George Harrison

Who was George Harrison?

George Puckrin Harrison, also known as "Shoey" because he was a shoemaker by trade was an English cricketer who played fifty-nine first-class matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1883 and 1892. He also appeared in first-class cricket for the Players, T Emmett's XI, Lord Sheffield's XI, An England XI and L Hall's Yorkshire XI.

Born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, Harrison began his career on 3 May 1883 at Lord's for Colts of the North against Colts of the South where as an unknown 21-year-old he obtained nine of eleven wickets – all clean bowled – for fourteen runs.

Harrison consequently came straight into a strong Yorkshire eleven when he dismissed Monkey Hornby in the first innings, and bowled out Lord Harris for 2 in the second. Harrison soon became regarded as the fastest bowler seen for some time in first-class cricket, and in only his third first-class match against Kent he took eleven for 76 and bowled unchanged through both innings with Ted Peate. With the aid of a number of very fiery pitches in Yorkshire and at Old Trafford, Harrison took eighty-eight wickets for Yorkshire at a total cost of only 1,049 runs. In the process Harrison surpassed 1882's record-breaking wicket taker Peate as Yorkshire's most destructive bowler and became the first bowler to take 100 wickets during the season of his initial first-class appearance.