by The Professor » Mon Jul 25, 2016 10:00 am
On this day in 1948 there was a rest day between England and Australia so, seeing as we are still on Don Bradman's final series, it seems a good opportunity to share another Bradman story.
Don and Jessie Bradman were married in St Paul’s Church in the Sydney suburb of Burwood on 30th April, 1932.
Ever servants to cricket, their honeymoon was unusual with Jessie accompanying her husband and several other cricket players on a tour, ogranised by former Test player Arthur Mailey, to the United States and Canada. The tour lasted from May - September 1932 and games were played in Vancouver, Cowichan, Toronto, Guelph, Montreal, New York, Windsor, Chicago, Winnipeg, Moose Jaw, Regina, Yorkton, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Hollywood (in that order). While in New York Don Bradman met the legendary baseballer ‘Babe’ Ruth.
The team had seven members with Test experience, Alan Kippax, Stan McCabe, L. O. ‘Chuck’ Fleetwood-Smith, Hanson Carter, Don Bradman, Athur Mailey & Vic Richardson, the rest being cricket enthusiasts. During the tour Bradman made many big scores including a North American record of 260 runs verses Western Ontario on 4th July.
"It has been said of the unseen army of the dead, on their everlasting march, that when they are passing a rural cricket ground the Englishman falls out of the ranks for a moment to look over the gate and smile."