Frederick Robert Spofforth (1853 - 1926)

Born 9 Sep 1853 in Balmain, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Phillis Marsh Cadman — married 23 Sep 1886 (to 4 Jun 1926) in Breadsall, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom

Died 4 Jun 1926 at age 72 in Long Ditton, Surrey, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Frederick Spofforth was born in the Colony of New South Wales (1788-1900)

Frederick Spofforth is Notable.

Frederick Spofforth, known as "The Demon Bowler", was regarded as the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century. He was the first bowler to take 50 test wickets,^[1] and the first to take a test hat-trick, in 1879.^[2] He played test matches for Australia between 1877 and 1887, was a member of the first Ashes test team, and then settled in England where he played for Derbyshire.^[3]

Frederick was born on 9th September 1853, in the Sydney suburb of Balmain, to Yorkshire born immigrant Edward Spofforth and Anna McDonnell, and was baptised on 28th December.^[4]

Frederick spent part of his childhood in New Zealand, but had returned to Glebe, New South Wales by 1863, where he lived for much of his youth in Derwent Street. He was educated privately at the Reverend John Pendrill’s Eglinton House on Glebe Road and, for a short time, at Sydney Grammar.^[5]

Like his father, Frederick became a clerk with the Bank of New South Wales, a career he combined with ever-increasing involvement with cricket. Frederick was impressed with Englishman George Tarrant’s over-arm style. Modifying his own “throwing” action, he started to bowl as fast as he could. Schoolboy opponents became afraid of his deliveries; in the summer of 1873 he took nine for ten against Sydney University, including seven clean bowled, the only batsman remaining being Edmund Barton. He played for the Newtown Cricket Club and on the Albert Ground, on Elizabeth Street opposite what is now Redfern Oval.^[5]

It was Frederick’s increasing subtlety with variations in style that earned him his nickname, “The Demon Bowler”. He worked tirelessly on different deliveries while maintaining an unfathomable demeanour: “the balls thunder like cannon-shots, yet he has the guile, when seemingly about to bowl his fastest, to drop in a slow, which is generally fatal to the batsman”.^[6]

Six feet three inches tall, weighing under twelve stone, with a Mephistophelian expression, he was “all legs, arms and nose” as he struck terror into his opponents. One batsman remembered passing him on the way to the crease: “His look went through me like a red hot poker”.^[7] “Always attack the batsman,” was Frederick’s advice. “Bear in mind that batsmen are sometimes nervous creatures … Go at him for all you are worth. If a batsman confides in you that he does not expect to make runs, encourage this idea; if you can make him believe he is in for a duck, he will probably get it.” He had a special delivery for those squinting into the sun, and a formidable leap. His ability as an all-round athlete was demonstrated in 1881 by his record sprint of 100 yards in 10.2 seconds.^[5]

In January 1874 Frederick played against W.G. Grace’s English team for New South Wales, taking three wickets for 14 runs. In December that year he took four for 22 and five for 50 against Victoria, giving his State its first victory in seven years. In the days before Federation, intercolonial hostilities ran high in politics, society and sport. Caught in a storm en route to England, New South Wales batsman and expert swimmer Charles Bannerman said he would save his brother and Spofforth, but wouldn’t risk his life for the Victorians. A riot occurred during the 1878-9 English visit to Sydney when Victorian umpire George Coulthard gave an unpopular run-out decision, the crowd declaring they wanted an English replacement. “We won’t have a Victorian!” Frederick withdrew from the 1876-7 test against England because the Victorian keeper Jack Blackham was preferred to that of his own colony.^[5]

It was the 1878 tour of England which established Frederick’s reputation. The Marylebone side was demolished at Lord’s where Frederick took 10 for 20 and bowled W.G. Grace for a duck. In 1879 Frederick took the first hat -trick in a Test match. In the original “Ashes” game he took 14 for 90, enabling Australia to win by seven runs. He shrugged off setbacks and never gave up on a match: “Recollect it only takes one ball to get a man out”.^[5]

Overall, Frederick played 18 Test matches. He toured England five times and in 1886 married Phillis Cadman, the daughter of a rich tea merchant.^[5][8] The couple lived for a time in Melbourne where Fred managed the Moonee Ponds branch of the National Bank of Australasia but settled permanently in England in 1888. While managing the Star Tea Company, he continued to play for Derbyshire and Hampstead, but after 1903 devoted most time to business and horticultural interests. On his last trip to Australia in 1924-5 he saw the visiting side defeated 4 -1.^[5]

Frederick is listed in the England Census of 1901^[9], living with his wife, two daughters, a governess, and a servant, at 111 Broadhurst Gardens, Hampstead, London. He was a tea merchant and grocer. This impressive property still stands today, and remains in appearance much as it would have done in Spofforth's day. He is also listed in the England Census of 1911^[10], living with his wife, two daughters, two sons, and three servants, at Ashley Cottage, Oatlands Drive, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. He was a tea merchant. This too remains an impressive residence today, a grade-II listed building bearing the address 11 Oatlands Drive. As an interesting aside, although born in Australia, Fred listed his nationality as "England".

A wealthy man, he died in Surrey in 1926, survived by his widow, two sons and two daughters.^[11][12] He was interred in Brookwood Cemetery.^[13] He left an estate valued at £169,268 9s 7d, which would be the approximate equivalent of £10,726,930 in 2021 money.

Frederick was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2011.^[14]

Fred Spofforth was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. ^[15]

Fred Spofforth was inducted into The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 1996^[16]

Further Reading

• "A New History of the Spofforth Family" (see page 22)
• Wikipedia profile
• Australian Dictionary of Biography entry
• The Guardian 20 Great Ashes Moments

Sources

1. ↑ 50 Test Wickets - Bowling Records - Fastest to 50 Wickets (ESPNcricinfo, https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283528.html : accessed 19 Jun 2020), entry for FR Spofforth (Aus).
2. ↑ First Test Hat-Trick - Bowling Records - Hat-Tricks (ESPNcricinfo, https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/136977.html : accessed 19 Jun 2020), entry for FR Spofforth.
3. ↑ Career Statistics - Australian Players - Frederick Spofforth (ESPNcricinfo, https://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/7663.html : accessed 19 Jun 2020
4. ↑ Birth & Baptism - "Australia Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTCG-HS9 : accessed 19 Jun 2020), Frederick Robert Spofforth, 1853.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6} Biography Glebe Society - Fred Spofforth (The Glebe Society Inc., https://www.glebesociety.org.au/street/francis-campbell/ : accessed 19 Jun 2020)
6. ↑ Demon Bowler - Polley, Martin. The History of Sport in Britain, 1880-1914: The varieties of sport. Page 628. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=a4x6L4ZZg8AC&pg=PA184&lpg=PA184&dq. Accessed 19 Jun 2020
7. ↑ Demon Bowler - Levison, Brian et al. All in a Day's Cricket: An Anthology of Outstanding Cricket Writing. 2012. Chapter 17. The Demon Bowler. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=mneeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT223&lpg=PT223&dq. Accessed 19 Jun 2020.
8. ↑ Marriage - "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVW9-P82 : accessed 19 Jun 2020), Frederick Robert Spofforth, 1886.
9. ↑ 1901 England Census: Frederick Spofforth, 1901 England Census [database on-line], via Ancestry.com, Class: RG13; Piece: 126; Folio: 143; Page: 28. Ancestry uk Record 7814 #1970005 (account required), or free-to-view Ancestry image accessed on Ancestry 22 April 2021.
10. ↑ 1911 England Census: Frederick Spofforth, 1911 England Census [database on-line], via Ancestry.com, The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Ancestry uk Record 2352 #41480205 (account required), or free-to-view Ancestry image accessed on Ancestry 22 April 2021.
11. ↑ Death - England & Wales General Register Office, GRO Online Index - Death (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content : accessed 19 Jun 2020), database entry for Spofforth, Frederick Robert (Age: 72), GRO Reference: 1926 June Quarter in Kingston, Volume 02A Page 553.
12. ↑ Probate - Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England © Crown copyright. Accessed 19 Jun 2020. Free Ancestry Image
13. ↑ Burial - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 19 June 2020), memorial page for Frederick Robert Spofforth (9 Sep 1853–4 Jun 1926), Find a Grave Memorial no. 38044804, citing Brookwood Cemetery, Brookwood, Woking Borough, Surrey, England ; Maintained by P J Barnes (contributor 46991204) .
14. ↑ ICC Hall of Fame - https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22420118/icc-news-alan-davidson,-frederick-spofforth-inducted-icc-hall-fame, accessed 19 Jun 2020.
15. ↑ Sport Australia Hall of Fame. first accessed online on the 30th of May 2022 at: https://sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame-member/frederick-spofforth/
16. ↑ Australian Cricket Hall of Fame first accessed online on the 30th of May, 2022 at: https://www.mcg.org.au/the-stadium/mcg-history/cricket/australian-cricket-hall-of-fame