Cricket 1888

“ Together jo ined in cricket’s m a n ly to il.”— Byron. KegisMor^ran^ssiTnAbroad. THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 1888. P R IC E 2d. M R . G E O . S T U A R T P A T T E R S O N , Of P h il a d e l p h ia . T here is a good cricket-ring about the sound of Patterson which cannot fail to echo plea­ santly in the ears of C ricket readers. W hile Oxford and Cambridge have each furnished one player of conspicuous excellence bear­ ing that name, there have been several other lesser lights who have played an honourable part in the game at one or other of the Public Schools. A nd though so far his cricket has been confined to the other side of “ the big drink,” no one who follows the game at all closely but w ill be fam iliar to some extent, w ith the doings of the pro­ m ising young American player who claims the same cognomen. The all-round play of Mr, G. S. Patter­ son, whose portrait we have been fortunate enough to secure to illus­ trate the first of our weekly summer numbers for 1888, has been one of the most notable features of American cricket of late years. During the three summers which have passed since the Gentlemen of Philadelphia visited England, ful­ filling thoroughly the exceptional promise of his earlyboyhood, he has continued to develop in all-round ability until he stands now quite in thefore-front ofAmerican cricketers. And contrary to the axiom which declares prophets to be w ithout belief in their own country, Americans have reason to be, as they are, proud that this capable young player is not only one of themselves by birth but by growth and education. Born at Philadel­ phia on Oct. 10, 1868, Mr. Patterson has still several months to pass before he reaches his twentieth birthday. Soon after his birth his parents removed to Chestnut Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia, three miles north of Germantown, the nursery of American cricket, and there he has lived up to the present time. His father, Professor C. Stuart Patterson, of the Law Department of the University of Pennsylvania, was prominently identified with the game in Philadelphia for more than thirty years, during a considerable portion of which time ne was a member of the Committee in charge of International matches. Coming of such a stock, and thrown at an early age into an atmosphere redolent of cricket, the younger Patterson soon acquired an interest in the game and all its surroundings. He was only twelve years of age when he made his first appearance in public, his earliest record being a score of two runs for Chestnut H ill in a club match played on April 30, 1881. Although about a month before he had joined the Germantown Club, he continued to play during that season with the local club, and his largest score of the year was one of 25, made on July 27th, 1881, for Chestnut H ill Juniors v. Germantown Juniors. On May 21st, 1882, he made his debut for the Germantown Club, playing in the second eleven v. the second eleven of the Merion Club. Though he only made a single, his bowling was successful in securing four wickets for 23 runs, giving evidence at this early stage of his career of the quality that has always characterised it, the small cost at whi3h his wickets are obtained. On June 3, 1882, for Germantown Juniors v. Belmont Juniors, he obtained fourteen wickets for 30 runs; on June 24th, for Germantown second v. Oxford second, nine wickets for 42 runs; and on July 8th, for the same eleven v. Belmont second, four wickets for 8 runs. His best score of that year was one of 54, on August 14th, for Germantown Juniors v. Philadelphia Juniors, on which occasion the former put on 105 for the first wicket. Throughout the season he was consistently suc­ cessful as a bowler, and his figures with the Germantown 2nd X I. showed 480 balls for 119 runs and 24 wickets, or an average of 4.96 runs per wicket. On August 11,1883, for Gentlemen of Leisure v. Quaker City, he scored 75, and on Sept. 15 (when not as yet 15 years old), he made his debut with the German­ town first eleven, in the “ Cup ” match with Belmont, scoring 1 and 16. His club averages for the year were—in batting, 12.55 runs for 12 innings, and in bowling, 7.13 runs for 23 wickets. Up to this time he had not given evidence of the special ability for long scoring that has since made him the first bats­ man in America in this respect. It was, indeed, not until the memorable “ Cup ” match be­ tween Germantown and Young America, on May 30 and 31, 1884, that he exhibited for the first time his remarkable powers of defence. Germantown began the second innings—a follow on—in a minority of 127 runs. At the fall of the first wicket for 24 runs, Mr. Patterson went in and remained throughout the innings, carrying out his bat for 85 runs of a total of 253. Between the fall of the third and fourth wickets, 153 runs were put on by Messrs. Patterson and F. W. Ralston, the latter of whom scored 95. On June 23rd, for Gentlemen of Leisure v. Young America, he made 87 ; on July 8, for Incapables v. Foresters, 42 and 9 not out; and on September 8 and 9, for Young Philadelphia v. Pittsburg, 31 and 24. Having taken up his residence at Haverford College, in September, 1884, he appeared for the College eleven on October 11 in the annual match with University of Pennsylvania, and not only scored 25, but got, in addition, eight wickets for 70 runs. For Haverford College,