Cardinal Gibbons, a private Catholic school in Baltimore, Maryland takes great pride in its heritage and is regarded as one of Baltimore's strongest centers of learning.
Originally named St. Mary's Industrial School for Orphans, its alumni includes the baseball great Babe Ruth. In fact, the legendary Babe Ruth once organized a fund-raising drive that netted well over $100,000 for the school, a massive amount of money at the time. Babe Ruth's old home houses the school's fine arts building.
A part of cricketing folklore is the meeting between Babe Ruth and Don Bradman at the Yankees stadium when the Aussies toured USA in 1932. "Us little fellows could hit them harder than the big ones," the baseball great famously said. And that was the school's only brush with cricket. Until recently, that is.
Students from Cardinal Gibbons have been working hard to grow local interest in cricket.
On February 28th, their efforts received a huge boost when they were visited by Gladstone Dainty, the president of the U.S.A. Cricket Association. Gladstone Dainty told players, their efforts will play a major role in moving cricket into the mainstream of American sports.
The Cardinal Gibbons cricket team was visited by Gladstone Dainty, President of USACA
"It underlines the significance of what we're doing," Gibbons coach Jamie Harrison said. "If cricket is ever to go from being a niche sport to being a mainstream sport, it has to crack into the American-born market."
Gibbons soon might get company with both Loyola and John Carroll in the process of beginning teams. Washington DC is also readying plans for a local youth cricket league. So the prospects look bright in the region.
Courtesy: Rich Sherr, Baltimore Sun
Picture Courtesy: Jamie Harrison