Fred Grace's Only Test — and Death Two Weeks Later, September 1880

Fred Grace had been considered the most graceful cricketer of the three brothers. He had played for Gloucestershire since 1866 and was a regular for Gentlemen and South.

The Oval Test was scheduled at short notice in late August after Lord Harris and the Australian XI's manager George Alexander reconciled the Sydney Riot fallout. The Grace brothers were the obvious England nucleus.

The 6-8 September 1880 Test at the Oval was the first home Test for England. The Grace brothers — W.G. (152), E.M. (36) and Fred (0 and 0) — became the only three brothers ever to play in the same Test for England. Fred's most famous moment came in the field. George Bonnor, Australia's 6ft 6in giant, struck a Spofforth-shocking skier off Alfred Shaw that hung in the air for so long the batsmen turned for a third run. Fred, fielding in the deep, ran around and held the catch — one of the most celebrated catches of the 19th century. England won by 5 wickets. Two weeks later, on his way to a fixture at Stroud, Fred caught a chill in the rain, slept on a damp mattress at a country inn, and developed pneumonia. He died at Basingstoke at 13:15 on 22 September 1880. He was 29. W.G. and members of the family had hurried to his bedside but arrived after he died. The death — at the height of his career and so soon after the Oval Test — shocked the cricket world.

“There were never three brothers in cricket like the Graces, and Fred was the most graceful of them all.”

W.G. Grace was devastated and missed several months of cricket. Fred was buried at Downend, Bristol; the Gloucestershire side wore black armbands for the rest of the autumn. The funeral attracted thousands of mourners.