Bart King

Bart King
King in around 1905
Personal information
Full name
John Barton King
Born(1873-10-19)October 19, 1873
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 1965(1965-10-17) (aged 91)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast
RoleBowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1893–1912Gentlemen of Philadelphia
1894G.S. Patterson XI
FC debutSeptember 29, 1893 Gentlemen of Philadelphia v Australians
Last FCOctober 4, 1912 Gentlemen of Philadelphia v Australians
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 65
Runs scored 2,134
Batting average 20.51
100s/50s 1/8
Top score 113*
Balls bowled 13729
Wickets 415
Bowling average 15.65
5 wickets in innings 38
10 wickets in match 11
Best bowling 10/53
Catches/stumpings 67/–
Source: CricketArchive, August 18, 2007

John Barton "Bart" King (October 19, 1873 – October 17, 1965) was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. King was part of the Philadelphia team that played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I. This period of cricket in the United States was dominated by "gentlemen cricketers"—men of independent wealth who did not need to work. King, an amateur from a middle-class family, was able to devote time to cricket thanks to a job set up by his teammates.

A skilled batsman who proved his worth as a bowler, King set numerous records in the continent of North America during his career and led the first-class bowling averages in England in 1908.[1] He successfully competed against the best cricketers from England and Australia. King was the dominant bowler on his team when it toured England in 1897, 1903, and 1908. He dismissed batsmen with his unique delivery, which he called the "angler", and helped develop the art of swing bowling in the sport.[2] Sir Pelham Warner described Bart King as "one of the finest bowlers of all time",[3] and Donald Bradman called him "America's greatest cricketing son."[4]

  1. ^ Rolfe, John (1994). Everything You Want to Know About Sports (Sports Illustrated for Kids). New York: Bantam Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-553-48166-5.
  2. ^ Synge, Allen (2007). "SABR UK Examiner no.10: Baseball and Cricket: Cross-Currents". Society for American Baseball Research (UK Chapter). Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Wisden – 1966 – Obituaries in 1965". John Wisden & Co. 1966. Retrieved January 31, 2007.
  4. ^ Bradman, Donald (1998). The Art of Cricket. Robson Books.