[Ads-l] Antedating "hat trick" (three wickets in cricket)

Mon Aug 19 02:50:30 UTC 2024

Thanks for sharing your excellent article and the valuable September
12, 1858 citation naming cricketer Stephenson. Apologies for
overlooking your article.

Further below I will present a July 7, 1858 citation which further
illuminates / complicates the origin tale for "hat trick".

The Wikipedia article for hat-trick has a footnote which points to the
same September 1858 match with Hallam as the citation in your article.
(Oddly, I cannot find  "Extended Oxford English Dictionary" in
Worldcat or Google Books.)

[Begin excerpt from Wikipedia Hat-trick article]
Extended Oxford English Dictionary 1999 Edition : "It came into use
after HH Stephenson took three wickets in three balls for the
all-England eleven against the twenty-two of Hallam at the Hyde Park
ground, Sheffield in 1858. A collection was held for Stephenson (as
was customary for outstanding feats by professionals) and he was
presented with a cap or hat bought with the proceeds."
[Begin excerpt from Wikipedia Hat-trick article]

While exploring this topic I searched the British Newspaper Archive
for citations in the pertinent time period in which a cricketer who
accomplished a feat of excellence was awarded either a bat or a hat.

Here is an instance from a cricket match that occurred earlier in
1858. The number three was used to describe the feat:

Date: July 7, 1858
Newspaper: Evening Mail
Newspaper Location: London, England
Article: Cricket: The County of Kent (With Caffyn, Jackson, and G.
Parr) Against England
Quote Page 3, Column 3
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
No great score was made on either side, but in the second innings of
Kent the wickets fell so rapidly that, in one over, Stephenson, by
three successive balls, disposed of three of them, thereby, according
to custom, claiming a new "hat," which was awarded.
[End excerpt]

The phrase "according to custom" used in the excerpt above suggested
that this type of award had occurred in the past.

I was able to find examples starting in 1857 in which the award was a
bat. Perhaps in a nearby parallel universe people are talking about
"bat tricks":

Date: May 16, 1857
Newspaper: Jackson's Oxford Journal
Newspaper Location: Oxfordshire, England
Article: Cricket
Quote Page 5, Column 5
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
The former, on the first day, bowled Lockyer, Martin, and Gibson, in
three successive balls, for which he was presented with a new bat, by
the players on the ground.
[End excerpt]

Here is another citation in 1857 in which the award was a bat:

Date: October 8, 1857
Newspaper: Morning Advertiser
Newspaper Location: London, England
Article: Cricket
Quote Page 7, Column 4
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
The event of the evening was the presentation, by the President, of
two handsome silver-mounted bats, with appropriate inscriptions, to
Mr. J. Wallace and Mr. Lovell; to the first-named gentleman for having
bowled three wickets with three consecutive balls, and to the latter
for his general good and steady play.
[End excerpt]

The July 7, 1858 article in the "Evening Mail" was reprinted in "The
Canterbury Journal" on July 10:

Date: July 10, 1858
Newspaper: The Canterbury Journal
Newspaper Location: Kent, England
Article: The County of Kent (With Caffyn, Jackson, and G. Parr) Against England
Quote Page 2, Column 6
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
No great score was made on either side, but in the second innings of
Kent the wickets fell so rapidly that, in one over, Stephenson, by
three successive balls, disposed of three of them, thereby, according
to custom, claiming a new "hat," which was awarded.
[End excerpt]

On July 11, 1858 the article was reprinted again with a crucial
modification. The word "hat" was changed to "bat" without quotation
marks:

Date: July 11, 1858
Newspaper: The Era
Newspaper Location: London, England
Article: The County of Kent (With Caffyn, Jackson, and G. Parr) v. England
Quote Page 13, Column 3
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
No great score was made on either side; but in the second innings of
Kent, the wickets fell so rapidly, that, in one over Stephenson, by
three successive balls, disposed of three of them, thereby, according
to custom, claiming a new bat, which was awarded.
[End excerpt]

In October 1958 a newspaper in Sheffield, England mentioned the award of a bat:

Date: October 11, 1858
Newspaper: The Sheffield Daily Telegraph
Newspaper Location: Yorkshire, England
Article: LOCAL & GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
Quote Page 2, Column 5
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
We hear that the Chatsworth club will present Strutt with a bat,
having bowled three wickets in three consecutive balls.
[End excerpt]

In 1959 in London the award was a hat:

Date: July 15, 1859
Newspaper: The Morning Advertiser
Newspaper Location: London, England
Article: Cricket: United Master Butchers' Club
Quote Page 6, Column 6
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
One peculiar feature in the play was Mr. Absolon obtaining three
wickets in three successive balls, for which feat he was presented
with a guinea hat.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Sun, Aug 18, 2024 at 7:57 PM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
>
>
> Not quite "hat trick," but there is this precursor from a few years earlier:
>
> “Cricketer’s Register.” Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle (London), 12 September 1858, 3. Gale News Vault.
>
> "The next four wickets fell to H. Stephenson without troubling the scorers; he took three wickets in three successive balls, entitling himself to a new hat, which was presented to him by the Eleven."
>
> [ https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/hat-trick ]( https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/hat-trick )
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "ADSGarson O'Toole" <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2024 5:30pm
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: [ADS-L] Antedating "hat trick" (three wickets in cricket)
>
>
>
> A friend asked me to explore the origin of "hat trick" in the sports
> domain. The Oxford English Dictionary lists the magic trick sense of
> "hat trick" and presents an excellent 1840 citation. Next, the OED
> describes the cricket sense of "hat trick":
>
> [Begin OED excerpt]
> 2.a. Cricket. A feat accomplished by a bowler in taking three wickets
> with three successive balls.
> Originally with reference to the reward of a new hat, or an equivalent
> prize, given to the bowler by his club for the achievement.
> [End OED excerpt]
>
> The OED presents an 1868 citation for "hat trick" in the cricket
> domain. Below is an 1865 citation. This citation is already mentioned
> in the pertinent Wikipedia article.
>
> Date: June 23, 1865
> Newspaper: The Chelmsford Chronicle
> Newspaper Location: Essex, England
> Section: Supplement to the Chelmsford Chronicle
> Article: Cricket: Grays v Romford
> Quote Page 9, Column 6
> Database: Newspapers.com
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/essex-chronicle-hat-trick/153552692/
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> When the fourth wicket went down for 60 the excitement was intense.
> Grays, however, had yet a man equal for the occasion, and Mr. Biddel
> going on at W. Sackett's end, with his second ball bowled the Romford
> leviathan, Mr. Beauchamp, and afterwards performed the hat trick by
> getting three wickets in the over.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org