John Hammond (28 July 1860 – 21 November 1907) 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 ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

forward who, although not capped for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, was part of three British Lions tours, all to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He gained three caps during the 1891 tour to South Africa and captained the 1896 tour, winning another two test caps. Although not part of the 1899 tour to Australia, he was made the manager of the 1903 tour. Despite captaining the British Isles, Hammond never represented

Early life

Hammond was born in

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

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 ...

in 1860 to James Hammond of Arncliffe. He was educated at Uppingham School and later

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

before being accepted into

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

in 1879, gaining a BA in 1883. He was called to The Bar in 1885, after taking an administrative legal role at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

from 1880, whilst still an undergraduate.

Rugby career

Hammond first came to note as a rugby player while at Cambridge where he played 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 ...

and in 1881 won a Cambridge Blue in a Varsity match.Jenkins (1981), pg 150. In 1891, Hammond was selected for the first official British Isles tour. The tour to South Africa was very successful for the tourists, with the British team winning all three tests; Hammond played in all of them. five years later, and now a 36-year-old veteran, Hammond was selected for the second tour of South Africa. Hammond, now playing for

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, was only one of two players to have played in a previous tour, the other being

Froude Hancock Philip Froude Hancock universally known as Froude Hancock (29 August 1865 – 16 October 1933) was an English rugby union forward who played international rugby for the British Isles XV on two tours, the 1891 and 1896 tour of South Africa ...

.Griffiths (1987), pg 9:3. Hammond was given the captaincy of the British team for the 1896 tour, but only lead the team out for the second test, in Johannesburg, and the final test played in Cape Town. The deputy captain was

Thomas Crean Major Dr. Thomas Joseph Crean, (19 April 1873 – 25 March 1923) was an Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and physician, doctor. During the Second Boer War, while serving with the Imperial Light Horse, he was awarded the Victoria ...

, who is often seen as the de facto leader of the British Isles tourists.IRB Hall of Fame
IRB.com Although losing the last test, the British team won the series 3–1; the last victory by the Lions in South Africa until 1974. In 1903, a British team again toured South Africa. Led by

Scotland's Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Mark Morrison, Hammond was selected as team manager. Although the tourists lost this series, Hammond's enthusiasm for South African rugby led to the IRB accepting the first touring South African team in their 1906 tour of Great Britain.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Johnny 1860 births 1907 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Blackheath F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players People educated at Tonbridge School People educated at Uppingham School Rugby union forwards People from Skipton Rugby union players from Yorkshire