Talk:George Watson (umpire)

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Do you reckon this George Watson might be the same George Watson described in this article? It places him in Australia, around these dates, and having just retired from "The Advertiser" in 1908, so it's certainly possible - but on the other hand, it's not an unusual name. A google search didn't shed much light. Thoughts? -- All the best, Nickj (t) 23:22, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Hmm, possible I suppose. However, I've noticed that in the early days, i.e., pre First World War, there were a number of umpires who stood in only one or two games, in Adelaide. I suspect that in days when transport was slower and more costly, the cricket authorities saved on costs by using local umpires rather than paying for the two best umpires to travel there. So, my guess is that this man, George Watson, was from Adelaide, and therefore not your man from Ashfield, Sydney. MulgaBill 20:02, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Hmmmmmmm..... There is an Australian newspaper called "The Advertiser", which is from Adelaide. I'm wondering whether I made a mistake with the info I added to the Ashfield article, and it should not say that it was a "local" newspaper. From this page, I want to speak to the person who wrote the article about George Watson to clarify. Not sure when I'll get around to it, but for the time being I think there's a fair chance it's the same person. -- All the best, Nickj (t) 00:44, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Spoke to a person from the local historical society (ADHS), and the upshot was that it's probably a different person, but that the NSW cricket association would probably know for sure. "The Advertiser" he worked for was a local Ashfield paper, and bears no relation of the Adelaide paper of the same name. He did however play some cricket as bowler around this time, but given that George and Watson are both reasonably common surnames, the feeling was that this it was probably two different people. -- All the best, Nickj (t) 00:29, 17 November 2005 (UTC)