Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

96 The later years (1889-1904) note. In late 1888, the Emmetts had entered into negotiations to purchase the Snowden Street Paper Tube Mills and agreed to pay £525 for it. The defendants alleged that the plaintiff has completely misrepresented the value of the machinery and stock in the mills, and not given them an accurate inventory. The business subsequently ‘smashed up’, and Robert Emmett went back to America. Thematterwas heard in court inLeeds, where the Emmettswere represented by a QC, who argued that Tom Emmett knew much more about cricket than business affairs, and had signed the note by mistake. The jury were asked whether the note had been obtained by false representation on the part of the plaintiff. On the second day, an arrangement was reached whereby the jury was withdrawn and a Judge’s order stated that the amount paid into court should be paid to the plaintiff, with all ‘imputations of fraudulent intent on the part of the plaintiff fully withdrawn.’ An additional sum of £50 was paid by Tom Emmett as ‘smart money’ in full discharge of the case. A story was later told that when Emmett was examined he ‘gave his answers sotto voce [quietly], and Mr Waddy QC said “Speak up, Emmett, in the tone in which you cry ‘over’ when a man is out.”’ The lawyer clearly knew nothing about cricket and, for this embarrassing misunderstanding, his legal colleagues were reported to have fined him a dozen bottles of champagne and a box of cigars. The story was retold for many years afterwards. Once the Rugby school summer term was finished, Emmett was engaged at Lord’s, where he played for MCC and Ground against Notts Castle. He also took 6-31 against the London and Suburban Cricket Association. It was probably during this period that he suffered one of the worst injuries of his career. According to reports, he was bowling in the nets and ‘as he bent down to pick up the ball he received a frightful blow on the forehead. Happily, he sustained nothing worse than a severe flesh wound and a painful shock to the system, but he might easily have been killed. He said himself that he had had a good many nasty knocks during his career as a cricketer, but never one nearly so bad before. The 1889 season was one of the low points of Yorkshire county cricket history as the tensions and problems of several decades came to a head. Well out of things, Emmett nevertheless kept a close eye on developments. In early August, he was reported to have written to one of his former colleagues in a very sarcastic strain, offering to join his old comrades and assist them to win the remainder of the fixtures (at the time all had been lost). In September 1889, he did link up with many of these old friends for a match for Billy Bates’ benefit fund at Cheetham. The game was played between Twenty-Two Manchester City and County Police against a side made up of Briggs, Pilling, Yates (Lancashire), Peel, Wade, Lee, Wainwright, Parratt, Emmett, Lockwood (Yorkshire) and Richardson (Notts). The eleven were dressed in what was described as old-fashioned attire – top hats and white vests. Emmett appears to have lived apart from his family in Rugby, at least for a while. At the time of the 1891 Census, he was boarding in what was