View source for C. B. Fry

{{short description|English sportsman and writer (1872–1956)}}
{{for|persons of a similar name|Charles Fry (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox cricketer
|                name = C. B. Fry
|               image = CB Fry batting.jpg
|             country = England
|            fullname = Charles Burgess Fry
|            nickname =
|          birth_date = {{Birth date|1872|4|25|df=y}}
|         birth_place = [[Croydon]], [[Surrey]], England
|          death_date = {{Death date and age|1956|9|7|1872|4|25|df=y}}
|         death_place = [[Hampstead]], London, England
|             batting = Right-handed
|             bowling = Right-arm [[Fast bowling|fast-medium]]
|                role =
|              family = [[Beatrice Holme Sumner]] (wife)<br />[[Stephen Fry (cricketer)|Stephen Fry]] (son)
|       international = true
|       testdebutdate = 13 February
|       testdebutyear = 1896
|    testdebutagainst = South Africa
|             testcap = 95
|        lasttestdate = 22 August
|        lasttestyear = 1912
|     lasttestagainst = Australia
|               club5 = [[Europeans cricket team|Europeans (India)]]
|               year5 = 1921/22
|               club4 = [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]]
|               year4 = 1909–1921
|               club3 = [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]]
|               year3 = 1894–1908
|               club2 = [[London County Cricket Club|London County]]
|               year2 = 1900–1902
|               club1 = [[Oxford University Cricket Club|Oxford University]]
|               year1 = 1892–1895

|             columns = 2
|             column1 = [[Test cricket|Test]]
|            matches1 = 26
|               runs1 = 1,223
|            bat avg1 = 32.18
|           100s/50s1 = 2/7
|          top score1 = 144
|         deliveries1 = 10
|            wickets1 = 0
|           bowl avg1 = –
|            fivefor1 = –
|             tenfor1 = –
|       best bowling1 = –
|  catches/stumpings1 = 17/–
|             column2 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
|            matches2 = 394
|               runs2 = 30,886
|            bat avg2 = 50.22
|           100s/50s2 = 94/124
|          top score2 = 258[[not out|*]]
|         deliveries2 = 9,036
|            wickets2 = 166
|           bowl avg2 = 29.34
|            fivefor2 = 9
|             tenfor2 = 2
|       best bowling2 = 6/78
|  catches/stumpings2 = 239/–
|                date = 12 November
|                year = 2008
|              source = http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/12930.html ESPNcricinfo
}}

'''Charles Burgess Fry''' (25 April 1872&nbsp;– 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a [[cricket]]er.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/737770 |title=Off-side – a cricketing XI that made strides in football |work=International Cricket Council |access-date=21 June 2018}}</ref> [[John Arlott]] described him with the words: "Charles Fry could be autocratic, angry and self-willed: he was also magnanimous, extravagant, generous, elegant, brilliant – and fun&nbsp;... he was probably the most variously gifted Englishman of any age."{{sfn|Arlott|1984|pp=20–23}}

Fry's achievements on the sporting field included representing England at both cricket and [[association football|football]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/691775 |title=Royalty on the cricket field |work=International Cricket Council |access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref> an [[FA Cup Final]] appearance for [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]] and equalling the then-world record for the [[long jump]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/149813.html |title=A Boy's Own tale |work=ESPNcricinfo |date=12 April 2008 |access-date=29 April 2019}}</ref> He also reputedly turned down the [[throne of Albania]]. In later life, he suffered mental health problems, but even well into his seventies he claimed he was still able to perform his party trick: leaping from a stationary position backwards onto a [[mantelpiece]].<ref name="CharlesFryUpwiththeGods">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdencricketer/content/story/141256.html |title=Charles Fry – Up with the Gods|first=Iain|last=Wilton |publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=June 2004|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="ThegreatallrounderCBFry">{{cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/biz4/bigbrian/fry.html |title=The great all-rounder – C.B. Fry |publisher=angelfire|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=34}}{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=94}}

==Education==
C. B. Fry was born in [[Croydon]], the son of a civil servant.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=6}}<ref name="OxfordFootieClub">{{cite web |url=http://www.ouafc.com/varsity-players/view/117/Charles-Fry |title=Charles Fry |publisher=[[Oxford University Association Football Club]] |access-date=19 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215102810/http://www.ouafc.com/varsity-players/view/117/Charles-Fry |archive-date=15 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Both sides of his family had once been wealthy, but by 1872 were not as prosperous. After winning a scholarship, Fry was educated at [[Repton School]] and then at [[Wadham College, Oxford]]. His greatest strength academically was in the Classics. At Repton, he won the school prizes for Latin Verse, Greek Verse, Latin Prose and French. He was also runner-up in German.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=30}} His weakest subject was mathematics; he gained the headmaster's permission to study [[Thucydides]] instead and dispensed with maths for the rest of his academic career.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=20}}

Repton has a strong tradition in football and Fry played for the under-16 Repton football side in his first term, aged thirteen.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=21}} He went on to captain both the school's cricket and football teams, and also won prizes for athletics.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=23}} At the age of sixteen he played for the Casuals in the F.A. Cup.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=10}}

Having won a further scholarship to study at [[Wadham College, Oxford]], he won his university [[Blue (university sport)|Blue]] in football, cricket and athletics, but narrowly failed to win a Blue in rugby union because of an injury.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=30}}{{sfn|Wilton |2000|pp=63–64 }} Fry's status brought him into the orbit of people whose fame was already spreading far beyond Oxford, such as [[Max Beerbohm]], the writer and [[Caricaturists|caricaturist]]. He gained a first in classical [[Honour Moderations|moderations]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fry, Charles Burgess, (25 April 1872–7 Sept. 1956), Hon. Captain, RNR|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-237471|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-09|website=WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO|year=2007 |language=en|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u237471|isbn=978-0-19-954089-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909195333/https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-237471 |archive-date=9 September 2021 }}</ref>

When Fry was only 21, the magazine ''[[Vanity Fair caricatures|Vanity Fair]]'' published a caricature of him in its issue of 19 April 1894, with the comment: "He is sometimes known as "C.B."; but it has lately been suggested that he should be called 'Charles III'."{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=62}}{{sfn|Arlott|1984|pp=20–23}}

In his final term at Oxford, Fry experienced his first (but not last) bout of mental illness, suffering a mental breakdown.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=70}}{{sfn|Ellis|1984|pp=17–18}} There were a number of contributing factors to this. During his time at Oxford, Fry had accumulated significantly large debts. In an attempt to alleviate his financial difficulties, Fry capitalised on his reputation to make some much-needed money. As well as writing articles (including one for ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden]]''), he did some private tutoring but although such activities reduced his debts they did not clear them and further increased the intense pressure on his time. Fry's continuing indebtedness provides the most obvious explanation for his acceptance of an offer to do some nude modelling. These financial problems combined with his mother being seriously ill, placed an unbearable strain on him. Although he was able to sit his final exams, he was hardly in any fit state to do so, having hardly read a line for weeks. The result was Fry scraping a [[British undergraduate degree classification|Fourth]], bringing one of Oxford's most spectacular and successful careers to an inglorious end. In the summer of 1895, only months after being the toast of Oxford, Fry found himself saddled with mounting debts and no way with which to repay them. In the short term, cricket came to his rescue. He was offered, and accepted, the chance to tour South Africa as a member of [[Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke|Lord Hawke]]'s 1895–96 England touring party.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|pp=70–76}}

==Personal life==
In 1898, Fry married [[Beatrice Holme Sumner]] (1862–1946),<ref>"SUMNER Beatrice" in Register of Births for Chelsea Registration District, vol. 1a (1862), p. 194; "Sumner, Beatrice Holme, & Fry, Charles Burgess", in Register of Marriages for Pancras Registration District, vol. 1b (1898), p. 176; "Fry Beatrice H, 82" in Register of Deaths for Southampton Registration District, vol. 2c (1946) p. 33</ref> daughter of Arthur Holme Sumner, of Hatchlands Park, Guildford, Surrey;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hatchlands-park/features/the-scandalous-beatie-sumner-at-hatchlands-park|title=The scandalous Beatie Sumner at Hatchlands Park|website=National Trust|access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hatchlands-park/features/the-sumner-family-at-hatchlands-park|title=The Sumner family at Hatchlands Park|website=National Trust|access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref> they had three children. Beatrice was ten years Fry's senior, and known for her 'fiery, strong-willed, aggressive' personality; she was reckoned to be 'a cruel and domineering woman', and Fry 'lived in fear of her for the duration of their marriage', as 'she made him thoroughly miserable and he tried to stay away from her as much as possible'. His unhappy marriage impacted Fry's mental health; his daughter-in-law observed: 'I should think anyone would have a breakdown married to her".<ref name="espncricinfo.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/83956.html|title=New light shed on CB Fry: A brilliant cricketer, a memorable character|work=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref> At Beatrice's death, they had been married for 48 years; Fry 'adjusted to her death with great equanimity and even her children showed all the freedom of the newly liberated'.<ref name="espncricinfo.com"/><ref name="spectator.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/17th-august-1985/28/beastly-beatie-cb-fry-and-the-boys|title=Beastly Beatie, C.B. Fry and the boys » 17 Aug 1985 » The Spectator Archive|website=The Spectator Archive|access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref> Their son [[Stephen Fry (cricketer)|Stephen]] later said: 'My mother ruined my father's life'.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.reptonchurch.uk/CBFry.htm |title=CB Fry|website=Reptonchurch.org.uk|access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref> He and his son, [[Charles Fry]], also played first-class cricket.

==Sporting career==
Apart from his other sporting achievements stated below, Fry was also a decent [[shot putter]],{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=31}}{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=37 }} [[hammer thrower]]{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=31}}{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=37}} and [[ice skater]], representing Wadham in the inter-College races on Blenheim lake in the winter of 1894–95 and coming close to an unofficial Blue as a member of the [[Ice Hockey Varsity Match|Oxford team]] who took on Cambridge on the Fens,{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=65}} as well as being a proficient golfer.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=411}}

===Cricket===
Fry played for [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]] in 1891 (but not in any first-class fixtures),<ref name="CBFrySpartacusSimkin">{{cite web |url=http://spartacus-educational.com/SOUTHfry.htm |title=C. B. Fry |first=John |last=Simkin |publisher=Spartacus Educational Publishers Ltd |access-date=19 August 2012}}</ref> [[Oxford University Cricket Club|Oxford University]] 1892–1895 (winning Blues in all four years and captaining the university in 1894, meaning that he was simultaneously not only captain of both the university cricket and football teams but president of the varsity athletics club as well){{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=40}}{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=56}} [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]] 1894–1908 (captain 1904–1908), and [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]], 1909–1921. First selected by [[England cricket team|England]] for the [[History of cricket in South Africa to 1918#England 1895–96|tour of South Africa in 1895–96]], he captained England in his final six Test matches in 1912, winning four and drawing two. He twice scored Test [[Century (cricket)|centuries]]: 144 v Australia in 1905 hitting 23 fours in just over {{frac|3|1|2}} hours, batting at number four,<ref name="EnglandvAustraliaAustralianBritishIsles1905">{{cite web |url-access=subscription  |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/6/6862.html |title=England v Australia – Australia in British Isles 1905 (5th Test) |publisher=CricketArchive Oracles|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=189}} and 129 opening the batting against South Africa in 1907.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|pp=222–223}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/7/7431.html|title=CA details|website=CricketArchive|access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref>

As a highly effective right-handed batsman who batted at, or near the top of the order, Fry scored 30,886 [[First-class cricket|first-class]] runs at an average of 50.22, a particularly high figure for an era when scores were generally lower than today. At the end of his cricketing career in 1921–22, he had the second highest average of any retired player with over 10,000 runs: only his Sussex and England colleague [[Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji|Ranjitsinhji]] had retired with a better career average. He headed the batting averages (qualification minimum 20 innings) for six English seasons (in 1901, 1903, 1905, 1907, 1911 and 1912). Against [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]], the strongest county bowling attack of Fry's time, he averaged a remarkable 63.60 over the course of his career, including back to back scores of 177<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/6/6479.html|title=CA details|website=CricketArchive|access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref> and 229<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/6/6597.html|title=CA details|website=Ccricketarchive.com|access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref> against them in 1904. GL [[Gilbert Jessop|Jessop]] said that calmness was at the heart of his batting and that he was a superb judge of a run as well as being fast between the wickets.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Jessop|first=GL|date=6 August 1921|title=My Reminscences|url=https://magazine.cricketarchive.com/Magazine/1921/vol_i_no_15/6/index.html|journal=The Cricketer|volume=1|issue=15|page=2|via=CricketArchive|access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref>

[[File:England v Australia 1899.jpg|right|thumb|450px|England v. Australia at [[Trent Bridge]], 1899. Back row: [[Dick Barlow]] (umpire), [[Tom Hayward]], [[George Hirst]], [[William Gunn (cricketer)|Billy Gunn]], [[J. T. Hearne]] (12th man), [[Bill Storer]] (wkt kpr), [[Bill Brockwell]], [[V. A. Titchmarsh]] (umpire). Middle row: C. B. Fry, [[K. S. Ranjitsinhji]], [[W. G. Grace]] (captain), [[Stanley Jackson (cricketer)|Stanley Jackson]]. Front row: [[Wilfred Rhodes]], [[Johnny Tyldesley]]]]
In his early career Fry was an enthusiastic and successful right-arm [[Fast bowling#Categorisation of fast bowling|fast-medium]] bowler. He returned his career best figures of 6–78 in the 1895 [[The University Match (cricket)|Varsity match]],<ref name="OxfordUniversityvCambridgeUniversityUniversityMatch1895">{{cite web |url-access=subscription  |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/4/4374.html |title=Oxford University v Cambridge University University Match 1895  |publisher=CricketArchive Oracles|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref> and he twice took [[ten wickets in a match]]: 5–75 and 5–102 for the [[Gentlemen of England]] against [[I Zingari]] in 1895,<ref name="GentlemenofEnglandvIZingari1895">{{cite web |url-access=subscription  |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/4/4352.html |title=Gentlemen of England v I Zingari |publisher=CricketArchive Oracles|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref> and 5–81 and 5–66 for Sussex against Nottinghamshire in 1896 (a match in which he also scored 89 and 65).<ref name="NottinghamshirevSussexCountyChampionship1896">{{cite web |url-access=subscription  |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/4/4670.html |title=Nottinghamshire v Sussex County Championship 1896|publisher=CricketArchive Oracles|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref> The late 1890s saw a re-emergence of the [[Throwing (cricket)|throwing]] controversy in cricket. Several professional bowlers including [[Arthur Mold]] and [[Ernie Jones (Australian sportsman)|Ernie Jones]] were no-balled; Mold was forced to retire. Fry's bowling action was criticised by opponents and teammates, and it was only a matter of time before he too was no-balled by umpire [[Jim Phillips (cricketer)|Jim Phillips]].{{sfn|Harris|1970|p=16}}

Fry scored 94 first-class centuries, including an unprecedented six consecutive centuries in 1901. No one else has scored more consecutive hundreds. On 12 September 1901, playing for the Rest of England against Yorkshire at Lord's, he scored 105, which was his sixth consecutive first-class century.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/149437.html | title = CB Fry on 12 September | work =ESPNcricinfo | access-date = 12 September 2016}}</ref><ref>The sequence was framed by scores in the 80s, so he nearly made it eight consecutive hundreds. For Sussex he scored 88 and 106 against Hampshire ([https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/5/5792.html scorecard]), 209 against Yorkshire ([https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/5/5802.html scorecard]), 149 against Middlesex ([https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/5/5809.html scorecard]), 105 against Surrey ([https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/5/5814.html scorecard]), 140 against Kent ([https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/5/5821.html scorecard]), and then in his last innings of the season, for Rest of England, he scored 105 against the County Champions Yorkshire ([https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/5/5829.html scorecard]). In his first innings of 1902, he scored 82 for London County against Surrey ([https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/5/5872.html scorecard]). [[Donald Bradman]] equalled the record of six consecutive centuries in 1938–39, and [[Mike Procter]] did so again in 1970–71 [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/282971.html]</ref> He made his highest first-class score of 258 not out in 1911,<ref name="HampshirevGloucestershireCountyChampionship1911">{{cite web |url-access=subscription  |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/8/8545.html |title=Hampshire v Gloucestershire County Championship 1911 |publisher=CricketArchive Oracles|date=2003–2012|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref> a season which led to his recall to the England Test team as captain in 1912. In 1921 Fry was once again considered for the Test side. The Selection Committee asked him to play in the First Test match at Nottingham under the captaincy of [[Johnny Douglas]], with a view to taking over the captaincy for the remainder of the series if, as they anticipated, things went wrong. Fry declined on the basis that there was no sense in recalling a forty-nine-year-old merely as a player, but stated that he would consider returning as captain. As England were badly beaten at Nottingham the Selection Committee again pressed Fry to return for the Second Test but once again he declined, due to poor form. Following another heavy defeat in the Second Test the Selection Committee made a further attempt to persuade Fry to return for the Third Test as captain, a job he was now keen to accept. He injured a finger taking a catch during Hampshire's match with the Australians. In the short term, the injury did not appear too serious: he scored a half-century in Hampshire's first innings and, when they followed on in reply to the Australians' massive total he top scored with 37. Furthermore, in his next match against Nottinghamshire he scored 61 in the first innings (but registered a duck in the second). It appears however that the injury was affecting his fielding more than his batting and, for last time, C.B. felt obliged to stand down from the side for the next Test.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|pp=286–290}} Fry later commentated on cricket matches, being called "one of the most eloquent [[cricket commentator]]s of all time."{{sfn|Sentance|2006|p=223}}

[[File:Charles Burgess Fry, Vanity Fair, 1894-04-19.jpg|right|thumb|Fry caricatured by [[Leslie Ward|Spy]] for ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', 1894]]
For both Sussex and England, he was closely associated with the outstanding cricketer Prince [[Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji|Ranjitsinhji]], the future [[Jam Sahib]] of [[Nawanagar State|Nawanagar]].{{sfn|Wilde|2005|pp=51–52}} Their contrasting batting styles complemented one another (Fry being an orthodox, technically correct batsman, and Ranji being noted for his innovation, particularly his use of the [[leg glance]]). Their friendship lasted well into the 1920s, and when Ranjitsinhji became one of India's three representatives at the [[League of Nations]], he took Fry with him as his assistant.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=292}}

===Athletics===
In athletics, Fry won Blues in all four years at Oxford 1892–95, representing the university against Cambridge in the long jump in 1892, 1893, 1894 and 1895; the high jump in 1892 and the 100 yards in 1893 and 1894.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|pp=31–33}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|pp=40,48–50,55,67–68}} In 1892 Fry broke the British long jump record with a jump of {{convert|23|ft|5|in|m}}{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=40}} and a year later on 4 March 1893 equalled the world [[long jump]] record of {{convert|23|ft|6+1/2|in|m}}{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=32}}{{sfn|Wilton |2000|p=49}} (tied with the American Charles Reber).{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=49}} This is often incorrectly claimed to have stood as a world record for 21 years, but this length of time actually only refers to how long he held the university record, Cambridge's H. S. O. Ashington adding three-quarters of an inch to Fry's distance in 1913.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=35}} Fry's shared world record was broken on 5 September 1894 by Ireland's J. J. Mooney.{{sfn|Wilton |2000|pp=49–51}}

In the first contest between universities from different countries, Oxford v Yale at the [[Queens Club|Queen's Club]], West Kensington, in 1894, Fry came third in the long jump and won the 100&nbsp;yards.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=33}}{{sfn|Wilton |2000|pp=55–56}} In addition to being an outstanding long jumper, sprinter and high jumper, Fry was also a talented [[hurdler]], once competing against Godfrey Shaw the champion hurdler of the time, who beat him but told him, as Fry later recalled: "He was sure if I took up hurdling seriously I might win the championship."{{sfn|Fry|1986|p=96}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=474}} Fry was also president of the Oxford University athletics club in 1894.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=40}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=55}}

===Football===
{{Infobox football biography
| name                = C. B. Fry
| image               = CBFry.jpg
| image_size          = 120px
| caption = <!-- FAIR USE of CBFry.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CBFry.jpg for rationale -->
| height              = {{height|ft=5|in=10}} 
| position            = [[Defender (association football)|Full-back]]
| youthyears1         =
| youthclubs1         =
| years1              = 1891–1903
| clubs1              = [[Corinthian F.C.|Corinthian]]
| caps1               =
| goals1              =
| years2              = 1900–1902
| clubs2              = [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]]
| caps2               = 16
| goals2              = 0
| years3              = 1902–1903
| clubs3              = [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]
| caps3               = 2
| goals3              = 0
| nationalyears1      = 1901
| nationalteam1       = [[England national football team|England]]
| nationalcaps1       = 1
| nationalgoals1      = 0
}}
Fry's achievements extended to association football.

A defender with exceptional pace,{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=156}} Fry learned his football at [[Repton School]], where he played for and captained the school team.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=10}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=22}} While still at school he also played for the famous amateur club the [[Casuals F.C.|Casuals]], for whom he found himself turning out in an FA Cup tie at the age of sixteen.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=10}} Fry went on to win [[Full Blue|Blues]] in each of his four years at [[Oxford University A.F.C.|Oxford University]] captaining the side in his third year.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=40}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=56}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Charles Fry|url=http://www.ouafc.com/varsity-players/view/117/Charles-Fry|work=Varsity record|publisher=Oxford University AFC|access-date=20 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215102810/http://www.ouafc.com/varsity-players/view/117/Charles-Fry|archive-date=15 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1891,<ref name = Cav>{{cite book | title=Play Up Corinth – A History of the Corinthian Football Club |last= Cavallini|first= Rob | publisher=Tempus Publishing | year=2007| isbn=   978-0-7524-4479-6 |pages=234–235, 275}}</ref> he joined another famous amateur club, [[Corinthian F.C.|Corinthian]], going on to make a total of 74 appearances for them between 1891 and 1903 scoring four goals.<ref>{{cite web|title=C.B. Fry|url=http://www.corinthian-casuals.com/archive/corinthian02.php|work=Player Profiles|publisher=[[Corinthian Casuals]]|access-date=20 November 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020083652/http://www.corinthian-casuals.com/archive/corinthian02.php|archive-date=20 October 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Although extremely proud of his amateur status, he decided that entering the professional game would enhance his chance of international honours. He chose Southampton F.C. (''The Saints''), as the leading lights in the [[Southern Football League|Southern League]], and also because [[The Dell (Southampton)|The Dell]] was conveniently close to his home. He made his debut for Southampton (as an amateur) on 26 December 1900,{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=137}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|pp=144–145}} against [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] and went on to help them win the [[Southern Football League|Southern League]] title during that 1900–01 season.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=139}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=146}}<ref>{{cite book | title=The Alphabet of the Saints|last1= Holley |first1= Duncan |first2=Chalk| last2= Gary| publisher=ACL & Polar Publishing |year=1992| isbn=0-9514862-3-3|pages=131–133 }}</ref>

Fry's game was probably a little too refined for the hurly-burly of [[Professionalism in association football|professional football]], he never relished the aerial challenges that were more prevalent in the professional game, but having worked tirelessly to improve his heading ability he achieved his aim of international honours when (along with Southampton's goalkeeper, [[Jack Robinson (footballer born 1870)|Jack Robinson]]), he was picked to play as a [[Defender (association football)|full-back]] for England in the match against [[Ireland national football team (IFA)|Ireland]] on 9 March 1901 (played in Southampton).{{sfn|Ellis|1984|pp=138–139}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=147}}

The following season (1901–02), Southampton reached the [[FA Cup Final 1902|FA Cup Final]], playing against [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]],{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=145}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=153}} which was drawn 1–1,{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=153}}{{sfn|Ellis|1984|pp=145–146}} but Southampton lost the replay, 2–1.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=146}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=154}} Although he had moments during the cup run in which he excelled, his positional play was sometimes questioned.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=144}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=151}} Fry played in all eight of the FA Cup games for Southampton that season,<ref name="11v11.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.11v11.com/players/charles-burgess-fry-45051/|title=Charles Burgess Fry|website=11v11.com|access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref> but in only nine Southern League matches,<ref name="11v11.com"/>{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=148}} with [[Bill Henderson (footballer born 1878)|Bill Henderson]] being forced to give way whenever Fry was available.{{sfn|Chalk|Holley|1991|p=165}} The following season, he played twice at [[Forward (association football)|centre forward]], without success, but Southampton released him partly due to his lack of availability. Fry made 25 first-team appearances for Southampton.<ref name="11v11.com"/> He then joined Southampton's local rivals [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]], making his debut for them on 21 January 1903.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=156}} Fry made three appearances for Portsmouth (as an amateur) before retiring from football due to injury.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=156}}

===Rugby union===
[[File:C B Fry.jpg|right|thumb|Fry wearing [[Barbarian F.C.|Barbarians]] kit, c.1893.]]
Fry played [[rugby union]] for [[Oxford University R.F.C.|Oxford University]], narrowly missing out on a Blue in his final year due to injury,{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=30}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|pp=63–64}} [[Blackheath F.C.|Blackheath]], for whom he made ten appearances,{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=64}} and the [[Barbarian F.C.|Barbarians]], for whom he made three appearances.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=64}}<ref>{{cite web|title=C.B. Fry|url=http://www.barbarianfc.co.uk/player-archive/profile/513/c-b-fry|work=Player Archive|publisher=Barbarian FC|access-date=20 November 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419160457/http://www.barbarianfc.co.uk/player-archive/profile/513/c-b-fry|archive-date=19 April 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Fry was also chosen, as he later recalled, as the "first reserve for the South against the North" – a match that was, in effect, an England trial. Unfortunately for Fry, no one pulled out before the match and, as there were no substitutions allowed in rugby at the time, he did not get to play.{{sfn|Fry|1986}}{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=30}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=64}}

===Acrobatics===
Fry's party trick was to leap from a stationary position on the floor backwards onto a [[mantelpiece]]; he would face the mantelpiece, crouch down, take a leap upwards, turn in the air, and bow to the gallery with his feet planted on the shelf. Persuasion would occasionally get him to perform this turn at country houses, much to the interest of the guests.<ref name="CharlesFryUpwiththeGods"/>{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=34}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=94}}

==Career outside sport==

===Teaching===
In 1896 Fry took up a teaching position at [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]].<ref name="CBFrySpartacusSimkin"/> Two years later in 1898 he left the profession, moving on to a successful and much more lucrative and less time-consuming career in journalism. He later recalled: "I could earn by journalism three times the income for the expenditure of a tenth of the time."{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=100}} In December 1908 he became the Captain Superintendent of the [[TS Mercury|Training Ship ''Mercury'']],{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=233}}{{sfn|Sentance|2006|p=223}} a nautical school primarily designed to prepare boys for service in the [[Royal Navy]]; this was run by his wife [[Beatrice Holme Sumner|Beatrice]] from 1885 to 1946, she having founded the school with her lover (and father of her illegitimate children), the rich banker Charles Hoare. She subjected the boys, 'hounded from morn to night', to 'barbarities' including ceremonial floggings of extreme violence and forced boxing matches inflicted as punishment.<ref name="spectator.co.uk"/> Fry held this position until he resigned to make way for a younger man in 1950.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=191}} Eventually he was given the rank of captain in the [[Royal Naval Reserve]] (RNR).{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=430}} [[Alan Gibson]] wrote: "He&nbsp;... would stride about in his uniform looking, as I think it was [[R. C. Robertson-Glasgow|Robertson-Glasgow]] who said, every inch like six admirals."{{sfn|Gibson|1989|pp=102–108}} Interviewed about the ''Mercury'', and his role in its development, he was addressed as 'Commander C. B. Fry'.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30134263 |title=TRAINING SHIP MERCURY. |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]] |location=Hobart, Tas., 1860–1954 |date=18 January 1937 |access-date=18 October 2013 |page=8 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

===Politics===
[[File:1922 CB Fry.jpg|thumb|right|C. B. Fry in the early 1920s whilst standing for one of the Brighton seats]]
As far back as his time at Wadham College, Fry had been interested in politics, but admitted: "I take a great interest in heaps of things that I know nothing about&nbsp;... politics for one".{{sfn|Roberts|1958|p=160}}

In 1920 when his friend and former Sussex teammate Ranjitsinhji was offered and accepted the chance to become one of India's three representatives at the newly created [[League of Nations]] in [[Geneva]] he took Fry with him as his assistant.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=292}} It was whilst working for Ranjitsinhji at the League of Nations, in Geneva, that Fry claimed to have been offered the throne of Albania.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|pp=196–199}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|pp=302–309}} Whether this offer genuinely occurred has been questioned, but Fry was definitely approached about the vacant Albanian throne and therefore seems to have been considered a credible candidate for the post.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=307}}{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=198}}

He stood (unsuccessfully) as a [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] candidate for parliament for the [[Brighton (UK Parliament constituency)|Brighton constituency]] in 1922.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=313}} Fry's presence certainly brought some welcome glamour and excitement to the election, and his campaign was given extra colour by the appearance, at an election meeting, of Dame [[Clara Butt]], the opera singer (and a close personal friend of the Frys).{{sfn|Wilton|2000|pp=314–315}} He won 22,059 votes, 4,785 fewer than the Conservative victor.

He later fought the seat of [[Banbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Banbury]] in 1923, losing by just 219 votes,{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=320}} and the [[1924 Oxford by-election|Oxford by-election]] in 1924, where he was defeated by 1,842 votes.{{sfn|Marshall|Howe|2001|p=182}}
[[File:Charles B Fry.jpg|thumb|120px|Fry in 1922]]

{{Election box begin |
|title=[[1922 United Kingdom general election|General Election 1922]]: Brighton<ref name="ReferenceA">British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig</ref>
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party      = Unionist Party (UK)
|candidate  = {{Y}}[[George Tryon, 1st Baron Tryon|Rt Hon. George Clement Tryon]]
|votes  = 28,549
|percentage  = 32.0
|change  =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party      = Unionist Party (UK)
|candidate  = {{Y}} [[Cooper Rawson|Sir Alfred Cooper Rawson]]
|votes  = 26,844
|percentage  = 30.0
|change  =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party      = Liberal Party (UK)
|candidate  = '''Charles Burgess Fry'''
|votes  = 22,059
|percentage  = 24.7
|change  =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party      = Independent Unionist
|candidate  = H Wheater
|votes  = 11,913
|percentage  = 13.3
|change  =
}}
{{Election box majority|
|votes  = 4,785
|percentage  = 5.3
|change  =
}}
{{Election box turnout|
|votes  =
|percentage  = 70.1
|change  =
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
|winner     = Unionist Party (UK)
|swing      =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=[[1923 United Kingdom general election|General Election 1923]]: Banbury<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Unionist Party (UK)
  |candidate  = [[Albert James Edmondson]]
  |votes      = 12,490
  |percentage =45.8
  |change     =-0.7
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Liberal Party (UK)
  |candidate  = '''Charles Burgess Fry'''
  |votes      = 12,271
  |percentage =45.0
  |change     =+15.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Labour Party (UK)
  |candidate  = [[Ernest Nathaniel Bennett]]
  |votes      = 2,500
  |percentage =9.2
  |change     =-14.9
}}
{{Election box majority|
  |votes      =219
  |percentage =0.8
  |change     =-16.3
}}
{{Election box turnout|
  |votes      = 27,261
  |percentage =76.0
  |change     =-0.4
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
|winner     = Unionist Party (UK)
|swing      = -8.2
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin |
 |title=[[1924 Oxford by-election]]<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Unionist Party (UK)
  |candidate  = [[Robert Bourne (politician)|Robert Bourne]]
  |votes      = 10,079
  |percentage = 47.8
  |change     = +3.9
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Liberal Party (UK)
  |candidate  = '''Charles Burgess Fry'''
  |votes      = 8,237
  |percentage = 39.1
  |change     = -17.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Labour Party (UK)
  |candidate  = [[Kenneth Lindsay|Kenneth Martin Lindsay]]
  |votes      = 2,769
  |percentage = 13.1
  |change     = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election box majority|
  |votes      = 1,842
  |percentage = 8.7
  |change     = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election box turnout|
  |votes      = 21,085
  |percentage = 80.3
  |change     =
}}
{{Election box gain with party link|
  |winner     = Unionist Party (UK)
  |loser     = Liberal Party (UK)
  |swing      = +10.5
}}
{{Election box end}}

===Writing, editing, publishing and broadcasting===

Books by Fry include:
* ''The Book of Cricket: A New Gallery of Famous Players'' (1899), editor, appeared in 14 weekly parts.<ref>The Book of Cricket: A Gallery of Famous Players. Author: Charles Burgess Fry. Publisher: Newnes (1899)</ref>
* ''Giants of the Game: Being Reminiscences of the Stars of Cricket from Daft Down to the Present Day'' (c. 1900), with [[Robert Lyttelton|R. H. Lyttleton]], [[William Justice Ford|W. J. Ford]] & [[George Giffen]].
* ''Great Batsmen: Their Methods at a Glance'' (1905), with [[George Beldam|George W Beldam]], who provided the photographs.<ref>''Great Batsmen, Their Methods at a Glance'', by George W. Beldam and Charles B. Fry. Publisher: [[Macmillan Publishers]] (1905)</ref>
* ''Great Bowlers and Fielders: Their Methods at a Glance'' (1907), with George W. Beldam
* ''A Mother's Son'' (1907), a novel written in collaboration with his wife.{{sfn|Fry|2011}}
* ''Cricket: Batsmanship'' (1912).
* ''Key-Book of The League of Nations''.<ref>''Key-book of the League of Nations'' by C. B. Fry: With a Chapter on the Disarmament Question by Prince Ranjitsinhji, Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar. Authors: C. B. Fry, Ranjitsinhji. Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton (1923)</ref>
* ''Life Worth Living: Some Phases Of An Englishman'' (1939), his autobiography.{{sfn|Marshall|Howe|2001|p=182}}
* ''Cricket on the Green For Club And Village Cricketers And For Boys'' (1947), with R. S. Young.

He is also believed to have written much of ''[[The Jubilee Book of Cricket]]'' (1897), of which the nominal author was Ranji.{{sfn|Arlott|1984|p=171}} He wrote prefaces and introductions for a number of other cricket books, and wrote articles on cricket and football for ''[[The Strand Magazine]]'' in the early years of the 20th century.<ref>Search on [http://www.abebooks.co.uk Abebooks] with Author field "C.B. Fry".</ref> In the 1930s, he wrote a column for the London ''[[Evening Standard]]'', which covered many topics.{{sfn|Marshall|Howe|2001|p=182}} The column was credited with a considerable increase in the paper's circulation.{{sfn|Gibson|1989|pp=102–108}} He launched and edited ''C. B. Fry's Magazine.''  In his magazine he promoted toys such as the [[diabolo]]. A History and Bibliography of Fry's Magazine was published in December 2022 by Sports History Publishing.

His broadcasting career began in 1936 with commentary for the BBC on a match between Middlesex and Surrey. He declined to join the panel on ''[[Any Questions]]'' but in 1945 began a successful stint on ''[[The Brains Trust]]''.
In 1946 he was one of the [[BBC radio]] commentary team for the Tests between England and [[Indian cricket team|India]].{{sfn|Martin-Jenkins|1990}} In 1953 he gave a 3-hour interview to the BBC which was edited down to 30 minutes for the programme ''Frankly Speaking''. In 1955, he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]] for the fifth episode of the new television show ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]''.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=266}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|pp=453–455}} Amongst the friends gathered to relive his best moments were [[Jack Hobbs]] and [[Sydney Barnes]].{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=266}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=454}}

==Later life==
In the 1920s, Fry's mental health started to deteriorate severely. He had encountered mental health problems earlier in his life, experiencing a breakdown during his final year at Oxford, which meant that, although academically brilliant, he achieved a poor degree. In the late 1920s, he had a major breakdown and became deeply paranoid. He reached breaking point in 1928 during a visit to India, becoming convinced that an Indian had cast a spell on him.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|pp=348–349}} For the rest of his life, he dressed in bizarrely unconventional clothes.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=349}} He recovered enough to become a popular writer on cricket and other sports, and even into his sixties he entertained hopes of becoming a Hollywood star. At one point when he was staying in [[Brighton]] he was supposed to have gone for a walk along the beach early in the morning and suddenly shed all his clothes, trotting around stark naked.{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=349}}

In 1934, as reported in his 1939 autobiography, ''Life Worth Living'',{{sfn|Fry|1986}} he visited Germany with the idea of forging stronger links between the uniformed British youth organisations, such as the [[The Scout Association|Boy Scouts]], and the [[Hitler Youth]], so that both groups could learn from each other. Fry met [[Adolf Hitler]] who greeted him with a [[Nazi salute]] which he returned with a Nazi salute of his own.{{sfn|Ellis|1984|p=233}}{{sfn|Wilton|2000|p=370}} He failed to persuade [[Joachim von Ribbentrop|von Ribbentrop]] that [[Nazi Germany]] should take up cricket to Test level. Some members of the [[Hitler Youth]] were welcomed at [[TS Mercury|TS ''Mercury'']], and Fry was still enthusiastic about them in 1938, just prior to the outbreak of war.<ref name="NewlightshedonCBFry"/> Fry's laudatory statements about Hitler persisted through his autobiography's third impression in July 1941<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bradshaw|first1=Ross|title=Fry's German Delight|url=http://fiveleavespublications.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/LIfe%20Worth%20Living|publisher=Five Leaves Publications|access-date=13 February 2016|date=11 December 2011}}</ref> but appear to have been purged in the fourth impression (1947).

He retired from his position at TS ''Mercury'' in 1950, and died in 1956, in [[Hampstead]], London.<ref name="NewlightshedonCBFry">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/83956.html |title=New light shed on CB Fry: A brilliant cricketer, a memorable character |first=David |last=Robson |publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=20 September 1989|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="EnglandplayerscbFry">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/12930.html |title=England / Players / C.B. Fry |publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=19 August 2012}}</ref> The English writer and critic [[Neville Cardus]] wrote the following words for Fry's obituary:<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cardus |first1=Neville |title=Charles Burgess Fry |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/480013481 |access-date=21 June 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=8 September 1956 |page=3 |id={{ProQuest|480013481}} |url-access=subscription}}</ref> <blockquote>Fry must be counted among the most fully developed and representative Englishmen of his period; and the question arises whether, had fortune allowed him to concentrate on the things of the mind, not distracted by the lure of cricket, a lure intensified by his increasing mastery over the game, he would not have reached a high altitude in politics or critical literature. But he belonged – and it was his glory – to an age not obsessed by specialism; he was one of the last of the English tradition of the amateur, the [[connoisseur]], and, in the most delightful sense of the word, the [[wikt:dilettante|dilettante]].</blockquote>

His ashes were buried in the graveyard of [[Repton Parish Church]], next to Repton School's Priory. In 2008, his grandson, Jonathan Fry (chairman of the governors at Repton), was in attendance at the rededication of Fry's grave, which was inscribed with, "1872 C B Fry 1956. Cricketer, scholar, athlete, Author – The Ultimate All-rounder'.

==Honours==
'''Southampton F.C.'''
* [[FA Cup]] finalist: [[FA Cup Final 1902|1902]]

Two [[Brighton & Hove (bus company)|Brighton & Hove]] buses (429 and 829) were named "C B Fry" in his honour.<ref name="HistoryBusesCBFry">{{cite web|url=http://history.buses.co.uk/history/fleethist/429cf.htm |title=Names on the buses |publisher=History Buses|access-date=20 August 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of English cricket and football players]]
* [[List of cricket and rugby union players]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |first=John |last=Arlott |author-link=John Arlott |title=Arlott on Cricket – His Writings on the Game |publisher=Harper Collins Willow|year=1984 |isbn=978-0-00-218082-5 }}
* {{cite book |first=J. L. |last=Carr |author-link=J. L. Carr |title=Dictionary of Extra-ordinary English Cricketers |publisher=J.L. Carr, Kettering |year=1977 |isbn=978-0-900847-80-6 }}
* {{cite book |first1=Gary |last1=Chalk |first2=Duncan |last2=Holley |title=The Alphabet of the Saints: Complete Who's Who of Southampton Football Club|publisher=Polar Print Group Ltd |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-9514862-3-8 }}
* {{cite book |first=Clive |last=Ellis |title=C.B.: The Life of Charles Burgess Fry |publisher=J. M. Dent & Sons; 1st edition|year=1984 |isbn=978-0-460-04654-1 }}
* {{cite book |first=David |last=Frith |author-link=David Frith |title=Pageant of Cricket |publisher=Macmillan; 1st Edition|year=1987 |isbn=978-0-333-45177-9 }}
* {{cite book |first=C. B. |last=Fry |title=Life Worth Living |publisher=Pavilion Books|year=1986|orig-year=1939 |isbn=978-1-85145-027-5 }}
** {{cite book|first=C. B. |last=Fry|title=Life Worth Living: some phases of an Englishman|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.103783 |publisher=[[Eyre & Spottiswoode]]|date= 1939|asin=B00085VPTM}}
* {{cite book |first=Beatrice |last=Fry |title=A Mother's Son |publisher=Lightning Source UK Ltd |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-246-15195-4 }}
* {{cite book |first=Alan |last=Gibson |author-link=Alan Gibson |title=The Cricket Captains of England |publisher=Pavilion Books |year=1989 |isbn=978-1-85145-395-5 }}
* {{cite book |first=Henry Wilson |last=Harris |author-link= Wilson Harris (journalist)|title=Spectator harvest |publisher=Books for Libraries Press|year=1970 |isbn=978-0-8369-1481-8 }}
* {{cite book |first1=Michael |last1=Harris |first2=Alan J. |last2=Lee |title=The Press in English Society: From the 17th Century to the 19th Century|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press |location= US|year=1986 |isbn=978-0-8386-3272-7 }}
* {{cite book |first1=Don |last1=Marshall |first2=Glenford |last2=Howe |title=The Empowering Impulse: The Nationalist Tradition of Barbados|publisher=Canoe Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-976-8125-74-3 }}
* {{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Martin-Jenkins |author-link=Christopher Martin-Jenkins |title=Ball by Ball: Story of Cricket Broadcasting|publisher=Grafton |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-246-13568-1 }}
* {{cite book |first=Ronald |last=Morris |title=The Captain's Lady|publisher=Chatto & Windus|year=1985 |isbn=978-0-7011-2946-0 }}
* {{cite book |first=Sydney Castle |last=Roberts |author-link=Sydney Castle Roberts |title=Doctor Johnson and Others |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1958 }}
* {{cite book |first=Nick |last=Robinson |title=Hamble: A Village History |publisher=Waterfront Publications|year=1987 |isbn=978-0-946184-32-3 }}
* {{cite book |first=P. David |last=Sentance |title=Cricket in America, 1710–2000 |publisher=McFarland & Co Inc Pub |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7864-2040-7 }}
* {{cite book |first=Simon |last=Wilde |author-link=Simon Wilde|title=Ranji: The Strange Genius of Ranjitsinhji |publisher=Aurum Press Ltd |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-84513-069-5 }}
* {{cite book |first=Jeremy |last=Wilson |title=Southampton's Cult Heroes: Saints' 20 Greatest Icons |publisher=Know the Score Books|year=2006 |isbn=978-1-905449-01-9 }}
* {{cite book |first=Iain |last=Wilton |title=C.B. Fry: An English Hero |publisher=Metro Books |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-86066-180-8 }}

==External links==
* {{Englandstats}}
{{Commons category|C. B. Fry}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131215102810/http://www.ouafc.com/varsity-players/view/117/Charles-Fry Charles Fry] – biography on the Oxford University Association Football Club web site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181026123608/http://www.corinthian-casuals.com/player-profiles.html Corinthian Casuals F.C. – Player profiles]
* {{Librivox author |id=11546}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{Succession box|
 before=[[Johnny Douglas]]|
 title=[[English national cricket captains|English national cricket captain]]|
 years=1912|
 after=[[Johnny Douglas]]
}}
{{Succession box|
|before=[[Ranjitsinhji]]
|title=[[:Category:Sussex cricket captains|Sussex county cricket captain]]
|years=1904–1906
|after=[[C. L. A. Smith]]
}}
{{Succession box|
|before=[[C. L. A. Smith]]
|title=[[:Category:Sussex cricket captains|Sussex county cricket captain]]
|years=1907–1908
|after=[[C. L. A. Smith]]
}}
{{S-end}}
{{England Test cricket captains}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, C.B.}}
[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Men's association football fullbacks]]
[[Category:Barbarian F.C. players]]
[[Category:Blackheath F.C. players]]
[[Category:British magazine publishers (people)]]
[[Category:English male journalists]]
[[Category:British sportsperson-politicians]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Wystan's Church, Repton]]
[[Category:Corinthian F.C. players]]
[[Category:Cricket writers]]
[[Category:Cricketers from the London Borough of Croydon]]
[[Category:England cricket team selectors]]
[[Category:England men's international footballers]]
[[Category:England Test cricket captains]]
[[Category:England Test cricketers]]
[[Category:English cricket commentators]]
[[Category:English cricketers of 1890 to 1918]]
[[Category:English cricketers]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:English male long jumpers]]
[[Category:British male long jumpers]]
[[Category:English rugby union players]]
[[Category:Europeans cricketers]]
[[Category:Footballers from the London Borough of Croydon]]
[[Category:People from Croydon]]
[[Category:Gentlemen cricketers]]
[[Category:Gentlemen of England cricketers]]
[[Category:Gentlemen of the South cricketers]]
[[Category:Hampshire cricketers]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates]]
[[Category:London County cricketers]]
[[Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers]]
[[Category:North v South cricketers]]
[[Category:Oxford University A.F.C. players]]
[[Category:Oxford University cricketers]]
[[Category:Oxford University Past and Present cricketers]]
[[Category:Oxford University RFC players]]
[[Category:People educated at Repton School]]
[[Category:People of the Victorian era]]
[[Category:Portsmouth F.C. players]]
[[Category:Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel]]
[[Category:Royal Navy officers]]
[[Category:Rugby union players from the London Borough of Croydon]]
[[Category:Southampton F.C. players]]
[[Category:Southern Football League players]]
[[Category:Sussex cricket captains]]
[[Category:Sussex cricketers]]
[[Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year]]
[[Category:Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World]]
[[Category:Royal Naval Reserve personnel]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Croydon]]
[[Category:20th-century Royal Navy personnel]]