Paddy Hennessey
Richard Christopher “Paddy” Hennessy (born 6 January 1929) is an Irish-born former baseball (British/Welsh) player, famed for his high-speed bowling.
Life and playing career
Born in County Cork, Ireland, his early sports were hurling and Gaelic football, but having emigrated to Wales, he used to watch his factory co-workers in Cardiff playing the game in their breaks.
At 21, he played his first competitive game for the works team. He removed St Mary’s of Canton for no runs and 13 extras. After a couple of seasons in the lower levels of the league, he was signed by Splott US (University Settlement), and he was an instant success at the top level.
In 1957 he made his debut for Wales in the annual international against England, in Liverpool. He opened the bowling and had the English at 33 for 7, but was removed after a protest over his bowling style and a series of no-balls was called.
He was again selected for the 1958 international match at Maindy Stadium, Cardiff, and he bowled England out for just 17 in their second innings, taking Wales to a comfortable win. He was also named Welsh Baseball Union player of the year.
By 1962, he had joined Grange Albion, and in that year’s international he dismissed England for just 11 in their first innings and 14 in the second, with only four batsmen hitting the ball.
Two years later, his performance in the international was even more impressive, removing England for just 6 runs in their first innings, a feat which again helped him to the WBU player of the year award, becoming the first man to achieve the honour twice.
His devastating form came to the attention of Wales’ first-class cricket team, Glamorgan County Cricket Club, who considered that a super-fast underarm bowler could give them an advantage in the new limited overs version of their game. As the first round of the new Gillette Cup loomed, captain Ossie Wheatley invited Hennessy for a trial in the nets at Cardiff Arms Park, with the thought of recruiting him as a ‘secret weapon’.
However, the laws of cricket at that time required the ball to bounce before it reached the batsman, and the trajectory of the baseball delivery made that almost impossible to achieve.
Trivia
Paddy Hennessey is mentioned in The Baseball Song, a song by The Hennessys on their album Cardiff After Dark.
References
[1] Andrew Weltch, Paddy Hennessy – Cardiff’s Baseball Legend in Andrew Hignell and Gwyn Prescott (eds) Cardiff Sporting Greats, 2007 Stroud, Stadia.