Michael Joseph Ellison (1 June 1817 – 12 July 1898) was an English

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

er active 1846–55 who played for

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. He became a key figure in the foundation and development of

Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is a professional Cricket club based in Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the County Championship, the top tier of English First-class cricket. Nicknamed "Vikings". Yorkshire also competes in T20 Blast, O ...

from 1863. He was the club's first Treasurer and soon afterwards became its President. Ellison was born in

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located south of Doncaster, south-east of Sheffield and north of Nottingham. Located close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbys ...

and died, aged 81, in

.Michael Ellison at ESPNcricinfo
/ref> Ellison played in 16 important matches as a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

. He was judged a "useful" player only, scoring 195 runs in his 28

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

, averaging 6.96.Hodgson, p. 16. He held one catch as a fielder and was an occasional bowler who took one wicket in 30 overs.Michael Ellison at CricketArchive
/ref> Ellison's significance came after he stopped playing and undertook administrative responsibilities at

Sheffield Cricket Club The Sheffield Cricket Club was founded in the 18th century and soon began to play a key role in the development of cricket in northern England. It was the direct forerunner of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and some of the teams fielded by Sheffi ...

. In 1863, he played a major role in the foundation of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Officially, the first Club President was former Sheffield player T. R. Barker, who was then the

Lord Mayor of Sheffield The Lord Mayor of Sheffield is a ceremonial post held by a member of Sheffield City Council. They are elected annually by the council. The post originated in 1843, with the appointment of William Jeffcock as the first Mayor of Sheffield. ...

, although he probably never attended any meetings. Ellison was the first Treasurer but he soon afterwards assumed the Presidency.Hodgson, p. 14. Some accounts record Ellison as Yorkshire's first President.Kilburn, p. 13. Ellison was instrumental in bringing

Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke (16 August 1860 – 10 October 1938), generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer active from 1881 to 1911 who played for Yorkshire and England. He was born in Willingham by Stow, near ...

to the club. Hawke became Yorkshire's first amateur captain and Ellison gave him the task of transforming a talented but wayward team, often described as "ten drunks and a parson", into a winning one.Birley, pp.134–135.

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Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison, Michael 1817 births 1898 deaths English cricketers Sheffield Cricket Club cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers English cricket administrators Sportspeople from Worksop Cricketers from Nottinghamshire Presidents of Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire cricketers Gentlemen of the North cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Non-international England cricketers 19th-century English businesspeople