Retirement
After his cricket career, Pooley, as with so many of his contemporary cricketers, struggled financially and his gambling and drinking eventually lead to the Lambeth workhouse. In 1899 the writer Alfred Pullin traced and interviewed many old cricketers. He described Pooley's hands as "mere lumps of deformity" and attributed their condition to rheumatism caused by drink. Pooley became angry at this, banging the table to show he had no feeling in his fingers and that it was cricket rather than "rheumatics" that had put him in the workhouse. He took Pullin outside to show he could still catch a ball. Pooley lived on until 1907, largely forgotten while his team mates from the 1877 tour were lauded as the first Test cricketers.
His brother, Frederick Pooley, also played first-class cricket.
Read more about this topic: Ted Pooley
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