Michael Walford
Encyclopedia
Michael Moore Walford (27 November 1915 – 16 January 2002), often known as "Micky Walford", was an all-round sportsman: a British
field hockey
player who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics
, a first-class
cricket
player for Oxford University
and Somerset
and a rugby union
centre three-quarter and stand-off half good enough to play in an international trial for the England national rugby union team
. He was born at Norton-on-Tees, County Durham
and died at Sherborne
, Dorset
, where he was for many years a schoolmaster at Sherborne School
.
He was a member of the British field hockey team at the 1948 summer Olympic Games, held in London. The team won the silver medal. He played all five matches as half-back.
, where he was in the rugby, hockey and cricket teams. As a school cricketer, he was a middle order batsman and a slow left-arm bowler and he appeared in the schools match at Lord's against Marlborough College
, part of the annual public schools games held each year at the then "headquarters" of cricket, in four consecutive years from 1931 to 1934. He was captain of the cricket team at the school in 1934.
As a rugby player, he first came to prominence as a 17-year-old when he was named as one of the centre three-quarters in the England public schoolboys' rugby team to play Scotland in the annual match at the start of 1933. In the same fixture in the 1933/34 season Walford's defensive play was singled out in the report in The Times as a factor in the English side's victory.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
player who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
, a first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
player for Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
and Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
and a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
centre three-quarter and stand-off half good enough to play in an international trial for the England national rugby union team
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
. He was born at Norton-on-Tees, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
and died at Sherborne
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, where he was for many years a schoolmaster at Sherborne School
Sherborne School
Sherborne School is a British independent school for boys, located in the town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset, England. It is one of the original member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
.
He was a member of the British field hockey team at the 1948 summer Olympic Games, held in London. The team won the silver medal. He played all five matches as half-back.
Background and education
Walford was educated at Rugby SchoolRugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
, where he was in the rugby, hockey and cricket teams. As a school cricketer, he was a middle order batsman and a slow left-arm bowler and he appeared in the schools match at Lord's against Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
, part of the annual public schools games held each year at the then "headquarters" of cricket, in four consecutive years from 1931 to 1934. He was captain of the cricket team at the school in 1934.
As a rugby player, he first came to prominence as a 17-year-old when he was named as one of the centre three-quarters in the England public schoolboys' rugby team to play Scotland in the annual match at the start of 1933. In the same fixture in the 1933/34 season Walford's defensive play was singled out in the report in The Times as a factor in the English side's victory.