In November 1962 one of crickets lingering anachronisms was finally abolished when the distinction between amateurs and professionals was officially scrapped. While of significance until World War Two - until the growth of Test cricket, outside an Ashes summer the highlight were the Gentlemen v Players matches - it all but fell apart in the social upheaval that followed.The splitting of players into two distinct groups was a fundamental part of the game. In its simplest form, professionals were paid, amateurs (widely known as gentlemen) were not. Within that the British class system was prevalent. Almost all amateurs were public school or at least middle-class; the professionals were generally working-class. Even then there were professionals who made a living from the game and those who were professional because they could not afford to me amateurs.Professionals were often treated much as servants would be and were expected to be as deferential to amateurs and committeemen as a butler would be to the master of the house. They had separate hotels when they travelled, separate changing rooms and food at the grounds, referred to by their surnames only, and at most counties could never aspire to captaincy. Even scorecards made a small but marked distinction - amateurs were given full initials, professionals surname only.Perhaps the way captaincy was handled was the most ridiculous aspect of it all. Professionals were deemed unable to take on such a role and so often found themselves playing under amateur captains who were barely of club standard. Counties often scratched round to find someone - anyone - willing to take charge. Some were so poor that they did little more than stand on the field while the senior professionals ran the show.The lines between the two were always murky - WG Grace, technically an amateur, earned more from the game than even the top professionals - and caused deep resentment. After World War One fewer people had the time or money to play for the fun of it and so the lines became ever more blurred. Some were often found work by counties and given under-the-counter payments to allow them to remain amateur - or shamateurs as they were widely known - making the distinction even more meaningless.In 1938 Wally Hammond had to switch from being a professional to a gentleman to allow him to become England captain. He was the same man, the same cricketer, but overnight he became acceptable in the eyes of the establishment. Even when Len Hutton became Englands first professional captain in 1952 it was only after he refused to go down the same route as Hammond. The mood of the country after World War Two was one of change and in 1946 Glamorgan proposed the abolition of the amateur but they found little support.By the late 1950s the distinction had long lost any credibility and amateurs were all but extinct. One by one the distinctions - dressing rooms, initials on scorecards, accommodation - were chipped away but the old guard refused to go down without a fight. Several committees reported it was time to treat everyone as simply cricketers but it was not until May 1962 the Advisory County Committee put forward a proposal to scrap amateur status.To distinguish between them is often humbug, reported the Times. That did not stop the same newspaper still refusing to print initials for anyone other than the so-called amateurs in the first matches on the 1962-63 MCC tour of Australia. At the start of the MCC tour of Australia the captain, Ted Dexter, nominally still an amateur, admitted he earned considerably more from cricket than his various business ventures.The debate rumbled on all summer but even those who fought the change seemed to realise they were railing against the dying of the light. The curtain came down at Scarborough when fittingly the Players beat the Gentlemen in the final match of the summer. It was the 274th meeting of the teams in a contest dating back to 1806.On November 26 the 17 first-class counties met at Lords and after a six-hour meeting voted - although not unanimously - to end the distinction. The formal and official scrapping of amateur status came on January 31, 1963 when the MCC confirmed without dissent the earlier decision.Its a sad day and signals the end of an era, said Sir Jack Hobbs, the first professional to be knighted for services to the game. They were a great asset because they could freely whereas many professionals felt they couldnt take chances.In the Daily Telegraph EW Swanton lamented the change and questioned the moral authority of those making the decision.Those views were in a minority. in the same paper Michael Melford countered all that had been abolished was a form of legalised deceit. And Herbert Sutcliffe, who as a professional had turned down an at-the-time remarkable approach to captain the ultra-conservative Yorkshire in 1927, said he was in full agreement. Stuart Surridge, who as an amateur had led Surrey to seven successive Championships in the 1950s, said its a good thing … we are all cricketers at heart.Vic Wilson, who led Yorkshire to the Championship in 1962, said: A team is one body of men … it is commonsense to out all players on one footing.In a lead editorial the Daily Mirror congratulated the lawmakers … this silly social distinction needed hitting for six and could not resist a swipe at the Times into the bargain. Perhaps now this olde-world journal will print the initials of all MCC players … or is that expecting too much? As with many such long-debated changes there was actually little fallout. The Gentlemen v Players game disappeared off the fixture list but was largely unmourned. Several counties who had steadfastly refused to pick a professional captain were freed to choose the best man with a clear conscience.On February 14 Surrey picked their first non-amateur captain in Micky Stewart, ten years at the club but until then ineligible for the role. He said: It was a farce that an amateur could receive money for putting his name to sports equipment and writing articles without it affecting his status.Ken Grieves, who took charge at Lancashire that same summer, was even blunter. This cuts out the snobbery, he said. In the past a lot of things have been pushed aside for the old school tie.What happened next?Former England spinner Phil Edmonds asked to play as an amateur in 1988 as his business ventures meant he couldnt afford the time to commit to full-time cricket. You decide which games you want me to play, and Ill play, for nothing, he said according to the Daily Telegraph and he even began signing autographs Mr P H Edmonds. His offer was refused by the committee and he retiredIn 2010 a match between Gentlemen and Players was staged at Wormsley, with the Gentlemen recording their first win since 1953. As a sign of the time, it was a Twenty20 match Womens Cavaliers Jerseys . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Cavaliers Jerseys From China . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. http://www.cheapcavaliersjerseyschina.com/ . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Youth Cavaliers Jerseys . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Cavaliers Jerseys Outlet . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. The face at the top of U.S. womens gymnastics will change next month when longtime national team coordinator Martha Karolyi retires following the Summer Olympics.The address that doubles as the programs heartbeat will not.USA Gymnastics has reached an agreement with Karolyi and husband Bela to purchase the training facility the couple owns in Huntsville, Texas. Financial terms were not disclosed, but a closing date of Aug. 24 has been set, just three days after the closing ceremony in Rio de Janeiro and five days before Martha Karolyis 74th birthday.It has everything we could possibly ask for, USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny told The Associated Press. Along with what it represents to our heart and soul, as a physical facility, we couldnt go out and build it. Its been custom made what for what we want and need. You add up all the elements and its like `Dang, what an easy decision.The Karolyis established the rustic estate in Sam Houston National Forest about an hour north of Houston in 1983, eventually expanding it to 2,000 acres. USA Gymnastics is buying 36.2 acres, including three training gyms, housing for up to 300 athletes and coaches as well as a dance studio, dining hall, medical and rehab facilities and recreational areas. The facility will also get a new name: the USA Gymnastics Athlete Development Center at the Karolyi Ranch.The Karolyis will keep their residence, a hunting lodge Bela Karolyi built and the remaining acreage. USA Gymnastics will have right of first refusal if the Karolyis decide in the future to sell off other parcels of land.The USA Gymnastics board of directors unanimously approved the sale, pointing to the amenities, the location and the unique aspects of the ranch -- which includes a vast array of wildlife from camels to peacocks -- that have helped turn the womens national team into an international powerhousee.dddddddddddd The five-woman team Karolyi will lead to Brazil next month is heavily favored to back up the team gold medal it won with ease in London four years ago.This place has stood the test of time, Penny said. There are things we have to make sure we do a little bit differently, we have to fix some things. Nothing that is going to require significant work. Its sturdy. Its a sturdy place to be.Karolyi announced her decision to step down after the Rio Games last summer. The Karolyis are expected to maintain a presence at the ranch, and USA Gymnastics is considering turning an older portion of the main gym -- one lined with pictures, medals and trophies from major competitions dating back to the 1980s -- into a museum to honor the Karolyi legacy.They are still a part of us, Penny said. They will always be a part of USA Gymnastics. Theyre still both going to play vital roles for us in the future. Martha will always want to drift into the gym and well always want her to do that.Bela Karolyi joked the sale means freedom for him to do as he pleases on the ranch while his wife of 54 years travels to visit family in her native Romania. Though the deal has been in the works for a while, the formal exchange of power will mark the end of an era. The Karolyis defected from Romania to the U.S. in 1981 and the ranch played a vital part in the U.S.s rise from also-ran to dominant force.The Karolyis have pledged to donate $250,000 to USA Gymnastics after the sale.Its very nice to see that once Im finishing my job, USA Gymnastics will take over and continue, Karolyi said Monday. I think thats the best way to preserve the system which proved itself as very efficient and able to produce world-class gymnasts and world-class teams. ' ' '