William Prest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Prest (1 April 1832 – 10 February 1885) was a cricketer and footballer born in York. He lived most his life in Sheffield where he went on to become co-founder of Sheffield Football Club and captained Yorkshire at cricket.[1]. He was also involved with the formation of a local regiment, the Hallamshire Rifles, with whom he served with for most of his life.
[edit] Biography
William was son of John and Arabella Prest and moved with them to Sheffield when his brother John Beevor Prest bought a wine business.[2] There he became a noted cricketer and played cricket for Yorkshire 16 times between 1852 and 1862. He scored 286 runs at an average of 10.21 as a batter and got at total of 3 wickets for 69 runs as a bowler. All 3 wickets came in the same match.[3]
In the winter of 1854, Prest attended the meeting at the Adelphi Hotel in Arundel Gate when the Sheffield Cricket Club agreed to lease a new ground from the Duke of Norfolk next to Bramall Lane.
He also played for "The Eleven" against "The Twenty-two" in the first cricket match at the venue on 30 April 1855. He was bowled out by J Rowbotham in the first innings without scoring a run a thus became the first player to score a duck at the ground.[2]
Prest is most notable for being co-founder of Sheffield F.C. and the Sheffield Rules. He took part in football matches played by Sheffield C.C. from 1855. In 1857 he and Nathaniel Creswick decided to create a football club. The club was officially formed on 24 October with William becoming one of the vice-presidents. The club also established an annual athletics meeting to be held at the end of each season. At the inaugural event, watch by a crowd of 4000, Prest excelled winning a total of 12 events.[2]
In 1859 William Prest was involved with the formation of the 2nd West Yorkshire Rifles, better known as the Hallamshire Rifles.[2] He was involved with the battalion until his death and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He died in 10 February 1885 (aged 52) due a seizure caused by a burst blood vessel. His funeral was held at Sheffield General Cemetery three days later with full military honours. The route was lined with several thousand mourners.
[edit] References
- ^ Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. Sports Books Limited. pp. 38. ISBN 978 1 8999807 56 7.
- ^ a b c d Hutton, Steven; Graham Curry, Peter Goodman (2007). Sheffield FC. At Heart Limited. pp. 24-25. ISBN 9781845471743.
- ^ "William Prest". Cricinfo. http://content-www.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/19239.html. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
