William Moberly

William Octavius Moberly (14 November 1850 – 2 February 1914) was an English sportsman who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire and represented the England national rugby union team.

William Moberly

Personal information
Full name	William Octavius Moberly
Born	(1850-11-14)14 November 1850 Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex
Died	2 February 1914(1914-02-02) (aged 63) Mullion, Cornwall
Batting	Right-handed
Role	Batsman, Wicket-keeper
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1876–1887	Gloucestershire
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 66 Runs scored 2104 Batting average 21.46 100s/50s 3/9 Top score 121 Catches/stumpings 48/16
Source: CricketArchive, 22 April 2023
School	Rugby School
University	Balliol College, Oxford
Rugby union career
Position(s) Three-quarter Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Ravenscourt Park Football Club () – Clifton Rugby Football Club () – Gloucestershire () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1872 England

Early life and education

Moberly was educated at Rugby School, before going to Balliol College, Oxford. He won a blue for rugby in 1872 and until 1874 played for the university. This included the first ever Varsity Match against Cambridge in 1872, with Moberly captaining Oxford to victory. He also played two first-class cricket matches for Oxford, against the Gentlemen of England in 1870 and 1872.

Rugby career

As a wing-three-quarter, he took part in the second ever rugby international between England and Scotland, in 1872. The match, which took place at The Oval, was won by England. Although at club level he always played three-quarter, he was picked as a fullback for England. He was described as a clever runner, who could "drop with either foot, and was a good shot at goal." At club level, Moberly turned out for the Ravenscourt Park Football Club.

He was appointed as an assistant master at Clifton College in 1874 and began playing for the Clifton Rugby Football Club two years later.

Cricket career

Although his duties at Clifton restricted his appearances in first-class cricket, Moberly began playing with Gloucestershire in 1876 was a member of the teams which were the Champion County that year as well as the next. He was used as a top order batsman but would also fill in as wicket-keeper whenever fellow rugby union international and Clifton teammate James Bush was injured or unavailable.

In a match against Yorkshire in Cheltenham 1876, Moberly scored 103 and his captain W. G. Grace an unbeaten 318 when they put on 261 runs for the fifth wicket. It remained a Gloucestershire fifth-wicket partnership record, the longest surviving English county record, until May 2024 when a stand of 277 by James Bracey and Graeme van Buuren against Derbyshire beat it. Moberly finished the 1876 season with 245 runs at 40.83, his best year in terms of average but he had his most prolific summer in 1883 when he amassed 351 runs at 29.25. The latter tally included his highest first-class score of 121, which he scored in a win over Somerset at Taunton.

Later life and legacy

Moberly taught at Clifton until he retired in 1913. He died suddenly in Mullion, Cornwall in February 1914; his obituary appeared in The Times. In 1993, a new boarding house at Clifton College was named after him.

External links

• William Moberly at ESPNcricinfo
• William Moberly at ESPNscrum