Oswald Ifould Lovelock (28 August 1911 – 1 August 1981) was an Australian sportsman and sports administrator. He represented Western Australia at
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 ...
and baseball, and also played
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
for in the
West Australian National Football League
The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...
(WANFL). In later life, he took up golf, winning several tournaments at clubs in Western Australia, and went on to serve as president of the
Subiaco Football Club
The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions and known before 1973 as the ''Maroons'', is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAF ...
.
Career
Born to Oswald Oliver Lovelock and his wife, Rose Janey (née Ifould), in
Highgate
Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross.
Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...
on 28 August 1911, Lovelock played both cricket and football from an early age, representing Western Australia at a national schoolboys' carnival in 1926. He debuted for West Perth in the WANFL in 1932, and played in the club's 1932 premiership win. In total, he played 25 games for the club over three seasons from 1932 to 1934, kicking three goals, and also spent time with the club's reserve team in the West Australian National Football Association (WANFA).
He made his cricket debut for
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
in October 1932, against the
touring MCC side, making 14
not out
In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at t ...
and recording two
stumping
Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping crease ...
s. He played another match six days later, this time for an
Australian XI, featuring players such as
Vic Richardson
Victor York Richardson (7 September 189430 October 1969) was a leading Australian sportsman of the 1920s and 1930s, captaining the Australia cricket team and the South Australia Australian rules football team, representing Australia in basebal ...
,
Jack Fingleton
John Henry Webb Fingleton, (28 April 190822 November 1981) was an Australian cricketer, journalist and commentator. The son of Australian politician James Fingleton, he was known for his dour defensive approach as a batsman, scoring five Test m ...
and
Don Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...
. He was Western Australia's first choice
wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...
throughout most of the 1930s, and served as vice-captain to
Dick Bryant in most matches, captaining the side for one game against the MCC in 1936 when Bryant was unavailable. He played one match for a
Western Australia Combined XI in 1936, featuring
Jack Badcock
Clayvel Lindsay "Jack" Badcock (10 April 1914 – 13 December 1982) was an Australian cricketer who played in seven Test cricket, Tests from 1936 to 1938.
Early career in Tasmania
Born in Exton, Tasmania, Exton, in the north of Tasmania nea ...
,
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe (16 July 1910 – 25 August 1968) was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test cricket, Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander, McCabe was described by ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, ...
and
Clarrie Grimmett
Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett (25 December 1891 – 2 May 1980) was a New Zealand-born Australian cricketer. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.
Early li ...
In total, Lovelock played over 100 matches for West Perth and North Perth in the
WACA District competition, making several
centuries
A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
A centennial or ...
and captaining both clubs. As was common amongst Australian cricketers at the time, Lovelock played baseball during the winter to keep fit. A member of the Ramblers club in the
Western Australia Baseball League, he played in the position of
catcher
Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
, and was selected in the state team for Western Australia's first interstate match, against Victoria in September 19336.
In 1940, Lovelock was transferred first to
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
for his job, where he played for Essendon in the
Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket is a club cricket competition in the state of Victoria administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams (firsts through to fourths) of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matche ...
competition. In 1941, he was again transferred, to
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, where he played for
New Town
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in the
TCA Grade Cricket competition. Returning to Western Australia in 1950, he took up golf, competing in several tournaments, and winning one, a
stableford event held at
Yokine. In 1951, he was elected to a position on the executive committee of the
Western Australian Cricket Association
The Western Australian Cricket Association (known as the WACA) is the governing body for cricket in Western Australia.
The WACA was formed on 5 November 1885. In 1893 the association opened the WACA Ground.
Elite cricket
The WACA is responsible ...
. In 1952, he was appointed president of the
Subiaco Football Club
The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions and known before 1973 as the ''Maroons'', is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAF ...
.
Presidency Filled At Subiaco
– ''The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
''. Published 15 February 1952. Retrieved from ''Trove'', 16 October 2011.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovelock, Ossie
1911 births
1981 deaths
Australian baseball players
Australian cricketers
Australian people of English descent
Baseball catchers
Baseball people from Western Australia
Australian cricket administrators
Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia
Subiaco Football Club administrators
Western Australia cricketers
West Perth Football Club players
Cricketers from Perth, Western Australia
Wicket-keepers