Fred Gardner (cricketer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fred Charles Gardner[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 4 June 1922[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Bell Green, Coventry, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 12 January 1979 (aged 56)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Coventry, England[1] | ||
| Playing position | Inside-forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| Birmingham | |||
| 1946–1949 | Coventry City | 13 | (3) |
| 1949–1950 | Newport County | 4 | (2) |
| Rugby Town | |||
| Total | 17+ | (5+) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Fred Charles Gardner (4 June 1922 – 12 January 1979) was an English cricketer and footballer. As a footballer, he played inside-forward for Birmingham, Coventry City, Newport County, and Rugby Town. In his cricket career, he was a right-hand opening batsman who played for Warwickshire.
Football career
Gardner was playing for Birmingham when World War II came to Europe. He guested for Port Vale in 1946.[1] He signed with Coventry City after the war, and scored three goals in 13 league games for the "Sky Blues" as the Second Division club posted mid-table finishes in 1946–47, 1947–48, and 1948–49 under the stewardship of Billy Frith and Harry Storer. He scored two goals in four Third Division South games for Tom Bromilow's Newport County in the 1949–50 season. After leaving Rodney Parade, he played for Rugby Town and later became the trainer-coach of Lockheed Leamington.[1]
Cricket career
Gardner was a solid defensive player,[2][3] who formed a productive opening partnership with Norman Horner.[4] He played 338 first-class matches for his home county between 1947 and 1961, he also made one appearance for an England XI against the touring South Africans in 1955 and played once for the Players against the Gentlemen in 1957.[5]
Gardner scored a total of 17,905 first-class runs at an average of 33.71, passing 1,000 runs in a season for ten consecutive years between 1949 and 1958.[6] His best seasonal total came in 1950 when he scored 1,911 runs at 45.50, included in this was his highest score of his career, an innings of 215 not out against Somerset at Taunton. Also in that season, he scored centuries in both innings during the fixture with Essex at Ilford.
Gardner made his first-class debut in 1947 at the age of 25, becoming a regular in 1949 when he was awarded his county cap.[2] He was an ever-present in the 1951 season when Warwickshire won the County Championship, he contributed 1,338 runs and 27 catches to the success.[7]
In 1953 Gardner scored 110 against the touring Australians becoming the first Warwickshire batsman to score a hundred against an Australian side.[2] He was awarded a benefit season in 1958, the last season in which he appeared regularly. After finishing his playing career in 1961, he joined the umpires list standing in 98 first-class matches between 1962 and 1965.[8] Following this he dedicated time to coaching juniors in the Coventry area.[3]
Gardner died at the age of 56, in his native Coventry, following a long illness.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 109. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wisden 1980 – Obituaries, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Retrieved on 8 November 2008
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Warwickshire CCC Greatest Ever, GreatestEver.com, Retrieved on 9 November 2008
- ↑ Horner loses battle against cancer, Cricinfo, Retrieved on 8 November 2008
- ↑ First-class Batting and Fielding record for each team, CricketArchive, Retrieved on 8 November 2008
- ↑ First-class Batting for each season, CricketArchive, Retrieved on 8 November 2008
- ↑ Batting and Fielding for Warwickshire, County Championship 1951, CricketArchive, Retrieved on 8 November 2008
- ↑ List of First-class matches umpired, CricketArchive, Retrieved on 8 November 2008