C B Fry
Encyclopedia
Charles Burgess Fry, known as C. B. Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English
polymath
; an outstanding sport
sman, politician
, diplomat
, academic, teacher
, writer
, editor
and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricket
er. John Arlott
summed him up thus: "Charles Fry could be autocratic, angry and self-willed: he was also magnanimous, extravagant, generous, elegant, brilliant - and fun [...] he was probably the most variously gifted Englishman of any age." Neville Cardus
wrote that he was "a national gallery and a theatre and a forum".
Fry's achievements on the sporting field included representing England at both cricket and football, an FA Cup Final appearance for Southampton F.C. and equalling the then world record for long jump. He also reputedly turned down the throne of Albania. In later life, he suffered mental health problems, but in his 70s was still able to perform his party piece: jumping backwards onto a mantel
from a standing position.
the son of a civil servant. Both sides of his family had once been wealthy but by 1872 were unexceptional. Winning a scholarship, he was educated at Repton School
and Wadham College, Oxford
. At Repton his academic career was patchy at first. Finding himself second from last in his form and with his scholarship in jeopardy he worked hard to gain promotion every term until he was at the top. His strengths were in Classics, his poorest subject was Mathematics. Fry gained his headmaster's permission to study Thucydides
instead of Maths and thus dispensed with the subject for the rest of his academic career. Repton was unusual in having a stronger tradition in football than rugby union. Fry played for the under 16 Repton side in his first term, aged 13.
He was coached by Arthur Forman
and was captain of the cricket and football XIs. He also won trophies for athletics. Before the age of 17 he played for the Casuals in the FA Cup.
Having won a further scholarship to study at Wadham College, Oxford
, Fry won his Blues in Association football, cricket and athletics. He narrowly failed to win a Blue at rugby union. When he was only twenty-one, the magazine Vanity Fair
published a caricature of him in its issue of 19 April 1894 and commented: "He is sometimes known as "C.B."; but it has lately been suggested that he should be called "Charles III"."
Fry was an exceptional scholar and it was expected he would achieve a first-class degree in Classics and enter the Indian Civil Service with an illustrious career ahead of him. Although he rarely discussed his last year at Oxford it seems he had a serious mental breakdown shortly before his exams. His mother was ill and his financial situation was dire. His father was unable to support him financially and his only income was £80 per year scholarship money at time when Wadham students often had incomes of over £400. At one point Fry resorted to nude modelling to earn money. He was awarded a fourth class degree.
With his career plans ruined by academic failure Fry turned to his other talents, specifically football and cricket. In 1895–96 he was chosen for Lord Hawke's XI which toured South Africa.
ing achievements.
He played for Surrey
in 1891 (but not in any first-class fixtures), Oxford University
1892–1895, Sussex
1894–1908 (captain 1904–1908) and Hampshire
1909–1921. First selected by England in 1896, he captained England in his final six Test matches in 1912, winning four and drawing two. He twice scored Test centuries: 144 v Australia in 1905, when he responded to suggestions that he could only score in front of the wicket with extensive use of the cut shot, hitting 23 fours in 3½ hours, and 129 v South Africa against the South African quartet of googly bowlers (Bert Vogler
, Reggie Schwarz
, Aubrey Faulkner
, Gordon White
).
A highly effective right-handed batsman who batted at or near the top of the order, Fry scored over 30,000 first-class
runs at an average of over 50 (a particularly high figure for an era when scores were generally lower than today). At the end of his cricketing career in 1921, he had the second highest average of any player who had retired with over 10,000 runs: only his Sussex and England colleague Ranjitsinhji had retired with a better career average. He headed the batting averages for five English seasons (in 1901, 1903, 1907, 1911 and 1912). Against Yorkshire
, the strongest County bowling attack (George Hirst, Wilfred Rhodes
, Schofield Haigh
, Stanley Jackson
) of Fry's time, he averaged a remarkable 63.6 over the course of his career, including 234 in 1903 and back-to-back scores of 177 and 229 in 1904.
In his early career Fry was an enthusiastic and successful fast bowler. He returned his career best figures of 6–78 in the 1895 Varsity match, and he twice took ten wickets in a match: 5–75 and 5–102 for the Gentlemen against I Zingari in 1895, and 5–81 and 5–66 for Sussex against Nottinghamshire in 1896 (a match in which he also scored 89 and 65). This was unusual amongst gentleman amateurs and he regularly opened the bowling for University sides and the Gentlemen. The late 1890s saw a re emergence of the throwing controversy
. Several professional bowlers including Arthur Mold
and Ernie Jones
were no balled and forced to retire. Fry's bowling action was criticised by opponents and team mates alike and it was only a matter of time before he too was no balled (by Jim Phillips
), despite his status as a gentleman. He barely bowled after 1900.
He scored 94 first-class centuries, including an unprecedented six consecutive centuries in 1901. No-one else has scored more consecutive hundreds. His made highest first-class innings of 258 not out in 1911, a season which led to his recall to the England Test team, and appointment as captain, in 1912. In 1921 he was invited to captain England again at the age of 49, but declined. His career is counted one of the most notable in the history of cricket.
For both Sussex and England, he was closely associated with the outstanding cricketer Prince Ranjitsinhji, the future Jam Sahib
of Nawanagar
. Their contrasting batting styles complemented one another (Fry being an orthodox, technically upright batsman, and Ranji being noted for his innovation, particularly his use of the leg glance). Their friendship lasted well into the 1920s. When Ranjitsinhji became one of India's three representatives at the League of Nations
, he took Fry with him as a speech writer (see Politics, below).
His son, Stephen Fry
, his grandson, Charles Fry
and his cousin, Kenneth Fry, all played first-class cricket.
record of 23 feet 6½ inches (7.17 m) in 1893 (tied with the American Charles Reber). This is often incorrectly claimed to have stood as a world record for 21 years, but this length of time actually only refers to how long he held the varsity record; his shared world record was broken in September 1894.
At the world's first international match, Oxford v Yale at the Queen's Club, West Kensington, in 1894, Fry came third in the long jump and won the 100 yards, though his sprint victory caused some controversy. While the American sprinters started in the crouch position on all fours, the British had not yet adopted this style and stood poised at the line. Fry insisted that he be allowed to suspend one foot in front of the starting line, hovering in mid-air, above the ground.
.
He learned football at Repton School
and was awarded his Oxford University
Blue for soccer. In 1894 he joined the famous amateur club the Corinthians; although extremely proud of his amateur status, he decided that entering the professional game would enhance his chance of international honours. He chose Southampton
as the leading lights in the Southern League
and because The Dell was conveniently close to his home. He was registered as a Saints player in 1898, but his debut was delayed until 26 December 1900 (against Tottenham Hotspur
).
Fry's game was probably a little too refined for the hurly-burly of professional football and he never relished the physical excesses of some of the tackles. He achieved his aim of international honours when (along with Southampton's goalkeeper, Jack Robinson
) he was picked for England for the match against Ireland
on 9 March 1901, played in Southampton.
The following season (1901–1902), The Saints reached the FA Cup Final, which they lost to Sheffield United
in a replay. Although he had moments during the cup run in which he excelled, his tackling ability has been questioned. Fry played in all eight of the FA Cup games for Southampton that season, but in only nine League matches, with Bill Henderson
being forced to give way whenever Fry was available.
The following season he played twice at centre-forward, without success, but Southampton released him partly due to his lack of availability. He joined local rivals, Portsmouth
, and made his debut for them on 21 January 1903. He became injured soon afterwards, and retired from the game.
for the Oxford University RFC
, Blackheath and the Barbarians
.
, having shown, according to Alan Gibson
, that he was a scholar comparable with John Simon
and F.E. Smith, his contemporaries at Wadham. He became a teacher at Charterhouse
, and in 1908 he became Director of the Training Ship Mercury
, a nautical school primarily designed to prepare boys for service in the Royal Navy
(though initially this was primarily the interest of his wife Beatrice). He and his wife devoted almost forty years to this work. Though it was less lauded than most of his achievements, he was very proud of it. He was eventually given the rank of captain in the Royal Naval Reserve
(RNR). Alan Gibson wrote: "He... would stride about in his uniform looking, as I think it was Robertson-Glasgow
who said, every inch like six admirals."
candidate for parliament for the Brighton constituency
. Gladstone sent him a goodwill message, although Fry insisted that he was an independent
. He won 22,059 votes, 4,785 fewer than the Conservative victor. He later fought the seats of Banbury
, losing by just 224 votes, and Oxford
, where again he was narrowly defeated.
Through his friendship with Ranjitsinhji, Fry became an adviser to the India
n delegation at the League of Nations
(which included Ranji) in Geneva
. He claimed to have been offered the throne of Albania
while at Geneva, in 1920. Whether this offer genuinely occurred has been questioned, as Fry was famous for telling improbable stories and there is a lack of any mention of this offer by Albanian sources.
He is also believed to have written much of The Jubilee Book of Cricket (1897), of which the nominal author was Ranji. He wrote prefaces and introductions for a number of other cricket books. He wrote articles on cricket and football for Strand Magazine
in the early years of the 20th century. In the 1930s he wrote a column for the London Evening Standard
, which as well as cricket covered many other topics. The column was credited with a considerable increase in the paper's circulation.
He launched and edited two magazines for boys, C.B. Fry's Magazine and The Captain, but neither was very successful. In his magazines he promoted toys such as the diabolo
.
His broadcasting career began in 1936 with commentary for the BBC on a match between Middlesex and Surrey. He declined to join the panel on Any Questions but in 1945 began a successful stint on the Brains Trust
.
In 1946 he was one of the BBC radio
commentary team for the Tests between England and India
. In 1953 he gave a 3 hour interview to the BBC which was edited down to 30 minutes for the programme Frankly Speaking. In 1955 he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews
for the new television show "This is your life
". Amongst the friends gathered to relive his best moments were Jack Hobbs
and Sydney Barnes
.
in his book 'Pageant of Cricket', C.B. Fry was occasionally seen running stark naked down Brighton Beach during his less stable interludes.
In 1934, he met Adolf Hitler
and was mesmerised by him. He failed to persuade von Ribbentrop
that Nazi Germany
should take up cricket to Test level. Some Hitler Youth
were welcomed at TS Mercury
and Fry was still enthusiastic about them in 1938, just prior to the outbreak of war. He retired from his position at TS Mercury in 1950. He died in 1956, in Childs Hill
, a "grand old man of sport".
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
; an outstanding sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
sman, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, diplomat
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
, academic, teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a 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. John Arlott
John Arlott
Leslie Thomas John Arlott OBE was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special. He was also a poet, wine connoisseur and former police officer in Hampshire...
summed him up thus: "Charles Fry could be autocratic, angry and self-willed: he was also magnanimous, extravagant, generous, elegant, brilliant - and fun [...] he was probably the most variously gifted Englishman of any age." 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...
wrote that he was "a national gallery and a theatre and a forum".
Fry's achievements on the sporting field included representing England at both cricket and football, an FA Cup Final appearance for Southampton F.C. and equalling the then world record for long jump. He also reputedly turned down the throne of Albania. In later life, he suffered mental health problems, but in his 70s was still able to perform his party piece: jumping backwards onto a mantel
Fireplace mantel
Fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and can include elaborate designs extending to the ceiling...
from a standing position.
Education
He was born in CroydonCroydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
the son of a civil servant. Both sides of his family had once been wealthy but by 1872 were unexceptional. Winning a scholarship, he was educated at Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
and Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
. At Repton his academic career was patchy at first. Finding himself second from last in his form and with his scholarship in jeopardy he worked hard to gain promotion every term until he was at the top. His strengths were in Classics, his poorest subject was Mathematics. Fry gained his headmaster's permission to study Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
instead of Maths and thus dispensed with the subject for the rest of his academic career. Repton was unusual in having a stronger tradition in football than rugby union. Fry played for the under 16 Repton side in his first term, aged 13.
He was coached by Arthur Forman
Arthur Forman
Arthur Francis Emilius Forman was an English schoolmaster and cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1877 and 1882....
and was captain of the cricket and football XIs. He also won trophies for athletics. Before the age of 17 he played for the Casuals in the FA Cup.
Having won a further scholarship to study at Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
, Fry won his Blues in Association football, cricket and athletics. He narrowly failed to win a Blue at rugby union. When he was only twenty-one, the magazine Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair caricatures
The following is a list of caricatures published by the British magazine Vanity Fair -Categories:- Caricatures :...
published a caricature of him in its issue of 19 April 1894 and commented: "He is sometimes known as "C.B."; but it has lately been suggested that he should be called "Charles III"."
Fry was an exceptional scholar and it was expected he would achieve a first-class degree in Classics and enter the Indian Civil Service with an illustrious career ahead of him. Although he rarely discussed his last year at Oxford it seems he had a serious mental breakdown shortly before his exams. His mother was ill and his financial situation was dire. His father was unable to support him financially and his only income was £80 per year scholarship money at time when Wadham students often had incomes of over £400. At one point Fry resorted to nude modelling to earn money. He was awarded a fourth class degree.
With his career plans ruined by academic failure Fry turned to his other talents, specifically football and cricket. In 1895–96 he was chosen for Lord Hawke's XI which toured South Africa.
Cricket
In sport, Fry was most noted for his 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...
ing achievements.
He played for Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in 1891 (but not in any first-class fixtures), Oxford University
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...
1892–1895, Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
1894–1908 (captain 1904–1908) and Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
1909–1921. First selected by England in 1896, he captained England in his final six Test matches in 1912, winning four and drawing two. He twice scored Test centuries: 144 v Australia in 1905, when he responded to suggestions that he could only score in front of the wicket with extensive use of the cut shot, hitting 23 fours in 3½ hours, and 129 v South Africa against the South African quartet of googly bowlers (Bert Vogler
Bert Vogler
Albert Edward Ernest Vogler was a South African cricketer.Vogler was born in Swartwater, Queenstown, Eastern Cape. He began his cricket career for Natal as an attacking lower order right-handed batsman and fast medium bowler before acquiring the googly from Reggie Schwarz on that player’s return...
, Reggie Schwarz
Reggie Schwarz
Major Reginald Oscar Schwarz MC, known as Reggie was a South African cricketer and international rugby union footballer.-Early life:...
, Aubrey Faulkner
Aubrey Faulkner
George Aubrey Faulkner was a leading cricketer for South Africa for two decades.-Early life:...
, Gordon White
Gordon White
Gordon Charles White was a South African cricketer who played in 17 Tests from 1906 to 1912.White was born in Port St Johns, Cape Province. He died in 1918 in Gaza, Palestine.-References:*...
).
A highly effective right-handed batsman who batted at or near the top of the order, Fry scored over 30,000 first-class
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...
runs at an average of over 50 (a particularly high figure for an era when scores were generally lower than today). At the end of his cricketing career in 1921, he had the second highest average of any player who had retired with over 10,000 runs: only his Sussex and England colleague Ranjitsinhji had retired with a better career average. He headed the batting averages for five English seasons (in 1901, 1903, 1907, 1911 and 1912). Against Yorkshire
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....
, the strongest County bowling attack (George Hirst, Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets in and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches...
, Schofield Haigh
Schofield Haigh
Schofield Haigh was a Yorkshire and England cricketer. He played for eighteen seasons for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, for England from the 1898/99 tour to 1912, and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1901....
, Stanley Jackson
Stanley Jackson
Sir Francis Stanley Jackson, GCSI, GCIE, PC, KStJ , known as the Honourable Stanley Jackson during his playing career, was an English cricketer, soldier and Conservative Party politician.-Early life:...
) of Fry's time, he averaged a remarkable 63.6 over the course of his career, including 234 in 1903 and back-to-back scores of 177 and 229 in 1904.
In his early career Fry was an enthusiastic and successful fast bowler. He returned his career best figures of 6–78 in the 1895 Varsity match, and he twice took ten wickets in a match: 5–75 and 5–102 for the Gentlemen against I Zingari in 1895, and 5–81 and 5–66 for Sussex against Nottinghamshire in 1896 (a match in which he also scored 89 and 65). This was unusual amongst gentleman amateurs and he regularly opened the bowling for University sides and the Gentlemen. The late 1890s saw a re emergence of the throwing controversy
Throwing (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, throwing, commonly referred to as chucking, is an illegal bowling action which occurs when a bowler straightens their arm when delivering the ball. The Laws of Cricket specify that a bowler's arm must be fully extended and rotated about the shoulder to impart velocity to...
. Several professional bowlers including Arthur Mold
Arthur Mold
Arthur Webb Mold was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1889 and 1901. He played three Test matches for England in 1893 and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1892. A fast bowler, he was one of the most effective bowlers...
and Ernie Jones
Ernie Jones
Ernest Jones was an Australian sportsman, playing Test cricket and Australian rules football....
were no balled and forced to retire. Fry's bowling action was criticised by opponents and team mates alike and it was only a matter of time before he too was no balled (by Jim Phillips
Jim Phillips
James Phillips was a Victorian First-class cricketer and Test match umpire....
), despite his status as a gentleman. He barely bowled after 1900.
He scored 94 first-class centuries, including an unprecedented six consecutive centuries in 1901. No-one else has scored more consecutive hundreds. His made highest first-class innings of 258 not out in 1911, a season which led to his recall to the England Test team, and appointment as captain, in 1912. In 1921 he was invited to captain England again at the age of 49, but declined. His career is counted one of the most notable in the history of cricket.
For both Sussex and England, he was closely associated with the outstanding cricketer Prince Ranjitsinhji, the future Jam Sahib
Jam Sahib
Jam Sahib is the title of the ruling prince of Nawanagar, now known as Jamnagar, an Indian princely state. The Jam Sahibs were from the Jam Jadeja clan , who are a branch of Samma Rajput...
of Nawanagar
Nawanagar
Navanagar was an Indian princely state, in Kathiawar region, situated on the south of the Gulf of Kutch. It was ruled by the Jadeja dynasty from its formation in c 1540 until 1948 when it succeed to newly formed, India. The district is now known as Jamnagar. It had an area of and a population...
. Their contrasting batting styles complemented one another (Fry being an orthodox, technically upright batsman, and Ranji being noted for his innovation, particularly his use of the leg glance). Their friendship lasted well into the 1920s. When Ranjitsinhji became one of India's three representatives at the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, he took Fry with him as a speech writer (see Politics, below).
His son, Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry (cricketer)
Stephen Fry was an English cricketer. Fry was a right-handed batsman who played primarily as a wicketkeeper.Fry, the son of Hampshire and England legend C.B. Fry, made his first-class debut for Hampshire in 1922 against local rivals Sussex at the County Ground, Southampton...
, his grandson, Charles Fry
Charles Fry
Charles Anthony Fry, born 14 January 1940, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire is an ex-First Class cricketer and now a cricket administrator. He is the grandson of the legendary C B Fry – his father Stephen Fry also played First Class cricket for Hampshire....
and his cousin, Kenneth Fry, all played first-class cricket.
Athletics
In athletics, Fry equalled the then world long jumpLong jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
record of 23 feet 6½ inches (7.17 m) in 1893 (tied with the American Charles Reber). This is often incorrectly claimed to have stood as a world record for 21 years, but this length of time actually only refers to how long he held the varsity record; his shared world record was broken in September 1894.
At the world's first international match, Oxford v Yale at the Queen's Club, West Kensington, in 1894, Fry came third in the long jump and won the 100 yards, though his sprint victory caused some controversy. While the American sprinters started in the crouch position on all fours, the British had not yet adopted this style and stood poised at the line. Fry insisted that he be allowed to suspend one foot in front of the starting line, hovering in mid-air, above the ground.
Football
Fry's achievements also extended to association footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
.
He learned football at Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
and was awarded his Oxford University
Oxford University A.F.C.
Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford.-History:Formed in 1872, the club was a giant of the 1870s, winning the FA Cup 2-0 against Royal Engineers in 1874 and finishing the competition as runners up in 1873, 1877 and 1880, the...
Blue for soccer. In 1894 he joined the famous amateur club the Corinthians; although extremely proud of his amateur status, he decided that entering the professional game would enhance his chance of international honours. He chose Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
as the leading lights in the Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
and because The Dell was conveniently close to his home. He was registered as a Saints player in 1898, but his debut was delayed until 26 December 1900 (against Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
).
Fry's game was probably a little too refined for the hurly-burly of professional football and he never relished the physical excesses of some of the tackles. He achieved his aim of international honours when (along with Southampton's goalkeeper, Jack Robinson
Jack Robinson (footballer)
John William "Jack" Robinson , was a professional footballer who played for, among others Derby County, Southampton and England.-Football career:...
) he was picked for England for the match against Ireland
Ireland national football team (IFA)
The Ireland national football team represented Ireland at association football, it was organised by the Irish FA , and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales...
on 9 March 1901, played in Southampton.
The following season (1901–1902), The Saints reached the FA Cup Final, which they lost to Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
in a replay. Although he had moments during the cup run in which he excelled, his tackling ability has been questioned. Fry played in all eight of the FA Cup games for Southampton that season, but in only nine League matches, with Bill Henderson
Bill Henderson (footballer born 1878)
William "Bill" Henderson was a Scottish footballer who played as a full-back for various clubs in England at the turn of the 20th century.-Early career:...
being forced to give way whenever Fry was available.
The following season he played twice at centre-forward, without success, but Southampton released him partly due to his lack of availability. He joined local rivals, Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
, and made his debut for them on 21 January 1903. He became injured soon afterwards, and retired from the game.
Rugby union
Fry also played Rugby unionRugby 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...
for the Oxford University RFC
Oxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...
, Blackheath and the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
.
Acrobatics
According to a Manchester newspaper, Fry was able, from a stationary position on the floor, to leap backwards onto a mantelpiece.Career outside sport
Teaching
Fry graduated from OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, having shown, according to Alan Gibson
Alan Gibson
Norman Alan Stanley Gibson was an English journalist, writer and radio broadcaster, best known for his work in connection with cricket, though he also sometimes covered football and rugby union...
, that he was a scholar comparable with John Simon
John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon
John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon GCSI GCVO OBE PC was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second. He is one of only three people to have served as Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer,...
and F.E. Smith, his contemporaries at Wadham. He became a teacher at Charterhouse
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
, and in 1908 he became Director of the Training Ship Mercury
TS Mercury
The Training Ship Mercury, or the TS Mercury, was a shore-based naval training establishment at Hamble in Hampshire.-History:The T S Mercury was one of a number of similar, mostly static training ships located round the coasts of Britain and founded during the Victorian period to provide boy...
, a nautical school primarily designed to prepare boys for service in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
(though initially this was primarily the interest of his wife Beatrice). He and his wife devoted almost forty years to this work. Though it was less lauded than most of his achievements, he was very proud of it. He was eventually given the rank of captain in the Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
(RNR). Alan Gibson wrote: "He... would stride about in his uniform looking, as I think it was Robertson-Glasgow
R. C. Robertson-Glasgow
Raymond Charles 'Crusoe' Robertson-Glasgow was a British cricketer and cricket writer....
who said, every inch like six admirals."
Politics
He stood (unsuccessfully) as a LiberalLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
candidate for parliament for the Brighton constituency
Brighton (UK Parliament constituency)
Brighton was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until it was divided into single-member seats from the United Kingdom general election, 1950...
. Gladstone sent him a goodwill message, although Fry insisted that he was an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
. He won 22,059 votes, 4,785 fewer than the Conservative victor. He later fought the seats of Banbury
Banbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Banbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a strongly Conservative seat.The constituency was created January 26, 1554 through the efforts of Henry Stafford and Thomas Denton...
, losing by just 224 votes, and Oxford
Oxford by-election, 1924
The Oxford by-election, 1924 was a parliamentary by-election held on 5 June 1924 for the British House of Commons constituency of Oxford. The seat had become vacant when the Liberal Member of Parliament Frank Gray had been unseated on petition, after his agent had falsified the account for his...
, where again he was narrowly defeated.
Through his friendship with Ranjitsinhji, Fry became an adviser to the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n delegation at the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
(which included Ranji) in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. He claimed to have been offered the throne of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
while at Geneva, in 1920. Whether this offer genuinely occurred has been questioned, as Fry was famous for telling improbable stories and there is a lack of any mention of this offer by Albanian sources.
Writing, editing, publishing and broadcasting
The books which Fry wrote include:- The Book of Cricket: A New Gallery of Famous Players (editor, appeared in 14 weekly parts, 1899)
- Giants of the Game: Being Reminiscences of the Stars of Cricket from Daft Down to the Present Day (with RH Lyttleton, WJ Ford & G Giffen, c1900)
- Great Batsmen: Their Methods at a Glance (with George W BeldamGeorge BeldamGeorge William Beldam was an English cricketer and a pioneer of action photography in sport.George Beldam came from a cricketing family of Huguenot refugees...
, who provided the photographs, 1905) - Great Bowlers and Fielders: Their Methods at a Glance (with George W Beldam, who again provided the photographs, 1907)
- A Mother's Son (a novel written in collaboration with his wife, 1907)
- Cricket: Batsmanship (1912)
- Key-Book of The League of Nations
- Life Worth Living: Some Phases Of An Englishman (1939, his autobiography)
- Cricket On The Green For Club And Village Cricketers And For Boys (with RS Young, 1947)
He is also believed to have written much of The Jubilee Book of Cricket (1897), of which the nominal author was Ranji. He wrote prefaces and introductions for a number of other cricket books. He wrote articles on cricket and football for Strand Magazine
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
in the early years of the 20th century. In the 1930s he wrote a column for the London Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, which as well as cricket covered many other topics. The column was credited with a considerable increase in the paper's circulation.
He launched and edited two magazines for boys, C.B. Fry's Magazine and The Captain, but neither was very successful. In his magazines he promoted toys such as the diabolo
Diabolo
The diabolo is a juggling prop consisting of a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string tied to two sticks held one in each hand. A huge variety of tricks are possible using the sticks, string, and various body parts...
.
His broadcasting career began in 1936 with commentary for the BBC on a match between Middlesex and Surrey. He declined to join the panel on Any Questions but in 1945 began a successful stint on the Brains Trust
The Brains Trust
The Brains Trust was a popular informational BBC radio and later television programme in the United Kingdom during the 1940s and 50s.- History :...
.
In 1946 he was one of the BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
commentary team for the Tests between England and India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
. In 1953 he gave a 3 hour interview to the BBC which was edited down to 30 minutes for the programme Frankly Speaking. In 1955 he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, CBE , was an Irish television presenter based in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:...
for the new television show "This is your life
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
". Amongst the friends gathered to relive his best moments were Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
and Sydney Barnes
Sydney Barnes
Sydney Francis Barnes was an English professional cricketer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the sport's history...
.
Later life
In the 1920s, Fry's mental health started to deteriorate severely. He had encountered mental health problems earlier in his life, experiencing a breakdown during his final year at Oxford which meant that although academically brilliant he took a very poor degree. In India in the late 1920s, he had a major breakdown and became deeply paranoid. For the rest of his life, he dressed in bizarrely unconventional clothes and often had frighteningly eccentric interludes. He developed a horror of Indians, including his old friend Ranjitsinhji. He did recover enough to become a popular writer on cricket and other sports, and even into his sixties he entertained hopes of becoming a Hollywood star. According to noted cricket writer David FrithDavid Frith
David Edward John Frith is a leading cricket writer and historian. Cricinfo describes him as "an author, historian, and founding editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly".-Life and career:...
in his book 'Pageant of Cricket', C.B. Fry was occasionally seen running stark naked down Brighton Beach during his less stable interludes.
In 1934, he met Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and was mesmerised by him. He failed to persuade von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. He was later hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg Trials.-Early life:...
that Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
should take up cricket to Test level. Some Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
were welcomed at TS Mercury
TS Mercury
The Training Ship Mercury, or the TS Mercury, was a shore-based naval training establishment at Hamble in Hampshire.-History:The T S Mercury was one of a number of similar, mostly static training ships located round the coasts of Britain and founded during the Victorian period to provide boy...
and Fry was still enthusiastic about them in 1938, just prior to the outbreak of war. He retired from his position at TS Mercury in 1950. He died in 1956, in Childs Hill
Childs Hill
Childs Hill, now the southernmost ward of the London Borough of Barnet, although of historic origin, is a late-19th-century suburban development situated 5 miles northwest of Charing Cross bordered by the A41 and Dunstan Road, and centred on the junction of Cricklewood Lane and Finchley Road...
, a "grand old man of sport".
See also
- PolymathPolymathA polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
- List of English cricket and football players
- List of cricket and rugby union players
External links
- Cricinfo Player Profile : Charles Burgess Fry
- New light shed on CB Fry: A brilliant cricketer, a memorable character
- Memories of Training Ship (TS) Mercury, 1941
- C. B. Fry — biography on the Oxford University Association Football Club web site