Personality
Meyer was unpredictable in most of what he did. Tales of his eccentric behaviour are legion and many of them appear to have more than a smattering of truth; but despite all of this, he was also a genuinely far-sighted educationalist, an unorthodox but successful entrepreneur, and a talented if unharnessed sportsman. He inspired fierce both loyalty, but also, often at the same time, a large measure of exasperation.
Meyer was a restless character, and tales of eccentric behaviour are not confined to the cricket pitch; some examples are as follows:
- Apparently in a 1947 county game, the Somerset cricketer Arthur Wellard, even older than Meyer, was bowling rather well, when Northamptonshire batsman Dennis Brookes played a false stroke through the slips which Meyer, too crippled by lumbago to bend down, failed to catch. Meyer reached into his back pocket: "Sorry Arthur, here's a quid."
- He once pulled the communication cord on the Manchester train so that his players could get some food.
- In a match interrupted by rain, Somerset took the field with only 10 men until Meyer appeared under a large red umbrella.
- Meyer allegedly needed little sleep, which he would take in the headmaster's study. He carried a horse racing form book along with other more academic works and on occasion went to London where he wagered large sums of money in gambling casinos, often losing the lot.
Read more about this topic: Jack Meyer (educator And Cricketer)
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