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George Ulyett: 13 facts about Yorkshire’s ‘Happy Jack’

There have been greater cricketers than George Ulyett, but few as popular.

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George-Ulyett
Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

George Ulyett, born October 21, 1851, could generate reasonable pace off the pitch and could hit the ball hard and clean. A Yorkshire superstar of the 1880s, Ulyett played the first ever Test, was a proficient footballer, and was one of the most popular cricketers of his era, which earned him the moniker ‘Happy Jack’. Abhishek Mukherjee lists 13 facts about one of Yorkshire’s favourite sons.

There have been greater cricketers than George Ulyett, but few as popular. That, of course, does not mean that there was any doubt regarding Ulyett’s greatness: one of the superstars of English cricket in the nascent days of Test cricket, Ulyett was one of those who formed the backbone of the Yorkshire side.

Let us first put the numbers out of the way: Ulyett played 537 First-Class matches in all, scoring 20,823 runs at 23.44, taking 653 wickets at 20.14, and holding 368 catches. 25 of these were Tests, in which the numbers read 949 runs at 24.33, 50 wickets at 20.40, and 19 catches. The batting numbers were impressive given the era in which he played.

In 21 seasons Ulyett topped the 1,000-run mark 10 times, including a run of 7 between 1881 and 1887. He also took more than 50 wickets thrice.

What was Ulyett like? When he played the first ever Test, Melbourne Argus reported that he was not hesitant to bowl bouncers, emphasising that Ulyett was “pitching his cannon shots… not more than halfway down.”

He was also a clean hitter. Gifted with an immense physique and powerful arms, Ulyett once cleared the Old Lord’s pavilion. Alfred Lyttelton wrote that “he pounded away straight and hard but I never thought that he used his head much.” James Coldham wrote that “at the time of his death in 1898 Ulyett was universally regarded as the greatest professional batsman Yorkshire had ever produced.”

He was also a spectacular fielder. Punch actually recommended Ulyett be placed “in the forefront in battle to catch cannon balls.” James Coldham added: “In the field his big hands pouched all manner of unlikely catches.”

Let us now delve a bit deeper into other aspects of this great cricketer.

1. An early giant

Ulyett’s last (and 25th) Test was the 33rd in history: when he retired only Jack Blackham had played more Tests (27), and he was from Australia. His Test numbers suggest that Ulyett missed out on the 1,000 run-50 wicket double by a whisker. No one else was in the vicinity of the double.

To put things into perspective, of the 11 Englishmen who played the first Test, Alfred Shaw and Tom Emmett shared the longest Test careers after Ulyett. They played only 7 Tests each.

Ulyett toured Australia five times between 1876-77 and 1887-88. He also toured South Africa in 1888-89, becoming one of few men to be a part of the first Tests played by three countries. He also toured North America in 1889.

Ulyett also played the first 3 Tests in history. In the second Test he got 52 and 63, becoming the first cricketer to score two fifties in the same Test. In the eighth Test ever he scored 149 and 64, becoming the first to score a hundred a fifty in the same Test as well as achieving a match aggregate of 200. That 149 was the first Test hundred by an Englishman in Australia. And when he took 7 for 36 at Lord’s in 1884, they were the second-best figures in history at that point.

At Lord’s in 1884 Ulyett ran through Australia with figures of 39.1-23-36-7 (four-ball overs). From 60 for 1 Australia crashed to 145. This included the iconic caught-and-bowled that got rid of George Bonnor: the massive Australian hit it back so hard that everyone present, including the fielders and non-striker George Giffen, looked in the direction of the straight boundary, got confused, and were stunned to see Ulyett celebrating and Bonnor staring in a mix of awe and disgust.

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AA Thomson narrated the incident thus: “Happy Jack shot out a hand. There was a crack that echoed round the ground like a pistol shot and, by some miracle, the ball stuck.” In fact, Ulyett got a reprimand from WG Grace, as professional as anyone to have taken field. The Doctor called Ulyett “a damn fool for attempting anything so foolish; he was lucky to have any fingers left”. Lord Harris concurred.

There was more: in his second Test he became the first to score 100 runs and take 3 wickets in a Test; WG Grace and Billy Bates emulated him soon, but Ulyett soon became the first to do it twice…

2. Taking out Bannerman

It is well-known that Charles Bannerman faced the first ball, scored the first run, hit the first boundary, and scored the first fifty and first hundred in the history of Test cricket. He scored 165 in a team total of 245 — in other words, 67.3% of the total, yet another record that still stands.

Bannerman batted through the first session. However, shortly after lunch, a ball from Ulyett hit him on the middle-finger of his right hand, forcing him to become the first batsman to retire hurt. Ulyett did not take a wicket in the innings, but had done enough for his side.

He bowled Bannerman in the second innings.

3. A curious record

A fulcrum of Yorkshire batting, Ulyett scored 1,562 runs in the 1883 season, finishing 11 runs behind WW Read. However, there was a catch: Ulyett set a world record for most runs in a season without scoring a hundred. It stood as a record till 1935, when Charlie Harris of Nottinghamshire got 1,709 runs without reaching three figures.

4. Hall of Fame

Ulyett and George Hall both made their Yorkshire debuts in 1873. They formed a much-feared batting pair at the top, Hall the perfect foil to the belligerent Ulyett. Hall and Ulyett were involved in ten century partnerships for the first wicket.

Against Sussex at Hove in 1885, Yorkshire openers Ulyett and Hall added 128 in the first innings and 108 in the second. They were the first pair to be involved in century stands in each innings of a First-Class match.

5. The 36-mile six: Apocryphal?

The story has been recollected by many, though mostly unsupported by documents. While it may not be true, it is too good a story to miss out on.

Let me quote Les Scott here from his wonderful book Bats, Balls and Bails: “In the 1880s George Ulyett, playing for Yorkshire in the Roses match against Lancashire at Old Trafford, hit a ball through the carriage window of a passing train. The ball was eventually recovered at Bradford, some 36 miles away.”

6. Not really a gentleman’s game 

The incident dates back to England’s (Shaw’s) Australia tour of 1881-82. Ulyett, John Selby, and William Scotton, all professionals, played the match against Victoria at MCG. The tourists followed-on but astonishingly won the match: Arthur Shrewsbury showed the way with 80 not out before Ted Peate, with 6 for 30, bowled out the hosts for 80.

Ulyett scored 2 and 4 and took 1 for 18; Scotton got 28 and 2; and Selby, 6 and 23. All three were later accused of underperforming ‘deliberately’ for the price of £100 apiece. A fight broke out between Billy Midwinter, who had reported Shaw of the incident, and Ulyett.

Note: Contrary to popular beliefs, betting and match-fixing were very much in vogue in cricket till the 19th century. It was certainly not the “gentleman’s game”, as is often perceived.

7. ‘Happy Jack’ 

Ulyett had both the work ethics and dry sense of humour of the ubiquitous Yorkshireman. However, almost nothing managed to take that infectious smile off him. Lord Hawke wrote in Recollections and Reminiscences: “To him every match was simply a jolly game, and he did not care if he made a duck or a century.”

His philosophy was simple: go out, smash the bowling, bowl fast, catch everything that comes your way, whistle all along, have a beer (multiple, actually, plenty of them) at the end of the day, and be ready with a comeback or a wisecrack. Think Ian Botham, maybe.

When they — erroneously, of course — served him Devonshire cream with a chop he “looked at it, wondered, took it, and ate the lot” (for the uninitiated, they do not form the best of combinations).

There were shades of it on the ground as well. Lord Harris’ team were playing New South Wales (NSW) in 1978-79. The score read 132 for 2 when Harris joined Ulyett, but for some reason the captain asked his professional to “play steady”.

Ulyett responded with two fours and a three from the next four balls but lived to tell the tale. Harris was not amused. When he encountered Ulyett mid-pitch, the response was curt: “My Lord, I rather felt like hitting them.” Ulyett scored 55 and Harris 41. And in the NSW second innings Ulyett took 4 wickets in 4 balls.

No wonder they called him ‘Happy Jack’. Coldham wrote that “it would be quite wrong to say Ulyett was the sort of man one loved or hated; nobody could hate Happy Jack.”

8. Not-so-happy Jack

It is not every day that a cricket match leads to a riot, but that was precisely what happened in Sydney in 1879. In fact, this was the same match mentioned above, where Harris and Ulyett had that conversation.

It is tempting to go into details about the Sydney Riot, but this is not the place for that. When hell broke loose, the crowd attacked the Englishmen. ‘Monkey’ Hornby’s shirt was ripped. Harris was hit with a stick.

The second incident enraged Ulyett and Emmett, the professionals of the side. They grabbed three stumps (Ulyett two, Emmett one), facing the crowd. It was an imposing sight, the huge Ulyett trying to launch into a 10,000-strong crowd. It took an enormous effort from Harris to stop him.

Ulyett and Emmett were also accused of racist comments during the riot, but both umpires denied the accusations, making a point that the two professionals “were incapable of insulting the Australians in such a way.”

Ulyett, Emmett, and Hornby all refused to play at Sydney for the rest of the tour.

9. Jaws

The Ashes tour of 1884-85 was not the happiest of tours for the Englishmen. In fact, it started in water, when the English party were on a boat on River Clarence.

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Ulyett got into an argument with a local doctor, who gave the Yorkshireman a shove. Ulyett tumbled into the river amidst sharks and immediately drew his knife. A teammate of his on the boat (it is not clear who) got ready with a spear. Thankfully, nothing was needed as Ulyett swam safely back to the boat.

10. The Cambridge impression

It goes without saying that Cambridge University has impressed people throughout history.  Ulyett was no exception, but the reason was somewhat different than it did on mortals: “That’s the best spot of eddication as ever I set eyes on, for them decent young fellers to get taught to drink beer from morning till night with baccy thrown in, just as schoolchildren learn reading and writing.”

11. A Wednesday

Though Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is not among the finest in England today, they are certainly one of the oldest, founded back in 1867. They hired the services of Ulyett in 1882-83 — for he was one of the finest goalkeepers in the vicinity.

12. Rolling sheets and tragedies

Joseph (a gardener from Nottinghamshire) and Ann (from Derbyshire) had four children, John, Emily (later a dressmaker), George, and Joe. John played for Players of Sheffield, as did Joe. In fact, Joe was good enough to play for Colts of England, while John became groundsman at Bramall Lane. George himself played for the local Pitsmoor Club (he joined at 16), as, in all likelihood, did John and Joe.

A steel sheet roller, Ulyett first stayed at Queen’s Head Inn, Castle Street (Sheffield) before moving to Vine Hotel, Brunswick Street. He later took up residence at 23 Roe Lane.

He married Emma. The couple had a son, Fred, and three daughters, Kate, Lora, and Zoe. Unfortunately, Fred passed away when he was a mere nine months old. George Ulyett was only 23 at this stage.

13. The greatest enemy of them all

Emma passed away on May 12, 1897. Less than a year after Emma’s death George was at Bramall Lane to watch Yorkshire play Kent. Yorkshire won all right, but he went down with pneumonia.

George Ulyett died on June 18, 1898; he was not even 47. Just like Fred and Emma, George, too, was buried at Burngreave Cemetery, Sheffield. His immense popularity meant that his funeral was attended by 4,000 people.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor at CricketCountry and CricLife. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here.)

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