W. G. Grace

W. G. Grace

W G Grace taking guard, 1883
Personal information
Full name	William Gilbert Grace
Born	18 July 1848(1848-07-18) Downend, near Bristol, England
Died	23 October 1915(1915-10-23) (aged 67) Mottingham, Kent, England
Nickname	WG, The Doctor, The Champion, The Old Man
Batting style	right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling style	right arm medium (RM; roundarm style)
Role	all-rounder
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 24)	6 September 1880 v Australia
Last Test	1 June 1899 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1869–1904	MCC
1870–1899	Gloucestershire
1900–1904	London County
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	FC[a]
Matches	22	878
Runs scored	1,098	54,896
Batting average	32.29	39.55
100s/50s	2/5	126/254
Top score	170	344
Balls bowled	666	126,157
Wickets	9	2,864+12
Bowling average	26.22	17.99
5 wickets in innings	0	246
10 wickets in match	0	66
Best bowling	2/12	10/49
Catches/stumpings	39/–	887/5
Source: [Rae, pp.495–496: see also Footnote[a]],

Dr William Gilbert ("WG") Grace, MRCS, LRCP (born 18 July 1848 at Downend, near Bristol; died 23 October 1915 at Mottingham, Kent) was an English amateur cricketer who has been widely acknowledged as the greatest player of all time, especially in terms of his importance to the development of the sport. Universally known as "WG", his initials being a sobriquet, he played first-class cricket for a record-equalling 44 seasons, from 1865 to 1908, during which he captained England, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, the Gentlemen, MCC, the United South of England Eleven and several other teams.

Right-handed as both batsman and bowler, Grace dominated the sport during his career and left, through his enormous influence and technical innovations, a lasting legacy. An outstanding all-rounder, he excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and fielding, but it is for his batting that he is most renowned as he is held to have invented modern batting. An opening batsman, he was particularly noted for his mastery of all strokes and this level of expertise was said by contemporary reviewers to be unique. He generally captained the teams he played for at all levels and was noted for his tactical acumen. He came from a cricketing family and his brothers EM and Fred also played Test cricket for England.

Grace was a medical practitioner who qualified in 1879. Because of his profession, he was nominally an amateur cricketer but he is said to have made more money from his cricketing activities than any professional. He was an extremely competitive player and, although he was one of the most famous men in England, he was also one of the most controversial on account of his gamesmanship and his financial acumen.

He took part in other sports such as athletics, in which he was a champion 440 yard hurdler, golf, lawn bowls and football, in which he played for the Wanderers.

Early years

Childhood

W G Grace was born in Downend on 18 July 1848 at his parents' home, Downend House, and was baptised at the local church on 8 August.^[1] He was called Gilbert in the family circle, except by his mother who called him Willie.^[1]

His parents were Henry Mills Grace and Martha (née Pocock), who were married in Bristol on Thursday, 3 November 1831 and lived out their lives at Downend, where his father was the local GP.^[2] Downend is near Mangotsfield and, although it is now a suburb of Bristol, it was then "a distinct village surrounded by countryside" and about four miles from Bristol.^[3] Henry and Martha Grace had nine children in all: "the same number as Victoria and Albert – and in every respect they were the typical Victorian family".^[4] WG was the eighth child in the family; he had three older brothers, including EM, and four older sisters. Only Fred, born in 1850, was younger than WG.^[5]

Grace's parents and his uncle Alfred Pocock shared a passionate enthusiasm for cricket. In 1850, when WG was two and Fred was expected, the family moved to a nearby house called "The Chesnuts" which had a sizeable orchard and Henry Grace organised clearance of this to establish a practice pitch that was to become famous throughout the world of cricket.^[6] All nine children in the Grace family, including the four daughters, were encouraged to play cricket although the girls, along with the dogs, were required for fielding only.^[7] WG claimed that he first handled a cricket bat at the age of two.^[6] It was in the Downend orchard and as members of their local cricket clubs that he and his brothers developed their skills, mainly under the tutelage of Alfred Pocock, who was an exceptional coach.^[8]

Apart from his cricket and his schooling, Grace lived the life of a country boy and roamed freely with the other village boys. One of his regular activities was stone throwing at birds in the fields and he later claimed that this was the source of his eventual skill as an outfielder.^[9]

Education

Grace was "notoriously unscholarly".^[10] His first schooling was with a Miss Trotman in Downend village and then with a Mr Curtis of Winterbourne.^[10] He subsequently attended a day school called Rudgway House, run by a Mr Malpas, until he was fourteen. One of his schoolmasters, David Barnard, later married Grace's sister Alice.^[10] In 1863, following Grace's serious illness with pneumonia, his father removed him from Rudgway House and he continued his education at home where one of his tutors was the Reverend John Dann, who was the Downend parish church curate. Like Mr Barnard before him, Mr Dann became Grace's brother-in-law, marrying Blanche Grace in 1869.^[11]

Grace never went to university as his father was intent upon him pursuing a medical career. But Grace was approached by both Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. In 1866, when he played a match at Oxford, one of the Oxford players, E S Carter, tried to interest him in becoming an undergraduate.^[12] Then, in 1868, Grace received overtures from Caius College, Cambridge, which had a long medical tradition.^[13] Grace said he would have gone to either Oxford or Cambridge if his father had allowed it.^[13] Instead, he enrolled at Bristol Medical School in October 1868, when he was 20.^[13]

Development as a cricketer

Henry Grace founded Mangotsfield Cricket Club in 1845 to represent several neighbouring villages including Downend.^[6] In 1846, this club merged with the West Gloucestershire Cricket Club whose name was adopted until 1867.^[8] It has been said that the Grace family ran the West Gloucestershire "almost as a private club".^[8] Henry Grace managed to organise matches against Lansdown Cricket Club in Bath, which was the premier West Country club. West Gloucestershire fared poorly in these games and, sometime in the 1850s, Henry and Alfred Pocock decided to join Lansdown, although they continued to run the West Gloucestershire and this remained their primary club.^[14]

Alfred Pocock was especially instrumental in coaching the Grace brothers and spent long hours with them on the practice pitch at Downend.^[15] EM, who was seven years older than WG, had always played with a full size bat and so developed a tendency, that he never lost, to hit across the line, the bat being too big for him to "play straight". Pocock recognised this problem and determined that WG and his youngest brother Fred should not follow suit. He therefore fashioned smaller bats for them, to suit their sizes, and they were taught to play straight and "learn defence, with the left shoulder well forward", before attempting to hit.^[15]

WG recorded that he saw his first great cricket match in 1854 when he was barely six years old, the occasion being a game between William Clarke's All-England Eleven and twenty-two of West Gloucestershire.^[16]

It was through Grace's elder brother EM that the family name first became famous. His mother, Martha, wrote the following in a letter to Clarke's successor George Parr in 1860 or 1861:

I am writing to ask you to consider the inclusion of my son, E. M. Grace – a splendid hitter and most excellent catch – in your England XI. I am sure he would play very well and do the team much credit. It may interest you to learn that I have another son, now twelve years of age, who will in time be a much better player than his brother because his back stroke is sounder, and he always plays with a straight bat.^[17]

WG was just short of his thirteenth birthday when, on 5 July 1861, he made his debut for Lansdown and played two matches that month.^[14] EM had made his debut in 1857, aged sixteen.^[14] In August, WG made his debut for West Gloucestershire, playing against Lansdown at Sydenham Field in Bath.^[14]

In August 1862, Grace played for West Gloucestershire against a Devonshire team.^[18] A year later, following "a dangerous bout of pneumonia"^[19] that left him bed-ridden for several weeks, he returned to score 52 not out and took 6 for 43 against a Somerset XI.^[18] It was following this illness that Grace grew rapidly to his full height of 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m).^[20] He was one of four family members who played for Bristol and Didcot XVIII against the All-England Eleven in August 1863. He bowled well and scored 32 off the bowling of John Jackson, George Tarrant and Cris Tinley. EM took ten wickets in the match, which Bristol and Didcot won by an innings, and the outcome of that was that EM was invited to tour Australia a few months later with George Parr's England team.^[21]

In July 1864, Grace was invited to play for the South Wales Club which had arranged a series of matches in London and Sussex. He replaced EM, who was still in Australia. This was the first time that Grace left the West Country and he made his debut appearances at both Lord's and The Oval. The tour was a great success for Grace, who celebrated his sixteenth birthday while the team was in Kent. The highlight was his performance against the Gentlemen of Sussex at Hove where he scored 170 and 56 not out.^[18]

1865 to 1870

1865 English cricket season

His name now well known in cricketing circles, Grace made his first-class debut for Gentlemen of the South v Players of the South in June 1865^[22] when he was still only 16 but already 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall and weighing 11 st (70 kg).^[23] He bowled extremely well and had match figures of 13 for 84. It was this performance that earned him his first selection for the prestigious Gentlemen v Players fixture.^[18]

Grace represented the Gentlemen in their matches against the Players from 1865 to 1906. It was he who enabled the amateurs to meet the paid professionals on level terms and to defeat them more often than not. His ability to master fast bowling was the key factor.^[24] Before Grace's debut in the fixture, the Gentlemen had lost 19 consecutive games; of the next 39 games they won 27 and lost only 4.^[24] In consecutive innings against the Players from 1871 to 1873, Grace scored 217, 77 and 112, 117, 163, 158 and 70.^[24] In his whole career, he scored a record 15 centuries in the fixture.^[25]

Grace's 1865 debut in the fixture did not turn the tide as the Players won at The Oval by 118 runs. He played quite well and took seven wickets in the match but could only score 23 and 12 not out. In the second 1865 match, this time at Lord's, the Gentlemen finally ended their losing streak and won by 8 wickets, but it was E M Grace, not WG, who was the key factor with 11 wickets in the match. Even so, WG made his mark by scoring 34 out of 77–2 in the second innings to steer the Gentlemen to victory.^[26]

During this period, before the start of Test cricket in 1877, the Gentlemen v Players match was the most prestigious fixture in which a player could take part. This is apart from North v. South which was technically a fixture of higher quality given that the amateur Gentlemen were usually (until Grace took a hand) outclassed by the professional Players. In 1865, when Grace made his debut for the Gentlemen, the leading amateurs included V E Walker, Richard Mitchell and his own brother E M Grace. As was the usual case, the main strength of the Players team at this time lay in its formidable array of bowlers among the leading lights at this time were George Bennett, James Grundy, James Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw, Ned Willsher and George Wootton. The leading batsmen of the day included Thomas Humphrey, Harry Jupp, HH Stephenson and Russell Walker.^{[27] [28]}

Grace made 5 first-class appearances in 1865, scoring 189 runs at 27.00 with a highest score of 48 and taking 5 catches. He took 20 wickets at 13.40 including the one performance of 10 wickets in a match (on his debut) with best figures of 8–40 in the same match.^[29]

1866 English cricket season

Just after his eighteenth birthday in July 1866, Grace confirmed his potential once and for all when he scored 224 not out for All-England against Surrey at The Oval.^[30] He was thenceforward the biggest name in cricket and the main spectator attraction.^[18] As Altham records, from then on "the successes came thick and fast".^[18]

Although photographs of Grace in later life reveal that he was by then corpulent, he was a fit man in his younger days, as his feats in 1866 confirm. Grace was a fine athlete and an example of his physical fitness was his 440 yards hurdles victory in the National and Olympian Association meeting at Crystal Palace the day after the long innings at The Oval mentioned above.^[18] At his peak, he was 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall and usually weighed about 12 st (76 kg).^[23] A non-smoker, he kept himself in condition all year round by shooting, hunting or running with the beagles as soon as the cricket season was over.^[31]

Grace's best bowling performance of the season was in the second Gentlemen v Players match played at The Oval where he took 7–51 in the second innings and enabled his team to win by 98 runs, the Players having won the previous match by 38 runs.^[32]

Grace made 8 first-class appearances in 1866, scoring 581 runs at 52.81 including 2 centuries with a highest score of 224 not out and taking 9 catches. He took 31 wickets at 15.58 including 3 instances of 5 wickets in an innings with best figures of 7–51 in the Gentlemen v Players match.^[29] These figures brought him for the first time into leading positions in the seasonal first-class statistics. He was the fifth highest runscorer behind Harry Jupp, Tom Hearne, Charles Buller and Russell Walker; and second in the batting averages behind Robert Carpenter.^[33] He was a creditable 15th in the list of wicket-takers, having bowled many less deliveries than all of those above him except James Southerton. Grace took 31 wickets from 1,269 deliveries compared with the overall leader George Wootton who took 119 wickets from 4,712 deliveries, though Wootton had a more economical average.^[34]

1867 English cricket season

Grace was out of the game for much of the 1867 season due to illness and injury.^[35] As a result, he made just 4 first-class appearances, scoring a modest 154 runs at 30.80 with a highest score of 75, against Middlesex at Lord's, and taking 4 catches. Even so, his bowling was outstanding as he took 39 wickets at only 7.51 with a best analysis of 8–25. He had 5 instances of 5 wickets in an innings and 2 of 10 wickets in a match.^[29] His figures of 8–25 (11–64 in the match) were achieved in the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's in July when his team won by 8 wickets.^[36]

Apart from a few players who bowled only a small number of overs, Grace topped the season's national bowling averages, his 7.51 being marginally better than the 7.66 of Yorkshire's new left-arm fast bowler Tom Emmett who, with 48 wickets, was making his mark in 1867. Emmett, one of the game's great characters, would become one of Grace's most respected opponents but also a good friend. But the two leading bowlers that season were Wootton and Southerton who took 142 and 132 wickets respectively, both at low averages.^[37]

1868 English cricket season

Grace scored 134, all run, out of 201 for the Gentlemen at Lord's in 1868 and said later that it was "my finest innings" as the pitch was playing "queerly".^[38] Soon afterwards, he scored two centuries in a match for South v North, only the second time in cricket history that this is known to have been done, following William Lambert in 1817.^[39]

Grace made 7 first-class appearances in 1868, scoring 588 runs at 65.33 including 3 centuries with a highest score of 134 not out and taking 5 catches. He took 44 wickets at 14.52 including 5 instances of 5 wickets in an innings, with a best analysis of 7–23, and 3 instances of 10 wickets in a match.^[29] For the first time, he finished top of the national batting averages (i.e., among those who played more than a couple of matches). He was the fifth highest runscorer behind Jupp, Humphrey, Isaac Walker and James Lillywhite but they all played many more innings than he did.^[40] He was 11th in the list of wicket-takers but again he bowled relatively few overs compared with most of those above him. The leaders were Southerton (151 wickets), Willsher (113) and Wootton (106) while Tom Hearne (33 at 8.45) and Emmett (60 at 8.80) topped the averages.^[41]

1869 English cricket season

The highest wicket partnership involving Grace was 283 runs for the first wicket with B B Cooper for the Gentlemen of the South v the Players of the South at The Oval in 1869. Grace scored 180 and Cooper 101.^[42] He scored nine centuries in 1869, the year of his 21st birthday, and in 1870 he scored 215 for the Gentlemen which was the first time anyone scored a double century in the Gentlemen v Players fixture.^[43]

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was particularly keen to recruit Grace and, in 1869, he became a member after being proposed by the treasurer and seconded by the secretary Robert Allan Fitzgerald. Grace wore MCC colours for the rest of his career and their red and yellow hooped cap became as synonymous with him as his large black beard.^[44] Grace played for MCC on an expenses only basis but any hopes that the premier club had of keeping him firmly within the amateur ranks would soon be disappointed for his services were in much demand.^[44] Grace first played for MCC at Lord's in May 1869 against the official South, which consisted mainly of his future United South of England Eleven colleagues. The South won by an innings and 17 runs.^[45] He continued to play for MCC on an irregular basis until 1904.

Grace made 15 first-class appearances in 1869, scoring 1,000 runs in a season for the first time with 1,320 at 57.39 including 6 centuries with a highest score of 180 and taking 12 catches. He took 73 wickets at 16.28 including 7 instances of 5 wickets in an innings, with a best analysis of 6–10, and 1 instance of 10 wickets in a match.^[29] He finished as both highest runscorer and top of the national batting averages, Harry Jupp being the only other batsman to exceed 1,000 runs.^[46] Grace was 3rd in the list of wicket-takers behind Southerton (136 wickets) and Wootton (120) but he was well down the averages which were led by Tom Hearne (9.34) and Yorkshire fast bowler George Freeman (9.73).^[47]

1870 English cricket season

The United South of England Eleven (USEE) had been formed by Edgar Willsher in 1865 but the heyday of the travelling teams was over and their organisers were desperate to feature new attractions. Grace joined the United South in 1870 as its match organiser, for which he received payment, but he played for expenses only.^[44] He made his debut for the USEE in July 1870 against the United North of England Eleven at Lord's, but his team was well beaten by an innings.^[48] The United South survived until 1882 and was the last of the great travelling elevens to fold, its longevity due to Grace's involvement.^[49]

Grace, a medical student at the time, was first on the scene when George Summers received the blow on the head that caused his death four days later. This was in the MCC v Nottinghamshire match at Lord's in June.^[50] Grace was fielding nearby when Summers was struck and took his pulse. Summers recovered consciousness and Grace advised him to leave the field. Summers did not go to hospital but it transpired later that his skull had been fractured.^[51] The Lord's pitch had a poor reputation for being rough, uneven and unpredictable all through the 19th century and many players considered it dangerous.^[52]

Grace made 21 first-class appearances in 1870, scoring 1,808 runs at 54.78 including 5 centuries with a highest score of 215 and taking 19 catches. He took 50 wickets at 15.70 including 4 instances of 5 wickets in an innings, with a best analysis of 6–24, but he did not manage 10 wickets in a match.^[29] For the second successive season, he finished as both highest runscorer and top of the national batting averages, Ted Pooley and Harry Jupp being the only other batsmen to exceed 1,000 runs.^[53] Grace's 50 wickets placed him 9th in that list, well behind the leader Southerton who took an unprecedented 210, the first time a bowler had exceeded 200 in a season. No one else reached 100 and the other leading bowlers were Jem Shaw, Alfred Shaw, Wootton, Willsher, Freeman, James Street and Emmett. The best average was Freeman's 7.11.^[54]

It was at this time, "scorning the puny modern fashion of moustaches", that Grace grew the enormous black beard that made him so recognisable.^[44] In addition, his "ample girth" had developed for he weighed 15st. in his early twenties.^[55] Grace was a non-smoker but he enjoyed good food and wine; many years later, when discussing the overheads incurred during Lord Sheffield's profitless tour of Australia in 1891–92, Arthur Shrewsbury commented: "I told you what wine would be drunk by the amateurs; Grace himself would drink enough to swim a ship."^[56]

Formation of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club

Also in 1870, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club was founded^[57] and immediately acquired first-class status when its team played against Surrey at Durdham Down near Bristol on 2, 3 & 4 June 1870.^[58] With Grace and his brothers EM and Fred playing, Gloucestershire won that game by 51 runs and quickly became one of the best teams in England. The club was unanimously rated Champion County in 1876 and 1877 as well as sharing the unofficial title in 1873 and staking a claim for it in 1874.^[59]

Gloucestershire CCC evolved from Henry Grace's Mangotsfield club founded in the 1840s before WG was born. It was called West Gloucestershire Cricket Club from 1846 until 1867 and WG first played for it in 1862. Henry Grace had hoped that it would become a first-class club at that time but his plans were complicated in 1863 by the formation of the rival Cheltenham and Gloucestershire Cricket Club. Nevertheless, West Gloucestershire CC became Gloucestershire CCC in 1867 and became a first-class team in 1870 although the existence of the Cheltenham club appears to have forestalled the installation of its "constitutional trappings". As it happens, the Cheltenham club was wound up in March 1871 and its chief officials accepted positions in the hierarchy of Gloucestershire CCC. These included Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort and Francis Berkeley, 2nd Baron FitzHardinge who became club president and vice-president respectively. So, although the exact details and dates of the county club's foundation are uncertain, it has always been assumed that the year was 1870 and the club accordingly celebrated its centenary in 1970.^[60]

The Grace family "ran the show" at Gloucestershire and EM was chosen as secretary which, as Birley points out, "put him in charge of expenses, a source of scandal that was to surface before the end of the decade".^[44] WG, though aged only 21, was from the start the team captain and Birley puts this down to his "commercial drawing power".^[44]

The Gloucestershire team in the club's inaugural match was (in batting order): E M Grace, W G Grace, Thomas Matthews (career from 1870 to 1878), Frank Townsend (1870 to 1891), G F Grace, Charles Filgate (1869 to 1877), John Halford (1870 to 1874), John Mills (1870 only), James Bush (1870 to 1890), Robert Miles (1867 to 1879) and William Macpherson (1870 to 1871). The three Graces, Filgate and Miles had all played first-class cricket previously but the other six were all debutants in this match.^[58]

Surrey and Gloucestershire played a return match at The Oval in July 1870 and Gloucestershire won this by an innings and 129 runs.^[61] W G Grace scored 143, sharing a second wicket partnership with Townsend (89) of 234. He took eight wickets in the match but the outstanding bowler was slow left-armer Miles who took 6–86 and 6–20. George Strachan (career from 1870 to 1882) and Charles Gordon (1870 to 1875) made their first appearnaces for Gloucestershire.^[61]

1871 to 1878

1871 English cricket season

According to Altham, 1871 was Grace's annus mirabilis, except that he produced another outstanding year in 1895.^[62] In all first-class matches in 1871, a total of 17 centuries were scored and Grace accounted for 10 of them, including the first century in a first-class match at Trent Bridge.^[63] He averaged 78.25 and the next best average by a batsman playing more than a single innings was 39.57, barely more than half his figure. His aggregate for the season was 2,739 and this was the first time that anyone had scored 2,000 first-class runs in a season; Harry Jupp was next best with 1,068. Grace's highest score was 268 for South v. North at The Oval.^[64] He took 79 wickets at 17.02 with a best analysis of 7–67. He claimed five wickets in an innings 5 times and twice had 10 in a match.^[29] Besides Grace and apart from Jupp and Ted Pooley who were the highest runscorers, other leading batsmen in 1871 were Richard Daft, Robert Carpenter, Fred Grace, Henry Charlwood and Ephraim Lockwood.^[65] The leading bowlers were Southerton, Alfred Shaw, Jem Shaw, Frank Farrands, Grace, Willsher, Street and Emmett. ^[66]

Grace began the season in May with a brilliant innings of 181 for MCC against Surrey at Lord's, enabling MCC to win by an innings and 23 runs.^[67] A week later, playing for MCC against Yorkshire, also at Lord's, his second innings of 98 (run out) in a low scoring game effectively decided the match which MCC won by 55 runs.^[68] After scoring another century in an all-amateurs match he played for South v North at Lord's and scored 178 which enabled his team to win by an innings and 49 runs.^[69] After making his 5th century in five matches with 162 for the Gentlemen against Cambridge University, Grace made his first appearance of the season for Gloucestershire, this time playing against MCC and, with scores of 49 and 34 not out, he failed for the first time this season to score a century, but he still finished on the winning side, by 5 wickets.^[70]

A number of low or useful scores followed but then in July he cut loose again with an outstanding innings of 189 not out (carrying his bat) in a Married v Single game at Lord's, his Single team winning by an innings and 73 runs.^[71] This innings was played on a "sticky wicket" after rain and many people considered it the finest of Grace's career, though Grace himself disagreed.^[72]

After 146 for MCC against Surrey at The Oval, Grace produced his season highlight in another South v North match, also at The Oval, when he made his highest career score to date of 268, having been dismissed by Jem Shaw for nought in the first innings. It was to no avail as the match was drawn.^[73] But the occasion produced a memorable and oft-quoted comment by Jem Shaw who ruefully said: "I puts the ball where I likes and he puts it where he likes".^[72]

After another century against Kent, he played for Gentlemen v Players at the Royal Brunswick Ground, Brighton, in August and, for the second time, followed a first innings "duck" with a double century.^[74] When Gloucestershire went to Trent Bridge to play Nottinghamshire, Grace scored 79 and 116 but his team lost by 10 wickets after Jem Shaw took 13 wickets in the match.^[75] It was the first time that anyone had scored a century on the ground and Grace's presence ensured a bumper crowd with over £400 being taken at the gate. This money went a long way towards the £1500 that Nottinghamshire needed to erect the Trent Bridge Pavilion.^[72]

Gloucestershire played four county matches in 1871. They twice defeated Surrey by an innings margin but had less success against Nottinghamshire, drawing with them at Clifton College Close Ground and then losing by 10 wickets at Trent Bridge. The team had certain regulars but tended to include occasional and even guest players, some of whom weakened the side, whereas Nottinghamshire generally turned out a full-strength eleven. The key Gloucestershire players were the three Graces, batsman Matthews, wicket-keeper Bush (who was also an England rugby union international), slow left-armer Miles and all-rounders Strachan and Townsend. Newcomers in 1871 were Frederic Carter and George Wyatt who both made a number of appearances over the next few seasons.

Grace had numerous nicknames during his career including "The Doctor", after he achieved his medical qualification, and "The Old Man", as he reached the veteran stage. But he was most auspiciously nicknamed "The Champion".^[76][77] He was first acclaimed as "the Champion Cricketer" by Lillywhite's Companion in recognition of his exploits in 1871.^[78]

But Grace's great year was marred by the death of his father in December and, as he was still a medical student only, he had to increase his involvement with the United South XI to cover the family's loss of income.^[79]

1872 English cricket season

WG and Fred both still lived with their mother at Downend. Their father had left just enough to maintain the family home but the onus was now on the brothers to increase their earnings from cricket to pay for their medical studies (Fred started his in the autumn of 1872). They achieved this through their involvement as match organisers of the United South of England Eleven which played six matches in the 1872 season including games in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Grace's first visit to Scotland.^[80]

1872 was a wet summer and Grace ended his season in early August so that he could join the tour of North America.^[81] He made 22 first-class appearances, scoring 1,561 runs at 53.82 including 6 centuries with a highest score of 170 not out and taking 27 catches. He took 62 wickets at 11.87 including 9 instances of 5 wickets in an innings, with a best analysis of 8–33, and 3 instances of 10 wickets in a match.^[29] He topped the batting averages ahead of John Selby, E M Grace, Richard Daft, William Yardley and A N Hornby. His nearest challengers among runscorers were Richard Humphrey, Jupp and Lockwood.^[82] Grace's 62 wickets placed him 5th in that list, once again well behind the leader Southerton who took 169. James Lillywhite and the two Shaws were also ahead of Grace and just behind him were Emmett and Street. The best average was William McIntyre's 5.65.^[83]

Gloucestershire played seven inter-county matches and had mixed success. Although they defeated both Surrey and Yorkshire by an innings, they lost another match against Surrey and had three draws including two against Nottinghamshire. Medium pacer Thomas Lang, who played for the county till 1875, made his debut.

1872 visit to North America

Grace made three overseas tours during his career. The first was to the United States and Canada with R A Fitzgerald's team in August and September 1872.^[84] The expenses of this tour were paid by the Montreal Club who had written to Fitzgerald the previous winter and invited him to form a team. Grace and his all-amateur colleagues made "short work of the weak teams" they faced.^[85]

The team included two other future England captains in A N Hornby, who became a rival of Grace in future years; and the Honourable George Harris, the future Lord Harris, who became a very close friend and a most useful ally. The team met in Liverpool on 8 August and sailed on the SS Sarmatian, docking at Quebec on 17 August. Simon Rae recounts that the bond between Grace and Harris was forged by their mutual sea-sickness. Matches were played in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, London, New York, Philadelphia and Boston. The team sailed back from Quebec on 27 September and arrived at Liverpool on 8 October.^[86]

The tour was "a high point of (Grace's) early years" and he "retained fond memories of it" for the rest of his life, calling it "a prolonged and happy picnic" in his ghost-written Reminiscences.^[87]

1873 English cricket season

Grace became the first batsman to score a century before lunch in a first-class match when he made 134 for Gentlemen of the South versus Players of the South at The Oval in 1873.^[88][89] In the same season, he became the first player ever to complete the "double" of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season.^[88] He went on to do that eight times in all:^[90]

• 1873 – 2,139 runs and 106 wickets
• 1874 – 1,664 runs and 140 wickets
• 1875 – 1,498 runs and 191 wickets
• 1876 – 2,622 runs and 129 wickets
• 1877 – 1,474 runs and 179 wickets
• 1878 – 1,151 runs and 152 wickets
• 1885 – 1,688 runs and 117 wickets
• 1886 – 1,846 runs and 122 wickets

Grace made 20 first-class appearances in 1873, scoring 2,139 runs at 71.30 including 7 centuries with a highest score of 192 not out and taking 29 catches. He took 106 wickets at 12.92 including 10 instances of 5 wickets in an innings, with a best analysis of 10–92, and 3 instances of 10 wickets in a match.^[29] No other batsman came near his runs or average, the best of the rest being Jupp, Fred Grace, William Oscroft and Isaac Walker.^[91] Grace's 106 wickets was 4th best behind Southerton, Alfred Shaw and James Lillywhite with Allen Hill in fifth place. William McIntyre again had the best average with 8.38.^[92]

1873 was the year that some semblance of organisation was brought into county cricket with the introduction of a residence qualification. This was aimed principally at England's outstanding bowler James Southerton who had been playing for both Surrey and Sussex, having been born in one and living in the other. Southerton chose to play for his county of residence, Surrey, from then on but remained the country's top bowler. The counties agreed on residence but not on a means of deciding a championship and so the title remained an unofficial award until 1889. Gloucestershire had a very strong claim to this unofficial title in 1873 but consensus was that they shared it with Nottinghamshire. These two did not play each other and both were unbeaten in six matches, but Nottinghamshire won five and Gloucestershire won four.^[93]

1873–74 tour of Australia

Grace visited Australia in 1873–74 as captain of "W G Grace's XI".^[94] On the morning of the team's departure from Southampton, Grace responded to well-wishers by saying that his team "had a duty to perform to maintain the honour of English cricket, and to uphold the high character of English cricketers".^[95] But both his and the team's performance fell well short of this goal. The tour was not a success and the only positive outcome was the fact of the tour having taken place, ten years after the previous one, as it "gave Australian cricket a much needed fillip".^[96] Most of the problems lay with Grace himself and his "overbearing personality" which quickly exhausted all personal goodwill towards him.^[97] There was also bad feeling within the team itself because Grace, who normally got on well with professional players, enforced the class divide throughout the tour.^[98] In terms of results, the team fared reasonably well following a poor start in which they were beaten by both Victoria and New South Wales. They played 15 matches in all but none are recognised as first-class.^[99]

1874 English cricket season

Grace's team landed in England on 18 May 1874 and he was quickly back into domestic cricket. The 1874 season was very successful for him as he completed a second successive double and led Gloucestershire to its first Champion County title.

Grace made 21 first-class appearances in 1874, scoring 1,664 runs, with a highest score of 179, at an average of 52.00 with 8 centuries and 2 half-centuries. In the field, he took 35 catches and 140 wickets with a best analysis of 7–18. His bowling average was 12.71; he had 5 wickets in an innings 17 times and 10 wickets in a match 9 times.^[29]

1875 English cricket season

Another good season followed in 1875 when he again completed the double with 1,498 runs and 191 wickets.^[100] This was his best season as a bowler.

Grace made 26 first-class appearances in 1875, scoring 1,498 runs, with a highest score of 152, at an average of 32.56 with 3 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 40 catches and 191 wickets with a best analysis of 9–48. His bowling average was 12.94; he had 5 wickets in an innings 12 times and 10 wickets in a match 8 times.^[29]

1876 English cricket season

One of the most outstanding phases of Grace's career occurred in the 1876 season, beginning with his career highest score of 344 for MCC v Kent at Canterbury in August.^[101] Two days after his innings at Canterbury, he made 177 for Gloucestershire v Nottinghamshire;^[102] and two days after that 318 not out for Gloucestershire v Yorkshire,^[103] these two innings against counties with exceptionally strong bowling attacks. Thus, in three consecutive innings Grace scored 839 runs and was only out twice. His innings of 344 was the first triple century scored in first-class cricket and broke the record for the highest individual score in all classes of cricket, previously held by William Ward who made 278 in 1820. Ward's record had stood for 56 years and, within a week, Grace bettered it twice.^[104] Grace scored a then-record 2,622 runs in the 1876 season and completed another double with 129 wickets, while Gloucestershire won the championship title for the second time.^[29]

Grace made 26 first-class appearances in 1876, scoring 2,622 runs, with a highest score of 344, at an average of 62.42 with 7 centuries and 10 half-centuries. In the field, he took 46 catches and 129 wickets with a best analysis of 8–69. His bowling average was 19.05; he had 5 wickets in an innings 11 times and 10 wickets in a match twice.^[29]

1877 English cricket season

An 1877 illustration of Grace by Leslie Ward emphasises his trademark beard and MCC cap

In 1877, Gloucestershire won the championship for the third and (to date) final time, largely thanks to another outstanding season by Grace who scored 1,474 runs and took 179 wickets.^[29]

Grace made 24 first-class appearances in 1877, scoring 1,474 runs, with a highest score of 261, at an average of 39.83 with 2 centuries and 9 half-centuries. In the field, he took 37 catches and 179 wickets with a best analysis of 9–55. His bowling average was 12.81; he had 5 wickets in an innings 17 times and 10 wickets in a match 7 times.^[29]

1878 English cricket season

The first Australian team to tour England arrived in May 1878 and, at Lord's on 27 May, took part in one of the most famous matches of all time when they defeated a strong MCC team, including Grace, by nine wickets.^[105] The match was scheduled for three days but was completed in one. MCC were dismissed during the morning session for 33, Grace having scored 4, and then the Australians were themselves bowled out for 41. In the second innings, Grace was clean bowled by Fred Spofforth without scoring and MCC were all out for only 19, the Australians needing 12 to win. The match caused a sensation with the crowd rapidly increasing through the day as news spread.^[106]

The satirical magazine Punch responded to the event by publishing a parody of Byron's poem The Destruction of Sennacherib^[107] including a wry commentary on Grace's contribution:

The Australians came down like a wolf on the 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.^[108]

There was bad feeling between Grace and some of the 1878 Australians, especially their manager John Conway; this came to a head on 20 June in a row over the services of Grace's friend Billy Midwinter, an Australian who had played for Gloucestershire in 1877. Midwinter was already in England before the main Australian party arrived and had joined them for their first match in May. On 20 June, Midwinter was at Lord's where he was due to play for the Australians against Middlesex. On the same day, the Gloucestershire team was at The Oval to play Surrey but arrived a man short. As a result, a group of Gloucestershire players led by WG and EM went to Lord's and persuaded Midwinter to accompany them back to The Oval to make up their numbers.^[109] They were pursued by three of the Australians who caught them at The Oval gates where a furious altercation ensued in front of bystanders. At one point, WG called the Australians "a damned lot of sneaks" (he later apologised). In the end, Grace got his way and Midwinter stayed with Gloucestershire for the rest of the season, although he did not play for the county against the Australians.^[110] Afterwards, the row was patched up and Gloucestershire invited the Australians to play the county team, minus Midwinter, at Clifton College.^[111] The Australians took a measure of revenge and won easily by 10 wickets, with Spofforth taking 12 wickets and making the top score.^[112] It was Gloucestershire's first ever home defeat.^[113]

In other matches that season, Gloucestershire made its first visit to Old Trafford Cricket Ground in July to play Lancashire and this was the match immortalised by Francis Thompson in his idyllic poem At Lord's.^[114] In a match against Surrey at Clifton, the ball lodged in Grace's shirt after he had played it and he seized the opportunity to complete several runs before the fielders forced him to stop. He disingenuously claimed that he would have been out handled the ball if he had removed it and, following a discussion, it was agreed that three runs should be awarded.^[115]

Despite his troubles in 1878, it was another good season for him on the field as he completed a sixth successive double with 1,151 runs and 152 wickets.^[29] He made 24 first-class appearances in the season, scoring 1,151 runs, with a highest score of 116, at an average of 28.77 with 1 century and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 42 catches and 152 wickets with a best analysis of 8–23. His bowling average was 14.50; he had 5 wickets in an innings 12 times and 10 wickets in a match 6 times.^[29]

But the events at The Oval had a subscript during the following winter when WG and EM were called to account by the Gloucestershire membership because of the expenses they had claimed from Surrey for that match, and which Surrey had refused to authorise.^[116]

Grace's amateur status

Entr'acte cartoon: Bobby Abel to W G Grace: "Look here, we players intend to be sufficiently paid, as well as the so-called gentlemen!"

The enquiry at Gloucestershire took place in January 1879. WG and EM were forced to answer charges that they had claimed "exorbitant expenses", one of the few times that their money-making activity was seriously challenged.^[116] The claim had been submitted to Surrey re the controversial 1878 match in which Billy Midwinter was brought in as a late replacement, but Surrey refused to pay it and this provoked the enquiry. The Graces managed to survive "a protracted and stormy meeting" with EM retaining his key post as club secretary, although he was forced to liaise in future with a new finance committee and abide by stricter rules.^[116]

The incident highlighted an ongoing issue about the nominal amateur status of the Grace brothers. The amateur was, by definition, not a professional and the dictum of the amateur-dominated Marylebone Cricket Club was that "a gentleman ought not to make any profit from playing cricket".^[117] Like all amateur players, they claimed expenses for travel and accommodation to and from cricket matches, but there is plenty of evidence that the Graces made rather more money by playing than their basic expenses would allow and WG in particular "made more than any professional".^[118] However, in his later years he had to pay for a locum tenens to run his medical practice while he was playing cricket and he had a reputation for treating his poorer patients without charging a fee.^[117] He was paid a salary for his roles as secretary and manager of the London County club.^[119] He was the recipient of two national testimonials. The first was presented to him by Lord Fitzhardinge at Lord's on 22 July 1879 in the form of a marble clock, two bronze ornaments and a cheque for £1,458.^[116] The second, collected by MCC, the county of Gloucestershire, the Daily Telegraph and The Sportsman, amounted to £9,703 and was presented to him in 1896 in appreciation of his "Indian Summer" season of 1895.^[120]

Whatever criticisms may be made of Grace for making money for himself out of cricket, he was "punctilious in his aid when (professional players) were the beneficiaries".^[121] For example, when Alfred Shaw's benefit match in 1879 was ruined by rain, Grace insisted on donating to Shaw the proceeds of another match that had been arranged to support Grace's own testimonial fund. After the same thing happened to Edgar Willsher's benefit match, Grace took a select team to play Kent a few days later, the proceeds all going to Willsher. On another occasion, he altered the date of a Gloucestershire match so that he could travel to Sheffield and take part in a Yorkshire player's benefit match, knowing full well the impact that his appearance would have on the gate.^[122] As John Arlott recorded, "it was no uncommon sight to see outside a cricket ground":^[123]

CRICKET MATCH
Admission 6d
If W G Grace plays
Admission 1/–

Grace and his brother Fred faced financial difficulty after their father died in December 1871 as they were still living with their mother who had been left just enough to retain the family home.^[124] As medical students, they faced considerable outlay in addition to their living expenses and it became imperative for them to make what they could out of cricket, especially the United South of England Eleven.^[124] Grace as its match organiser had to find gaps in the first-class fixture list and then pull together a team to visit a location where a suitable profit could be made.^[125] It has been estimated that the standard fee paid to the USEE was £100 for a three-day match with £5 each going to the nine professionals in the team and the other £45 to WG and Fred: a sizeable amount in 1872 when £100 was perhaps the equivalent of £3000-plus at the end of the 20th century.^[125] Otherwise, Grace played for expenses but these were loaded as, for example, he is known to have claimed £15 per appearance for Gloucestershire and £20 for representing the Gentlemen.^[125] Although the money he was paid is "small beer" compared with 21st century sports stars, there is no doubt he had a comfortable living out of cricket and made far more money than any contemporary professional.^[126]

1879 to 1894

1879 English cricket season

Grace missed a large part of the 1879 season because he was doing the final practical for his medical qualification and, for the first time since 1869, he did not complete 1000 runs, though he did succeed in taking 105 wickets.^[29]

Grace made 18 first-class appearances in 1879, scoring 993 runs, with a highest score of 123, at an average of 38.19 with 3 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 23 catches and 113 wickets with a best analysis of 8–81. His bowling average was 13.19; he had 5 wickets in an innings 14 times and 10 wickets in a match once.^[29]

Having qualified as a doctor in November 1879, Grace had to give priority to his new practice in Bristol for the next five years. As a result, his cricket sometimes had to be set aside and in 1883 he missed a Gentlemen v Players match for the first time since 1867. He had other troubles including a serious bout of mumps in 1882 and injury problems in 1884. He never topped the seasonal batting averages in the 1880s and from 1879 to 1882, he did not complete 1000 runs in the season.^[127]

1880 English cricket season

Gloucestershire CCC in 1880 shortly before Fred Grace's untimely death. WG is seated front left centre. Fred (hooped cap) is third left in rear group. Billy Midwinter (directly behind WG) is fourth left in rear. E M Grace (bearded) is sixth left in rear.

In addition, Gloucestershire had declined following its heady success in the 1870s. One of the reasons was the early death of WG's younger brother Fred from pneumonia in 1880, there being a view that "the county was never quite the same without him".^[128] Apart from WG himself, the only players of Fred Grace's calibre at this time were the leading professionals. Unlike the south-east and northern counties, Gloucestershire had neither the large home gates nor the necessary funds that could have secured the services of good quality professionals. This was at a time when a new generation of professionals was appearing with the likes of Billy Gunn, Maurice Read and Arthur Shrewsbury. As a result, Gloucestershire fell away in county competition and could no longer match Nottinghamshire, Surrey and Lancashire who had the strongest sides in the 1880s.^[127]

Test cricket began in 1877 when Grace was already 28 and he made his debut in 1880, scoring England's first-ever Test century against Australia.^[129] He played for England in 22 Tests through the 1880s and 1890s, all of them against Australia, and was an automatic selection for England at home, but his only Test-playing tour of Australia was that of 1891–92.^[130]

Grace made 16 first-class appearances in 1880, scoring 951 runs, with a highest score of 152, at an average of 39.62 with 2 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 17 catches and 84 wickets with a best analysis of 7–65. His bowling average was 17.60; he had 5 wickets in an innings 9 times and 10 wickets in a match 3 times.^[29]

1881 English cricket season

Grace made 13 first-class appearances in 1881, scoring 917 runs, with a highest score of 182, at an average of 38.20 with 2 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 20 catches and 57 wickets with a best analysis of 7–30. His bowling average was 18.00; he had 5 wickets in an innings 3 times.^[29]

1882 English cricket season

Grace's most significant Test was England v Australia in 1882 at The Oval.^[131] Thanks to Spofforth who took 14 wickets in the match, Australia won by 7 runs and the legend of The Ashes was born immediately afterwards. Grace scored only 4 and 32 but he has been held responsible for "firing up" Spofforth. This came about through a typical piece of gamesmanship by Grace when he effected an unsporting, albeit legal, run out of Sammy Jones.^[132]

Grace made 22 first-class appearances in 1882, scoring 975 runs, with a highest score of 88, at an average of 26.35 with 0 centuries and 8 half-centuries. In the field, he took 22 catches and 101 wickets with a best analysis of 8–31. His bowling average was 17.34; he had 5 wickets in an innings 8 times and 10 wickets in a match twice.^[29]

1883 English cricket season

Grace made 22 first-class appearances in 1883, scoring 1,352 runs, with a highest score of 112, at an average of 34.66 with 1 century and 9 half-centuries. In the field, he took 35 catches and 94 wickets with a best analysis of 7–92. His bowling average was 22.09; he had 5 wickets in an innings 9 times and 10 wickets in a match 4 times.^[29]

1884 English cricket season

Grace made 26 first-class appearances in 1884, scoring 1,361 runs, with a highest score of 116 not out, at an average of 34.02 with 3 centuries and 6 half-centuries. In the field, he took 30 catches and 82 wickets with a best analysis of 6–72. His bowling average was 21.48; he had 5 wickets in an innings 5 times.^[29]

1885 English cricket season

Grace in 1885

Grace made 25 first-class appearances in 1885, scoring 1,688 runs, with a highest score of 221 not out, at an average of 43.28 with 4 centuries and 10 half-centuries. In the field, he took 31 catches and 117 wickets with a best analysis of 9–20. His bowling average was 18.79; he had 5 wickets in an innings 8 times and 10 wickets in a match twice.^[29]

1886 English cricket season

Grace achieved his career-best bowling analysis of 10/49 when playing for MCC against Oxford University at The Parks in 1886; and he scored 104 in his only innings to complete a rare "match double".^[133] 1886 was the last time he took 100 wickets in a season.^[29]

The highest Test wicket partnership involving Grace was at The Oval in 1886 when he and William Scotton scored 170 for the first wicket against Australia. Grace's own score was also 170 and was the highest in his Test career.^[134]

Grace made 33 first-class appearances in 1886, scoring 1,846 runs, with a highest score of 170, at an average of 35.50 with 4 centuries and 9 half-centuries. In the field, he took 36 catches and 122 wickets with a best analysis of 10–49. His bowling average was 19.99; he had 5 wickets in an innings 10 times and 10 wickets in a match once.^[29]

1887 English cricket season

Grace's best return in the 1880s was 2,062 runs in 1887 with six centuries.^[29]

Grace made 24 first-class appearances in 1887, scoring 2,062 runs, with a highest score of 183 not out, at an average of 54.26 with 6 centuries and 8 half-centuries. In the field, he took 21 catches and 97 wickets with a best analysis of 7–53. His bowling average was 21.46; he had 5 wickets in an innings 7 times and 10 wickets in a match once.^[29]

1888 English cricket season

In 1888, he scored two centuries in one match v Yorkshire (148 and 153) and labelled this "my champion match".^[135]

Grace made 33 first-class appearances in 1888, scoring 1,886 runs, with a highest score of 215, at an average of 32.51 with 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries. In the field, he took 34 catches and 93 wickets with a best analysis of 6–74. His bowling average was 18.18; he had 5 wickets in an innings 6 times.^[29]

1889 English cricket season

Grace had reduced his bowling somewhat in the last few seasons and he became an occasional bowler only from 1889.

Grace made 24 first-class appearances in 1889, scoring 1,396 runs, with a highest score of 154, at an average of 32.46 with 3 centuries and 7 half-centuries. In the field, he took 22 catches and 44 wickets with a best analysis of 8–37. His bowling average was 23.18; he had 5 wickets in an innings twice and 10 wickets in a match once.^[29]

1890 English cricket season

Grace made 30 first-class appearances in 1890, scoring 1,476 runs, with a highest score of 109 not out, at an average of 28.38 with 1 century and 9 half-centuries. In the field, he took 31 catches and 61 wickets with a best analysis of 6–68. His bowling average was 19.37; he had 5 wickets in an innings 3 times.^[29]

1891 English cricket season

Injury problems, particularly a bad knee, took their toll in the early 1890s and Grace had his worst season in 1891 when he scored no centuries and could only average 19.76.

Grace made 24 first-class appearances in 1891, scoring 771 runs, with a highest score of 72 not out, at an average of 19.76 with 0 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 19 catches and 58 wickets with a best analysis of 7–38. His bowling average was 16.77; he had 5 wickets in an innings 5 times and 10 wickets in a match once.^[29]

1891–92 tour of Australia

Despite his injury problems in 1891, few doubted that Grace should captain England in Australia the following winter when he led Lord Sheffield's team to Australia in 1891–92. Australia, led by Jack Blackham, won the three-match series 2–1.^[136]

Grace played in 8 first-class matches on the tour and scored 448 runs at 44.80 with one century which was his highest score of 159 not out. He scored two half-centuries. In the field, he took 17 catches but had minimal success as a bowler with only 5 wickets at a comparaatively high average of 26.80 and a best analysis of 3–64.^[29]

1892 English cricket season

Grace rallied somewhat during the next three seasons, despite continuing problems at Gloucestershire.

Grace made 21 first-class appearances in 1892, scoring 1,055 runs, with a highest score of 99, at an average of 31.02 with 0 centuries and 8 half-centuries. In the field, he took 14 catches and 31 wickets with a best analysis of 5–51. His bowling average was 30.90; he had 5 wickets in an innings twice.^[29]

1893 English cricket season

Grace made 28 first-class appearances in 1893, scoring 1,609 runs, with a highest score of 128, at an average of 35.75 with 1 century and 11 half-centuries. In the field, he took 21 catches and 22 wickets with a best analysis of 4–95. His bowling average was 38.81.^[29]

1894 English cricket season

Grace made 27 first-class appearances in 1894, scoring 1,293 runs, with a highest score of 196, at an average of 29.38 with 3 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 18 catches and 29 wickets with a best analysis of 6–82. His bowling average was 25.24; he had 5 wickets in an innings once.^[29]

1895: the "Indian Summer"

Against all expectation, Grace produced in 1895 a season that has been called his "Indian Summer".^[137] He completed his hundredth century playing for Gloucestershire against Somerset in May.^[138] Charles Townsend, his batting partner when he reached the milestone, said that as he approached his hundred: "This was the one and only time I ever saw him flustered..." Eventually Sammy Woods bowled a full toss which Grace drove for four to reach his century.^[139] He then went on to score 1,000 runs in the month, the first time this had ever been done, with scores of 13, 103, 18, 25, 288, 52, 257, 73 not out, 18 and 169 totalling 1016 runs between 9 and 30 May.^[140] His aggregate for the whole season was 2,346 at an average of 51.00 with nine centuries.^[141] He was aged forty-seven at the start of the season and forty-eight by its end.

Grace made 29 first-class appearances in 1895, scoring 2,346 runs, with a highest score of 288, at an average of 51.00 with 9 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 31 catches and 16 wickets with a best analysis of 5–87. His bowling average was 32.93; he had 5 wickets in an innings once.^[29]

Following his "Indian Summer", Grace was the sole recipient of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year award for 1896, the first of only three times that Wisden has restricted the award to a single player, there being normally five recipients.^[142]

1896 to 1899

1896 English cricket season

An oft-repeated story about Grace is that, in 1896, the Australian pace bowler Ernie Jones bowled a short-pitched delivery so close to his face that it appeared to go through the famous beard which made him so instantly recognisable. Grace reportedly reacted by demanding of Australian captain Harry Trott: "Here, what's all this?" Trott said to Jones: "Steady, Jonah". To which Jones laconically replied: "Sorry, doctor, she slipped". There are multiple variations of the story and, although some sources have recorded that the incident happened in a Test match, there is little doubt that the game in question was the tour opener at Sheffield Park.^[143] This is separately confirmed by C B Fry and Stanley Jackson who were both playing in the match, Jackson batting with Grace at the time.^[144][145]

Grace made 30 first-class appearances in 1896, scoring 2,135 runs, with a highest score of 301, at an average of 42.70 with 4 centuries and 11 half-centuries. In the field, he took 18 catches and 52 wickets with a best analysis of 7–59. His bowling average was 24.01; he had 5 wickets in an innings 3 times and 10 wickets in a match once.^[29]

1897 English cricket season

Grace made 25 first-class appearances in 1897, scoring 1,532 runs, with a highest score of 131, at an average of 39.28 with 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries. In the field, he took 15 catches and 56 wickets with a best analysis of 6–36. His bowling average was 22.17; he had 5 wickets in an innings 4 times.^[29]

1898 English cricket season

England's team in W G Grace's final Test at Trent Bridge in 1899. Back row: Dick Barlow (umpire), Tom Hayward, George Hirst, Billy Gunn, J T Hearne (12th man), Bill Storer (wkt kpr), Bill Brockwell, V A Titchmarsh (umpire). Middle row: C B Fry, K S Ranjitsinhji, W G Grace (captain), Stanley Jackson. Front row: Wilfred Rhodes, Johnny Tyldesley.

By the time of his fiftieth birthday in July 1898, Grace had developed a somewhat corpulent figure and had lost his former agility, which meant he was no longer a capable fielder. He remained a very good batsman and at need a useful slow bowler, but he was clearly entering the twilight of his career and was now generally referred to as "The Old Man".^[146] As a special occasion, the MCC committee arranged the 1898 Gentlemen v Players match to coincide with his fiftieth birthday and he celebrated the event by scoring 43 and 31 not out, though handicapped by lameness and an injured hand.^[147]

Grace made 26 first-class appearances in 1898, scoring 1,513 runs, with a highest score of 168, at an average of 42.02 with 3 centuries and 8 half-centuries. In the field, he took 20 catches and 36 wickets with a best analysis of 7–44. His bowling average was 25.41; he had 5 wickets in an innings 3 times and 10 wickets in a match once.^[29]

1899 English cricket season

Grace had received an invitation from the Crystal Palace Company in London to help them form the London County Cricket Club.^[119] Grace accepted the offer and became the club's secretary, manager and captain with an annual salary of £600.^[119] As a result, he severed his connection with Gloucestershire during the 1899 season.^[119]

Grace captained England in the First Test of the 1899 series against Australia at Trent Bridge, when he was 51. By this time his bulk had made him a liability in the field and, afterwards, realising his limitations all too clearly, he decided to stand down and surrendered both his place and the captaincy to Archie MacLaren.^[84] It is evident that Grace "plotted" his own omission from the England team by asking C B Fry, another selector who had arrived late for their meeting, if he thought that MacLaren should play in the Second Test. Fry answered: "Yes, I do." "That settles it", said Grace, and he promptly retired from international cricket.^[148] Explaining his decision later, Grace ruefully admitted of his diminished fielding skills that "the ground was getting a bit too far away".^[149]

Grace last played at Lord's for the Gentlemen in 1899 though he continued to represent the team at other venues until 1906.^[150]

Grace made 13 first-class appearances in 1899, scoring 515 runs, with a highest score of 78, at an average of 23.40 with 0 centuries and 3 half-centuries. In the field, he took 7 catches and 20 wickets with a best analysis of 5–86. His bowling average was 24.10; he had 5 wickets in an innings once.^[29]

London County

Gentlemen, captained by W G Grace, versus Players, Lords 1899

Having ended his international career, Grace then began the last phase of his overall first-class career when he joined the new London County Cricket Club, based at Crystal Palace Park, which played first-class matches between 1900 and 1904.^[151][152] Grace's presence initially attracted other leading players into the team, including Fry, Ranjitsinhji and Johnny Douglas, but the increased importance of the County Championship, combined with Grace's inevitable decline in form and the lack of a competitive element in London's matches, led to reduced attendances and consequently the club lost money.^[153] Nevertheless, Grace remained an attraction and could still produce good performances. As late as 1902, though aged 54 by the end of the season, he scored 1187 runs in first-class cricket, with two centuries, at an average of 37.09.^[29] But London's final first-class matches were played in 1904 and the enterprise folded in 1908.^[154]

1900 to 1908

1900 English cricket season

Grace made 19 first-class appearances in 1900, scoring 1,277 runs, with a highest score of 126, at an average of 42.56 with 3 centuries and 8 half-centuries. In the field, he took 6 catches and 32 wickets with a best analysis of 5–66. His bowling average was 30.28; he had 5 wickets in an innings 3 times.^[29]

1901 English cricket season

Grace made 19 first-class appearances in 1901, scoring 1,007 runs, with a highest score of 132, at an average of 32.48 with 1 century and 7 half-centuries. In the field, he took 7 catches and 51 wickets with a best analysis of 7–30. His bowling average was 21.78; he had 5 wickets in an innings 5 times and 10 wickets in a match once.^[29]

1902 English cricket season

Grace made 22 first-class appearances in 1902, scoring 1,187 runs, with a highest score of 131, at an average of 37.09 with 2 centuries and 7 half-centuries. In the field, he took 6 catches and 46 wickets with a best analysis of 5–29. His bowling average was 23.34; he had 5 wickets in an innings 4 times.^[29]

1903 English cricket season

Grace made 16 first-class appearances in 1903, scoring 593 runs, with a highest score of 150, at an average of 22.80 with 1 centuries and 1 half-century. In the field, he took 5 catches and 10 wickets with a best analysis of 6–102. His bowling average was 47.90; he had 5 wickets in an innings once.^[29]

1904 English cricket season

Grace (left) with former Australian Test captain Billy Murdoch when both played for London County.

Grace made 15 first-class appearances in 1904, scoring 637 runs, with a highest score of 166, at an average of 25.48 with 1 century and 3 half-centuries. In the field, he took 2 catches and 21 wickets with a best analysis of 6–78. His bowling average was 32.71; he had 5 wickets in an innings once.^[29]

1905 to 1908 English cricket seasons

With the demise of London County, the number of Grace's appearances dwindled over the next four seasons until he called it a day in 1908. He made 9 first-class appearances in 1905, scoring 250 runs, with a highest score of 71, at an average of 19.23 with just the one half-century. In the field, he took 2 catches and 7 wickets with a best analysis of 4–121. His bowling average was 54.71.^[29]

Grace's final appearance for the Gentlemen versus the Players was in July 1906 at The Oval.^[155] He made only five first-class appearances that season, scoring 241 runs, with a highest score of 74, at an average of 26.77 with 2 half-centuries. In the field, he took 4 catches and 13 wickets with a best analysis of 4–71. His bowling average was 20.61.^[29]

He made only one appearance in 1907, scoring 16 and 3 in his two innings. He took no catches and did not bowl.^[29]

He made his 880th and final first-class appearance on 20–22 April 1908 for the Gentlemen of England v Surrey at The Oval, where, opening the innings, he scored 15 and 25.^[156][157] This was his sole appearance in 1908.^[29] Grace's first-class career had lasted 44 seasons from 1865 to 1908 and equalled the record for the longest career span held by John Sherman, who played from 1809 to 1852.^[158]

Aftermath of Grace's first-class career

Despite his age and bulk, Grace continued to play minor cricket for several years after his retirement from the first-class version. His final match was for Eltham Cricket Club at Grove Park on 25 July 1914, a week after his 66th birthday. He contributed an undefeated 69 to a total of 155-6 declared, having begun his innings when they were 31-4. Grove Park made 99-8 in reply.^[159]

In August 1914, soon after the First World War began, Grace wrote a letter to The Sportsman in which he called for the immediate closure of the county cricket season and for all first-class cricketers to set an example and serve their country.^[160]

Grace died during the war and MCC decided to commemorate his life and career with a Memorial Biography, published in 1919. Its preface begins with this passage:

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 MCC 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.^[161]

In 1923, the W G Grace Memorial Gates were erected at the St John's Wood Road entrance to Lord's.^[162] They were designed by Sir Herbert Baker and the opening ceremony was performed by Sir Stanley Jackson, who had suggested the inclusion of the words The Great Cricketer in the dedication.^[163]

In many of the tributes paid to Grace, he was referred to as "The Great Cricketer". H S Altham, for one, described him as "the greatest of all cricketers".^[76] John Arlott summarised him as "timeless" and "the greatest (cricketer) of them all".^[164] The anti-establishment writer C L R James, in his classic work Beyond a Boundary, included a section "WG: Pre-Eminent Victorian", containing four chapters and covering some sixty pages. He declared Grace "the best-known Englishman of his time" and aligned him with Thomas Arnold and Thomas Hughes as "the three most eminent Victorians". James wrote of cricket as "the game he (Grace) transformed into a national institution".^[165] Simon Rae also commented upon Grace's eminence in Victorian England by saying that his public recognition was equalled only by Queen Victoria herself and William Ewart Gladstone.^[166]

The inaugural edition of Playfair Cricket Annual in 1948 coincided with the centenary of Grace's birth and carried a tribute which spoke of Grace as "King in his own domain" and his "Olympian personality". Playfair went on to say how Grace had "pulverised fast bowling on chancy pitches" and had then "astonished the world" by his deeds during the 1895 "Indian Summer".^[167] In the foreword of the same edition, C B Fry insisted that Grace would not have started the 1948 season with any notion of being beaten by that season's Australian touring team, for "he was sanguine" and would have put everything he could muster into the task of beating them with no acceptance of defeat "till after it happened".^[168] As mentioned in Playfair, both MCC and Gloucestershire arranged special matches on Grace's birthday to commemorate his centenary.^[167]

Derek Birley, who devoted whole passages of his book to criticism of Grace's gamesmanship and moneymaking, wrote that the "bleakness (of the war) was exemplified in November (sic) 1915 by the death of WG, which seemed depressingly emblematic of the end of an era".^[169] Rowland Bowen wrote that "many of Grace's achievements would be rated extremely good by our standards" but "by the standards of his day they were phenomenal: nothing like them had ever been done before".^[35]

In the 1963 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Grace was selected by Neville Cardus as one the Six Giants of the Wisden Century.^[170] This was a special commemorative selection requested by Wisden for its 100th edition. The other five players chosen were Sydney Barnes, Don Bradman, Jack Hobbs, Tom Richardson and Victor Trumper.

Cricket writer David Frith summed up Grace's legacy to cricket by writing that "his influence lasted long after his final appearance in first-class cricket in 1908 and his death in 1915". "For decades", wrote Frith, "Grace had been arguably the most famous man in England", easily recognisable because of "his beard and his bulk", and revered because of "his batsmanship". Even though his records have been overtaken, "his pre-eminence has not" and he remains "the most famous cricketer of them all", the one who "elevated the game in public esteem".^[148]

According to Mark Bonham-Carter, H. H. Asquith's grandson, Grace would have been one of the people to be appointed a peer had Asquith's plan to flood the House of Lords with Liberal peers come to fruition.^[171]

British commemorative postage stamps issued on 16 May 1973 for the County Cricket Centenary featured three sketches of W G Grace by Harry Furniss. The values were threepence (then first-class post); seven pence halfpenny; and ninepence.^[172]

Grace's fame has endured and his large beard in particular remains familiar; for example, Monty Python and the Holy Grail uses his image as "the face of God" during the sequence in which God sends the knights out on their quest for the grail.^[173]

On 12 September 2009, William Gilbert Grace was posthumously inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame at Lord's. Two of his direct descendants attended the ceremony: Dominic, his great-great-grandson; and George, Dominic's son.^[174]

Style and technique

Grace's approach to cricket

Grace himself had much to say about how to play cricket in his two books Cricket (1891) and Reminiscences (1899), which were both ghost-written. His fundamental opinion was that cricketers are "not born" but must be nurtured to develop their skills through coaching and practice; in his own case, he had achieved his skill through constant practice as a boy at home under the tutelage of his uncle Alfred Pocock.^[175]

Although the work ethic was of prime importance in his development, Grace insisted that cricket must also be enjoyable and freely admitted that his family all played in a way that was "noisy and boisterous" with much "chaff" (i.e., a Victorian term for teasing).^[176] WG and EM in particular were noted throughout their careers for being noisy and boisterous on the field. They were extremely competitive and always playing to win. Sometimes this went to extremes (e.g., on one occasion at school, EM was so upset about a decision going against him that he went home and took the stumps with him) and developed into the gamesmanship for which EM and WG were always controversial.^[176]

It was because of gamesmanship and insistence on his rights, as he saw them, that Grace never enjoyed good relations with Australians in general, though he had personal friends like Billy Midwinter and Billy Murdoch.^[177] In 1874, an Australian newspaper wrote: "We in Australia did not take kindly to WG. For so big a man, he is surprisingly tenacious on very small points. We thought him too apt to wrangle in the spirit of a duo-decimo lawyer over small points of the game."^[115]

But he was just the same in England and even his long-term friend Lord Harris agreed that "his gamesmanship added to the fund of stories about him".^[178] The point was that Grace "approached cricket as if he were fighting a small war" and he was "out to win at all costs".^[110] The Australians understood this twenty years later when Joe Darling, touring England for the first time in 1896, said: "We were all told not to trust the Old Man as he was out to win every time and was a great bluffer".^[119]

Batting

With regard to Grace's batsmanship, C L R James held that the best analysis of his style and technique was written by another top-class batsman K S Ranjitsinhji in his Jubilee Book of Cricket (co-written with C B Fry).^[179] Ranjitsinhji wrote that, by his extraordinary skills, Grace "revolutionised cricket and developed most of the techniques of modern batting". Before him, batsmen would play either forward or back and make a speciality of a certain stroke. Grace "made utility the criterion of style" and incorporated both forward and back play into his repertoire of strokes, favouring only that which was appropriate to the ball being delivered at the moment. In an oft-quoted phrase, Ranjitsinhji said of Grace that "he turned the old one-stringed instrument (i.e., the cricket bat) into a many-chorded lyre" and that "the theory of modern batting is in all essentials the result of WG's thinking and working on the game".^[180]

Ranjitsinhji summarised Grace's importance to the development of cricket by writing: "I hold him to be not only the finest player born or unborn, but the maker of modern batting".^[181] Cricket writer and broadcaster John Arlott, writing in 1975, supported this view by holding that Grace "created modern cricket".^[182]

But Grace's extraordinary skill had already been recognised very early in his career, especially by the professional bowlers. A very prescient comment was made by the laconic Yorkshire and England fast bowler Tom Emmett who, after playing against Grace for the first time in 1869, called him a "nonsuch" who "ought to be made to play with a littler bat".^[183]

H S Altham pointed out that for most of Grace's career, he played on pitches that "the modern schoolboy would consider unfit for a house match" and on grounds without boundaries where every hit including those "into the country" had to be run in full.^[24] Rowland Bowen records that 1895, the year of Grace's "Indian Summer", was the season in which marl was first used as a binding agent in the composition of English pitches, its benefit being to ensure "good lasting wickets".^[184]

It was through Alfred Pocock's perseverance that Grace had learned to play straight and to develop a sound defence so that he would stop or leave the good deliveries and score off the poor ones.^[185] This contrasted him with EM who was "always a hitter" and whose basic defence was not as sound.^[185] However, as Grace's skills developed, he became a very powerful hitter himself with a full range of shots and, at his best, would score runs freely. Despite being an all-rounder, Grace was also an opening batsman.

Bowling

As a bowler, Grace belonged to what Altham calls the "high, home and easy school of a much earlier day".^[149] Using a roundarm action, Grace was adept at varying both his pace and the arc of his slower deliveries which worked in from the leg side of the pitch. The chief feature of his bowling was the excellent length which he consistently maintained. He originally bowled at a consistently fast medium pace but in the 1870s he increasingly adopted his slower style which utilised a leg break.^[186] He called his leg break a "leg-tweeker" but he put very little break on the ball, just enough to bring it across from the batsman's legs to the wicket and he invariably posted a fielder in a strategic position on the square leg boundary, a trap which brought occasional success.^[186][167] He was unusual in persisting with his roundarm action throughout his career, when almost all other bowlers adopted the new overarm style.^[187]

Fielding

In his prime, Grace was noted for his outstanding fielding and was a very strong thrower of the ball; he was once credited with throwing the cricket ball 122 yards during an athletics event at Eastbourne.^[188] He attributed this skill to his country-bred childhood in which stone throwing at crows was a daily exercise. In later life, Grace commented upon a decline in English fielding standards and blamed it on "the falling numbers of country-bred boys who strengthen their arms by throwing stones at birds in the fields".^[9]

Much of Grace's success as a bowler was due to his magnificent fielding to his own bowling; as soon as he had delivered the ball he covered so much ground to the left that he made himself into an extra mid-off and he took some extraordinary catches in this way.^[186]

In his early career, Grace generally fielded at long-leg or cover-point; later he was usually at point (see Fielding positions in cricket).^[186] In his prime, he was a fine thrower, a fast runner and a safe catcher.^[186]

Other sports

Grace was an outstanding athlete as a young man and won the 440 yards hurdling title at the National Olympian Games at Crystal Palace in August 1866.^[18] In addition to running, he was an excellent thrower as evidenced when he threw a cricket ball 122 yards during an athletics event at Eastbourne.^[188]

Grace played football for the Wanderers on several occasions although he did not feature in any of their FA Cup-winning teams.^[189]

In later life, after his family moved to Mottingham, he became very interested in lawn bowls. He was a prime mover in the foundation of the English Bowling Association in 1903 and was elected its first president.^[190] He helped found an international competition with Scotland, Ireland and Wales, captaining England from the inaugural international at Crystal Palace in 1903 until 1908.^[191]

After he moved to Mottingham, Grace began to play golf which brought him into intimate contact with one of his biographers Bernard Darwin. Grace played golf "with a mixture of keen seriousness and cheerful noisiness". He could drive straight and sometimes putt well but, for reasons that Darwin could not understand, he never could play an iron shot well.^[192]

Personal life and medical career

Despite living in London for many years, W G Grace never lost his Gloucestershire accent.^[166] His entire life, including his cricket and medical careers, is inseparable from his close-knit family background which was strongly influenced by his father Henry Grace, who set great store by qualifications and was determined to succeed.^[193][194] He passed this attitude on to each of his five sons.^[193] Therefore, like his father and his brothers, WG chose a professional career in medicine, though because of his cricketing commitments he did not complete his qualification as a doctor until 1879 when he was 31 years old. He began his medical training at Bristol Medical School in 1867 and afterwards trained at St Bartholomew's Hospital and Westminster Hospital Medical School, both in London.^[195]

Grace was married on 9 October 1873 to Agnes Nicholls Day (1853–1930), who was the daughter of his first cousin William Day. Two weeks later, they began their honeymoon by taking ship to Australia for Grace's 1873–74 tour.^[196] They returned from the tour in May 1874 with Agnes six months pregnant. Their eldest son William Gilbert junior (1874–1905) was born on 6 July.^[197] Grace had to catch up with his studies at Bristol Medical School and he and his wife and son lived at Downend until February 1875 with his mother, brother Fred and sister Fanny.^[198]

The Graces moved to London in February 1875 when WG was assigned to St Bartholomew's Hospital and lived in an Earl's Court apartment, about five miles from the hospital.^[197] Their second son Henry Edgar (1876–1937) was born in London in July 1876.^[199] A ward in the Queen Elizabeth II Wing at St Bartholomew's still bears the name WG Grace Ward, caring for patients recovering from cardiothoracic surgery.^[200][201]

In the autumn of 1877, the family moved back to Gloucestershire where they lived with Grace's elder brother Henry, who was a general practitioner. Grace's studies had reached a crucial point with a theoretical backlog to catch up followed by his final practical session. Agnes became pregnant again at this time and their third child Bessie (1878–98) was born in May 1878.^[202]

Following the 1878 season, Grace was assigned to Westminster Hospital for his final year of medical practice and this curtailed his cricket for a time as he did not play in the 1879 season until June. The family moved back to London and lived at Acton.^[114] But the upheaval was worthwhile because, in November 1879, Grace finally received his diploma from the University of Edinburgh, having qualified as a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians (LRCP) and became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS).^[195]

W. G. Grace's grave in Beckenham cemetery

After qualifying he worked both in his own practice at 51 Stapleton Road in Easton, a largely poor district of Bristol, employing two locums during the cricket season, and for the Bristol Poor Law Union. There are many testimonies from his patients that he was a good doctor, for example: "Poor families knew that they did not need to worry about calling him in, as the bills would never arrive".^[117] The family lived at four different addresses close to the practice over the next twenty years and their fourth and last child Charles Butler (1882–1938) was born.^[203]

After leaving Gloucestershire in 1900, the Graces lived in Mottingham, a south-east London suburb, not far from the Crystal Palace where he played for London County, or from Eltham where he played club cricket in his sixties. A blue plaque marks their residence, 'Fairmont', in Mottingham Lane.^[154]

Grace endured a number of tragedies in his life beginning with the death of his father in December 1871.^[79] He was badly upset by the early death of his younger brother Fred in 1880, only two weeks after he, WG and EM had all played in a Test for England against Australia.^[204] In July 1884, Grace's rival A N Hornby stopped play in a Lancashire v Gloucestershire match at Old Trafford so that EM and WG could return home on receipt of a cable reporting the death of Mrs Martha Grace at the age of 72.^[204] The greatest tragedy of Grace's life was the loss of his daughter Bessie in 1898, aged only 20, from typhoid. She had been his favourite child.^[205] Then, in February 1905, his eldest son WG junior died of appendicitis at the age of 30.^[206]

Grace was distressed by the First World War and was known to shake his fist and shout at the German Zeppelins floating over his home in South London. When H.D.G. Leveson-Gower remonstrated that he had not allowed fast bowlers to unsettle him, Grace retorted: "I could see those beggars; I can't see these."^[207]

W G Grace died on 23 October 1915, aged 67, after suffering a heart attack.^[207] His death "shook the nation almost as much as Winston Churchill's fifty years later".^[148] He is buried in the family grave at Beckenham Crematorium and Cemetery, Kent.^[208]

Footnote

References

Online references using Cricinfo or Wisden may require free registration for access.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

• Player Profile: W. G. Grace from CricketArchive
• Player Profile: W. G. Grace from Cricinfo
• Manchester Guardian – obituary
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – memorial tribute (1916)
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – W G Grace centenary
• CricInfo News – E W Swanton on W G Grace
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004 – W G Grace
• Mark Steel Lecture on W.G. First Broadcast 16 April 1999