| Jim Kilburn | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Maurice Kilburn 8 July 1909 Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 28 August 1993 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Known for | Sports journalism |
James Maurice "Jim" Kilburn (8 July 1909 – 28 August 1993)[1] was a sports journalist who wrote for the Yorkshire Post between 1934 and 1976 who became a well-known writer about Yorkshire County Cricket Club.[2]
Inititally, Kilburn was a school teacher in Harrogate who also played cricket in the Bradford League as an off-spinner. He was given a job on the Yorkshire Post because the newspaper's editor recognised his name from reading cricket reports about league matches in which he was involved.[2] He quickly established his reputation, writing under the name "J. M. Kilburn"; his reports were often among the few not anonymised.[3] His obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described his writing style: he wrote "with a fountain pen on press telegram forms at 60 or 80 words a shilling. At the close of play he immediately concluded his essay; he hardly ever crossed anything out. His cricketing judgments were assured and rigorous, his style exact but sometimes elegant: Leyland's bowling is a joke but it is an extremely practical joke."[2] His writing was printed exactly as he wrote it; sub-editors did not touch anything, even if he had made a mistake, as his employers valued his style so greatly.[3] He refused to write about off-field events which caused consternation for his editors as Yorkshire cricket was turbulent behind the scenes at the time he wrote. He refused all requests to write about the wider aspects of cricket, confident that his reputation made it impossible to sack him.[2]
The press-boxes of his time, particularly in Yorkshire, were unfriendly and serious places.[3] According to Wisden, "[Kilburn] was a tall, austere man who had little truck with press-box banter."[2] According to writer Derek Hodgson, Kilburn was shy.[1] However, his views and methods were regarded as old-fashioned in the later stages of his career.[2] Kilburn was often compared to his contemporary from Lancashire, Neville Cardus, but his style was dissimilar. Cardus wrote in a romantic style whereas Kilburn preferred factual accuracy;[1] according to Wisden, Kilburn was "harder, less flashy, more punctilious".[2] Journalist Frank Keating writes: "Neville Cardus was acclaimed the Wordsworth of cricket writing, while across the Pennines they hailed Kilburn as the Coleridge. With good reason."[3] Kilburn's writings on the Yorkshire players of the 1930s and 1940s made them well-known to the public as personalities and he wrote several pieces for the Yorkshire Post which became well-known.[1] He also wrote seven books on cricket.[2]
Kilburn was a founder member of the Cricket Writers' Club, served as its secretary, chairman and later became an Honorary Life Member. He also became the only journalist elected as a life member at Yorkshire, and opened the newly built press box at Headingley Cricket Ground in 1988.[1] In his final years, he became blind, but according to Wisden, "Jim Kilburn remained an upright, dignified man until he died".[2] Derek Hodgson writes: "All his work will be valued as an accurate insight into social attitudes in the first half of this century. Jim Kilburn intended always to write about cricket but in fact he told us all so much more."[1]
He contributed to the following books (as the sole author except where otherwise noted):