John Thewlis Senior
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Thewlis (senior) was a first class cricketer who played 44 matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and 56 first class matches in all between 1862 and 1875.
Born on June 30, 1828 in Kirkheaton, Yorkshire, this right handed batsman scored 1,548 runs at 15.48 in all matches with his solitary century coming for Yorkshire against Surrey CCC, against whom he played 17 times.
He also appeared for the All England Eleven (1862), North of England (1864-1865), England (1864-1868), United England Eleven (1865), the Players (1868) and the United North of England Eleven (1875).
He umpired at at least 16 first class County and University matches from 1869 to 1887.
Like many professional cricketers of his era, he fell on hard times after the end of his career. When A.W. Pullin, the cricket and rugby union correspondent for the Yorkshire Evening Post, tracked down 18 former cricketers for interviews in the winter of 1897-98, he was unable to locate the home of Thewlis. When he enquired of Yorkshire County Cricket Club of his whereabouts he was callously informed 'think dead; if not, Manchester.'
When Pullin did find Thewlis 'he was trudging on foot with a heavy basket of laundry clothes on his shoulder'. A trek of four miles of which 'at the end of the journey he was anxious to walk back again, as soon as possible, to earn a few coppers by getting in a load of coals'. Thewlis was 70 years old at the time and died the following year, on December 29, 1899 at Lascelles Hall in Yorkshire.
Pullin's account of his sad meeting with Thewlis was published in his book "Talks With Old Yorkshire Cricketers" under the psuedonym of 'Old Ebor'.
Thewlis's nephews, John Thewlis Junior, Henry Lockwood and most notably Ephraim Lockwood all played first class cricket for Yorkshire.
