Leslie Balfour-Melville

Leslie Balfour-Melville (9 March 1854 – 17 July 1937), born Leslie Balfour, was a Scottish amateur sportsman, serving as captain, opening batsman, and wicket-keeper for the Scotland national cricket team.[1][2]

Leslie Balfour-Melville
Balfour-Melville c. 1891
Personal information
Full nameLeslie Balfour-Melville
Born(1854-03-09)9 March 1854
Bonnington, Edinburgh, Scotland
Died17 July 1937(1937-07-17) (aged 83)
North Berwick, Scotland
Nationality Scotland
Career
StatusAmateur
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open Championship5th: 1888
U.S. AmateurDNP
British AmateurWon: 1895
Achievements and awards
Scottish Sports Hall of Fame2002
Leslie Balfour-Melville
Rugby union career
Position(s) Full Back
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
- Edinburgh Academicals ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1872 Scotland 1 (0)
Refereeing career
Years Competition Apps
1880 Scottish Districts
21st President of the Scottish Rugby Union
In office
1893–1894
Preceded byDavid Morton
Succeeded byBill Maclagan

Balfour-Melville was also an international rugby union player,[3] tennis player, ice skater, curler, long-jumper, and player of English billiards. He was a prolific golf medal winner, winning The Amateur Championship, at St Andrews in 1895. He also held several administrative positions within national governing bodies. He was President of the Scottish Rugby Union, President of the Scottish Cricket Union, and Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 1906.

Balfour-Melville was an inaugural inductee into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[4]

Biography

Balfour was born in Bonnington, Edinburgh, on 9 March 1854[5] the son of James Balfour Melville (1815–1898) and his wife, Eliza Ogilvy Heriot Maitland (1821–1887).

He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and the University of Edinburgh, he became a lawyer by profession, rising to be a Writer to the Signet. In 1893 the family changed its name to Balfour-Melville when his father succeeded to the estate of Mount Melville near St Andrews, Fife. His Edinburgh residence was at 53 Hanover Street in Edinburgh's New Town.[6]

His son James also played cricket for Scotland before losing his life in the First World War.

Balfour-Melville died in North Berwick, East Lothian, on 16 July 1937.[5] He is buried with his parents in the family tomb in the south-west corner of Greyfriars Kirkyard close to the Robertson mausoleum. On his grave he is named simply as Leslie Melville.

Cricket career

Playing for the Grange, he debuted against the Free Foresters in 1874. He played eighteen matches for the national side over 36 years. He captained Scotland in their first match against Ireland after the formation of the 2nd Scottish Cricket Union, and was the first President of the Scottish Cricket Union to play for the national side. During his career he scored 46 centuries.[7]

Golf career
Balfour-Melville c. 1887

Major championships

Amateur wins
YearChampionshipWinning scoreRunner-up
1895The Amateur Championship20 holes John Ball

Results timeline
Tournament 1885 1886[8] 1887 1888[9] 1889
The Open Championship T16 5 LA
The Amateur Championship QF SF 2
Tournament 1890[10] 1891 1892[11] 1893[12] 1894[13] 1895 1896[14] 1897[15] 1898 1899[16]
The Open Championship T28
The Amateur Championship SF SF R16 R16 1 R32 SF R16
Tournament 1900[17] 1901[18] 1902[19] 1903[20] 1904[21] 1905[22] 1906[23] 1907[24] 1908[25] 1909[26]
The Open Championship WD
The Amateur Championship R32 R32 R128 QF R128 R128 R32 R64 R128 QF
Tournament 1910[27] 1911[28] 1912 1913[29] 1914[30] 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920[31]
The Amateur Championship R64 R64 R128 R128 NT NT NT NT NT R128

Note: Balfour-Melville only played in the Open Championship and the Amateur Championship.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = Low amateur
NT = No tournament
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play

Team appearances

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Leslie Balfour, as he was then, played for Edinburgh Academicals.[3]

International career

He was capped once in 1872.[32]

Referee career

He refereed the East v West district match in 1880.[33]

Administrative career

Balfour-Melville became the 21st President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served the 1893-94 term in office.[34]

Tennis career

Balfour won the Scottish Lawn Tennis Championships in 1879.[35]

Achievements

See also

References
  1. StatsZone Scotland, Cricket Europe. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  2. "Leslie Balfour-Melville". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  3. Bath, Richard (2007). Scotland Rugby Miscellany. VSP Books. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-905326-24-2.
  4. Drysdale, Neil (13 March 2007) "Memories of the day we defeated Australia", The Herald.
  5. Player profile on scrum.com. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  6. Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1911–12
  7. Leslie Balfour-Melville Scotland 1874-1910 (18 caps). cricketscotland.com
  8. The Glasgow Herald, 23 September 1886, p. 5. Google News.
  9. The Glasgow Herald, 11 May 1888, p. 8. Google News.
  10. The Glasgow Herald, 3 May 1890, p. 10. Google News.
  11. The Glasgow Herald, 14 May 1892, p. 4. Google News.
  12. The Glasgow Herald, 11 May 1893, p. 12. Google News.
  13. The Glasgow Herald, 27 April 1894, p. 11. Google News.
  14. The Glasgow Herald, 21 May 1896, p. 11. Google News.
  15. The Glasgow Herald, 30 April 1897, p. 11. Google News.
  16. The Glasgow Herald, 25 May 1899, p. 8. Google News.
  17. Golf, July 1900, p. 20 Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Golf Association Museum.
  18. Golf, June 1901, p. 413 Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Golf Association Museum.
  19. The Glasgow Herald, 30 April 1902, p. 10. Google News.
  20. Golf, July 1903, p. 10 Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Golf Association Museum.
  21. Golf, July 1904, p. 6 Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Golf Association Museum.
  22. Golf, June 1905, p. 340 Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Golf Association Museum.
  23. Golf, July 1906, p. 30 Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Golf Association Museum.
  24. The Glasgow Herald, 29 May 1907, p. 12. Google News.
  25. The Glasgow Herald, 27 May 1908, p. 14. Google News.
  26. The Glasgow Herald, 28 May 1909, p. 14. Google News.
  27. The Glasgow Herald, 1 June 1910, p. 10. Google News.
  28. The Glasgow Herald, 31 May 1911, p. 10. Google News.
  29. The Glasgow Herald, 28 May 1913, p. 15. Google News.
  30. The Glasgow Herald, 20 May 1914, p. 12. Google News.
  31. The Glasgow Herald, 9 June 1920, p. 11. Google News.
  32. http://en.espn.co.uk/statsguru/rugby/player/272.html?class=1;template=results;type=player;view=match
  33. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002731/18800202/026/0003
  34. https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sru-files/files/SR_RR1819_digital.pdf
  35. "A Sporting Nation Early Days 1744–1899". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. Retrieved 31 July 2016.

Further reading
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