Some of the players at the fundraising cricket match in Wallace Park. Left to right: W. Adams (Lancashire County Cricket Club), George M. Crothers (Lisburn), James L. White (Cheshire County Cricket Club), G. D. Smith (Lisburn captain), and Learie N. Constantine (West Indies).
LMILC.2021.235, gifted by John Crothers
At our recent exhibition ‘Something Old, Something New‘ (ended Sept. 2024), we featured a scrapbook compiled by a local cricketer, flax buyer, and journalist, George M. Crothers (1909-82).
Included in the scrapbook are newspaper clippings and photographs relating to the visit of Learie N. Constantine (1901-71) to Lisburn in 1946, which George had played a key part in organising. Learie, the great grandchild of slaves, was a famous cricketer originally from Trinidad. Although his professional career was based mostly in England, he continued to play Test matches for the West Indies.
He was invited to Lisburn along with a top team of ‘Constantine’s XI’ to help raise funds for the local club pavilion. Crowds flocked to Wallace Park on Friday 14 June 1946 to see Learie in action. The home team was decisively beaten. The Lisburn Standard noted that:
‘Mr. Constantine, who must be one of the most colourful cricketing personalities ever to visit Lisburn, proved, as anticipated, not only an authority and student of the noble art, but also revealed himself a man of great personal charm. Indeed the many players and officials of the Lisburn Club who had the privilege of meeting Mr. Constantine were agreed that the high position he shares in English cricket today is solely due to his love of the game, coupled with his great personality.’
Learie was presented a blackthorn stick for supporting the fundraiser. After the match, he gave a talk on his cricketing experiences in the Assembly Room (now Lisburn Museum) which was followed by a sports quiz.
Throughout his life, Learie was a prominent voice for racial equality and became the UK’s first black peer in 1969.