Montagu Henry Toller (1 January 1871 – 5 August 1948) 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 who played for both

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

in the late 19th century. He made six first-class appearances for Somerset, all in 1897, but was predominantly a good

club cricket Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obse ...

er. In 1900, he was part of the Devon Wanderers team that represented Great Britain in the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

, the only time cricket has featured in the Olympics.

Life

Montagu Henry Toller was born in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

on 1 January 1871, the son of William Henry Toller. He attended

Blundell's School Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...

in Tiverton, where he played for both the cricket XI and the rugby XV. Like his father before him, he became a solicitor, but after marrying Harriet Jones in 1901, he assumed joint-management of the Royal & Fortescue Hotel in Barnstaple with his new wife. He took an active role in local politics, and was elected as an independent candidate to both the County and Town Councils. He later split from his wife, who maintained management of the hotel, while Toller moved to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

where he once again practiced as a solicitor. He died after a short illness in Meon Beach,

Titchfield Titchfield is a village and former civil parish in the Borough of Fareham, Fareham district, in southern Hampshire, England, by the River Meon. The village has a history stretching back to the 6th century. During the medieval period, the villa ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, on 5 August 1948, aged 77.

Sporting career

Toller was described in an article about him in the ''Western Evening Herald'' as being "an adept" at both rugby and cricket, and was an all-round sportsman who also played tennis, golf and billiards to a respectable level. At cricket, Toller was a right-handed batsman and right-arm

fast bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...

, with a strong and sturdy physique. He was described by the Somerset cricket historian Stephen Hill as a prominent club cricketer who was a "leading light" for the Devon and Somerset Wanderers. He played second-class cricket for

between 1889 and 1895, during which time he was presented with many awards for his bowling and batting performances. During 1895 he was invited to play for

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...

's team towards the end of the season, in which he scored 41 runs in the first innings. He had a successful trial with

in 1897, in which he scored 33 runs for "Sammy Woods' XI", and he subsequently made six first-class appearances for the county that season as an amateur. Hill describes his usage for Somerset as strange; in club cricket Toller was best regarded for his

fast bowling Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...

, and yet he only bowled once for Somerset, taking one wicket for 15 runs against

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. By the end of the 1897 season, ''

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 ...

'' magazine said that he had "proved an entire failure" for Somerset. His obituary in the ''North Devon Journal'' praised his rugby prowess for Barnstaple RFC, one of the prominent clubs in the south-west at the time. He played as a three-quarter back, and was also capped at county level for

, for whom he first appeared in 1889. In the 1894–95 season, he achieved the rare feat of scoring three

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kick ...

s in one match for Barnstaple. He was offered the captaincy of Barnstaple more than once, but declined it on each occasion.

Olympics

Toller was a member of the gold medal-winning Great Britain cricket team at the

, the only time cricket has featured in the Olympics. In the only game, against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, he scored two runs in the Great Britain first innings and did not bat in the second. He took seven wickets, all of them

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, it is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batter. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batter, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. ...

, while conceding only nine runs in the French second innings, helping Great Britain to victory with just five minutes to spare in the match.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toller, Montagu 1871 births People educated at Blundell's School 1948 deaths English cricketers English Olympic competitors Somerset cricketers Devon cricketers Olympic cricketers for Great Britain Cricketers at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Cricketers from Barnstaple English solicitors