Famous Cricekters No 53 - George Geary

Introduction and Acknowledgements Looking back from these egalitarian times of the very late Twentieth Century, it must be difficult for the current younger generation to envisage the different social climate of cricket prior to the Second World War. A time of amateurs and professionals; the first designated as “Mr”, with all their initials preceding their surnames on the score cards, and the second identified only by their surnames, sometimes with initials appearing after. In many Counties, the team sheets altered radically in August, with the advent of the wearers of brightly coloured caps and blazers, many of whom were unable to hold a candle to the abilities of the professionals who automatically had to make way for them. Not so with Leicestershire; surprisingly, for a predominantly rural county with, perhaps, more than their fair share of gentry, landed or otherwise. The majority of the Leicestershire amateurs were able to play full time; either because they were financially independent, or because the County Club found a paid position for them - not necessarily sinecures, some did earn their keep off the field. Either way, they played for the County team on merit. George Geary grew up and played in this era. He was, of course, from the other side of the coin, a typical professional cricketer of his time - a solidly built, bronzed, rural Leicestershire yeoman. It is extremely difficult to portray the personality of the subject in a booklet such as this, amongst the welter of fact and statistics. I am therefore greatly indebted to Philip Snow for his splendid personal recollections of George Geary - now we have a view, not only of the player, but of the man within. Philip Snow has had two new books of reflections and observations 1915-1997, published recently by The Radcliffe Press, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, London WC1B 4DZ. They are entitled The Years of Hope (Cambridge, Colonial Administration in the South Seas, Cricket), and A Time of Renewal (Clusters of Characters, C.P.(Lord) Snow, Coups). I make no apologies whatsoever for using (for reasons which will become obvious) as the cover photograph, the well known full-face likeness of Geary in his England cap. Three excellent obituaries have been written; in Wisden , of course; in The Times , by Philip Snow; and in Wisden Cricket Monthly , by David Frith. I have drawn on all of these. Eric Snow - a fount of knowledge, not only of Leicestershire cricket, but of all things Leicestershire - was my mentor for many years, and remained unfailingly helpful and instructive until his death in September 1998. Others who have helped in various ways are Kit Bartlett, David Baggett, Peter Griffiths, Don Ambrose, Derek Metcalfe (Nelson C.C.), the late Derek Lodge, and, not least, all of the ACS county statisticians. Any errors and omissions are mine alone. Sources Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack , 1913-1939 The Cricketer , 1921-1938 A History of Leicestershire Cricket (E.E.Snow, 1949). The History of Leicestershire C.C.C. (D.A.Lambert, 1992) First Class Cricket in Australia, Vol 1, 1850/51 to 1941/42 (R.Webster, 1991) South African Cricket 1919-1927 (M.W.Luckin, nd). South African Cricket, 1927-1947 (Louis Duffus, nd) Dennis Lambert Birkenhead, October 1999 3