Phil Mead

Early years at Hampshire

A fortnight after Mead was released, Surrey attempted to reverse their decision by offering him a contract. However, he had been to Hampshire for a trial and decided to sign a two-year contract with them; Fry assisted him in securing a contract by persuading one of Hampshire's financial backers, Charles Hoare, to provide him with a job whilst he undertook his two-year residency qualification to represent Hampshire in the County Championship. Hoare provided him with employment at his training establishment Mercury, where Mead coached naval trainees during his qualification period. Aged 17, he nearly made his debut in first-class cricket for the Players of the South against the Gentlemen of the South at Bournemouth, but his inclusion was vetoed by W. G. Grace who objected because of his age. He made his first-class debut for Hampshire in 1905, against the touring Australians at Southampton. He showed his skill against fast bowling in this match, particularly against that of Tibby Cotter, by scoring 41 runs. After qualifying in 1905, he immediately established himself in Hampshire's County Championship team in 1906. He opened the batting on his Championship debut against Surrey, but was dismissed for scores of 0 and 3. In the following match against Yorkshire, he batted from the middle order and scored his maiden first-class century, making 109 runs in Hampshire's second innings, having made 60 runs in their first. In his first full season, he…

In 1907, Mead signed for Southampton for one season to assist the club's reserve team as an inside-forward, but he had no intention of taking up football as a full-time occupation for longer than a season or two. On 21 December 1907, he was at Fratton Park for a reserve fixture against Portsmouth when he was summoned to The Dell where Southampton had an emergency as both regular goalkeepers, Herbert Lock and Tom Burrows, were unavailable through injury. Mead therefore played in goal in a Southern League match against West Ham United. In his lone first team appearance, he was said to have "shaped up well but was only required to save two shots and kept a blank sheet in a 0–0 draw."

Mead was born in at 10 Ashton Buildings in Battersea on 9 March 1887, the second eldest of seven children. His talents as a cricketer were first spotted as a schoolboy at Shillington Street School, scoring his first century as a ten-year-old while playing in the South London School League. He also played for the combined London Schools team. He was spotted playing in a school's match at The Oval by C. B. Fry, who encouraged him to pursue cricket as a profession. Mead joined the staff at Surrey in 1902, aged 15, primarily as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. While trying to establish his career, he worked in a shop in the West End of London. Mead left Surrey in 1903 after he was not offered a contract at the end of that season, having been unable to force his way into the powerful Surrey team of the time.

Mead married Beatrice Englefield in 1908, with the couple having two sons, Ronald and Frank, and a daughter. His wife's brother, Frank Englefield, was a professional footballer, playing for both Southampton and Fulham. Mead had a variety of business ventures during his life. During his early career prior to the First World War, he entered into a partnership with Walter Toomer, running a sports equipment shop. With Toomer's enlistment in the war, Mead took over the day-to-day running of the business. Following the war, he founded his own cricket bat manufacturer, which was initially successful but then went into receivership. He was landlord of The Bear Cross Inn public house in the Bournemouth suburb of Winton, but by 1936 he had been forced by the brewery to relinquish the pub after it had gone out of business, leaving him and his family homeless for a while. Following this, Mead managed to support himself outside of the cricket season by working as a travelling salesman for Spillers, and selling lightbulbs. He supported himself through these means until he was offered a coaching position at Framlingham College. Soon after the Second World War, problems with his eyes which had begun with a detached retina in his right eye in 1942 led to Mead becoming totally blind by August 1946, having undergone two operations in an attempt to save the sight in his left eye. After going blind he encountered financial difficulties and received assistance from a fund raised by Herbert…