40 Facts About Fred Grace

George Frederick Grace was an English first-class cricketer active from 1866 to 1880 who played for Gloucestershire and the United South of England Eleven.

Fred Grace played in one retrospectively recognised Test match for England.

Fred Grace was born in Downend, near Bristol and died in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Fred Grace took 329 wickets with a best performance of eight for 43.

Fred Grace was the youngest member of the Grace family.

Fred Grace had four elder brothers who all played cricket: Henry, Alfred, "EM" and "WG".

Fred Grace was always praised for his fielding and, in that Test match, he held what has been called "the most famous deep field catch in history".

Fred Grace died, aged 29, only two weeks after playing for England.

Fred Grace was coached by his father, Dr Henry Grace, and his uncle, Alfred Pocock.

Fred Grace's mother, Martha, was a keen participant too and she provided the driving force and the motivation which crystallised into the competitive edge that EM, WG and Fred always had as first-class players.

EM, several years older than WG and Fred Grace, learned to play using a full size bat and, because it was too big for him as a boy, he developed a tendency to hit across the line of delivery instead of playing straight.

Alfred Pocock recognised this fault and decided that WG and Fred Grace must learn to play straight by using small bats, suitable for their boyhood sizes.

Fred Grace first attracted notice in club cricket, playing for his father's West Gloucestershire Cricket Club in 1864 when still only 13.

Aged 15, Fred Grace took a wicket and had scores of 0 and 10.

In due course, Fred Grace would follow him into the study of medicine.

On Thursday, 25 June 1868, Fred Grace played for the new Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in its first-ever match, which was a two-day game at Lord's against Marylebone Cricket Club.

EM, WG and Fred Grace all played for Gloucestershire who won by 51 runs.

Fred Grace bowled well, taking four for 56 and four for 31.

Fred Grace scored 16 and 15 which were useful runs in a low-scoring match.

Fred Grace failed with the bat and scored two ducks but he succeeded with the ball.

From Thursday, 18 to Saturday, 20 August 1870, Fred Grace played alongside WG for the Gentlemen of the South against the Gentlemen of the North at Meadow Road, Beeston.

When he was out, Fred Grace came in to join Walker and came of age as a cricketer.

Fred Grace scored 189 not out and that remained his career-highest innings.

Fred Grace had made his debut in the North v South match in 1870 but without much success.

Fred Grace himself was once barred from a Gentlemen v Players match because of match fees he had claimed for appearances with the USEE.

Importantly for the Australians, Fred Grace was a go-between from them to WG who, in the words of Malcolm Knox, "did not belong to clique".

All the Grace brothers and Billy Midwinter played for Gloucestershire but, with eleven wickets, Fred Spofforth won the game for the Australians.

Fred Grace was selected along with EM and WG to play for England at The Oval.

Fred Grace was out for nought in both innings and so became, albeit retrospectively, the first player to be dismissed for a pair on Test debut.

Fred Grace made his mark on the match by holding a celebrated, and possibly match-winning, catch on the boundary in front of the gasometer at the Vauxhall End.

Bonnor hit the ball so high that he and his partner Harry Boyle had turned for their third run before, finally, the ball came down to Fred Grace who had positioned himself perfectly to catch it cleanly.

Fred Grace had caught a cold during the Test match which was made worse by being soaked twice during showers at Stroud.

Fred Grace took a room at the Red Lion Hotel in Basingstoke.

Several family members, including WG, set off for Basingstoke but Fred Grace died at 13:15 that day.

Fred Grace was buried in the cemetery at Downend and an estimated 3,000 people followed his coffin.

Fred Grace had a bad cold before he left home, and on my arrival at Basingstoke he told me that he had received another chill whilst waiting at Reading Station.

The "damp bed" story is refuted by evidence to the contrary, as described above, because Fred Grace's illness began with the cold he caught during the match at The Oval and he was already ill when he arrived in Basingstoke.

Fred Grace was unquestionably a top-class cricketer through the 1870s but, like everyone else, he was overshadowed by WG, to whom he was especially close.

Bernard Darwin wrote that Fred Grace was the sibling to whom WG "was most devoted" and Fred Grace's death created a "real and permanent gap" in WG's life.

EM, says James, "was a card" but Fred Grace was "thoughtful and reserved".