John Lester - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Lester was born in Penrith, Cumberland, England in 1871. He began playing cricket at a very young age. He was playing a game in Yorkshire in 1892 when he met Dr. Isaac Sharpless. Sharpless was the president of Haverford College, and invited him to the United States to attend the school. In his early days as a student in Cumberland's Ackworth School, he had been described as a "very indifferent batsman". It was only after entering Haverford that he developed his batting style. As a student at Haverford, Lester excelled as an athlete and a scholar and played football, track, tennis, and soccer. During his freshman year, he averaged 100.5 runs per innings. Lester also won the Cope Bat every year during his time at Haverford. In his final season with the school in 1896, he scored 1,185 total runs and took 40 wickets for averages of 79 and 23.2, respectively. He also captained Haverford on their first overseas tour, scoring 105 against the MCC on his first appearance at Lord's. On this tour, he created a great impression with an average of over 84 and prepared himself for the Philadelphian's tour of England the following year.