Jim Kilburn

James Maurice Kilburn (8 July 1909 – 28 August 1993) was a British sports journalist who wrote for the Yorkshire Post between 1934 and 1976. Well-regarded for the style of his writing and his refusal to write about off-field events, Kilburn wrote primarily about Yorkshire County Cricket Club. After a brief career in teaching, and having spent time in Finland, Kilburn was appointed cricket correspondent at the Yorkshire Post after impressing the editor with his writing. A serious man, he had an unusual way of writing his reports, but his editors refused to change his copy, so highly did they value his impact.

Early life and career Kilburn was born in Sheffield in 1909, before completing a degree in economics at the University of Sheffield. While in Bradford, he met the vice-consul for Finland;

Cricket correspondent During his time in Finland, Kilburn sent travel articles to the Barnsley Chronicle and the Yorkshire Post. An initial three-month period, with a salary of £3 per week, resulted in a written commendation from Neville Cardus, and he was appointed permanently with responsibility for cricket and rugby. Kilburn quickly established his reputation. He continued in the position until 1976, when he retired. His obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described his writing style: he wrote "with a fountain pen on press telegram forms at 60 or 80 words a shilling. At the close of play he immediately concluded his essay; he hardly ever crossed anything out. His cricketing judgments were assured and rigorous, his style exact but sometimes elegant: Leyland's bowling is a joke but it is an extremely practical joke." Kilburn's writing was printed exactly as he wrote it; sub-editors did not touch anything, even if he had made a mistake, as his employers valued his style so greatly. His position at the Yorkshire Post gave him freedom to write about whatever he chose, and he refused several offers to move to national newspapers. But his obituary in The Times suggested that, had he worked for a London publication, he would have been as well-known and respected as Cardus, E. W. Swanton and R. C. Robertson-Glasgow. He believed that cricketers should be chivalrous, and greatly admired stylish play. He severely criticised anything on the field which he believed fell short of acceptable standards, including the occasion in 1967 when Yorkshire won the County Championship after engaging in time-wasting tactics to avoid losing a game. He retired in 1976, but continued to follow the sport very closely.

Legacy and death Kilburn twice accompanied the England team on overseas tours to Australia: in 1946–47 and 1954–55. During the former tour, he became a founder member of the Cricket Writers' Club. He served as its secretary, chairman and later became an Honorary Life Member. He also became the only journalist elected as a life member at Yorkshire, and opened the newly built press box at Headingley Cricket Ground in 1988. In his final years, he became blind—his sight began to fail shortly after his retirement— but according to Wisden, "Jim Kilburn remained an upright, dignified man until he died". Outside of his work, Kilburn played golf to a reasonable standard, and was married with three children. Derek Hodgson writes: "All his work will be valued as an accurate insight into social attitudes in the first half of this century. Jim Kilburn intended always to write about cricket but in fact he told us all so much more." He wrote ten books on cricket, and contributed regularly to The Cricketer magazine and to Wisden.