Jeffrey Baxter Stollmeyer (11 March 1921 – 10 September 1989) was a

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

cricketer 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 ...

who played as an opening batsman. He played 32 Test matches for the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, captaining 13 of these. He was also a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Early life

Stollmeyer was born in Santa Cruz,

Career

Cricket

Described as "tall and graceful with a good range of strokes marked especially by the drive" by ''

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 ...

'', he played in his first Test at the age of eighteen and made a 59 in his debut innings 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 ...

. He also had a famous opening partnership alongside Jamaican batsman Allan Rae with the duo averaging a lofty 71 in their 13 tests as a pair. Stollmeyer gained the captaincy during the 1951–52 tour of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

after John Goddard stood down in that series. He retained the captaincy during the West Indies' next three series, all of which were played at home.

Post-playing career

After his playing career, Stollmeyer had a long and distinguished career in cricket administration. He served as President of the West Indies Board of Control from 1974 until 1981, a tenure distinguished by his opposition to

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

World Series Cricket World Series Cricket (WSC) was a commercial professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 which was organised by Kerry Packer and his Australian television network, Nine Network. WSC ran in commercial competition to established ...

. In 1979 he was awarded Trinidad and Tobago's

Chaconia Medal The Chaconia Medal (abbreviated C.M. or CM) is the second highest state decoration A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an Order (distinction), order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to honor the recipient. T ...

(Gold). Stollmeyer released his autobiography ''Everything Under the Sun'' in 1983.

Legacy

In June 1988 Stollmeyer was celebrated on the $2.50 Trinidad and Tobago stamp alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle.

Personal life

Stollmeyer died on 10 September 1989 in a hospital in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, after suffering wounds from home invaders in his home in Port-of-Spain. Stollmeyer's older brother

Vic Vic, vic or VIC may refer to: People and fictional characters * Vic (name), a list of people, fictional characters and mascots with the given name * V.I.C. (rapper) (born 1987), stage name of an American rapper Places * Vic, Spain, a town and ...

also played Test cricket for the West Indies while another brother,

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

was one of Trinidad's great painters who influenced the Caribbean art movement. Stollmeyer's nephew

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

is a former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played 31 games for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stollmeyer, Jeff 1921 births 1989 deaths Trinidad and Tobago cricketers Trinidad and Tobago people of American descent West Indies Test cricketers West Indies Test cricket captains Recipients of the Chaconia Medal Trinidad and Tobago murder victims