Hastings Watson

Hastings Watson was the first man to score a half-century for Glamorgan, with his feat coming against Surrey at the Oval in 1889.

Hastings was the son of the Rev. William Watson of Louth in Lincolnshire. As a teenager, he had moved to Cardiff to join the timber-importing buisness set up by his Irish-born grandfather William Jonas Watson in 1826. The business had quickly gone from strength to strength, with their main customers being the ever-expanding collieries in the South Wales valleys who were seeking pit props, as well as the plethora of railway companies who were seeking material to use as sleepers.

He played initially for Cardiff CC, before moving to live in Llandaff and appearing for Fairwater CC, where he rubbed shoulders with other well-to-do young gentlemen with business interests in Cardiff Docks. His success with both bat and ball in club cricket led to his selection for Glamorgan’s London tour in 1889.

Photo Credit – Glamorgan Cricket Archives

After a fine innings of 58 against Surrey Club and Ground at The Oval, he kept his place for the closing game of the county’s inaugural summer, against the MCC at the Arms Park. He appeared again for the next four seasons, and in 1891 played alongside his elder brother Arthur, who was a clerk in holy orders, in the trial match against a Colts XXII at the Arms Park.

Hastings was also a leading member of the Glamorgan Hunt, riding out with hounds on a regular basis and taking part with great success in the point-to-point races which the Hunt held. He met with much success riding his horse Amulet which won the coveted Mackintosh Cup at the Cowbridge Races, besides winning sixteen other races with his other horses, Borodino and Decco.

Besides being a decent cricketer and rider, Hastings also excelled at tennis, hockey and rugby, before in later life becoming a fine golfer. Through his association with Fairwater CC, he became one of the founding members of St. Fagan’s Golf Club in 1892 before in June 1898 he joined the Glamorganshire Golf Club on the same day as his good friend from the Porthcawl Golf Club, Dr Frank Barney Gorton Stableford.

Tom Barlow, another Glamorgan cricketer, was serving his third year as captain of the Glamorganshire Golf Club and was charged with organising the club’s first ever Autumn Meeting over two days on 29 and 30 September. A Bogey competition was arranged for 30 September and Dr Stableford persuaded Tom to use that competition to experiment with a unique point scoring system. Hastings Watson won that competition by a handsome margin and was rewarded by Stableford with a special prize. Unwittingly, Watson had become one of the legends of the game of golf worldwide, with Dr. Stableford’s eponymous points-scoring system becoming the most successful form of the game played by golfers worldwide.

His brother Arthur Hawtrey Watson played for Glamorgan in 1893 whilst their younger brother was Admiral Sir Hugh Dudley Richards Watson who played for the Royal Navy between 1905 and 1908, besides appearing for the MCC from 1906 to 1930.

WATSON, William Hastings.

Born – Saltfleet-by-St. Peters, Lincolnshire, 15 October 1868.
Died – Llandaff, 8 July 1930.

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