Jack Chapman 1935–2022

by Peter Carroll and Roy Telfer

Jack Chapman, a long-time member of the ACS and much respected historian of club cricket in Durham, died on 24 June 2022.

Born in Hebburn in 1935, he played cricket for three Durham clubs: Leslies (for whom he was the record run-scorer), Blaydon and Shotley Bridge.

An English teacher, Jack wrote club histories of Leslies and Blaydon. His other books included Cream Teas and Nutty Slack: A History of Club Cricket in County Durham, 17512002, which was received with great acclaim among the local cricketing fraternity.

Equally popular was his follow-up, Cream Teas and Canny Crack, in which he told the tales of some of the great cricketing personalities he had met during his playing career.

Jack also served as statistics secretary of the Tyneside Senior League from 1994 to 1999, and then for the Northumberland & Tyneside Senior League up to 2009.

Until his illness he produced a match programme, filled with history and statistics, for every Blaydon home fixture.