  (Iliffe, 
London)  ;  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  (Wright,  London),  and  last,  but 
not  least,  Scores  and  Modes  of  Dismissal  of  "  W.  G."  in  First- 
Class  Cricket,  by  Rev.  H.  A.  Tate  (Cricket  Press,  London). 
This  was  considerably  enlarged  in  1896  after  Dr.  W.  G. 
Grace  completed  his  hundred  centuries,  and  then  appeared 
under  the  title  of  Life,  Scores  and  Modes  of  Dismissal  of 
"  W.  G."  in  First-Class  Cricket  from  1865  to  1896,  embracing 
some  seventy  pages.  That  exceptional  statistician,  Mr. 
F.  S.  Ashley-Cooper,  appears  to  differ  in  some  respects  from 
this  summary  in  his  contribution  to  Wisden's  Cricketers' 
Almanack  for  1916,  alluded  to  in  an  earlier  chapter  of  the 
present  volume.  After  the  death  of  the  Grand  Old  Man 
of  the  game,  Mr.  Ashley-Cooper  was  the  author  of 
W.  G.  Grace,  Cricketer :  A  Record  of  His  Performances  in 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE  379 

First-Class  Matches  (Wisden,  1916).  This  admirable  com- 
pilation has  of  course  been  freely  drawn  upon,  by 
permission,  for  the  present  volume. 

In  verse,  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  has  of  ten  been  the  subject,  but 
as  far  as  one  can  trace,  only  a  single  song  has  been  published 
in  his  honour,  namely  Cricket :  A  Song  of  the  Centuries,  by 
J.  Harcourt  Smith  (Howard,  London).  Scores  of  books  on 
cricket  have  been  dedicated  to  Dr.  W.  G.  Grace,  but  a  list 
here  would  serve  no  useful  purpose. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


(W.  G.  GRACE  is  not  included.) 


Abel,  R.,  60,  193,  201,  202,  216, 

220,  241,  243,  260,  266,  272. 
Absolom,  A.,  62,  117. 

Albert     of     Schleswig-Holstein, 
H.H.   Prince,   321,   335,   336, 

337.  338. 

Alcock,  C.  W.,  147,  187. 
Allan,  F.  E.,  103. 
Alverstone,    Lord,    writes     186— 

188,  273. 

Anderson,  George,  25. 
Angerstein,  68. 
Antrobus,  R.,  86. 
Appleby,  A.,  62,  75,  83,  85,  86, 

"9,  145- 

Armitage,  T.,  118. 
Arnall-Thompson,  H.  T.,  228. 
Arnold,  E.  G.,  294. 
Ashley-Cooper,     F.     S.,     writes 

283-292,  324,  28,  29,  124,  126. 
Astley,  Sir  John,  205. 
Attewell,  W.,  151,  195,  215,  216, 

221,  224,  237,  256. 

Badminton  volume  on  Cricket,  286. 

Bainbridge,  H.  W.,  352. 

Baker,  G.,  211,  266. 

Bale,  E.,  306. 

Balfour,  Leslie  Melville,  93,  332. 

Bannerman,  A.  C.,  146,  159,  193, 

194,  219,  220,  268,  269. 
Bannerman,  C.,  106,  220. 
Barlow,  R.  G.,  writes  168-171, 

134,  136,  140,   145,  150,   167, 

168,  173,   182,  190,  195. 
Barnes,  W.,  136,  137,  145,  147, 

173,  185,  190,  195,  200,  201, 

215,  225. 


Barratt,  E.,  125,  167. 
Barton,  Bombardier,  203. 
Bates,  W.,  136,  139,  142,  147, 

150,  151,  167,  175,  190,  199. 
Bathurst,  L.  C.  V.,  256. 
Bean,  G.,  202,  216,  225,  233. 
Beauclerck,  Lord  Frederick,  13. 
Beaufort,  Duke  of,  136. 
Beaumont,  J.,  176,  201. 
Beldam,  G.  W.,  writes  311-317, 

332-337.  19,  233,  296,  337. 
Bell,  Canon,  writes  52,  53. 
Bell's  Life,  89,  186. 
Bennett,  G.,  28,  96. 
Bessborough,  Lord,  115. 
Best,  Sir  Robert,  216. 
Birmingham  Post,  265. 
Bismark,  Prince,  57. 
Blackham,    J.    McCarthy,    159, 

193,  204,  220,  221,  236. 
Board,  J.  H.,  194,  245,  262,  266, 

286,  287. 
Bonnor,  G.  J.,  6,  29,  132,  158, 

194. 

Booth,  C.,  129. 
Boult,  F.  H.,  101. 
Boyle,  H.  F.,  102,  103,  105,  129, 

146,  158,  159,  172,  217. 
Bradley,  A.  G.,  writes  54. 
Braid,  James,  157,  331,  336. 
Brain,  J.  H.,  173,  176,  191,  243. 
Brain,  W.  H.,  321. 
Brann,  George,  352. 
Braund,  L.,  281,  296,  305,  307. 
Briggs,  J.,  64,  170,  173,  176,  190, 

2O3,  2l6,  221,  256,  262,  294. 

Brockwell,  W.,  153,  241,  272. 
Bromley  Davenport,  H.  R.,  256. 


381 


INDEX   OF  NAMES 


Brown,  Ernest,  326. 

Brown,  J.  T.,  241,  263,  281,  294. 

Bruce,  W.,  183. 

Buchanan,  David,  62,  75,  83. 

Bull,  F.  G.,  266,  276. 

Buller,  C.,  14,  33,  34,  63,  114. 

Burbidge,  340. 

Burgoyne,  T.,  49. 

Burls,  C.   W.,   writes    163-165, 

347- 

Burnham,  Lord,  writes  252-254. 
Burnup,  C.  J.,  352. 
Bush,  J.  A.,  101,  119,  180,  197, 

198,  204,  352. 
Bush,  R.  E.,  112. 
Butler,  Rev.  A.  G.,  322. 

Cadogan,  Lord,  318. 

Caesar,  Julius,  226. 

Callaway,  219,  220. 

Candy,  164. 

Cannon,  G.,  352. 

Carpenter,  Robert,  20,  76,  83,  94, 

186. 
Carter,  Canon  E.  S.,  writes  36- 

38,  38,  39. 
Cavell,  Strutt,  295. 
Charlton,  P.  C.,  210. 
Charlwood,  H.,  47. 
Chatterton,  W.,  241. 
Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein, 

H.R.H.    Prince,   writes    319- 

320,  318. 
Christian  Victor,   H.H.   Prince, 

204,  319,  322. 

Christopherson,  Stanley,  172. 
Cinquevalli,  354. 
Clarke,  C.   C.,  writes    211-214, 

150,  211,  321,  352j 
Clarke,  13. 

Clayton,  R.,  55,  75,  84,  109. 
Cobham,  Lord,  writes  34-35,  33. 
Collins,  A.  E.  J.,  30. 
Cooper,  B.  B.,  47,  51,  52,  102, 

105. 

Cooper,  W.  H.,  171. 
Cosstick,  S.,  103,  105. 
Cotter,  A.,  219,  308. 
Cotterill,  J.  M.,  125. 
Cottrell,  George,  115. 
Coventry,  Lord,  318. 
Coxon,  H.,  writes  344. 


Craig,  A.,  184. 

Cranston,  J.,  168,  198,  210,  202, 

211. 

Crawford,  J.  N.,  298. 
Cricket,  179. 
Croome,  A.  C.   M.,  writes   226— 

235. 320-322, 18, 131, 185,  200. 

Daft,  H.  B.,-  265. 

Daft,  Richard,  14,  19,  25,  50,  60, 
70,  76, 78, 80,  83, 116, 118, 119, 
120,  124,  125,  134,  136,  225, 
226,  285,  286. 

Daily  Telegraph,   52,   214,   252,. 

343- 

Dale,  J.  W.,  60,  61,  62,  78,  82,  98. 
Dames,  Longworth  F.,  321. 
Darling,  J.,  282. 
Darnley,  Lord  (Hon.  Ivo  Bligh),. 

136. 

Davidson,  G.,  185,  256. 
de  Winton,  E.  S.,  263. 
Dickinson,  300. 
Diver,  E.  J.,  156. 
Dixon,  J.  A.,  200,  266,  272. 
Draper,  H.,  114. 
Duff,  R.,  296. 
Dyer,  301,  310. 

Easton,  A.,  42. 

Edwards,  J.  D.,  194. 

Emmett,  Tom,  37,  38,  51,  58, 
69.  83,  95,  96,  in,  116,  118, 
119,  125,  133,  134,  136,  i40r 
150,  169,  182,  192,  198,  268. 

Evans,  A.  H.,  138,  152. 

Evans,  E.,  183. 

Evans,  F.  R.,  33. 

Eyre,  C.  H.,  306. 

Fairbanks,  W.,  125,  168,  178. 
Farrands,  F.  H.,  86,  in,  151, 

205,  207. 

Faulkner,  G.  A.,  305. 
Fellowes,  J.,  114. 
Fellows,  Harvey,  289. 
Ferris,  J.  J.,  155,  193,  207,  209,. 

238,  241,  287. 

Ferris,  Sam,  writes  339-340. 
Field,  F.,  281. 
Fielder,  A.,  297. 
Fillery,  R.,  125. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


383 


FitzGerald,  Captain  Keane,  87. 
FitzGerald,  R.  A.,  5,  49,  85,  87, 

88,  89,  113. 

FitzHardinge,  Lord,  71,   136. 
Flowers,  W.,  129,  173,  175,  179, 

185,  190,  195,  200,  203,  215. 
Foord,  Kelcey  W.,  118,  352. 
Forbes,  Walter  F.,  38. 
Ford,  F.  G.  J.,  14,  352. 
Ford,  W.  J.,  199. 
Foster,  R.  E.,  295. 
Fowler,  Gerald,  249. 
Fowler,  W.  H.,  160,  352. 
Francis  C.  K.,  writes  61-66,  85— 

88, 97~101. 344-349,  5,  61,  352. 
Freeman,  George,  37,  51,  58,  69, 

84. 

Fun,  101. 
Furley,  J.,  125. 

Gale,  Fred,  148,  149,  284. 
Gale,  Percy  G.,  writes  308-311. 
Garrett,  T.  W.,  158,  183. 
Geeson,  F.,  306. 

George  V,  H.M.  King,  282,  352. 
Giffen,   George,    159,    183,   218, 

220,  235,  261,  270. 
Gilbert,  W.  R.,   101,   106,   122, 

124,  129,  137,  154,  234,  286, 

346. 

Gilman,  J.,  307. 
Gladstone,  W.  E.,  50,  290. 
Gordon,  Sir  Home,  writes  12-23, 

130,  182,  352. 
Gordon,  C.  S.,  59. 
Grace,  Dr.  Alfred,  345. 
Grace,  E.  M.,  5,  25,  26,  27,  28, 

33,  34,  35,  4i,  42,  55,  79,  94, 
96,  97,  100,  108,  130,  136,  145, 
146,  151,  152,  154,  155,  159, 
162,  163,  170,  180,  185,  186, 
197,  200,  211,  217,  225,  230, 
233,  241,  268,  283,  289,  345. 

Grace,  G.  F.,  6,  7,  22,  24,  28,  29, 
36,  38,  61,  65,  68,  74,  77,  78, 
80,  92,  93,  95,  101,  105,  108, 
no,  116,  122,  123,  124,  126, 
136,  137,  139,  145,  M8,  154, 
283,  345,  346,  347- 

Grace,  Dr.  Henry,  30,  55,  56, 
154.  155,  230,  231,  245. 

Grace,  Dr.  H.  M.,  24. 


Grace,  Mrs.  Martha,  25,  26,  36,. 

155- 
Grace,  W.  G.,  jun.,  72,  207,  238, 

239,  240. 

Grace,  Mrs  W.  G.,  72,  101,  287. 
Graham,  H.,  235. 
Great  Golfers,  333. 
Green,  C.  E.,   writes  67-73,  14, 

49,  58,  276,  349,  352. 
Green,  240. 

Greenwood,  A.,  84,  101,  106,  149. 
Greenwood,  Luke,  97,  108,  113, 

I3i- 

Gregory,  D.,  106,  128,  132. 

Gregory,  S.  E.,  225,  260. 

Griffiths,  G.,  84. 

Grundy,  J.,  47,  48,  67. 

Gunn,  J.,  294,  299. 

Gunn,  W.,   190,   200,   201,   202, 

203,  209,  210,  216,  224,  235, 

260. 

Hadow,  E.  M.,  179. 

Hadow,  W.  H.,  62,  85. 

Haigh,  S.,  272,  273,  278. 

Hall,  James,  328. 

Hall,  Louis,  190. 

Halliwell,  E.  A.,  297. 

Hallows,  J.,  296. 

Hamilton,  A.  H.,  writes  343-345. 

Hardstaff   J.,  299. 

Harnett,  George,  348. 

Harrigin,  A.  E.,  299. 

Harris,  Lord,  writes  5-12,  147, 
263-264,  18,  65,  85,  86,  98,  99, 
114,  118,  145,  148,  149,  211, 
227,  232,  283,  349,  351. 

Harrison,  G.  E.,  148,  149,  167. 

Hawke,  Lord,  writes  1-4,  65, 
J59,  176,  190,  192,  202,  324, 
349,  351,  352. 

Hawkins,  Rev.  Walter,  328. 

Hayes,  E.  G.,  299. 

Hayward,  Dan,  186. 

Hayward,  T.,  sen.,  20,  65,  186. 

Hayward,  T.,  jun.,  14,  186,  256. 

Hearne,  Alec,  237,  242,  250,  251, 
272,  297,  352. 

Hearne,  G.  F.,  239. 

Hearne,  G.  G.,  118,  129, 136,  190. 

Hearne,  J.  T.,  261,  269,  272. 

Hearne,  Tom,  40,  48,  142,  143. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Heath,  A.  H.,  112. 
Hedley,  W.  C.,  211. 
Hemingway,  W.  M.  G.,  257. 
Henderson,  R.,  352. 
Hereford,  Bishop  of,  354 
Hewett,  H.  T.,  14,  52,  246,  352. 
Hickton,  W.,  50. 
Hill,  Allen,  109,  in,  113,  117, 
118,  119,  120,  122,  123,  150, 

169,  195- 

Hill,  Clement,  280,  281. 
Hill,  V.  T.,  244. 
Hirst,  G.  H.,  writes   278,  3,  14, 

112,  265,  277,  294. 
Hiscock,  R.,  295. 
Hobbs,  J.  B.,  14,  183,  270,  329, 

350. 

Holmes,  Rev.  R.  G.,  writes  58. 
Hopkins,  A.  J.,  296. 
Horan,  T.,  105,   131,  158,  159, 

216. 
Hornby,  A.  N.,  38,  65,  83,  85,  86, 

98,   129,   150,   169,   175,   190, 

199,  249. 

Hornet,  C.  E.,  156,  176. 
Howard,  R.  E.,  writes  338-339. 
Howitt,  G.,  48,  142. 
Huish,  F.  H.,  352. 
Humphrey,  R.,   32,  33,   46,  47, 

48,  loi,  155. 

Humphreys,  Walter,  194,  206. 
Hunter,  David,  278. 
Hunter,  J.  C.,  342. 

Iddison,  Roger,  76,  82,  84,  in. 

Iliad,  The,  354. 

Incog,    in   Lillywhite's   Annual, 

124. 

Iredale,  F.  A.,  260. 
Irish  Field,  The,  348. 

Jackson,  Hon.   F.   S.,   14,   169, 

256,  265,  266,  272. 
Jackson,  J.,  194. 
Jayes,  T.,  299. 
Jephson,  D.  L.  A.,  308,  311. 
Jessop,  G.  L.,  80,  258. 
Jones,  A.  O.,  116. 
Jones,  E.,  247,  263,  282. 
Jones,  S.  P.,  149,  158,  159,  183, 

193- 
Jubilee  Book  of  Cricket,  285. 


Jupp,  H.,  9, 10,  32,  33,  40,  46,  47, 
48,  51,  52,  82,  84,  95,  101,  102, 
113,  125,  133,  134. 

Kelson,  G.  M.,  76. 

Kempe,  J.  A.,  54. 

Kernahan,  Coulson,  350. 

Key,  K.  J.,  201,  262. 

King,  J.  H.,  298,  299. 

Kingston,  J.  P.,  274. 

Kipling,  Rudyard,  219. 

Kirk,  E.  C.,  307. 

Kitcat,  S.  A.  P.,  251,  352. 

Knapp,  E.  M.,  96. 

Kortright,  C.  J.,  265,  272,  273, 

276. 
Kotze,  J.  J.,  297. 

Lacey,  F.  E.,  99. 

Lambert,  W.,  48,  192. 

Lane,  C.  G.,  70. 

Le  Couteur,  P.  R.,  36. 

Lee,  F.,  177. 

Lees,  W.,  299. 

Leigh,  Hon.  Chandos,  70. 

Leigh,  T.  A.,  writes  32. 

Leno,  Dan,  325. 

Leveson-Gower,  H.  D.  G.,  writes 

258-260,  329,  352. 
Lewisham,  Lord,  190. 
Lilley,   A.   A.,    writes  280-282, 

272,  296. 
Lillywhite's      Companion       and 

Annual,  31,  45,  46,  57,  81,  104, 

130,  175,  235- 
Lillywhite,  J.,  12,  43,  46,  47,  68, 

69,  78,  79,  101,  106,  108,  109, 

120,  150. 

Lipscomb,  R.,  81. 
Lockwood,  Ephraim,  37,  38,  78, 

95,  in,  113, 119,  122, 124, 125. 
Lockwood,   W.,    237,   238,   242, 

265,  272. 

Lockyer,  Tom,  47,  162. 
Lohmann,  G.,   14,  28,  64,   176, 

182,  185,  190,  201,  209,  215, 

216,  224,  261,  287. 
Londesborough,  Lady,  180,  204. 
Londesborough,  Lord,  164,  165, 

180,  204,  213,  347. 
London,  Bishop  of,  338. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


385 


London,  Lord  Mayor  of,  147. 
Lubbock,  Alfred,    writes  90-91, 

34,  46,  63,  85,  86,  89 
Lubbock,  E.,  85,  86,  87. 
Lucas,  A.  P.,  writes  148-150, 

20,  71,  125,  145,  173,  352. 
Lucas,  E.  V.,  writes  352-354. 
Lucas,  F.  M.,  187. 
Lyons,  J.  J.,  193,  209,  219,  220, 

235,  236 
Lyttelton,  Hon.  Alfred,  10,  63, 

125,  136,  145,  149,  178,  199. 
Lyttelton,     Canon     the      Hon. 

Edward,  writes  139-143,  292. 

McAllister,  Andrew,  93. 
McArthur,  J.  A.  S.,  325. 
Macdonald,  Dr.,  306. 
McDonnell,  P.  S.,  132,  158,  172, 

194,  206,  217. 
MacGahey,  C.,  276. 
MacGregor,  G.  E.,  216,  272,  352. 
M'llwraith,  J.,  183. 
Mclntyre,  Martin,  17,  95,  101. 
Mclntyre,  W.,  75,  80. 
M'Kibbin,  T.  R.,  261. 
MacLaren,  A.  C.,  257,  272,  281. 
M'Leod,  R.,  220. 
Mace,  Jem,  18. 
Magdalen,  President  of,  322 . 
Maitland,  W.  F.,  33. 
Marchant,  F.,  251. 
Marshal,  Alan,  298  302,  303. 
Martin,  F.,  224,  251,  287,  352. 
Mason,  J.  R.,  251,  266,  272,  282, 

295,  321,  352. 
Massie,  H.  H.,  158. 
Matthews,  T.  G.,  84. 
Maxwell,  Sir  John  Heron,  304. 
May,  Phil,  309. 
May,  P.  R.,  306,  307. 
Mead,  W.,  276,    97. 
Meade,  88. 
Midwinter,  W.,    105,    124,   129, 

130,  134,  147,  150,  151,  155, 

161,  167,  172. 

Miles,  R.  F.,  writes  55, 56,  59,  352. 
Miller,  Audley,  303. 
Mitchell,  F.,  239,  266. 
Mitchell,  R.  A.  H.,  34,  68,  70, 

141,  142,  227. 
Moberly,  W.  O.,  119. 


Mold,  195,  237,  242,  256,  258, 
265. 

Mordaunt,  G.  J.,  265. 

Mordaunt,  H.  J.,  211. 

Morgan,  W.  A.,  342. 

Morley,  F.,  109,  113,  118,  120, 
125,  129,  134,  135,  136,  139, 
140,  141,  145,  147,  169,  174, 
206. 

Morris,  218. 

Mortlock,  W.,  61. 

Moses,  H.  H.,  219,  220. 

Murch,  W.,  240,  244,  301. 

Murdoch,  J.  A.,  183. 

Murdoch,  W.  L.,  128,  132,  146, 
149,  158,  163,  205,  209,  210, 
266,  281,  296,  297,  307,  308, 

309,  310,  313,  335- 
Mycroft,  W.,  114,  125,  136. 
Mynn,  Alfred,  n,  12,  13,  284. 

Napier,  G.  G.,  306. 
Nash,  G.,  145. 
Need,  Philip,  294,  352. 
Nepean,  E.  A.,  192,  204,  252. 
Newhall,  C.,  88. 
Newham,  W.,  206. 
News  of  the  World,  343. 
Nichols,  G.  B.,  246. 
Noble,  M.  A.,  280,  282. 

O'Brien,  Sir  Timothy  Carew,  36, 

191,  205,  215. 
Ottaway,  C.,  n,  62,  66,  83,  85, 

86,  87,  88,  95. 
Oscroft,  W.,  101,  109,  113,  118, 

136,  139,  143. 
Owen,  H.  G.,  71,  276. 

Page,  H.  V.,  writes  194-200,  117, 

168,  178,  204. 

Painter,  198,  199,  238,  251. 
Palairet,  L.  C.  H.,  20,  52,  246, 

249. 

Pall  Mall  Gazette,  274. 
Palmer,  G.  E.,  132, 146, 158, 171, 

172. 
Paravicini,  P.  J.  de,  writes  178- 

182,  337-338,  344,   i?7,  321, 

322,  336,  352. 
Pardon,  S.  H.,  writes  154-155, 

160-162. 

C  C 


386 


INDEX   OF  NAMES 


Parr,  C.,  86. 

Parr,  George,  20,  25,  33, 142,  226. 

Pauncefote,  B.,  62. 

Patterson,  W.  S.,  29,  125,  126. 

Patteson,  T.  C.,  85. 

Patti,  Madame  Adelina,  50. 

Payne,  Charles,  47. 

Pearson-Gregory,   T.    S.,   writes 

160. 
Peate,  E.,  3,  64,  148,  150,  151, 

159,  167,  169,  173,  175,  179, 

185. 
Peel,  R.,  3,  64,  175,  194,  195, 

201,  215,  216,  2  8,  256,  261. 
Penn,  A.,  150. 
Penn,  Frank,  125,  136,  145. 
Perkins,  Henry,  writes  39-40,  59, 

34,  77- 

Perrin,  P.,  276. 
Philipson,  H.,  204,  216. 
Phillips,  H.,  78,  124,  185. 
Phillips,  J.,  196. 
Pickering,  F.  P.  V.,  85,  87. 
Pilch,  Fuller,  8,  13. 
Pilling,  R.,  190,  201. 
Pinder,  G.,  77,  84,  96. 
Platts,  J.,  69. 
Plumb,  T.,  48,  61. 
Poidevin,  L.  O.  S.,  310. 
Pooley,  E.,  48,  52,  113,  121,  125, 

136,  153,  167,  169. 
Posno,  Bernard,  204. 
Pougher,  A.  D.,  215,  256. 
Powys,  W.  N.,  82,  83. 
Preston,  J.  M.,  192. 
Pullen,  W.  W.  F.,  211,  234. 
Punch,  129,  352-354- 

Quaife,  W.  G.,  266,  299. 

Radclifie,  O.  G.,  201,  210,  211, 

216,  238,  352. 
Randon,  F.,  114. 
Ranjitsinhji,  K.  S.,  3,  8,  14,  19, 

73,  74,  227,  249,  260,  264,  266, 

280,  352. 

Rawlin,  J.  T.,  190. 
Read,  Maurice,   160,   190,   201, 

216,  236. 
Read,  W.  W.,  154,  155,  160,  166, 

169,  175,  186,  190,  193,  197, 

210,  231,  246,  251,  259. 


Reedman,  D.,  218. 

Relf,  A.  E.,  297. 

Rhodes,  Wilfred,  183,  267,  272, 

289,  294. 
Rice,  R.  W.,  writes  257-258,  225, 

277. 
Richardson,  Tom,  238,  252,  256, 

261,  265,  266,  267,  270,  282. 
Riddell,  Sir  George,  writes  330- 

332,  337,  342,  352. 
Ridley,  A.  W.,  114,  126,  129. 
Roberts,  F.  G.,  205,  229,  231, 

238,  240,  244,  251,  262,  267. 
Roberts,  John,  33,  354. 
Robertson,  G.  P.,  102. 
Robertson- Walker,  J.,  234. 
Robinson,  C.  J.,  writes  243-247, 

267. 

Robinson,  Sir  Hercules,  105. 
Robson,  C.,  281. 
Roe,  John,  345. 
Roe,  W.  N.,  260. 
Rogers,  J.  A.  R.,  240. 
Roller,  W.  E.,  176. 
Rosmead,  Lady,  105. 
Rose,  W.  M.,  85. 
Rotherham,  Hugh,  179. 
Rowbotham,  J.,  97,  286. 
Royle,  Rev.  V.  F.,  136. 
Russell,  Lord  Charles,  136. 
Rutter,  E.,  190. 
Rylott,  A.,  95,  109,  215,  287. 


Sainsbury,  E.,  26. 

Scott,  Dave,  writes  102-103,  216- 
217. 

Scott,  H.  J.  H.,  183. 

Scott/S.  W.,  234. 

Scotton,  W.,  183,  200. 

Selby,  J.,  136. 

Sellars,  A.,  255,  268. 

Sevier,  Robert,  281. 

Sewell,  E.  H.  D.,  writes  300-308. 

Sharpe,  W7.,  215,  216,  287. 

Shaw,  Alfred,  wrote  136,  17,  33, 
50,  64,  75,  76,  80,  83,  95,  109, 
in,  113,  115,  116,  117,  118, 
120,  129,  134,  135,  136,  139, 
140,  141,  145,  169,  187,  216, 
.219,  223,  292. 

Shaw,  Arthur,  122,  123. 


INDEX   OF  NAMES 


387 


Shaw,  J.  C.,  9,  17,  50/57,60,  74, 

75,  76,  77.  78,  79,  80,  94,  95. 
Shaw,  V.  K.,  118. 
Sheffield,  Lord,  216,  222. 
Sherwin,  Mordecai,  190,  239. 
Shrewsbury,    Arthur,    19,    120, 

125,  134,  137,  168,  175,  186, 

189,  190,  197,  200,  210,  216, 

235.  236,  272. 
Shuter,  J.,  writes  152-154,  155- 

157,  20,  169,  191,  193,  210. 
Shuter,  L.  A.,  154. 
Silcock,  F.,  47,  51,  109,  285. 
Sinclair,  J.  H.,  295. 
Smith,  Ernest,  294,  321,  324. 
Smith,  Miss  M.  K.,  324. 
Smith,  W.  C.,  300,  301,  306,  352. 
Southerton,  J.,  48,  76,  78,  97, 

101,  113,  133,  139,  169,  207, 

285,  292. 
Spofforth,  F.  R.,  writes  104,  130- 

132,  103,  106,  129,  130,  145, 

161, 172, 184, 196,  310. 
Spooner,  R.  H.,  20. 
Sportsman,  The,  254,  338,  350. 
Sprot,  E.  M.,  298. 
Spry,  328. 
Stedman,  A.,  231. 
Steel,  A.  G.,  14,  17,  99,  129,  133, 

135,  145,  146,  173.  177,  179, 
187,  199,  256,  286,  321. 

Stephenson,  H.  H.,  77. 

Stoddart,  A.  E.,  14, 180, 190, 191, 
192,  204,  207,  216,  219,  224, 
235,  236,  237,  242,  250,  256, 
266,  272,  277,  321. 

Storer,  W.,  261,  266,  272. 

Street,  J.,  50. 

Stuart  Wortley,  A.,  12,  208. 

Studd,  C.  T.,  writes  173-174, 112, 
147,  167. 

Studd,  G.  B.,  199. 

Summers,  George,  60,  69,  70. 


Tarrant,  F.  A.,  186,  194. 
Tatham,  Canon,  writes  121,  122. 
Taylor,  J.  H.,  333,  334. 
Thewlis,  John,  112. 
Thompson,  G.,  294. 
Thompson,  W.  T.,  328. 
Thorns,  Robert,  120,  149,  285. 


Thomson,  E.  A.  C.,  writes  327, 

343-344- 
Thornton,  C.  I.,  writes  109-111, 

203-207,  14,  49,  58,  64,  65,  80, 

99, 177, *92, 215, 319, 352. 
Thornton,  P.  M.,  112,  186. 
Times,  The,  no,  333. 
Toole,  J.  L.,  164,  165. 
Townsend,  C.  L.,  250,  262,  268, 

269,  272,  281,  283,  339,  351. 
Townsend,  Frank,  123,  133,  136, 

178,  199,  228,  234,  287,  288, 

352. 

Trott,  Albert,  299. 
Trott,  G.  H.  S.,  193,  210,  281. 
Troup,  W.,  277. 
Trumble,  H.,  210,  235,  261. 
Trumble,  J.  W.,  183. 
Trumper,  V.,  14,  163,  270,  296. 
Tunnicliffe,  J.,  272. 
Turner,  A.  J.,  276. 
Turner,  Charles,  71. 
Turner,  C.  T.  B.,  155,  156,  193, 

194,  196,  204,  207,  209,  210, 

219,  235. 
Tyldesley,  J.  T.,  14,  305. 

Ulyett,  George,  109,  118,  120, 
126,  133,  134,  150,  167,  173, 
185,  190,  198,  199. 

Vardon,  H.,  157. 

Vernon,  G.  F.,  129,  164,  211. 

Wales,    H.R.H.    the   Prince   of 

(King  Edward  VII),  254,  282, 

325. 
Wales,   H.R.H.   the  Prince  of, 

321. 
Walker,  I.  D.,  32,  33,  60,  61,  62, 

68,  71,  98,  99,  109,  114,  173, 

178. 

Walker,  J.  G.,  190. 
Walker,  L.,  295,  296,  308. 
Walker,  R.  D.,  writes  33,  35,  63. 
Walker,  V.  E.,  41,  70. 
Walker,  Whimsical,  205. 
Walker  of  Trent  Bridge,  120. 
Ward,  W.,  13,  118. 
Warner,  P.  F.,  writes  267-270, 

105,  294,  351,  352. 
Warren,  Algernon,  writes  41-42. 


388 


INDEX   OF  NAMES 


Warren,  Henry,  298. 

Watson,  Alec,  133/145,  176,  177. 

Watt,  Killigrew,  42. 

Watts,  215. 

Webbe,  A.   J.,   writes   115-117, 

71,   113,   119,   120,   129,   149, 

190,  191,  214,  268,  321. 
Weigall,  G.  J.  V.,  352. 
Wells,  L;  S.,  274. 
Welman,  F.  T.,  352. 
Westminster  Gazette,  53. 
Westmorland,  Lord,  345,  346. 
Whitehead,     Rev.     A.     Goram, 

writes  340. 

Wickets  in  the  West,  88. 
Wild,  F.,  129,  136,  167. 
Wilkinson,  A.  J.,  76. 
Willsher,  E.,  43,  47,  76,  80,  96, 

109,  no,  285. 


Wilson,  G.  L.,  255. 

Wilson,  Leslie,  201,  232. 

Winterbotham,  A.,  228. 

Wisden,  217,  218,  264,  278,  279. 

Wood,  C.  J.  B.,  295. 

Woodcock,  265. 

Woods,  S.  M.  J.,  193,  250,  265, 

272. 

Woof,  W.  A.,  151,  194,  200,  202. 
Wootton,  F.,  182. 
Wootton,  G.,  33,  47,  48,  51,  60, 

66,  75. 

Wright,  Walter,  151,  251. 
Wrathall,  EL,  269. 
Wynyard,  Capt.  E.  G.,  260,  272. 

Yardley,  W.,  20,  51,  62,  82,  95. 

Yorkshire  Cricket,  His  ory  of,  58. 
Young,  347. 


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