William Albert Woof (9 July 1858 – 4 April 1937) was an English

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 who played for Gloucestershire from 1878 to 1902 and for Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) between 1882 and 1885. Woof was born in Gloucester and was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

. He apprenticed as an engineer at Grantham, Lincolnshire. He played for the Gloucestershire colts in 1878 and among the five wickets he took was that of W G Grace.Wisden Obituary
/ref> He was a professional cricketer at Stubbington House, Fareham, Hampshire in May 1878
/ref> and made his first-class debut for Gloucestershire in August 1878 against Surrey. Later in 1878 he was professional at Grantham cricket club and in 1879 was with Lancashire. W G Grace got him a post as professional at Cheltenham College from 1880 to 1881 and in 1882 recommended him for the ground staff at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

. Woof played twelve matches for MCC between 1882 and 1885 and coached Cambridge from 1883 to 1884 and Oxford in 1885. His best seasons were 1884 when he took 116 wickets and 1885 when he took 100 wickets. He was able to give less time to the county while he was cricket coach at Cheltenham College from 1886. He played 140 matches for Gloucestershire taking 644 wickets for them until 1902. He also played first-class matches for the United South of England XI, the South and Orleans Club. He was also a first-class umpire from with one match in 1880 and most between 1895 and 1899. In the winter of 1903 and 1904 he umpired matches in South Africa. Woof was a left arm bowler and took 754 wickets at an average of 17.73 and a best performance of 8 for 70. He was a right-handed batsman and played 258 innings in 160 first-class matches with an average of 6.53 and a top score of 43.William Woof at Cricket Archive
/ref> Woof continued as coach at Cheltenham College until 1925. He was also managing director of W.A.Woof Ltd, which ran sports outfitting shops in Cheltenham. Woof died in

Montpellier, Cheltenham Montpellier is a district of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (England), at the end of the Promenade south of the town centre. Originally developed in the 1830s in conjunction with the spas, it is now known for its bars, cafés, restaurants and rang ...

at the age of 78 and was buried at Cheltenham College Chapel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woof, William 1858 births 1937 deaths Cricketers from Gloucester English cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers United South of England Eleven cricketers Orleans Club cricketers People educated at Bedford School