neville cardus
International Debutant
A video created at the request of the authors of a new biography of the great Philadelphian swing bowler:
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John Barton King in colour
- Thread starter neville cardus
- Start date
neville cardus
International Debutant
Yes, although I blush at the word "work."
Worth remembering that Spofforth was in his fifties when those photographs were taken.
That's exceptional, do you have a youtube channel?
And ok, I did not know that...I think I have previously seen pics of a younger Spofforth, may be worth me taking a look again.
neville cardus
International Debutant
Yes. It's the one on which that video appears.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
@neville cardus I know King clasped his hands behind his head baseball pitcher style, but is there any evidence he did that through his run rather than just as part of his pre-delivery sequence? And are there any sources describing how far he ran (such descriptive detail is bloody hard to find in my experience)
neville cardus
International Debutant
Good question. I took my cues from the authors, whose book I haven't yet received. Will be interesting to see how they describe it.
Aritro
International Regular
a massive zebra
International Captain
Cricket was actually a reasonably popular niche sport in the US, and particularly Philadelphia, during the last few decades of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The Philadelphian cricket team made first class tours of England in 1897, 1903, and 1908 and Bart King topped the national bowling averages in 1908. It was only around the time of WWI that cricket effectively died out in the US.
Nikhil99.99
U19 Cricketer
A good read-
It was once said of Bart King that he was the best known American of his time in England. When he came over to Britain, people would recognise him in the street and stop to shake his hand. Since King was a contemporary of Buffalo Bill and the Wright Brothers, this means that his fame must have been special. But what makes it extraordinary is that King was famous for being a cricketer - an American cricketer.
Nowadays, as everyone knows, Americans don't play cricket. The surprise is that until well into the 20th century, they not only played cricket, but played it almost to test match standard. Until baseball overwhelmed it less than 100 years ago, cricket was America's most widely played team game. It thrived, especially in the Philadelphia area, where more than 120 clubs existed at various times. In 1905, more than 400 matches were played in Philadelphia in a single season. Almost all the players were American, and King was the best.
On three occasions before the first world war, Philadelphia was strong enough to mount first-class tours of England - playing and beating county sides. There was talk of the US becoming the fourth test match-playing nation, although that prize went to the West Indies. As late as 1912, Philadelphia defeated an Australian test team by two runs. King, then 39, took nine for 78 in the match with his fast inswing. After two decades in the game he still reigned as Philadelphia's king of swing.
"Without question the finest all-round cricketer ever produced in America," wrote his contemporary, John Lester. One of cricket's finest historians, Rowland Bowen, went even further: "Certainly one of the six leading bowlers in the world of all time, and arguably the best." When King died, aged 91, in 1965, Wisden said his greatness was "beyond question". The Cricket Quarterly called him "one of the greatest cricketers of all time".
Today, however, King is almost forgotten. His dates of birth and death are still reverently reprinted each year in Wisden, as are one or two of his records. But Philadelphia cricket has slipped into oblivion and King himself is all but unremembered in the city where he broke almost every record in US cricket.
It was once said of Bart King that he was the best known American of his time in England. When he came over to Britain, people would recognise him in the street and stop to shake his hand. Since King was a contemporary of Buffalo Bill and the Wright Brothers, this means that his fame must have been special. But what makes it extraordinary is that King was famous for being a cricketer - an American cricketer.
Nowadays, as everyone knows, Americans don't play cricket. The surprise is that until well into the 20th century, they not only played cricket, but played it almost to test match standard. Until baseball overwhelmed it less than 100 years ago, cricket was America's most widely played team game. It thrived, especially in the Philadelphia area, where more than 120 clubs existed at various times. In 1905, more than 400 matches were played in Philadelphia in a single season. Almost all the players were American, and King was the best.
On three occasions before the first world war, Philadelphia was strong enough to mount first-class tours of England - playing and beating county sides. There was talk of the US becoming the fourth test match-playing nation, although that prize went to the West Indies. As late as 1912, Philadelphia defeated an Australian test team by two runs. King, then 39, took nine for 78 in the match with his fast inswing. After two decades in the game he still reigned as Philadelphia's king of swing.
"Without question the finest all-round cricketer ever produced in America," wrote his contemporary, John Lester. One of cricket's finest historians, Rowland Bowen, went even further: "Certainly one of the six leading bowlers in the world of all time, and arguably the best." When King died, aged 91, in 1965, Wisden said his greatness was "beyond question". The Cricket Quarterly called him "one of the greatest cricketers of all time".
Today, however, King is almost forgotten. His dates of birth and death are still reverently reprinted each year in Wisden, as are one or two of his records. But Philadelphia cricket has slipped into oblivion and King himself is all but unremembered in the city where he broke almost every record in US cricket.