Sir Arthur - The Author And First Class Cricketer
Born on 'Sherlock Holmes Day' today, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle named the fictional detective after a Nottinghamshire Cricketer and once took the wicket of W.G. Grace!
Today is Sherlock Holmes Day, which is the 166th birth anniversary of the beloved author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but this story is not about him as an author but as a First Class Cricketer!
Sir Arthur was born today in 1859 in Edinburgh and was an avid sportsman in his school days having played Cricket and Football, and eventually studied Medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. The less popular fact about him is that he was also a Cricketer who played for more than 50 teams in 449 matches and First-Class Cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club!
"Once in my heyday of cricket"
He played 10 First Class matches for the MCC, with his best score of 43. His only wicket? It was none other than the great W.G. Grace, popularly known as the Father of Cricket!
It's well known that any bowler remembers when and where they took their first wicket but Sir Arthur went to the extent of writing a poem "A Reminiscence of Cricket" to celebrate this dismissal!
The London County and Maryleborne Cricket Clubs in 1900
As per available records, he even featured in first ever celebrity cricket match that was played between the Authors and Artists, where Sir Arthur was part of the Authors' team. The Authors team was also known as the "Allahakbarries", founded by J.M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan), where the name was a misunderstanding that the Arabic wording translates to "God save us", hence it is also known as the Peter Pan's First XI.
Sir Arthur with his team mistakenly named after a phrase they thought meant "God save us"
The World's Greatest Detective!
As for the much beloved book on the World's greatest detective which has largely been a popular culture, the name Sherlock was inspired Frank Shacklock, a former cricketer for Nottinghamshire CC and his brother Mycroft's name came from the Derbyshire Cricketers, who suggested their fast bowler William Mycroft!
Sir Arthur's place of burial
After living his life as a Physician, Author and also a Cricketer, although he is widely known only for his literally skills, he was called to rest in 1930 at the age of 71. Sherlock Holmes Day has been celebrated worldwide since 2013 in commemoration of Sir Arthur's birthday, which falls today.