John Alexander Cuffe (26 June 1880 – 5 May 1931) was an Australian-born English

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 ...

er who played more than 200 times for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

between 1903 and 1914, having previously made a single appearance for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. After retiring from

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...

, he stood as an

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

for three years in the 1920s. He also played at least once as a professional for Lowerhouse in the Lancashire League. It was wrongly thought until 2019 that Cuffe was also a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and played ten seasons for Glossop North End in the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

. The footballer was a different John Cuffe, born in Glossop.allfootballers.com Retrieved 20 October 2009

Cricket career

New South Wales

Born in

Coonamble Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the 2016 census, Coonamble had a population of 2,750. It is the regional hub for wheat growing and ...

, Cuffe made his first-class debut for that state side, against

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

1902. He made 5 and 25 with the bat, and took the single wicket of Charles Patrick. This was the only time Cuffe played in a first-class match outside England. (He did turn out for Worcestershire against

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

in 1910, but this game did not have first-class status.)

Worcestershire

Cuffe then came to England, making his Worcestershire debut against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

The Parks The Oxford University Parks, commonly referred to locally as the University Parks, or just The Parks, is a large parkland area slightly northeast of the city centre in Oxford, England. The park is bounded to the east by the River Cherwell, thoug ...

in May 1903. He was not yet qualified to appear in the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

, but also played against

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 ...

and the

Philadelphians The Philadelphians, or the Philadelphian Society, were a 17th-century English dissenter group. They were organized around John Pordage (1607–1681), an Anglican priest from Bradfield, Berkshire, who had been ejected from his parish in 1655 beca ...

that season, scoring 91 against the latter side. He again turned out three times in 1904, playing once each against the universities and appearing also against the touring

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

, claiming 5–58 in an innings defeat of Oxford. For the ten seasons from 1905 to 1914, Cuffe was a regular part of the Worcestershire side, and he made a career-best 145 against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

in the first of those years. On three occasions — 1906, 1908 and 1911 — he passed 1,000 first-class runs in a season, while in 1907 and 1911 he obtained his hundred wickets. His "double" in 1911 consisted of 1,054 runs at 25.70 (even though he made no score greater than 78) and 110 wickets at 23.56. His best bowling figures (9-38) were achieved against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

in 1907, but in the above-mentioned minor game against Glamorgan in 1910 he returned the first-innings

analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

of 8.1-4-5-9. Also in 1910, he performed the

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against Hampshire at Dean Park,

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. In what turned out to be the last three years of his first-class career, 1912 to 1914, his bowling continued to be quite productive with at least 50 wickets in each summer. Indeed, he took 11–163 in the match against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

as late as July 1914. His batting, however, declined, and in 99 first-class innings he made only three half-centuries. Cuffe's final first-class game came against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

in late August 1914. In a two-day innings defeat he scored 10 and did not bowl a ball; his career ended when he was absent hurt in the second innings.

Post First World War

Cuffe did not reappear in first-class cricket after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After stints in the Lancashire League with

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...

and Lowerhouse Cuffe retired from playing.

Umpiring career

Cuffe stood as an

in 66 first-class matches between 1925 and 1927.

Coaching career

He later took a position as

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, ...

Football career

Cuffe was incorrectly recognised as being the first Australian to play in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. Playing with Glossop North End between 1905 and 1914. This was incorrect, the John Cuffe who played 282 matches as a full-back was a native of Glossop.

Death

Cuffe was found drowned at

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...

on 16 May 1932, aged 51.He had taken up the post of cricket professional at Repton School the day before. He was first reported missing, but was later judged to have committed suicide.He had been staying in the Boot Inn in Repton.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuffe, John 1880 births 1930s missing person cases 1931 deaths 1931 suicides Men's association football fullbacks Australian cricketers Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom Australian men's soccer players Cricketers from New South Wales English cricketers English cricket umpires English men's footballers Formerly missing people Glossop North End A.F.C. players H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Missing person cases in England New South Wales cricketers North v South cricketers Suicides by drowning in England Worcestershire cricketers People from the Central West (New South Wales) Soccer players from New South Wales