Bart King was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. King was part of the Philadelphia team that played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I. He was the dominant bowler on his team when it toured England in 1897, 1903, and 1908. He helped develop the art of swing bowling in the sport.
About Bart King in brief
Bart King was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. King was part of the Philadelphia team that played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I. He was the dominant bowler on his team when it toured England in 1897, 1903, and 1908. He dismissed batsmen with his unique delivery, which he called the “angler”, and helped develop the art of swing bowling in the sport. Sir Pelham Warner described King as “one of the finest bowlers of all time”, and Donald Bradman called him ‘America’s greatest cricketing son’ King was born in Philadelphia on October 19, 1873, and died in 1965 in his native Philadelphia two days before his 92nd birthday. He married Fannie Lockhart; the marriage lasted for fifty years. King came last, at number 525, with the last match of his career against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia on September 29, 1913. King’s wife died in 1963, and he died of cancer in 1965 at the age of 92. His obituary in Cricket Quarterly suggests that his career in insurance was set up for him by those families to allow him to continue playing the game. King played his first recorded match for the club in 1889, when he was tried as a bowler due to his physique. He played for Tioga Cricket Club in 1888, aged 15, starting out as a batsman. King joined the Philadelphian cricket team for three tours of England while playing at Belmont.
His most dominating matches came during these tours, playing with the premier American team of the era. In 1893, the Australian team stopped by Philadelphia on its way home from a tour of England. In spite of this fatigue, the team chose to face the full strength of the Gentleman of Philadelphia in a three-day match starting September 29. The Australians fielded a strong side, but the team was tired after a long tour and trip. The Australian side, fielding first, dropped many catches and could not cope with the ball moving very quickly across the ground. King took 5 wickets for 78 runs for Belmont, and the Australians followed on and were all out for 268, allowing the American side to win by an innings and 68 runs. King is said to have spoken for ninety minutes at a dinner during his last tour to England, punctuated every few seconds with laughs. He is also noted for making jabs at opponents, but leaving them laughing at themselves. The same held true when he would question umpires that turned down his appeals. He came last in the last game of the match, against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia, on September 29, 1913, making 36 runs for 104 runs, and taking 2 wickets for 104 runs for Belmont. The cricket world was stunned that a single American side could turn out capable of beating a full-strength Australian side in a full turn of turn.
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This page is based on the article Bart King published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
