The Fire Burns Out - Fred Trueman obituary

The Fire Burns Out

Tributes have been pouring in to honour ‘Fiery’ Fred Trueman, the England and Yorkshire cricket legend who died last week aged 75 following a short battle with lung cancer. Trueman, often called England’s greatest fast bowler, took 2,302 first class wickets (including four hat tricks) at an average of 18.27 and 307 Test wickets at an average of 21.54. His first class career spanned an incredible twenty years (1949–1969).

Trueman was born at Scotch Springs, Stainton, to the east of Rotherham and near the Maltby Main colliery, where his father Allan, a keen cricketer himself, was a miner.

At 14, he started playing club cricket, at 15 became an apprentice bricklayer, and at 16 joined the cricket club Sheffield United. An invitation to play for Yorkshire Boys followed, and in 1949, at 18, he made eight county appearances. At 21 he was representing England, and well on the way to becoming the nation’s leading wicket-taker.

Underlying his great talent was an enormous confidence in his own ability. He published three autobiographies in 1961, 1965 and 1976, and suggested to John Arlott that his biography should be called ‘The definitive story of the finest fast bowler that ever drew breath’. Arlott settled for ‘Fred’.

He was a opinionated figure which did not endear him with the authorities. This ‘professional northerner’ resented ‘posh sods who had come straight from university into a county side and never done a real day’s work in their lives’. In Australia on tour with England during the winter of 1962-3 he told the Duke of Norfolk that he would be addressed as ‘Fred’ or as ‘Mr Trueman’, but not by his surname alone. He also complained that England sides were not chosen on ability alone, but that some players were picked because they were a gentleman and a decent chap.

After retiring from the game, Trueman enjoyed a successful broadcasting career as a cricket commentator, where his judgements were expressed in catchphrases such as ‘in my day’ and ‘I don’t know what’s going off out there’, in which he reminded listeners of how much harder it was when he played. The writer Stephen Wagg suggests this maybe down to his working class roots. Trueman felt guilty about escaping from the world of physical toil, and so presented cricket as hard graft.

Despite his brushes with authority, Trueman was a rebel only to himself. He was the classic working class deferential voter who always supported the Conservative Party. In Don Mosey’s biography, he reveals on the very first page his subject’s loathing for Arthur Scargill, the leader of the National Union of Mineworkers. Trueman was often heard to use language that breached common decency, and he also supported the racist Cricket Union in South Africa, featuring on their promotional videos.

There are many myths that surround this legendry cricketer. Some tributes have bordered on the ridiculous. According to former England captain Mike Gatting “he never bowled a bad ball.” Trueman was renowned for his action and technique as a bowler, but his control was occasionally wayward.

His claims that the game was tougher ‘in my day’ defy logic. The training facilities, coaching and diet are so superior in the current game. The gruff Trueman represented a nostalgic perception of a better time that existed in his head. At best he was a contradiction. At worst, a throwback reactionary, and a bit of a joke.