Harry Calder, South African cricketer (b. 1901)
Harry Lawton Calder (24 January 1901 – 15 September 1995) was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1918, then a 17 year old schoolboy. Calder is the youngest person to receive this accolade, one of the game's top honours, and the only Wisden Cricketer of the Year that never played first-class cricket.
Calder was born in South Africa. His father, Henry Calder, had a brief first-class career, playing ten matches for Hampshire, Western Province and Eastern Province in the late 19th century.
He came to England in 1914 and was educated at Cranleigh School in Surrey for five years, playing cricket for the school's First XI for five years, three as captain. As a 16-year-old spin bowler, he took many wickets for the school team in 1917, and was named as a Cricketer of the Year in the 1918 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack alongside four other schoolboy cricketers, there being no first-class cricket during the First World War. Another five schoolboys were selected by Wisden as Cricketers of the Year in 1919. Calder was the youngest.
Calder never appeared in a first-class game, although he did play for the Surrey Second XI in 1920, scoring 0 and 6 not out and bowling four wicketless overs for 21 against Staffordshire. The other nine schoolboy Cricketers of the Year in 1918 and 1919 all played at least one first-class game.
Calder went back to South Africa with his family in 1919. His father encouraged him to continue to play cricket, but he decided to concentrate on golf and tennis instead. He worked in industry and banking. He was not tracked down until 1994, the year before his death, when the cricket historian Robert Brooke traced him to a nursing home in Cape Town. Calder said he had not known of the honour and had not played cricket since school, more than three-quarters of a century earlier.
1995Sep, 15
Harry Calder
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Events on 1995
- 16Mar
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865. - 20Mar
Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo carries out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 12 and wounding over 1,300 people. - 5Aug
Operation Storm
Yugoslav Wars: The city of Knin, Croatia, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated in Croatia as Victory Day. - 19Sep
Unabomber
The Washington Post and The New York Times publish the Unabomber's manifesto. - 30Oct
Quebec referendum, 1995
Quebec citizens narrowly vote (50.58% to 49.42%) in favour of remaining a province of Canada in their second referendum on national sovereignty.