Alfred Pullin
Encyclopedia
Alfred William Pullin, known by the pseudonym Old Ebor (30 July 1860 – 23 June 1934), was a British sports journalist who wrote about rugby union
and cricket
. He wrote mainly for British newspapers the Yorkshire Post
and the Yorkshire Evening Post
. Considered by critics to be one of the greatest authorities on his two sports in the country, he wrote a daily column using his pseudonym "Old Ebor" for 40 years. Most often associated with his reporting on Yorkshire County Cricket Club
, he has been credited as defining the role of a sports journalist. Two of his most widely known works were on cricket: Talks with Old English Cricketers and History of Yorkshire County Cricket, 1903–23.
, Carmarthenshire
in 1860, to Alfred Trask Pullin, a teacher, and his wife, Adelaide Evans. His father was ordained
in 1875 and moved to Yorkshire as a curate
. Pullin first worked in journalism in 1880, as Castleford
district reporter on the Wakefield Express
before moving to the Yorkshire Post
as Bradford
reporter. With a family background in rugby union
, he played for Cleckheaton as three quarter back in the early 1880s, but was not successful enough to pursue his sporting career. Later, he became a rugby referee.
and rugby union correspondent for the Yorkshire Post and the Yorkshire Evening Post
, writing under the pseudonym "Old Ebor". He followed the Yorkshire and England cricket and rugby teams around the country, not missing an England rugby international
for 40 years. Pullin's reputation quickly grew among followers of sport. He became very familiar to the Yorkshire cricket team
, becoming associated with them at a time when the team rose to a position of dominance, and the club remained very important to him. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
later wrote of him that "his writings were at all times discriminative, informative and voluminous". On average, he wrote two columns each day in summer, during the cricket season, and one per day in the winter. Len Hutton
later wrote that he and many others in Yorkshire had been brought up on Pullin's writing, while all cricketers were in his debt for the influence of his writing. Hutton himself as a young player appreciated Pullin's encouragement "in and out of print".
Pullin wrote several cricket books, including Talks with Old English Cricketers (1900), a biography of Alfred Shaw
(1902) and The History of Yorkshire County Cricket 1903–23 (1924). The first of these was his most widely known. It arose from a series of articles written over the winter of 1898 for the Yorkshire Evening Post, where he interviewed former players and reflected some of their experiences after retirement. Encountering the desperate circumstances in which many former players lived, Pullin was moved to campaign on their behalf: when investigating the whereabouts of John Thewlis
, Pullin was told "Think dead; if not, Manchester". Pullin later wrote about Thewlis, "The moral responsibilities of cricket managers, so far as a player is concerned, should surely not end with the termination of his active career. He ought not to be cast aside like an old shoe." Pullin's attacks on Yorkshire County Cricket Club and general cricket administration aroused public support and led to reforms such as winter pay for players; Thewlis, for example, was given work as a groundsman and provided with a pension. Lincoln Allison notes that the book reflected Pullin's close and sympathetic relationship with the players and describes it as a pioneering work as the unhappy experiences of cricketers after retirement was a phenomenon not widely known at the time. Derek Hodgson, in the official history of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, writes that Pullin "produced one of the most valuable source books on Victorian cricket".
Lord Hawke
, writing a foreword to his history of Yorkshire, referred to Pullin as the non-playing member of the county team: "His criticisms on our side form an invaluable guide to the captain, his enthusiasm is contagious, but never allows his judgement to become unbalanced, whilst his eloquent writings on cricket have gone to every part of the world in which there are lovers of the game...I feel bound to say to the esteemed author of this book—`Well done, thou faithful friend. In the 1920s, he was included in the Births and deaths section of Wisden, a rarity for non-players, due to his standing as a reporter. Wisden described him as one of the greatest authorities on cricket. Pullin retired in 1931. Although his reputation was later obscured by writers such as Neville Cardus
, Allison believes that "Pullin's greatest achievement was to define the role of the journalist in sport as the critic, popularizer, and interpreter of a particular team to its public."
E.W. Swanton, who was a press box colleague for the last few years of Pullin's career, describes him as "a thick, bearded fellow" and "a faithful old war-horse". Regarding his Talks with Old English Cricketers Swanton writes: "It was his revelations about the straits of poverty to which some of these heroes of the past were reduced that first roused the conscience of the public and the county committees, Yorkshire's not least."
at Lord's Cricket Ground
. He collapsed on a bus and was pronounced dead on his arrival at hospital. He was buried in Wakefield
cemetery. Hutton, who had just broken into the Yorkshire team aged 18, wrote that he "had just got into the habit of looking for that kindly, alert, grey-bearded face of Mr Pullin's either among the players before the day's play or in a Press-tent".
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and 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...
. He wrote mainly for British newspapers the Yorkshire Post
Yorkshire Post
The Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, a company owned by Johnston Press...
and the Yorkshire Evening Post
Yorkshire Evening Post
The Yorkshire Evening Post is a daily evening publication published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. Considered by critics to be one of the greatest authorities on his two sports in the country, he wrote a daily column using his pseudonym "Old Ebor" for 40 years. Most often associated with his reporting on Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
, he has been credited as defining the role of a sports journalist. Two of his most widely known works were on cricket: Talks with Old English Cricketers and History of Yorkshire County Cricket, 1903–23.
Early life
Pullin was born in AbergwiliAbergwili
Abergwili is a village in Carmarthenshire, West Wales, lying near to the junction of River Towy and River Gwili.- Bishop's Palace :It is known for its Bishop's Palace, home to the Bishop of St David's since 1542, when Bishop William Barlow transferred his palace from St David's to Abergwili,...
, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
in 1860, to Alfred Trask Pullin, a teacher, and his wife, Adelaide Evans. His father was ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
in 1875 and moved to Yorkshire as a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
. Pullin first worked in journalism in 1880, as Castleford
Castleford
Castleford is the largest of the "five towns" district in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is near Pontefract, and has a population of 37,525 according to the 2001 Census, but has seen a rise in recent years and is now around 45-50,000. To the north...
district reporter on the Wakefield Express
Wakefield Express
The Wakefield Express is the newspaper serving the City of Wakefield district in West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1852 and was the subject of a centenary film produced by Lindsay Anderson in 1952...
before moving to the Yorkshire Post
Yorkshire Post
The Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, a company owned by Johnston Press...
as Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
reporter. With a family background in rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, he played for Cleckheaton as three quarter back in the early 1880s, but was not successful enough to pursue his sporting career. Later, he became a rugby referee.
Sports journalist
During the 1890s, newspapers began to develop sports pages. Pullin became cricketCricket
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...
and rugby union correspondent for the Yorkshire Post and the Yorkshire Evening Post
Yorkshire Evening Post
The Yorkshire Evening Post is a daily evening publication published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, writing under the pseudonym "Old Ebor". He followed the Yorkshire and England cricket and rugby teams around the country, not missing an England rugby international
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
for 40 years. Pullin's reputation quickly grew among followers of sport. He became very familiar to the Yorkshire cricket team
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
, becoming associated with them at a time when the team rose to a position of dominance, and the club remained very important to him. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
later wrote of him that "his writings were at all times discriminative, informative and voluminous". On average, he wrote two columns each day in summer, during the cricket season, and one per day in the winter. Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
later wrote that he and many others in Yorkshire had been brought up on Pullin's writing, while all cricketers were in his debt for the influence of his writing. Hutton himself as a young player appreciated Pullin's encouragement "in and out of print".
Pullin wrote several cricket books, including Talks with Old English Cricketers (1900), a biography of Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings . He who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888...
(1902) and The History of Yorkshire County Cricket 1903–23 (1924). The first of these was his most widely known. It arose from a series of articles written over the winter of 1898 for the Yorkshire Evening Post, where he interviewed former players and reflected some of their experiences after retirement. Encountering the desperate circumstances in which many former players lived, Pullin was moved to campaign on their behalf: when investigating the whereabouts of John Thewlis
John Thewlis Senior
John Thewlis senior was an English first-class cricketer, who played in forty four matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and fifty six first-class matches in all between 1862 and 1875...
, Pullin was told "Think dead; if not, Manchester". Pullin later wrote about Thewlis, "The moral responsibilities of cricket managers, so far as a player is concerned, should surely not end with the termination of his active career. He ought not to be cast aside like an old shoe." Pullin's attacks on Yorkshire County Cricket Club and general cricket administration aroused public support and led to reforms such as winter pay for players; Thewlis, for example, was given work as a groundsman and provided with a pension. Lincoln Allison notes that the book reflected Pullin's close and sympathetic relationship with the players and describes it as a pioneering work as the unhappy experiences of cricketers after retirement was a phenomenon not widely known at the time. Derek Hodgson, in the official history of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, writes that Pullin "produced one of the most valuable source books on Victorian cricket".
Lord Hawke
Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke
Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke of Towton , generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer who played major roles in the sport's administration....
, writing a foreword to his history of Yorkshire, referred to Pullin as the non-playing member of the county team: "His criticisms on our side form an invaluable guide to the captain, his enthusiasm is contagious, but never allows his judgement to become unbalanced, whilst his eloquent writings on cricket have gone to every part of the world in which there are lovers of the game...I feel bound to say to the esteemed author of this book—`Well done, thou faithful friend. In the 1920s, he was included in the Births and deaths section of Wisden, a rarity for non-players, due to his standing as a reporter. Wisden described him as one of the greatest authorities on cricket. Pullin retired in 1931. Although his reputation was later obscured by writers such as Neville Cardus
Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus CBE was an English writer and critic, best known for his writing on music and cricket. For many years, he wrote for The Manchester Guardian. He was untrained in music, and his style of criticism was subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast with his critical...
, Allison believes that "Pullin's greatest achievement was to define the role of the journalist in sport as the critic, popularizer, and interpreter of a particular team to its public."
E.W. Swanton, who was a press box colleague for the last few years of Pullin's career, describes him as "a thick, bearded fellow" and "a faithful old war-horse". Regarding his Talks with Old English Cricketers Swanton writes: "It was his revelations about the straits of poverty to which some of these heroes of the past were reduced that first roused the conscience of the public and the county committees, Yorkshire's not least."
Personal life
Pullin was married to Alice Ramsden, and the couple had three sons. He died in 1934 while travelling to a Test matchTest 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...
at Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. He collapsed on a bus and was pronounced dead on his arrival at hospital. He was buried in Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
cemetery. Hutton, who had just broken into the Yorkshire team aged 18, wrote that he "had just got into the habit of looking for that kindly, alert, grey-bearded face of Mr Pullin's either among the players before the day's play or in a Press-tent".