The Twelfth Man 2014

! 3 Our President, Mr Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird, elected President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club I n the weeks before the Club’s 151 st AGM, it became known the Board of Directors had nominated ‘Our Dickie’ to be elected President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Those of us who know and respect Dickie as President of WCLS were delighted, but knowing Dickie, were not surprised to observe him start worrying about ‘ the vote ’. No matter how much I assured him that he was a certainty, he still expressed concern as we spoke. As someone who has stood in many elections, for City, for County and four times for Parliament, I told him how I would have loved to stand in a one-man contest. We knew the postal votes were flooding in, but had to wait for an announcement at the meeting to confirm that Dickie would be elected. When the Chairman came to item No 6 on the Agenda, we sat up and took notice. ‘To elect as President, Mr Harold Bird OBE.’ The chairman announced postal votes received were: for 412, against 45 (regulars know there is always some who will vote against, even as in the case of Len Hutton). Mr Graves then called for the members in the room to vote: for 375, against a miserable 6 – and so ‘Our Dickie’ was elected by an overwhelming majority of 789 to 51. An emotional President made a brilliant ‘off-the-cuff’ speech, telling members he had been at Headingley at seven o’clock that morning and hadn’t slept a wink the previous night and how he was so “passionate about Yorkshire cricket.” Dickie pledged he would do all in his power this season to serve the club successfully, hopefully both on and off the field! At the end of the meeting, Yorkshire members flocked to offer their congratulations and it was wonderful to share in his delight. Reported by Norman Hazell Elected:!Dickie!Bird!(l)!is!congratulated! by!Yorkshire!CCC!Chairman!Colin!Graves! FLASHBACK 50 years ago – 1964 Words&by&Mick&Pope& The%Society%magazine%would%have%cost%you%2/H%as%a%nonHmember%back%in%1964,%although%a%subscription%was%surely% good%value%at%12s%6d%per%annum.%A%photo%of%new%Society%Patron,%Sir%Learie%Constantine,%featured%on%the%inside%front% cover%of%the%1964% Twelfth(Man %and%on%18%October%he%was%the%Society’s%special%dinner%guest%at%the%New%Arcadian% Hall,%Barnsley.%He%headed%an%impressive%list%of%guests%that%included%Roger%NorthcoteHGreen%(Headmaster%of%Worksop% College),%Jim%Parks,%Trevor%Bailey%and%Don%Mosey%–%wow!%Other%visitors%to%WCLS%during%1963H64%were%Douglas%Carr,% AA%Thomson,%Ted%Lester,%Arthur%Booth,%Ken%Barrington,%Keith%Andrew,%Eddie%Paynter,%and%from%Yorkshire,%Brian% Close,%Mel%Ryan,%Geoff%Boycott%(Wombwell’s%Young%Cricketer%of%the%Year%1963)%and%Tony%Nicholson.%All%of%those% White%Rose%players%on%the%same%night!%In%the%opening%weeks%of%the%1964%speaker%programme%Basil%D’Oliviera,% Bodyline%veteran%and%Derbyshire%legHspinner%Tommy%Mitchell%and%Yorkshire’s%Brian%Sellers%made%their%way%to% Wombwell.%The%death%of%Jack%Hobbs%in%late%December%1963%was%the%inspiration%to%dedicate%the%Society’s%annual% young%coaching%scholarship%in%memory%of%the%great%Surrey%and%England%batsman.%Members%abroad%numbered%almost% 30:%Wombwell%could%boast%members%in%New%Zealand,%USA,%Trinidad,%Canada,%South%Africa,%Holland,%India%and%even% Swaziland.%With%an%‘Overseas%Secretary’%in%the%form%of%Tony%Woodhouse,%the%Society%had%indeed%gone%global!% &