The Forgotten Philadelphians

Martin Chandler | 8:19am BST 12 May 2024

Published: 2024
Pages: 112
Author: Musk, Stephen
Publisher: Red Rose Books
Rating: 3.5 stars

Recent years has seen several books on the men who made Philadelphia a genuinely competitive side in world cricket during the ‘Golden Age’. With an attack spearheaded by Bart King and several other capable cricketers available the three touring parties styled as the Gentlemen of Philadelphia that visited England in 1897, 1903 and 1908 enjoyed considerable success.

Stephen Musk, with the late Roger Mann, was responsible for a fine biography of King that appeared in 2022 a book which, of course, was also a celebration of the Philadelphians’ cricketing heyday.

With The Forgotten Philadelphians Musk revisits North America with a different mission. Received wisdom dictates that cricket in Philadelphia did not return at anything like its pre war standard when the sport resumed after the Great War and very quickly disappeared, almost without trace. Musk does not however agree with that assertion,at least not the first part of it, and sets out to argue that in 1921 all had not yet been lost.

The significance of the year is that in 1921 the Philadelphia Pilgrims toured England for the month of August. Unlike their predecessors they had no Bart King, and there were no First Class fixtures, but the Pilgrims playing record in their twelve fixtures was pretty good. They beat the Royal Artillery, Royal Navy, Royal Engineers, Gentlemen of Essex and the Eton Ramblers. They did lose heavily to MCC, but the other fixtures, against Incogniti, Band of Brothers, Free Foresters, LG Robinson’s XI and the Army were drawn.

The names of the opposition teams speaks volumes. All amateur the social aspect of the trip should not be understated, but Musk is convinced that playing standards justify the Pilgrims visit being treated as an important one, and not merely a footnote in the history of North American cricket.

His approach is the obvious one. The background to the Pilgrims is explained and, more importantly, there are brief biographies of the fourteen men who made up the touring party. A little more detail on the three men who, had they been available to travel, might have improved the side would have been welcome, but assuming I have correctly identified them on Cricketarchive one thing they would not have improved was the average age of the team, 35.

There follows a detailed account of each of those twelve matches and, most importantly for Musk’s purpose, a look at the opposition and how accomplished those who appeared in their colours were.

So who did the Pilgrims face? Were they simply club cricketers or something more? To be fair to Musk’s case there were a sprinkling of Test cricketers, and five captains amongst them. It is true that Lord Harris was 70, Archie Maclaren 49, and Frederick Fane 46. On the other hand at 26 Arthur Gilligan was on the way up, and future New Zealand captain Tom Lowry was just 23.

The cricket cannot have been the most serious ever played, but it must have been competitive and the Pilgrims most striking success was their innings victory over the Gentlemen of Essex. The Essex side contained Fane, and two semi regular Essex players in all-rounder Joseph Dixon and batsman/wicketkeeper Frank Gilligan. Two of the talented Ashton brothers, Claude and Hubert, played as well, and in addition another three men had appeared for Essex in First Class cricket.

Musk’s conclusion is that the Philadelphia Pilgrims tour deserves greater recognition than it has had until now. Do I agree with him? I have to say that I took a bit of convincing but, ultimately, I was persuaded that his case was a sound one – it was an interesting journey, and one that anyone to whom the concept of Philadelphian cricket appeals will enjoy taking.

The Forgotten Philadelphians is available directly from its publisher or Roger Page in Australia and as ever there are two versions, one in card covers at £14 inclusive of UK postage and packing, and a limited edition hard back that comprises 20 signed and numbered copies at £38 a pop.