History of United States Cricket - Decline of Popularity

Decline of Popularity

Even as the Philadelphians were faring poorly in England in 1908, a more disturbing trend was showing itself back home in Philadelphia. The sport's grassroots popularity was waning. Many Philadelphian professionals began to fill their leisure time with other activities such as golf and tennis. Starting around 1905, the number of matches held in the city dropped off. Some of the great clubs of the city even began to close down due to lack of members. Bart King's own Belmont Cricket Club sold its grounds and disbanded in 1914. The sport slowly declined in Philadelphia and the last first-class match in the city was played in 1913. The game was still being played at Haverford College at least as late as 1925, when a team from the college visited England and played a number of English "public schools".

Another blow to cricket in the United States was the formation of the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909. As the name implied, this was meant to be an organization for cricketing nations in the British Empire. Countries such as Australia and South Africa were able to continue playing internationally, while the United States was left out. Although commentator Robert Waller predicted that cricket "had taken so deep a root in Philadelphia that it could never be uprooted," the lack of support and international apathy caused an irreversible decline.