Editing W. G. Grace (section)

==="The Champion"===
Cricket in the 1860s underwent a revolution with the legalisation of [[overarm bowling]] in June 1864, and Grace himself said it was "no exaggeration to say that, between 1860 and 1870, English cricket passed through its most critical period" with the game in transition, and "it was quite a revolutionary period so far as its rules were concerned".{{sfn|Grace|1899|p=19}} He was still 15 when the 1864 season began and had turned 20 when he began his medical career by enrolling at Bristol Medical School on 7 October 1868.{{sfn|Darwin|1934|p=39}} During those five seasons, and especially in 1866, he became widely recognised as the finest cricketer in England. Just after his eighteenth birthday in July 1866, he confirmed his potential with an innings of 224* for [[Non-international England cricket teams|All-England]] against [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]] at The Oval.{{sfn|Rae|1998|pp=60–61}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/1/1453.html |title=Surrey v England, 1866 |work=CricketArchive |url-access=subscription |access-date=31 December 2024}}</ref> It was his maiden first-class century and, according to [[Harry Altham]], he was "thenceforward the biggest name in cricket and the main spectator attraction with the successes (coming) thick and fast".{{sfn|Altham|1962|p=125}}

Two years later, Grace scored two centuries in a match, only the second time in cricket history that this is known to have been done, following [[William Lambert (cricketer, born 1779)|William Lambert]] in 1817.{{sfn|Rae|1998|p=77}} Summarising the 1868 season, Simon Rae wrote that Grace was:{{sfn|Rae|1998|p=78}} 

<blockquote>Now indisputably the cricketer of the age, the Champion.</blockquote>

Grace had numerous nicknames during his career including "The Doctor", after he achieved his medical qualification, and "The Old Man", as he reached the veteran stage. "The Champion" was the most auspicious—in the poem ''[[Cricket poetry|At Lord's]]'' by [[Francis Thompson]], he was hailed as "The Champion of the Centuries".{{sfn|Altham|1962|p=122}} Grace was first acclaimed as the "Champion Cricketer" by ''Lillywhite's Companion'' in recognition of his exploits in 1871.{{sfn|Midwinter|1981|p=34}}