John O'Connor

Who was John O'Connor?

John O'Connor was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire in 1900.

O'Connor was born in Pinxton, Derbyshire, the son of William O'Connor a coal miner from Ireland and his wife Mary. At the age of 14 he was a coal mine ganger.

O'Connor's playing career began in 1893 with Cambridgeshire, his first match being against the MCC. He played regularly for Cambridgeshire until 1899 in the Minor Counties Championship and in other matches against MCC. O'Connor also umpired seven first-class cricket matches involving Cambridge University between 1894 and 1896. O'Connor's last game for Cambridgeshire in the 1899 season was against MCC when Arthur Conan Doyle took seven Cambridgeshire wickets although not his.

O'Connor made his debut first-class appearance for Derbyshire in the 1900 season in May against Lancashire when he took 5 wickets in both innings at 5–56 and 5–69. Except in the next match he took a regular haul of wickets for the rest of the season, although he never came near his initial performance. His best batting score was 17 against Hampshire in a 177-run Derbyshire victory at the start of June.