W G Grace A Life

Author : Simon Rae
Publisher : Faber & Faber
Page : 481 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2012-09-20
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9780571266364

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W. G. Grace: A Life by Simon Rae Pdf

W. G. Grace burst onto the cricket scene in the 1860s with spectacular force. He dominated the game until the end of the century, and influences it to this day. He was the world's first sporting superstar, rivalled as a public figure only by Gladstone and Queen Victoria herself. His staggering achievements as both batsman and bowler made him the greatest draw cricket had ever known. Though often depicted as an overgrown schoolboy, W. G. was extremely shrewd and ruthlessly exploited the power his immense popularity gave him. A notorious 'shamateur', he amassed great wealth through cricket, while remaining the standard-bearer for the Gentlemen against the Players for forty years. Researched in archives from Grimsby (where Grace once scored 400) to Australia, Simon Rae's new biography offers a radical analysis of Grace's career, and reviews the more controversial aspects of his conduct, including verbal and physical altercations, both on and off the field, and his kidnapping of an Australian cricketer from Lord's. But W. G. Grace: A Life provides more than a fresh look at the cricketer. It focuses on Grace's formative family background; his intensely competitive relations with his two famous brothers, 'E. M.' and Fred; his career as a doctor, and his ambitions and bereavements as a father. Drawing on little-known diaries and letters, and unique access to Grace's own library, Simon Rae builds up a convincing psychological portrait of the man behind the most famous beard in English history.

Author : Richard Tomlinson
Publisher : Little, Brown UK
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2015-12-22
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1408706091

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Amazing Grace by Richard Tomlinson Pdf

William Gilbert Grace (1848-1915) looms as large in the history of modern sport as Bach in the history of music or Michelangelo in the history of art. Physically immense, with a luxuriant black mane of a beard, Grace's performances on the cricket field towered above his peers. When 'W.G.' became the first-ever batsman to score 100 first-class centuries, his nearest rival had only scored forty-three. With his rustic accent and village school education, Grace was also the victim of immense snobbery, during his lifetime and ever since. In this definitive biography, marking the centenary of W.G.'s death, Richard Tomlinson mines a trove of previously undiscovered archive material in England, Australia and North America and at last connects Grace's astounding achievements on the field (he took 3000 wickets as well) with the private life he hid from the world. Agnes, W.G.'s beloved wife, steps from the shadows of her ruined family background as the woman who rescued Grace from his own worst nature and shared his torment at the loss of their only daughter Bessie. We meet as well the swarm of chancers who preyed on Grace, from the doomed gold speculator who first brought him to Melbourne to the sex-crazed cricket grandee who captured W.G. for England's sporting aristocracy. And we join W.G. on his rounds as a lowly parish surgeon in the slums of Bristol. His patients - the paupers and tramps along the Stapleton Road - hailed their doctor each summer as he set forth from his surgery to vanquish his cricketing enemies. Through it all, W.G. emerges as one of the last Victorian inventors, transforming the game he loved and showing the modern world how to play all sport - to the death, mercilessly, with beers all round in the funeral parlour. A century after W.G. was buried with his secrets in a forlorn suburban graveyard, Amazing Grace gloriously unveils one of sport's greatest untold stories.

Author : Robert Low
Publisher : Metro Publishing
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2010-11-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781857828320

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WG Grace by Robert Low Pdf

Using contemporary accounts of W.G.'s greatest innings, many for the first time, Robert Low presents a radically new image of the sportsman who was recognised as the pre-eminent athlete of his day.From his emergence as a teenage prodigy to well past his fiftieth year W.G. dominated the game of cricket, taking 2,876 wickets and scoring 54,896 first-class runs in a career lasting an incredible 43 years, from 1865 to 1908. His beard and massive frame made him instantly recognisable wherever he went and his gamesmanship and wit were legendary.

Author : Richard H. Thomas
Publisher : Reaktion Books
Page : 438 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2022-08-22
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781789143720

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Cricketing Lives by Richard H. Thomas Pdf

As famous for its complicated rules as it is for its contentious (and lengthy) matches, cricket is the quintessentially English sport. Or is it? From cricket in literature to sticky wickets, Cricketing Lives is a paean to the quirky characters and global phenomenon that are cricket. Cricket is defined by the characters who have played it, watched it, reported it, ruled upon it, ruined it, and rejoiced in it. Humorous and deeply affectionate, Cricketing Lives tells the story of the world’s greatest and most incomprehensible game through those who have shaped it, from the rustic contests of eighteenth-century England to the spectacle of the Indian Premier League. It’s about W. G. Grace and his eye to his wallet; the invincible Viv Richards; and Sarah Taylor, “the best wicketkeeper in the world.” Richard H. Thomas steers a course through the despair of war, tactical controversies, and internecine politics, to reveal how cricket has always warmed our hearts as nothing else can.

Author : Leo McKinstry
Publisher : Random House
Page : 436 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2011-06-08
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781409019671

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Jack Hobbs by Leo McKinstry Pdf

The astonishing feats of Sir Jack Hobbs continue to resonate more than a century after he first played Test cricket. During his long career that stretched from the age of W.G. Grace to the era of Don Bradman, he scored more first-class runs and centuries than any player. Even today, he remains England's greatest run maker in Ashes Tests. He changed the art of batting with his elegant style, and transformed the status of professional cricketers through the strength of his personality. Born into poverty, Hobbs rose to have a central role in some of Test cricket's most explosive series, but not without controversy and dispute. At last here is a comprehensive biography of Hobbs, giving us fresh insights into every aspect of his story. SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2012 CRICKET BOOK OF THE YEAR.

Author : Alan Tyers,Beach,
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 159 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2011-11-16
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781408166055

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W.G. Grace Ate My Pedalo by Alan Tyers,Beach, Pdf

Freddie Flintoff and W.G. Grace: Together at last! W.G. Grace Ate My Pedalo is a spoof 1896 periodical from The Wisden Cricketer archives that looks at cricketing events of 2010 through a Victorian lens. Funny, irreverent and lavishly illustrated, the book draws inspiration from the exuberant sporting papers of the Victorian era to lampoon England cricketers new and old. From Queen Victoria's views on women's cricket to Freddie Flintoff's heroic defiance of the Temperance Movement, no figure - historical or contemporary - is safe. A comedy cricket book of wit, intelligence and cheek that will appeal to cricket fans of all ages, be they members of the MCC or the Barmy Army.

Author : Eric C. Midwinter
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 175 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 1981
Category : Cricket players
ISBN : 004796054X

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W.G. Grace by Eric C. Midwinter Pdf

Author : Simon Wilde
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 494 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2018-07-24
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781471154867

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England: The Biography by Simon Wilde Pdf

'An astonishing work of research, detail and revelation. Bulging with information, packed with nuggets.' John Etheridge, Sun 'Superbly researched... His eye for detail never wavers. It’s a pleasure to read.' Vic Marks, Observer 'The Cricket Book of the Year: Dauntingly comprehensive and surprisingly light-footed.' Simon Briggs, Daily Telegraph England: The Biography is the most comprehensive account of the England cricket team that has ever been published, taking the reader into the heart of the action and the team dynamics that have helped shape their success, or otherwise. It is now 140 years since England first played Test match cricket and, for much of that time, it has struggled to perform to the best of its capabilities. In the early years, amateurs would pick and choose which matches and tours they would play; subsequently, the demands of the county game - and the petty jealousies that created - would prevent many from achieving their best. It was only in the 1990s that central contracts were brought in, and Team England began to receive the best possible support from an ever-increasing backroom team. But cricket isn't just about structures, it depends like no other sport on questions of how successful the captain is in motivating and leading his team, and how well different personalities and egos are integrated and managed in the changing room. From Joe Root and Alastair Cook back to Mike Atherton, Mike Brearley and Ray Illingworth, England captains have had a heavy influence on proceedings. Recent debates over Kevin Pietersen were nothing new, as contemporaries of W.G.Grace would doubtless recognise. As England play their 1000th Test, this is a brilliant and unmissable insight into the ups and downs of that story.

Author : C L R James
Publisher : Random House
Page : 187 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2014-08-28
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781446496657

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Beyond A Boundary by C L R James Pdf

'To say "the best cricket book ever written" is piffingly inadequate praise' Guardian 'Great claims have been made for [Beyond a Boundary] since its first appearance in 1963: that it is the greatest sports book ever written; that it brings the outsider a privileged insight into West Indian culture; that it is a severe examination of the colonial condition. All are true' Sunday Times C L R James, one of the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century, was devoted to the game of cricket. In this classic summation of half a lifetime spent playing, watching and writing about the sport, he recounts the story of his overriding passion and tells us of the players whom he knew and loved, exploring the game's psychology and aesthetics, and the issues of class, race and politics that surround it. Part memoir of a West Indian boyhood, part passionate celebration and defence of cricket as an art form, part indictment of colonialism, Beyond a Boundary addresses not just a sport but a whole culture and asks the question, 'What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?

Author : Richard William Cox
Publisher : Psychology Press
Page : 338 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Sports
ISBN : 9780714652603

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International Sport by Richard William Cox Pdf

There has been an explosion in the quantity of sports history literature published in recent years, making it increasingly difficult to keep abreast of developments. The annual number of publications has increased from around 250 to 1,000 a year over the last decade. This is due in part to the fact that during the late 1980s and 90s, many clubs, leagues and governing bodies of sport have celebrated their centenaries and produced histories to mark this occasion and commemorate their achievements. It is also the result of the growing popularity and realisation of the importance of sport history research within academe. This international bibliography of books, articles, conference proceedings and essays in the English language is a one-stop for the sports historian to know what is new.

Author : John Major
Publisher : HarperCollins UK
Page : 87 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2009-02-16
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9780007280117

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More Than A Game: The Story of Cricket's Early Years by John Major Pdf

The former Prime Minister examines the early history of one of the great loves of his life in a book that sheds new light on the summer game’s social origins.

Author : Richard Tomlinson
Publisher : Little, Brown Book Group
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2015-09-03
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781408705186

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Amazing Grace by Richard Tomlinson Pdf

On a sunny afternoon in May 1868, nineteen-year-old Gilbert Grace stood in a Wiltshire field, wondering why he was playing cricket against the Great Western Railway Club. A batting genius, 'W. G.' should have been starring at Lord's in the grand opening match of the season. But MCC did not want to elect this humble son of a provincial doctor. W. G's career was faltering before it had barely begun. Grace finally forced his way into MCC and over the next three decades, millions came to watch him - not just at Lord's, but across the British Empire and beyond. Only W. G. could boast a fan base that stretched from an American Civil War general and the Prince of Wales's mistress to the children who fingered his coat-tails as he walked down the street, just to say 'I touched him'. The public never knew the darker story behind W. G.'s triumphal progress. Accused of avarice, W. G. was married to the daughter of a bankrupt. Disparaged as a simpleton, his subversive mind recast how to play sport - thrillingly hard, pushing the rules, beating his opponents his own way. In Amazing Grace, Richard Tomlinson unearths a life lived so far ahead of his times that W. G. is still misunderstood today. For the first time, Tomlinson delves into long-buried archives in England and Australia to reveal the real W. G: a self-made, self-destructive genius, at odds with the world and himself.

Author : Richard William Cox
Publisher : Manchester University Press
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : Sports
ISBN : 0719025923

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Sport in Britain by Richard William Cox Pdf

Author : Alister Nicholson,Tom Jellett
Publisher : Allen & Unwin
Page : 39 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2021-11-02
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 9781761063176

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Cricket, I Just Love It! by Alister Nicholson,Tom Jellett Pdf

From classic catches to backyard matches, this is a joyful and heartfelt celebration of all things cricket, written by a much-loved ABC sports broadcaster. Cricket, I just love it! It really is the best. Batting, bowling, fielding, Twenty20 or a test. I watch it or I listen and of course I always play. Cricket is my favourite part of every single day. For any kid who's ever hit a six over the back fence or dreamed of making a century at the MCG, here is a love song to Australia's most iconic summer sport.

Author : Robert Low
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 1997
Category : Cricket players
ISBN : 1860660959

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W.G. by Robert Low Pdf