The drive from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is fifteen and a half hours long. But it is a perfect trip if you want to stop in Boston and New York City along the way. And, of course, if you’d like to take the trip straight down to Washington, D.C. However, Halifax is in Canada, so passports will be required. Considering the distance between the urban areas is 947 miles, naming a famous but long-forgotten Philadelphia cricket tournament after the Canadian metropolitan area is a little strange.
But, given the straight shot from Great Britain to Halifax and the easy ride down along the Atlantic Coast of New England, one isn’t too surprised that the Nova Scotia epicenter was a prestigious site for English cricket in the late nineteenth century. Thus, naming a tournament in Philadelphia the “Halifax Cup” might have been a rather intelligent marketing campaign for lovers of the world’s greatest sport from around the New World.
The Halifax Cup Was Once the Crown Jewel of North American Cricket
The Halifax Cup cricket tournament held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1880 and 1926 was once the premier cricket event in all of North America. Philadelphia was at the time, without question, the largest cricket region in America. A wide range of clubs from the area were involved in the annual competition. The Fab Four of the tournament, however, would be the heavy hitters of the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Belmont Cricket Club, Germantown Cricket Club, and Merion Cricket Club.
The tournament was named after Halifax, Nova Scotia, a major center for cricket in North America at a time when British holdovers and expats flooded the area, bringing their own version of the game known as “wickets” to the East Coast. Although the first Halifax Cup was held in 1880, and its origins have often been forgotten throughout history.
The spark that ignited the flame of the tournament began with a three-team tournament in Halifax between the Canadian home team, a squad of British Officers, and the legendary team of Philadelphians. Records of the event are available in the heavily-titled memoir The Halifax Cricket Tournament – An Account of the Visit of the American Twelve of Philadelphia to Halifax in August 1874. It was a different time in journalism. And for those unwilling to shell out the $848.98 plus $29.97 for shipping, here’s a quick breakdown of the tournament schedule.
Moving the Halifax Cup to Philadelphia
On August 18th, 1874, Canada took on Philadelphia in Halifax. Two days later, the British Officers tackled the Gentlemen from Philadelphia. Canada battled the British Officers two days later, on August 22nd. And then the tournament ended strangely on the 25th with a mysterious match between a team from the city of Halifax and a team simply known as the “All-Comers.” Excited about the trip up north, the Philadelphia players decided to take the Cup and make it their own, establishing the Halifax Cup in their stomping grounds six years later.
That 1880 tournament lasted six months from May 8th to October 23rd and consisted of six teams: Belmont, Chestnut Hill, Germantown, Girard, Merion, and the Young America Cricket Club. All six of those teams, you will note, did not exist anywhere outside of Philadelphia and so none of them included anyone anywhere near Halifax, Nova Scotia. Nonetheless, the tournament was a huge success and would carry on for 46 consecutive years.
Over the course of that nearly half-century, the Halifax Cup was a significant event in the Philadelphia cricket community. The Philadelphia Cricket Club won the tournament a total of 14 times, more than any other club. The matches were more often than not played at the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s grounds in Chestnut Hill, and they attracted large crowds of spectators. The tournament was also a major fundraiser for the club, and the proceeds were used to support the club’s operations and programs.
Setting Records in the Halifax Cup Tournament
Over the years, some of the most successful teams in the Halifax Cup behind the Philadelphia CC included Belmont with seven wins, Germantown with five, and the Merion CC with three Cup championships. The history books would write that the most successful batter in the Halifax Cup was Harry Stonor of the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Stonor would score over 1,000 runs in the tournament and hold the record for the most runs in a single match at 167.
The most successful bowler in the Halifax Cup was George Lyttelton of the Belmont Cricket Club. Lyttelton would break the century mark by taking over 100 wickets in the tournament. Like Stonor, he also holds an individual record – taking ten wickets in a single match. The Halifax Cup was discontinued in 1926 due to a decline in interest in cricket in Philadelphia. However, the tournament is still remembered by many as a highlight of the city’s cricket history.
From Philadelphia to Staten Island
The cricket clubs of old still pepper Colonial America. The Philadelphia Cricket Club, Germantown Cricket Club, and Merion Cricket Club still exist today as private clubs. The Philadelphia CC is the oldest country club in America. Haverford Cricket Club still exists in tandem with the University and Cope Field. It is recognized as the home of the largest cricket library in North America. The Belmont Cricket Club has since been replaced by the Kingsessing Recreation Center. Two other colonial cricket clubs still stand: the legendary Staten Island Cricket Club and the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston.
Aside from these, no other truly original cricket club exists in the United States. We will continue to remember these ghosts from our colonial past in a series of articles on the 365notout website, beginning with the history of the Staten Island Cricket Club which is the only club mentioned in this article open to the public. Click on the American Features tab as well as History’s Stories to read more about cricket history in the United States.
