Horace Gray (29 November 1874 – 21 January 1938) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, educator and clergyman. The son of William Wythers Gray, he was born in the

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

suburb of Chesterton. He was educated in Cambridge at

The Perse School (He who does things for others does them for himself) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = Nondenominational Christian , president = , head_label = Head , he ...

, before going up to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. While at Cambridge, he made his debut in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

against A. J. Webbe's XI at

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchard ...

in 1894. He played first-class cricket for Cambridge from 1894–96, making eighteen appearances. Playing as a right-arm

fast bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

, he took 89 wickets at an

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

of 22.76, with best figures of 7 for 48. He took a

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taking ...

on eight occasions, and once took

ten wickets in a match In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...

. His most prolific season came in 1895, when he took 37 wickets at an average of 25.02. He gained a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

in cricket while at Cambridge. In addition to playing first-class cricket, Gray also played

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

from 1895–1906, albeit intermittently, making 33 appearances. After graduating from Cambridge, he became an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

clergyman and schoolteacher. He was an assistant master at the

United Services College The United Services College was an English boys' public school for the sons of military officers, located at Westward Ho! near Bideford in North Devon. Almost all boys were boarders. The school was founded to prepare pupils for a career as of ...

Westward Ho! Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford, and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Sau ...

from 1896–98. He was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

in 1898 and served as a priest at

Littleham Littleham is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of north Devon in south west England, about south of Bideford. The parish had a population of 446 at the 2011 census. The parish is bounded by the River Torridge in the north-ea ...

from 1898–1901. He moved to

Ipswich School Ipswich School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 3 to 18 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. North of the town centre, Ipswich School has four parts on three adjacent sites. The Pre-Prep and Nursery ...

, where was an assistant master from 1901–02, before undertaking the same role at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

from 1903–04. He was the headmaster of Kendal Grammar School from 1904–07, before serving as the headmaster of Warrington Grammar School until 1932. He later served as the reverend of

Bredfield Bredfield is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is situated just off the A12, two miles north of Woodbridge. Another village, Dallinghoo, is to the north, and to the west is Boulge, a small hamlet. The popul ...

with

Boulge Boulge is a hamlet and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is about north of Woodbridge. The population remained only minimal at the 2011 Census and was included in the civil parish of Debach. The place-name is ...

from 1932–38, and

Lowdham Lowdham is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire between Nottingham and Southwell. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,832, increasing to 3,334 at the 2011 Census. Two main roads slicing thro ...

with

Pettistree Pettistree is a small village and a civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. According to the 2011 Census, Pettistree had a population of 194 people and is set in around 1,800 acres of farmland. The village ...

from 1934–38. He was found dead in the study of his home at Bredfield in January 1938.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Horace 1874 births 1938 deaths People from Chesterton, Cambridge People educated at The Perse School Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Schoolteachers from Cambridgeshire Cambridge University cricketers Cambridgeshire cricketers 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests English cricketers