Andrew Stoddart

Andrew Ernest Stoddart (11 March, 1863 â€" 4 April, 1915) was an English cricketer and rugby union player.

Born at 10 Wellington Terrace,South Shields, County Durham, he was the son of a wine merchant, who left for London in 1877. Stoddart made his reputation in club cricket and was playing for Middlesex by 1885. He played 16 Test matches captaining England in 8 games of which he won 3, lost 4 and drew 1. He also played in 10 rugby union internationals. Stoddart was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1893. He committed suicide in London in 1915 by shooting himself at age 52.

A street in South Shields is named after him.

Trivia

* Punch celebrated the Stoddart's Ashes win in 1894-95 with a poem which contained the lines -

Then wrote the queen of England:Whose hand is blessed by God:I must do something handsome:For my dear victorious Stod.

Seventy years later, David Frith used My dear victorious Stod as the title of his acclaimed biography of Stoddart.

External links

*Cricinfo page on Andrew Stoddart
*Simon Wilde of Stoddart's 485*
*CricketArchive page on Andrew Stoddart
* Photo