Victor Trumper Junior — a life spent in his father’s shadow

Victor Trumper Junior, born October 7, 1913, was just one when his famous father passed away. However, the shadow of the noble life stretched across both his short cricketing career and life. Arunabha Sengupta looks back at the limited cricketing deeds of the fast bowler who took two wickets in his first over in First-Class cricket.

He was a one-year-old toddler at the time of the tragic untimely death of his famous father. Neither was he coached by the man who many still consider as the most aesthetically delightful batsman to have batted for Australia. Nor was he old enough to feel the painful heaviness of heart that weighed down an entire nation on that unfortunate day.

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Victor Trumper Junior did not follow the footsteps of his father to the batting crease. Perhaps he was blessed that he did not, because comparisons — unfair and unrelenting — would doubtless have dogged every step of his cricketing journey. Instead he hustled in from a long run up and bowled briskly with a high action, utilising his six feet to the maximum, generating both bounce and movement.

Yet, it did not deter the waves of expectation, the burden of a legacy constructed with resplendent but restraining gold. Tall and striking, with blue eyes, Trumper Junior captured the imagination of the fans and the press. In 1940 he bowled for Manly and picked up 6 for 41 against Mosman, including the scalp of Stan McCabe. He followed it up with eight wickets in the game against University. And the Worker gushed about the arrival of a new Victor Trumper: “Another Victor Trumper, a son of the late world-famous Australian ‘Batting Marvel,’ is fast developing into Sheffield Shield class in New South Wales.”

After waxing eloquent about his bowling feats, the paper added quite generously, “He has batting ability, too, but at present goes in well down the list.” It was more than exaggeration. Unlike his father Trumper Junior never had a knack for wielding the willow. He averaged 7.40 in First-Class cricket.

Seven months after his exploits for Manly, Trumper Junior made his First-Class debut. It turned out to be a sensational one. Playing against Queensland at Brisbane, he sent back the formidable Bill Brown and his opening partner Geoff Cook in his very first over.

His figures were not spectacular, 2 for 42 and 2 for 49, but the impact was made. Rheumy eyed old men welcomed the new Trumper and expected to see his ball mirror the noble deeds his father had performed with the bat.

A week later, New South Wales took on the combined team of Queensland and Victoria. Trumper dismissed Brown again and added Lindsay Hassett to his list of scalps to finish with 3 for 37. However, it turned out to be his last triumphant act on the First-Class stage. He ended his only season of Shield cricket with 12 wickets from 7 matches at 36.08.

The roaring guns of the Second World War halted his cricketing journey as the young man joined the Royal Australian Air Force. He rose to the rank Leading Aircraftman. In December 1942, Trumper turned out for a strong Australian Servicemen side against New South Wales at Sydney, playing alongside Brown, Jack Fingleton and Arthur Morris and opening the bowling with a young lad named Ray Lindwall.

In January 1944, he played for the Servicemen again, once more against New South Wales, and captured five for 40. Sidney Barnes was one of his victims. In spite of the rather limited accomplishments, Trumper junior never ceased to attract the spotlight. When he joined the Carlton Club while being posted in Victoria, the news was splashed in Argus. Of course, it started with the line: “Victor Trumper, son of the famous batsman ….” The shadow was too large to shake off.

After being discharged in December 1945, Trumper did not return to cricket. His brief dalliance with the game was over. He worked in the Rural Bank at the Sydney Headquarters and was associated with the Ministry of Agriculture. His keen scientifically oriented approach was much appreciated by his colleagues.

He later accompanied Lord Rowallan, the Governor of Tasmania, to Canada to study possible improvements of farming methods. In his autobiography, while praising Dr Trumper’s skills of scientific inquiry, Rowallan nevertheless referred to him as “the son of the famous cricketer”. The label was far more adhesive than the title of Doctor preceding his name. Yet, for some reason, his son was also christened Victor and was known as Victor Trumper III.

Victor Trumper Junior passed away in 1981. He lies at Waverley, side by side with his illustrious father. Till his last day, that ‘Junior’ bit accompanied his identity.

(Arunabha Sengupta is a cricket historian and Chief Cricket Writer at CricketCountry. He writes about the history and the romance of the game, punctuated often by opinions about modern day cricket, while his post-graduate degree in statistics peeps through in occasional analytical pieces. The author of three novels, he can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/senantix)