William Justice Ford

William Justice Ford (7 November 1853 – 3 April 1904) was an English schoolmaster, known as a cricketer and sports writer.

William Justice Ford
8th Headmaster of Nelson College
In office 1886–1888
Preceded by	John Chapman Andrew
Succeeded by	John William Joynt
Personal details
Born	(1853-11-07)7 November 1853 Paddington, Middlesex, England
Died	3 April 1904(1904-04-03) (aged 50) Kensal Green, Middlesex, England
Spouse	Katherine Macey Browning ​ ​ (m. 1887)​
Relations	Francis Ford (brother) Lionel Ford (brother) Henry Justice Ford (brother) George Samuel Ford (grandfather) Neville Ford (nephew) Bear Grylls (great-great-nephew)
Cricket information
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm slow
Role	Occasional wicketkeeper
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1873–1874	Cambridge University
1879–1894	Middlesex
1881–1896	Marylebone Cricket Club
1886/87–1888/89	Nelson
First-class debut	19 May 1873 England XI v Cambridge University
Last First-class	14 May 1896 MCC v Leicestershire
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 25 Runs scored 711 Batting average 17.77 100s/50s 0/4 Top score 75 Balls bowled 401 Wickets 13 Bowling average 16.38 5 wickets in innings 1 10 wickets in match 0 Best bowling 6/56 Catches/stumpings 19/2
Source: CricketArchive, 5 February 2016

Life

The eldest of seven sons of William Augustus Ford, of Lincoln's Inn Fields, by his wife Katherine Mary Justice, he was born in London on 7 November 1853; of his brothers, Augustus Frank Justice (b. 1858) and Francis Gilbertson Justice (b. 1866) distinguished themselves in Repton, Cambridge University, and Middlesex cricket, while a third, Lionel George Bridges Justice (b. 1865), became headmaster of Harrow School in 1910. Educated at Eagle House, Wimbledon, and at Repton School, where he played in the cricket eleven (1870–2), William entered St. John's College, Cambridge, as minor scholar in 1872, having first entered Trinity College earlier that year. He became foundation scholar in 1874, and graduated B.A. with second-class classical honours in 1876, proceeding M.A. in 1878.

Ford was a master at Marlborough College from 1877 to 1886, and from that year until 1889 was headmaster of Nelson College, New Zealand. On his return to England he became in April 1890 headmaster of Leamington College, from which he retired in 1893.

Ford died of pneumonia at Abingdon Mansions on 3 April 1904, and was buried at Kensal Green.

Cricketer

Ford was a cricket blue at Cambridge, and played for Middlesex. He was 6 ft. 3 in. in height and weighed in 1886 over 17 stone. He was reputed as one of the hardest-hitting cricketers, surpassed only by Charles Inglis Thornton. His longest authenticated hit was 144 yards; in August 1885 at Maidstone he scored 44 runs in 17 minutes in the first innings, and 75 runs in 45 minutes in the second innings for Middlesex v. Kent. He was a slow round arm bowler and a good field at point.

Works

After retiring from teaching, Ford wrote on cricket, publishing A Cricketer on Cricket (1900); Middlesex County Cricket Club 1864–1899 (1900); and A History of the Cambridge University Cricket Club 1820–1901 (1902). He compiled the articles on "Public School Cricket" for Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack from 1896 to 1904 and in Prince Ranjitsinhji's Jubilee Book of Cricket (1897). He also contributed articles to the Cyclopaedia of Sport and to the Encyclopædia Britannica, and the chapter on "Pyramids and Pool" to the Badminton Library volume Billiards.

Family

Ford married Katherine Macey Browning at All Saints' Church, Nelson, on 22 December 1887.

Notes

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1912). "Ford, William Justice". Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). Vol. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.