William "Billy" Gunn (4 December 1858 – 29 January 1921) was an English sportsman who played internationally in both

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 str ...

and football. 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 officia ...

, Gunn played professionally for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

from

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...

and represented

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 ...

in 11 Test matches. In football, he played for both

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

as an amateur and played twice for

, scoring one goal in the inaugural

1884 British Home Championship Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...

."Have it!" (Dec 2008) ''Four Four Two'', No. 172, p. 48

Cricket career

Born at St Ann's,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, Gunn was a specialist right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

who occasionally bowled slow underarm lobs. He was an outfielder who was noted for his accurate throwing. His most successful season was

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in t ...

, following which he was voted Wisden Batsman of the Year. He joined his Nottinghamshire colleagues

Alfred Shaw Alfred Shaw (29 August 1842 – 16 January 1907) was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings (5/35). He made two trips to North Ameri ...

and

Arthur Shrewsbury Arthur Shrewsbury (11 April 1856 – 19 May 1903) was an English cricketer and rugby football administrator. He was widely rated as competing with W. G. Grace for the accolade of best batsman of the 1880s; Grace himself, when asked whom he wo ...

in the

English cricket team in Australia in 1886–87 The England cricket team in Australia in 1886–87, generally known as Alfred Shaw's XI, was described by ''Wisden'' as "one of the strongest that ever left England for the Colonies". The team played 10 first-class matches, winning 6 with 2 dra ...

. In his ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' citation, Gunn was described in the following terms:

...we think we are correct in saying that no batsman of the same height ft. 2½ in.has ever played in more elegant and perfect form. Even before he rose to his fame as a batsman, Gunn was one of the most brilliant fields in the country, and it was the general opinion of practical cricketers of his era that in the long field and at third man he had never had a superior. Gunn was a member of
Alfred Shaw Alfred Shaw (29 August 1842 – 16 January 1907) was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings (5/35). He made two trips to North Ameri ...
and
Arthur Shrewsbury Arthur Shrewsbury (11 April 1856 – 19 May 1903) was an English cricketer and rugby football administrator. He was widely rated as competing with W. G. Grace for the accolade of best batsman of the 1880s; Grace himself, when asked whom he wo ...
's team in Australia during the season of 1886/7, and averaged 21.8 in eleven-a-side matches, and 20.7 in all matches.

Football career

Early career

Gunn first signed to play football for

. Gunn signed for Forest sometime in 1880–1881 and made only one appearance for Forest, in 1881. In the February 1882 he signed for Notts County but had to wait until November 1882 to make his debut. This was an

F.A. Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competiti ...

first round tie, played at

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also ...

against

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

. Notts County achieved a big win, 6–1. Gunn was 6 ft 2 in tall, weighed 12st 2 lbs, and had the ability to throw a football long distances, "establishing himself as the

Delap Delap ( Marshallese: , ) is an island district in the Marshall Islands. It is located in the east of Majuro Atoll. Along with Uliga and Djarrit it forms what is known as the "Delap-Uliga-Djarrit". During World War II was the site of a large base ...

of his day by hurling the ball inhuman distances... with one hand". At the time, rules for throw-ins were not formalised, but when his throws "repeatedly hurtled into Scotland's penalty area from well inside England's own half" in an unofficial match in 1882, he "forced

the FA The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

to change the law to hat of... today." ''Wisden'' described his footballing career in the following terms: "For several years Gunn was one of the most brilliant forwards in the country at Association football, but latterly gave up the game, reserving himself entirely for cricket." Gunn founded the sports equipment firm Gunn and Moore in 1885 and became the first former professional cricketer to serve on a county club committee. His nephews,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and John Gunn, were both England Test cricketers.

1888–1889 season

Gunn, playing as a winger, made his League debut on 22 September 1888 at Wellington Road, the then home of Aston Villa. Notts County were overwhelmed by the home team and lost 9–1. To this day that remains Notts County' heaviest defeat. The team lost by the same score on two other occasions. When Billy Gunn played as a winger on 29 September 1888 against Aston Villa he was 29 years 300 days old; that made him, on that fourth weekend of League football, Notts County' oldest player. Billy Gunn appeared in one of the 22 League matches played by Notts County in season 1888–89.

1889 onwards

By season 1892–93, when Billy Gunn ceased playing football, he had made 28 appearances (three League) and scored 14 goals (one League). Even before he finished playing Gunn was appointed a director of Notts County Football Club in August 1890. In July 1920 he became the President of Notts County Football Club. In a series of reader's letters appearing in the 'Football Post' in 1920, a Mr. W. Dawson of Sutton–in–Ashfield, shared his reminisces of Billy Gunn: "The finest outside–right who ever played football. How he used to delight the Trent Bridge spectators with his delightful runs along the wing. He seemed to go from one end of the field to the other in about three strides." The latter observation obviously associated with his great height and resultant long stride. Gunn was also renowned – before the law changed – for massive one–armed throws from the touchline. He died, still as President of Notts County, on 19 January 1921, in the Standard Hill district of Nottingham, at the age of 63.

Gallery

File:John, Billy and George Gunn c1904.jpg, Left-right: John, Billy and George Gunn c. 1904 File:William Gunn cricketer age 3.jpg, Billy Gunn aged 3 File:William Gunn cricketer age 14.jpg, Aged 14 File:William Gunn cricketer age 21.jpg, Aged 21 File:William Gunn 001.jpg, Aged 34 File:Ranji 1897 page 167 Gunn's forward-drive.jpg, Gunn's drive between mid-off and extra-cover

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, William 1858 births Cricketers from Nottingham 1921 deaths English cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers England Test cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year English footballers Notts County F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players England international footballers Players of the North cricketers Association football forwards People from Nottingham (district) Midland Counties cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers Married v Single cricketers Lord Londesborough's XI cricketers