 Schwarz bowling in about 1905 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Reginald Oscar Schwarz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1875-05-04)4 May 1875 Lee, London, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 18 November 1918(1918-11-18) (aged 43) Étaples,Pas-de-Calais, France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Leg-break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut | 2 January 1906 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 15 July 1912 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:CricketArchive,29 May 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MajorReginald Oscar SchwarzMC (4 May 1875 – 18 November 1918), known asReggie Schwarz, was a South African internationalcricketer andrugby union footballer.[1]
Schwarz was born inLee in London in 1875, the son of Robert George Schwarz, a merchant fromBreslau who lived inBagshot in Surrey. Schwarz was educated atSt Paul's School in London, and matriculated toChrist's College, Cambridge in 1893.[2] While at Cambridge he joined theCambridge University rugby team and inthe Varsity Match of 1893 he won his only sportingBlue. Although Schwarz became better known as a cricketer than a rugby player, he did not win a Blue for cricket.[3]
Schwarz won three caps forEngland against Scotland in1899, and Wales and Ireland in1901. At club level, Schwarz played forRichmond and in the 1896–97 season was invited to play forthe Barbarians.
Schwarz played a handful of games forMiddlesex County Cricket Club in 1901 and 1902 before emigrating to South Africa where he played forTransvaal. It was on his return to England with theSouth African cricket team in 1904 that he made his mark, having learned fromBernard Bosanquet how to bowl thegoogly. Unusually, he bowled it as his stock delivery, with considerable success: in 1904 and 1907 he topped thebowling averages, in the latter year taking 137 wickets at just 11.70 apiece, and he was named as aWisden Cricketer of the Year in 1908. On that 1907 tour, the first on which South Africa played Tests in England, they had no fewer than four leg-break and googly bowlers, Schwarz having passed on the secret of the googly toAubrey Faulkner,Bert Vogler andGordon White.
Schwarz retired from playing regularly after the 1912 season, although he appeared three times for L Robinson's XI over the next two seasons. In all he took 398 wickets at abowling average of 17.58, and in Tests he took 55 wickets at 22.60. Schwarz made one first class century: 102 runs scored in a non-Test game against an England XI atLord's in 1904.
Schwarz was a member of the London stock exchange from 1899 to 1902, before joining South African Railways in 1902 after his move to South Africa. From 1904 to 1911, he was a Member of the South African stock exchange until he rejoined the London stock exchange on his return to Britain.
Schwarz was aMajor in theKing's Royal Rifle Corps of theBritish Army and fought on theWestern Front in World War I. He was given the role of Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General and was Assistant Controller of Salvage. For his actions during the war he wasMentioned in Despatches and was awarded theMilitary Cross. He survived the war, but died in theSpanish flu epidemic atÉtaples in northern France just seven days after theArmistice had been signed. He was 43.[4]
Media related toReggie Schwarz at Wikimedia Commons