E. M. Grace Cricketer
Edward Mills ("EM") Grace was a member of the famous cricketing Grace family and the elder brother of W G Grace and Fred Grace. He controversially held amateur status but was criticised for the money he made by playing. EM Grace (always known by his initials) was one of the great cricketers of the 1860s and 1870s, though he was overshadowed by his younger brother WG. EM performed one of the most amazing all-round feats ever on 15 August 1862. He carried his bat through the entire MCC innings, scoring 192 not out of a total of 344. He then took all 10 wickets in the Kent first innings for 69 runs. However, although the match is recognised as first-class, this is not an official record as it was a 12-man game. After the 1863 season, EM toured America with George Parr's side, but he did not perform well, being hampered by a bad hand. He then pulled out of first-class cricket whilst he qualified as a surgeon, but returned on the formation of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in 1871, of which he was secretary until his resignation in 1909. Thanks mainly to the combined efforts of the Grace brothers, Gloucestershire became the champion county in 1874, 1876 and 1877; they also shared the title in 1873. All three brothers were selected for the first Test match played in England, which was at the Oval in 1880. This remains the only instance of three brothers playing for England in the same Test. EM finally dropped out of the Gloucestershire first team in 1896, aged 54, but he continued playing club cricket for Thornbury until 1909, despite increasing lameness. In first-class matches, he scored 10,025 runs at an average of 18.66, with 5 hundreds. He took 305 wickets at 20.37. However it was once calculated that, in all matches, his career tallies amounted to 12,078 wickets and 76,760 runs. In the 1863 season alone he managed 339 wickets and 3,074 runs. EM's nickname was "The Coroner", since he was coroner for the lower division of Gloucestershire. EM was married four times and sired eighteen children. His first wife, Annie, was born at Demarara. Their eldest daughter, Annie, was labelled a dumb imbecile. By 1881, they had at least six other daughters: Edith, Florie, Mina, Sarah, Alice and Sybil; and two sons Edward and Francis.
