The start of the cricket season made me think of the old Circle when it was home to Hull Cricket Club and was also a venue for Yorkshire games. In 1966, I knew the \secretary of Hull Cricket Club. One day he asked me if I would like to help out at the Circle during games. Next thing I knew, I was manning the scoreboard for a home match. The scoreboard was a small black hut - a bit like a Wendy house with stairs to the little room upstairs. I watched the games through a large downstairs hatch and, obviously, recorded everything on the board outside; score, batsmen, bowlers, no of wickets, last wicket fell, batsmen's individual scores, last wicket, last innings, catcher, how out and so forth. All manually. When a wicket fell I was dashing up and down the stairs like a demented monkey. There was an old fashioned wind up telephone in the hut, connected to the official scorer in the stand. As I didn't know all the players' names, particularly visitors, the scorer would ring and say, "Batsman number 3," or "Bowler number 10," as appropriate. I would get sarcastic calls from the scorer to the effect, "Add one to the score. Didn't you see the umpire signal no ball?" A sudden collapse of the batting was disastrous: upstairs, updating last wicket fell, bowler was number 8, batsman was caught, it was over number .... damn another wicket has gone .... inside, upstairs, changing number ..... bloody hell, a hat trick, here we go again ... It was sheer chaos at times but I carried on through the season. In August 1966, Yorkshire played Warwickshire at the Circle. As it was a county game, I was excused scoreboard duties. However, I took three days off work and was temporarily assigned to assist the groundsman, Pete Young I seem to remember. Basically I did anything and everything: helped put up the nets, cleaned the ground, swept the stand, assisted the groundsman when he cleaned and swept the wicket. Above all, I had lunch and tea with the players - and what payers; Fred Trueman (with a huge smelly pipe), Ray Illingworth, Geoff Boycott, Brian Close (the captain) who sat alone, didn't eat and just brooded until the bell went to take the field, Phil Sharpe, Doug Padgett, Jimmy Binks (the Hull born wicket keeper) and on the Warwickshire side M J K Smith. This was sheer bliss to a young cricket nut. Sadly Warwicks won by three wickets. After the crowd had gone, I was sweeping out the stand when I heard a broad Yorkshire voice say, "You're doing a grand job, lad." Walking down the aisle was a tall old chap, trilby hat, raincoat and wearing big round glasses. I stopped and we chatted about the game for five minutes or so. He listened very graciously to all my worldly cricket wisdom then he politely left and carried on down the aisle. The groundsman came over and said, "Have a nice chat with Bill?" He then told me I had been talking to Big Bill Bowes, ex Yorkshire and England and part of the famous bodyline tour of Australia in 1932-33.He was at the game, reporting for the Yorkshire Post. I watched him walk out of the ground. We had lost the game but I had net some of the all time great Yorkshire players plus I had spoken to someone who had taken part in cricketing history. What more could I have asked for...? Do those old cricketing ghosts still wander around the KC? I wonder?
I saw Yorkshire play at the Circle more than once. Once I think Jim Love smashed it around to help us to victory.
Interestingly, both photos appear to have been taken at half past seven according to the pavillion clock. There's a Stones banner in one photo but not the other and the sky is very different in each, suggesting they were taken on different occasions. Were the photos both taken at half seven by coincidence or was the pavillion clock not working?
Thanks for the memories HC and OLM. Reminded me of the days when Blue Mountains Bear and I would stand on the Anlaby Road railway bridge across from the Boulevard to watch the likes of Johnny Wardle and Fred Trueman. This was in the days when they actually played in whites with not an advert, number or name to be seen on all of the equipment and they didn't wear the "American football" style crash helmets and padding in use today. By the way BMB and I both went to Riley High on the Boulevard in the 1950s and Jimmy Binks who not only was a Hull lad but also went to Riley High.
They were only taken a month apart, but the chances of them being taken at the same time are slim, so I assume the clock was broken.
Interesting post. I didn't live in Hull and only went once in the early sixties with a cricket mad cousin who was stopping. I recall him approaching Freddie Trueman at Scarborough for an autograph at as they went off for tea.. Trueman's response was "Don't ever get between me and a pint. Now **** off". Those who claim Hull isn't Yorkshire rather have their case undermined by the fact that Yorkshire played matches here. Same with Middlesbrough.
My father in law was good friends with Freddie Truman and used to sponsor Yorkshire cricket at The Circle. I had dinner with him a couple of times, didn't really like him.
It was still in Yorkshire. You know about some names referring purely to administrative areas presumably?
Here I go .. when I was a lad I used to watch City train at the Circle, Cliff Britton was manager and it was the Chilton/Wagstaff era, sometimes I got a lift with one of the players other times I went on my bike. So this one particular day I had my autograph book with me when the groundsman came over to me, never knew his name, and he said something along the lines of 'see those two gentlemen sat in the pavillion over there go an ask them for their autographs'. So off I trots and the usual 'can you sign this please' and sure enough both men signed but I never took any notice as they were in cricket gear and it wasn't really my game. So back to watch the City players train then off back home I went. It wasn't until later in the day that I was talking to a mate of mine, who incidentally was a cricket fan and played the game at schoolboy level, that I told him about the autographs. He took one look and said 'you know who they are don't you?' unfortunately I didn't have a clue and had to say so, then he told me. One was Hull born Yorkshire wicket keeper Jimmy Binks the other autograph was Sir Len Hutton, now him I had heard of although no cricket fan, still have the autograph book today.
My late father used to be captain of Hull Cricket Club for a few years and was involved with the club for almost 20 years. I have some wonderful memories of the ground and the cricket there. Good days...almost feels like a bygone age now. If it was going to be anything else than a cricket ground, then I am sure glad it is the home of Hull CITY!
I used to get invited by Peter Rose to his box at Headingley to watch Cricket and he was good friends with Freddy Truman. He was commentating at that time for BBC, but would come to the box from time to time. I got the feeling he was just a scrounger and like you I never took to him.
Great old photos I spent a long time at the Circle, although on and around the rugby pitches Dad used to play for Hull and East Riding there and then I went on to later. Occasional visits to cricket as well though Seems a million years ago
