Jul 8, 2019
Gentlemen, captained by W. G. Grace, versus Players at Lord’s [1899]
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Gentlemen, captained by W. G. Grace, versus Players at Lord’s [1899]
Gentlemen v Players was a first-class cricket match generally held in England twice or more a year for well over a century. It was held between teams consisting of amateurs [the Gentlemen] and professionals [the Players]. The difference between the two was defined by the English class structure of the time, with the Players deemed to be working-class wage-earners and the Gentlemen members of the middle and upper classes, usually products of the English public school system. Whereas the Players were paid wages by their county clubs or fees by match organisers, the Gentlemen nominally claimed expenses.
The inaugural fixture took place in 1806, with a return match the same year, but it was not continued in 1807 and, with cricket in decline during the Napoleonic Wars, it was not revived until 1819. Thereafter, it was played on a generally annual basis until 1962, with usually two or more games each season. It lacked repute in the middle years of the 19th century because the Gentlemen were often outclassed but then gained in prestige during the career of W. G. Grace as the matches became highly competitive.
In 1963, the committee of the Marylebone Cricket Club [MCC] agreed to abolish the concept of amateurism and all first-class cricketers became professional. The Gentlemen v Players fixture was by then viewed as an anachronism and was discontinued.
W.G. Grace rookie cricket card, circa 1881-82. Very early J.Baines Litho card, the first ever of Grace, for sure. This card predates British tobacco sports cards by about 15 years!
Photo of the Week No.19: W.G.Grace by Herbert Rose Barraud
Photo of the Week No.19: W.G.Grace by Herbert Rose Barraud
Victorian photographer, Herbert Rose Barraud 1845 – 1896, is noted for portrait photographs of many famous people of the time. The National Portrait Gallery contains a collection of over 500 of Barraud’s photographs and cabinet cards. We should be thankful that Barraud’s legacy is his collection portrait images, one of which is of the famous cricketer W.G.Grace in the late 1880’s. [Click on image…
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