Full name
Montague John Druitt
Born
August 15, 1857, Wimborne, Dorset
Died December 4, 1888, Brentford, Middlesex (aged 31 years 111 days)
Major teams Blackheath
Teacher and barrister.
Played in the Winchester First Eleven in 1876 and
member of the Kingston Park and Dorset Country
Cricket Club. Dispite his gaunt appearance
he was noted for his formidable strength
in arms and wrists, once coming third in
a cricket ball throwing event with a toss
of over 92 yards.
Taking up a teaching job in Blackheath
in 1881 he started playing for the Morden Cricket Club,
Blackheath and was soon appointed Treasurer.
After the merger of Morden Cricket Club with the
Blackheath Cricket, Football and Lawn Tennis Company
Druitt became a Director, being appointed Treasurer
and Company Secretary.
Elected as member of the MCC on 26 May 1884.
Druitt was found drowned in the Thames at Chiswick
on 31 December 1888. His death is recorded as
having occured on 4 December 1888, but recent studies
suggest several days earlier.
In 1894 he was named as a
"Jack the Ripper" suspect by Sir Melville Macnaghten,
Chief Constable CID, although there is little if
any evidence to support this.
In fact, his cricket matches in 1888 are sometimes
used in his defence, like the
match on 8 September, which started just eight hours after one
of the "Jack the Ripper" murders.
Links to Druitt's matches on CricInfo:
