With the portraits of local identities Ben Hall, Stan McCabe, Jan Lehane and Henry Lawson being relocated from the Main Street to their new home at the Girl Guide and Scout Hall at the start of this year, The Grenfell Record will be featuring a short history of each identity put together by the Grenfell Historical Society and Museum.
STAN McCABE
Born at Grenfell on July 16, 1910, Stan McCabe was one of four sons of Mr and Mrs William McCabe.
He was educated at St Joseph’s Convent School and later went to St Joseph’s College in Sydney to further his studies.
He was a keen cricketer, as was all his family, and with his brothers Les, Bill and Bert, was a member of the famous Grenfell Juniors Team, which was formed about 1925.
All were good cricketers under the age of 21.
Stan played with the 1st Eleven at St Joseph’s College, Sydney and with the Grenfell Juniors on his return. Stan returned to Grenfell to take up a position with Witcombe, Hedworth and Co. Accountants and was chosen, with other members of the Juniors, to play Country Week cricket and later for New South Wales.
At Easter 1927, a strong metropolitan touring team captained by “Chappie” Dwyer played a match at Grenfell in which the 17-year-old Stan McCabe scored a remarkable 78 against the Sydney team.
Dwyer called Stan’s father to convince him to let the boy go to Sydney, but Mr McCabe Senior felt the boy was too young and that he had just scored a good job with an accountancy firm.
The following Easter, Dwyer returned to Grenfell with his touring team and Stan McCabe hit 108 batting with power and elegance.
Dwyer again saw his father and argued long, eventually Mr. McCabe Senior agreed providing Chappie “find him a job and good boarding house and to keep an eye on him”.
He was chosen to play for Australia in January 1930 and at the age of 19 and a half, was the youngest ever chosen at that time.
He played in 24 tests against England, 10 against South Africa and 5 against the West Indies.
In 39 matches for Australia, he scored 2,748 runs in 62 innings with an average of 48.21.
Three great innings stand out in Stan’s cricketing career, the first being December 1932 at the Sydney Cricket Ground against England when he superbly handled Harold Larwood’s body-line bowling.
Australia had lost 3 wickets for 82 when McCabe went into bat, he made 187 smashing the demon bowlers with ease.
At Johannesburg, against South Africa in 1935 he scored 100 before lunch and finished up with 189 not out.
At Nottingham, England Test in 1938, he scored 232 runs in less than 4 hours while his eight partners put together 58 runs.
This was described by Sir Donald Bradman as the finest innings he had ever seen and he called his teammates to the dressing room window saying, “Come here and have a look at this, you may never see the like again”.
Stan continued to play Sheffield Shield cricket until 1941–42 when painful foot trouble brought premature retirement. He remained a well-known Sydney personality through a sports store he conducted in George Street.
Scores of tributes came from cricketing countries throughout the world following the news of Stan’s death in Sydney on August 25, 1968.
He died in a fall down a rock face at the rear of his home at Mosman. He left widow Edna, daughter Christine and son Geoffrey.
Stan McCabe, a Cricket Legend, born in Grenfell where his cricketing roots began, has been honoured with the naming of the Henry Lawson High School Oval, as The Stan McCabe Oval.