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W. G. Grace played in 33 matches in the 1878 English cricket season, 24 of which are recognised as first-class. His main roles in 1878 were as captain of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and as both match organiser and captain of the United South of England Eleven (USEE). In addition, he represented Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture and the South in the North v South series. 1878 was a cold, wet summer and not one of Grace's better seasons as a batsman, but he was very effective in such conditions as a right arm medium pace roundarm bowler and completed a sixth successive "double" by scoring 1,151 runs and taking 152 wickets in first-class matches. ==Background== It is believed that Grace contemplated retirement from cricket in the winter of 1877–78.〔Darwin, p.57.〕 He had been seriously injured in a shooting accident in September 1877, which nearly cost him the sight of one eye, and this may have caused him to review his life. Still unqualified as a doctor and with a growing family to support, Grace had doubts about his long-term security even though he was making considerable profit from cricket by way of "grossly inflated" expense claims and appearance fees. Unexpectedly, MCC solved his financial problems by voting him a National Testimonial with a view to purchasing a medical practice out of the proceeds. It was hoped that a regular income would "end the embarrassment of his blatant shamateurism".〔Rae, pp.217–219〕 It is said that the arrival of the first Australian touring team "tipped the beam in favour of cricket" but it was also the case that no one, especially Grace, took the Australian players too seriously.〔 It is more likely that A. J. Webbe was right when he said: "WG never ''could'' have given up cricket".〔 Grace was living in Gloucestershire in 1878. He and his wife Agnes had moved to London in February 1875 when he was assigned to St Bartholomew's Hospital to further his medical education. They lived in an Earl's Court apartment until autumn 1877 when they returned to Gloucestershire and lived with Grace's elder brother Henry, who was a general practitioner (GP) at Kingswood, near Bristol. The Graces already had two sons and their third child Bessie was born in May 1878.〔Midwinter, p.67.〕 When not playing cricket, Grace had to study a backlog of medical theory and, after the season ended, he was assigned to Westminster Hospital for his final year of medical practice; the family moved back to London and lived at Acton until he finally qualified in November 1879.〔Midwinter, pp.73–75.〕 By the time Grace celebrated his 30th birthday in July 1878, he was arguably the most famous man in England; but he was also one of the most controversial on account of his gamesmanship and moneymaking.〔Birley, p.208.〕 Both of these aspects were subject to serious challenge in the light of events in 1878. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「W. G. Grace in the 1878 English cricket season」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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