Eric William Mann (4 March 1882 – 11 February 1954) was an English
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er and
philatelist
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...
who signed the
Roll of Distinguished Philatelists
The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921 to honour those who have advanced philately through research, expertise, or service. ...
Royal Philatelic Society London
The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philately, philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History ...
Association of British Philatelic Societies
The Association of British Philatelic Societies, commonly known as the ''ABPS'', is the British national association of philatelic societies, regional philatelic federations, and specialist philatelic societies.Archived here. /ref>
Early life
Mann was born at
Sidcup
Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...
in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
and educated at
Harrow School
Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
. Retrieved 11 December 2018.Dauglish MG, Stephenson PK (ads) (1911) ''The Harrow School Register 1800–1911'', third edition, p.760. London: Longmans Green. Available online Retrieved 11 December 2018.) He played both cricket and
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
at school, captaining the cricket team in 1901 and the football side in 1899 and 1900. He captained the cricket team to victory in the
Eton v Harrow
The Eton v Harrow cricket match is an annual match between public school rivals Eton College and Harrow School. It is the oldest modern sporting rivalry between two schools, one of the longest-running annual sporting fixtures in the world and ...
match at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
in 1901, scoring 69 runs in an innings which was described as "fine and attractive".Ford WJ (1902 Public school cricket in 1901 ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...
'', 1902, p.306. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Cricket
At school Mann was described as "a good player and a good captain"Ford ''op. cit.'', p.xciii. and at University he played for the
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
side from 1902 to 1905, captaining it in his final season.Eric Mann CricketArchive. Retrieved 11 December 2018. He won his first cricket Blue in 1903 and played in three
University match
The University Match is an annual cricket fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. First played in 1827, it is the oldest varsity match in the world.
Until 2001, when first-class cricket was reorga ...
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...
'', 1955. Retrieved 11 December 2018. His form as a batsman was generally steady and it was not until his final season at Cambridge that he stood out, topping the Cambridge batting averages with 758 runs at an
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
of 46.05 runs per innings, including scoring both of his first-class centuries. He captained the side to victory in the university match, although he made scores of 14 and 0 in the match.Carlaw D (2020) ''Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914'' (revised edition), pp.351–352. Available online at the
Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians
The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Stati ...
. Retrieved 22 December 2020.)
His ''
Wisden
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...
'' obituary described Mann as "a hard-hitting batsman with free style and special strength on the leg-side" and as "a useful change bowler", although he played little first-class cricket after leaving university, at least in part due to business commitments. He played in six matches for
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ken ...
whilst at university but had "little success" and averaged only 7.50 runs for the county side.Jeater D (2020) ''County Cricket: Sundry Extras'' (second edition), p.110. Available online at the
Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians
The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Stati ...
. Retrieved 22 December 2020.)
In 1905 Mann captained an MCC side which toured North America, playing in both first-class matches against the
Gentlemen of Philadelphia
The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, t ...
, the last of his career. He continued to play club cricket when time allowed, playing for a variety of teams including Band of Brothers, Sidmouth and MCC.
Business and later life
After leaving university, Mann joined the family business EW Mann & Co, a coal distribution and marketing business which operated across southern England. He married Kitzie Cameron, the daughter of Ewen Cameron, chairman of the
Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank
HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...
, in 1906; the couple had five children, one of whom died on active service during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Mann was in business throughout his life. He was a director of a range of companies, including pharmaceutical manufacturer's Southall's, British Safety Films, Belmont Hotels and Mann, Taylor & Co and was chairman of the British East Africa Corporation. He was president of the
Royal Philatelic Society
The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...
between 1946 and 1949 and hunted with the Royal Berkshire Hunt.
Mann died at
Rye
Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...
in
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...