Name:

Fry, Charles B

Nickname:

C. B., The Superman

Date of Birth:

25 Apr 1872

Gender:

Men

Place of Birth:

Croydon, Surrey, England

Date Died:

07 Sep 1956

Career:

Test: 1896 - 1912

Teams:

Sussex (Regional)
England (Country)

C B Fry: England cricket captain

Charles Burgess “C.B.” Fry (1872-1956) was a sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer.

Often called “The Superman” for his extraordinary versatility, Fry epitomized the Victorian ideal of the gentleman amateur athlete.

After attending Repton public school he went on to win a scholarship to Wadham College Oxford, where he eventually gained a first-class honours degree in Classic Moderations. At university, he represented Oxford at football, cricket and athletics, and would go on to achieve remarkable success across multiple sports - playing cricket for England, Hampshire, and Sussex, playing football for Southampton FC & Corinthians FC with 1 appearance for England England Football Online, and even holding the long-jump record for a while.

Beyond athletics, Fry built a successful career in journalism and publishing, writing for The Captain magazine for boys, the Daily Express, the Evening Standard and other publications, while from 1904 to 1914 Newnes published C.B.Fry’s Magazine, in which he wrote about everything from Esperanto to men’s fashions, safety razors.

As a highly effective right-handed batsman who batted at, or near the top of the order, Fry scored 30,886 first-class runs at an average of 50.22, a particularly high figure for an era when scores were generally lower than today. In 26 Tests, Fry made 1223 runs at 32.

John Arlott described him with the words: “Charles Fry could be autocratic, angry and self-willed: he was also magnanimous” - a complex character who became one of the most celebrated and accomplished figures of the late Victorian and Edwardian sporting world.