On Saturday 21st December 2013,
it will be the shortest day here in the Northern Hemisphere, 100 years since
the first crossword puzzle was published in the New York World newspaper, the 50th
anniversary of the first appearance of the Daleks on Doctor Who and also 50
years since the death of one of the greatest batsmen in world cricket - Sir
Jack Hobbs.
John Berry “Jack” Hobbs was born in
Cambridge on 16th December 1882 and became the leading run scorer
and century maker in first class cricket, amassing 61,760 runs and reaching 3
figures on no less than 199 occasions (Wisden, the cricketer’s bible, dispute
these figures however, claiming he achieved 61,237 runs with 197 hundreds) . Known
to cricket players and fans alike as “the Master,” he played for Surrey between
1905 – 1934, with his England career stretching for 22 years between 1908 and
1930.
Hobbs (left) and Herbert Sutcliffe |
A right-handed batsman and occasional
right arm medium pace bowler, Hobbs excelled in the field, being a specialist fielder
in the covers. In the 1920s he was the UK’s biggest cricketing star and, similarly
to sporting stars of today, lent his name to commercial products. He had
greater financial security than many of his contemporaries but continued to be
concerned that his family kept the stability and security lacking from his own
childhood.
He became the first professional cricketer
ever to be knighted (in 1953), yet was very reluctant to accept the honour. He
was eventually persuaded to take the honour when it was explained that he was
taking it not only for himself, but for all professional cricketers.
Sir Jack passed away in 1963 only 9
months after his wife, who had been unwell for a number of years, died. His health
began to fail soon after her death and they are buried in Hove cemetery where
they both spent many of their later years.
So it's half a century since "the Master" left us. The great man should be turning in his grave after the gutless way the current England team recently relinquished the Ashes in Australia. If only there was anyone out there with half of his batting talent, we would at least have put up something of a fight!
RIP Sir Jack.
So it's half a century since "the Master" left us. The great man should be turning in his grave after the gutless way the current England team recently relinquished the Ashes in Australia. If only there was anyone out there with half of his batting talent, we would at least have put up something of a fight!
RIP Sir Jack.
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