Jack Marsh (c. 1874 – 1916) was a first-class cricketer of Australian aboriginal descent whose career was curtailed by continual controversy surrounding the legality of his bowling action. Born into the Bundjalung people at Yulgilbar in New South Wales, he first made an impression as a professional runner before playing club cricket in Sydney. In a trial match against the New South Wales state team in 1900, he dismissed two Test cricketers but was called for throwing; he then bowled with his arm in splints to prove that his action was legitimate. Having topped the bowling averages in the local competition, Marsh was selected to make his debut in the Sheffield Shield. He made an immediate impression and led the first-class bowling averages for the season after three matches. He was no-balled in his second match and then seventeen times in his fourth match, leading to angry crowd demonstrations. Marsh only played in two more first-class matches and he was passed over for selection for Australia because of his action. Regarded as one of the outstanding talents of his era, his lack of opportunities has often been attributed to racial discrimination.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Marsh

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1847:

Mexican–American War: The United States Army used heavy artillery to repulse the much larger Mexican army at the Battle of Buena Vista near Saltillo, Coahuila. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Buena_Vista

1885:

Sino-French War: France gained an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of what is now Vietnam. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_%C4%90%E1%BB%93ng_%C4%90%C4%83ng

1927:

German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg wrote a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli in which he described his uncertainty principle for the first time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Heisenberg

1947:

The International Organization for Standardization, responsible for worldwide industrial and commercial standards, was founded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization

2007:

A Virgin Trains Pendolino express train from London Euston to Glasgow Central derailed near Grayrigg, Cumbria, UK, killing one person and injuring 22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayrigg_derailment

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

salami tactics: The piecemeal removal or scaling back of something (especially political opposition); a gradual attack on an opposing position, group, etc. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/salami_tactics

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The function of the university is not simply to teach bread- winning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools or to be a centre of polite society; it is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilization.   --W. E. B. Du Bois https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._E._B._Du_Bois