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George Patterson (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
George Stuart Patterson (October 10, 1868–May 7, 1943) was an American
cricket
er, active in the late 19th century. Patterson played most notably for the Philadelphians
, which flourished from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I
. His obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
described him as "one of the best all-round cricketers ever produced by America." He had a successful career with both Haverford College
and the University of Pennsylvania
and began playing first-class cricket
when he was only 16 years old.
in good style and bowled
right-arm medium-pace. His first international tour occurred in 1889 when he came to England with the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. Patterson scored 529 runs
, average 40.69, and headed the batting figures for the visitors. He also took 42 wicket
s at 23 runs each. On this tour, the Philadelphians also stopped in Ireland for a draw against that side. Patterson only scored 38 runs in the match but took 10 wickets. They then proceeded to beat Scotland
by ten wickets and the Gentlemen of Hampshire by two runs.
In 1897 Patterson captained
his next tour of England. The tour undertaken by the Philadelphian cricketers was very ambitious. Though the results may have been less satisfactory than hoped for by promoters, the tour was arranged mainly for educational purposes and few of those on the American side expected to win many matches. Previous tours had tended to involve amateur English sides with a low level of competition. In 1897 a schedule was made including all of the top county cricket
teams, the Oxford
and Cambridge University teams
, the Marylebone Cricket Club
, and two other sides, though only a few of the counties thought it worth while to put their best elevens onto the field. Starting on 7 June at Oxford
, the tour lasted for two months and ended in late July at The Oval
. While it initially aroused some curiosity, many English fans lost interest until Patterson and the Philadelphians met the full Sussex team at Brighton on 17 June. The team fared very well and soundly beat the English side. Patterson, though, had a relatively poor performance scoring only eight runs and not taking any wickets. The star of the match was undoubtedly John Barton King
.
Despite the excitement surrounding King's performance, the Americans did not fare well overall on the tour. Fifteen matches were played, but only two were won while the team lost nine and earned a draw on four. The other win of the tour came against Warwickshire
, though Patterson also performed poorly in this match. Patterson was second in his team's averages with 33, his best innings was 162 at Trent Bridge
against Nottinghamshire
. There were some claims, though, in the Philadelphia Public Ledger that the Philadelphians had been treated unfairly by the English umpires, but captain Patterson put those rumors to rest with a letter to the editor of an American newspaper:
The match that the Philadelphians played against the MCC
was to be Patterson's last first-class cricket match.
nation. Four times he exceeded a thousand runs in a season, and in 1891, besides making 1,402 (average 50), he took 112 wickets at 7.97 each. With F. H. Bohlen, who died in December 1942, Patterson made 200 for the first wicket against Frank Mitchell
's University team that visited Philadelphia in 1895. Patterson died in Philadelphia in 1943 at the age of 74.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, active in the late 19th century. Patterson played most notably for the Philadelphians
Philadelphian cricket team
The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, the sport began a slow decline in the country. This decline was...
, which flourished from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. His obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
described him as "one of the best all-round cricketers ever produced by America." He had a successful career with both Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
and the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and began playing first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
when he was only 16 years old.
Cricketing career
Patterson first played club cricket in Philadelphia for the Germantown Cricket Club. He stood over six feet tall and was of slim build, battedBatting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
in good style and bowled
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
right-arm medium-pace. His first international tour occurred in 1889 when he came to England with the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. Patterson scored 529 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
, average 40.69, and headed the batting figures for the visitors. He also took 42 wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
s at 23 runs each. On this tour, the Philadelphians also stopped in Ireland for a draw against that side. Patterson only scored 38 runs in the match but took 10 wickets. They then proceeded to beat Scotland
Scottish cricket team
The Scotland national cricket team represents Scotland in the game of cricket. They compete in the Clydesdale Bank 40 as the Scottish Saltires...
by ten wickets and the Gentlemen of Hampshire by two runs.
Tour of England in 1897
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
his next tour of England. The tour undertaken by the Philadelphian cricketers was very ambitious. Though the results may have been less satisfactory than hoped for by promoters, the tour was arranged mainly for educational purposes and few of those on the American side expected to win many matches. Previous tours had tended to involve amateur English sides with a low level of competition. In 1897 a schedule was made including all of the top county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
teams, the Oxford
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
and Cambridge University teams
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
, the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
, and two other sides, though only a few of the counties thought it worth while to put their best elevens onto the field. Starting on 7 June at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, the tour lasted for two months and ended in late July at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
. While it initially aroused some curiosity, many English fans lost interest until Patterson and the Philadelphians met the full Sussex team at Brighton on 17 June. The team fared very well and soundly beat the English side. Patterson, though, had a relatively poor performance scoring only eight runs and not taking any wickets. The star of the match was undoubtedly John Barton King
Bart King
John Barton "Bart" King was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. King was one of the Philadelphian cricketers that played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I...
.
Despite the excitement surrounding King's performance, the Americans did not fare well overall on the tour. Fifteen matches were played, but only two were won while the team lost nine and earned a draw on four. The other win of the tour came against Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
, though Patterson also performed poorly in this match. Patterson was second in his team's averages with 33, his best innings was 162 at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
. There were some claims, though, in the Philadelphia Public Ledger that the Philadelphians had been treated unfairly by the English umpires, but captain Patterson put those rumors to rest with a letter to the editor of an American newspaper:
My attention has been directed to a letter signed W.S. in the Field of July 24th, enclosing a clipping from the Philadelphia Public Ledger, severely criticising the umpiring in the Philadelphian matches during our tour through England. I wish to state on behalf of the Philadelphia team that the sentiments expressed in the clipping are not those of the team, and that we emphatically repudiate any insinuation of unfair treatment. On the contrary, we have been received with the most unvarying courtesy and fairness both on and off the field. I wish to take this opportunity of making a public acknowledgement of our indebtedness to Mr. Perkins, of the M.C.C., for the umpires assigned to us, and to testify, unnecessary though it be, to their ability and integrity.
The match that the Philadelphians played against the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
was to be Patterson's last first-class cricket match.
Other matches
At the club and first-class level in the United States, Patterson continued to show his batting skill. His highest score in a first-class match was 271. This is still the record first-class score for a player from a non-TestTest cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
nation. Four times he exceeded a thousand runs in a season, and in 1891, besides making 1,402 (average 50), he took 112 wickets at 7.97 each. With F. H. Bohlen, who died in December 1942, Patterson made 200 for the first wicket against Frank Mitchell
Frank Mitchell
Frank Mitchell was a cricketer and rugby union player.-School, University and Yorkshire:...
's University team that visited Philadelphia in 1895. Patterson died in Philadelphia in 1943 at the age of 74.
USA first-class
- PhiladelphiaPhiladelphian cricket teamThe Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, the sport began a slow decline in the country. This decline was...
- GS Patterson's XI
- Pennsylvania University Past and Present
Statistics links
- Player Profile: George Patterson from CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...