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2011 New Inning Foundation USA Cricket Awards: The Bart King Award for Lifetime Achievement in American Cricket - Alfred Reeves
by DreamCricket USA
Dec 21, 2011

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By Peter Della Penna

DreamCricket.com is wrapping up the year in United States Cricket by recognizing USA’s standout performers at the international level. For the first time, DreamCricket.com is also taking an opportunity to commend individuals off the field who have made an outstanding contribution to the overall fabric of the cricket community in America. The recipient of the 2011 Bart King Award for Lifetime Achievement in American Cricket is Alfred Reeves. The award is presented by the New Inning Foundation.

As the President of the British Officers’ Cricket Club and vice-president of the C.C. Morris Library Association, J. Alfred Reeves has played a vital role in preserving US cricket’s longstanding ties to the Philadelphia area. He is a co-founder of the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival, a highly respected cricket tournament for both its competitive and social nature that will be entering its 20th year in 2012.

Image (right) - Alfred Reeves (pictured left) [Courtesy: Craig Joss]

Most recently, Reeves was instrumental in helping to bring to fruition “Swinging Away: How Baseball & Cricket Connect.” The exhibit showcased the two sports side by side at the MCC Museum at Lord’s in London for eight months in 2010 before arriving at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., in April where it is scheduled to run until March of 2012.

Reeves arrived to the United States in the late 1970s having spent most of his life working and living in Yorkshire. In 1985, Reeves helped resurrect the British Officers’ Cricket Club, which had disbanded at the start of World War II. The club plays in the Garden State Cricket League in the Atlantic Region.

Reeves' efforts to revive and build on cricket traditions in America saw him receive special recognition from Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, in September of 2002. Reeves received a piece of Waterford crystal from the Duke with the engraved message, “Alfred Reeves – With gratitude, and in recognition of your services to Commonwealth cricket in the United States of America. Presented by the Duke of York.”

The 86-year-old Reeves served in the British Army during World War II and has been married to his wife Betty for 56 years. Craig Joss, one of the co-founders of the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival who is a former member of the British Officers’ Cricket Club and currently a member of Merion Cricket Club in Philadelphia, offers some reflections on Reeves:

Alfred has been a role model, a mentor and most importantly a friend to me. Alfred has always conducted himself with dignity and humility. He embodies the spirit of cricket. He always played to win but held the virtues of the game above all else. I remember Alfred on the field rejoining, “First the game, then the team, then the player.”

Alfred has held many important offices and has comported himself admirably in all of his assigned tasks. However it is not his rank or position that defines Alfred, rather it is his humanity. Through the British Officers’ Cricket Club, Alfred fostered a place where literally hundreds of people (including myself) were welcomed, discovered camaraderie and immediately became part of an extended cricket family. Recent arrivals to the area were provided with a network of friends and teammates. Over the holidays, everyone was invited to Alfred and Betty’s house for the “Reeves Revels” – food and festivities that on occasion, resembled a holiday pantomime.

Alfred’s vision and dedication has spawned many cricket initiatives in the Philadelphia area. Alfred and the British Officers’ Cricket Club were founding members of the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival. This charity sporting event, now in its 20th year, has welcomed teams from across the United States and world to the Philadelphia region. In 2012 over 200 cricketers are expected to partake in the event from 16 different nationalities.

Image (right) - Alfred Reeves stands as an umpire at a match in Philadelphia. [Courtesy: Craig Joss]

In 2008, largely through Alfred’s efforts, former West Indian Test cricketer Deryck Murray, was able to arrange for a representative Under-19 team from Trinidad & Tobago to attend the Cricket Festival. These youngsters went on to win the event in a closely contested final against a very competitive cricket team from Canada. This provided a life experience for all of the young players and their family members who participated in the event. Alfred on many occasions has also served as ambassador for the Festival accompanying cricketing greats such as: Sir Richard Hadlee, Sir Garfield Sobers, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood and others during their visits to the United States.

Alfred has volunteered extensively on many committees. He has been a member of, and served on the board of, the C.C. Morris Cricket Library for over 20 years. The C. Christopher Morris Cricket Library and Collection is the largest collection of cricket literature and memorabilia in the western hemisphere. The library includes over a thousand volumes and a very large collection of related printed and photographic materials and related items of cricket history. Housed at Haverford College, the Library has offered the public access to the rich American cricketing heritage for the past 40 years.

Most recently through the Library, Alfred was instrumental in organizing an international exhibit, “Swinging Away: How Cricket & Baseball Connect.” Memorabilia from the C.C. Morris Library was a large part of the exhibit that showed in London at Lord’s and then later in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Again through the Library, Alfred has been an avid supporter of the United States Youth Cricket Association (USYCA). This non-profit organization founded by Jamie Harrison had, as of August 2011, donated 684 cricket sets to schools in the United States. Because of the USYCA Schools Program, cricket will be played this fall by hundreds of thousands of American schoolchildren.

Alfred has always been generous with his time. Often, he and I will meet early on Saturday mornings for breakfast at the 401 Diner in Conshohocken. Always on time, Alfred arrives with his handwritten checklist of notes to make sure that none of the important cricketing topics are omitted. His insights are always invaluable. His comments are always sincere. And most importantly, he still has that mischievous sparkle in his eyes as he recounts cricketing highlights like the time he took nine wickets in a cricket match in England and then reflects, “Bloody hell, I should have bowled them all out!”

Bart King, America’s greatest cricketer, achieved many of his greatest feats while playing in Philadelphia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1908, Bart King led the first class bowling averages in England. Donald Bradman called him "America's greatest cricketing son."

It is only fitting that the first recipient of the Bart King Award for Lifetime Achievement in American Cricket is Alfred Reeves, a man who was done so much in Philadelphia and beyond to sustain the rich tradition and history of cricket in the United States.

In recognition of his contributions to the American cricket community, Reeves will receive a plaque as well as a $250 gift certificate sponsored by the New Inning Foundation and DreamCricket.com.

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Wretched man or woman that I (barely) am! Who will deliver me from this debilitating anxiety about my standing before others?