Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

110 Emmett’s funeral was held on Saturday 2 July 1904. It was quiet and simple as requested by the family, and conducted by the curate-in-charge at St James’s Church. His remaining son, Arthur, and daughter-in-law, as well as his daughters were present, as was Emmett’s sister, Mary- Ann Woodall, now a schoolmistress in Cheshire. F.C.Toone, secretary of Yorkshire County Cricket Club represented the club, and there were a number of local sportsman present. Wreaths were sent by Lord Hawke, Yorkshire CCC and Lord Harris. Numerous telegrams were received, including from Ephraim Lockwood. Emmett was then laid to rest in the Leicester Corporation Cemetery in Welford Road, where the plot remains unmarked. Some felt that too little fuss was made of Emmett’s departure. In Fry’s Magazine in 1906, E.V.Lucas, the English humourist, writer and cricket lover, lamented the lack of good writing about cricket, and commented that the fact that Tom Emmett was allowed to die without a single tribute worth the name being written was a very serious sign. He added that here was a ‘character’ if the world ever saw one, but not one of his old friends or associates, nor one of his old pupils at Rugby, seemed to have thought it worthwhile to set down any celebration of him. He further commented poignantly, ‘That seems to me very unfortunate, and very significant. In the new bustle of county championships, too many matches, and journalistic exploitation, individuals are being lost.’ Lucas’s words were well intentioned, and echoed those of the magazine Cricket , which regretted that, ‘the degeneracy of cricket from a game into The later years (1889-1904) Emmett’s unmarked grave, Leicester Cemetery, Welford Road. (Mick Pope)