Growing Up in Australia
Samuel Moses James, or Sammy as he commonly came to be known, was born to John Woods and Margaret Ewing on 13 April 1867. His parents, both born and raised in Ireland, had emigrated to Australia in 1853 shortly after their wedding. At the time of their wedding, John Woods was described as a 'labourer', but by the birth of Samuel Woods, he was listed as a 'gentleman', having carried out various contracts in the development of Sydney, and served as the city's mayor for a term in 1865. Sammy Woods was one of five boys all of whom were athletic, and at the age of ten he played a match for an under-16s team captained by one of his elder brothers. A boy short for the match, Sammy was enlisted; he scored a few runs in each innings and claimed three wickets, and was afterwards presented with a cap by his brother, which he later claimed to prize more than even his international caps. Woods was educated at Royston College and Sydney Grammar School, and while at Royston once claimed seven wickets in seven balls. One school season, he claimed seventy wickets at an average of five runs.
Woods often missed school to watch cricket, and recounts that on more than one occasion he "got a jolly good caning". On one such occasion when he was 14, during the English tour of Australia of 1881–82, after buying a couple of the England team drinks, he bowled at George Ulyett in the nets. He played a number of matches for the Manly cricket club, taking part in challenge matches which on occasion included famous cricketers of the day such as Fred Spofforth and Billy Murdoch.
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