Leslie Balfour-Melville Explained

Leslie Balfour-Melville
Fullname:	Leslie Balfour-Melville
Birth Date:	9 March 1854
Birth Place:	Bonnington, Edinburgh, Scotland
Death Place:	North Berwick, Scotland
Status:	Amateur
Majorwins:	1
Usopen:	DNP
Open:	5th: 1888
Usamateur:	DNP
Britamateur:	Won: 1895
Award1:	Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
Year1:	2002
Module:	Embed: yes Ru Position: Full Back Amatyears1: - Repteam1: Scotland Repyears1: 1872 Repcaps1: 1 Reppoints1: 0 Ru Refereeyears1: 1880 Ru Refereecomps1: Scottish Districts
Module2:	Embed: yes Office: President of the Scottish Rugby Union Term Start: 1893 Term End: 1894 Order: 21st

Leslie Balfour-Melville (9 March 1854 – 17 July 1937), born Leslie Balfour, was a Scottish amateur sportsman, serving as captain, opening batsman, and wicket-keeper for the Scotland national cricket team.^{[1] [2]}

Balfour-Melville was also an international rugby union player,^[3] tennis player, ice skater, curler, long-jumper, and player of English billiards. He was a prolific golf medal winner, winning The Amateur Championship, at St Andrews in 1895. He also held several administrative positions within national governing bodies. He was President of the Scottish Rugby Union, President of the Scottish Cricket Union, and Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in 1906.

Balfour-Melville was an inaugural inductee into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.^[4]

Biography

Balfour was born in Bonnington, Edinburgh, on 9 March 1854^[5] the son of James Balfour Melville (1815–1898) and his wife, Eliza Ogilvy Heriot Maitland (1821–1887).

He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and the University of Edinburgh, he became a lawyer by profession, rising to be a Writer to the Signet. In 1893 the family changed its name to Balfour-Melville when his father succeeded to the estate of Mount Melville near St Andrews, Fife. His Edinburgh residence was at 53 Hanover Street in Edinburgh's New Town.^[6]

His son James also played cricket for Scotland before losing his life in the First World War.

Balfour-Melville died in North Berwick, East Lothian, on 16 July 1937.^[5] He is buried with his parents in the family tomb in the south-west corner of Greyfriars Kirkyard close to the Robertson mausoleum. On his grave he is named simply as Leslie Melville.

Cricket career

Playing for the Grange, he debuted against the Free Foresters in 1874. He played eighteen matches for the national side over 36 years. He captained Scotland in their first match against Ireland after the formation of the 2nd Scottish Cricket Union, and was the first president of the Scottish Cricket Union to play for the national side. During his career he scored 46 centuries.^[7] He served as president of the Scottish Cricket Union in 1909.^[8]

Golf career

Major championships

Results timeline

Tournament	1885	1886^[9]	1887	1888^[10]	1889
The Open Championship	T16			5 LA
The Amateur Championship		QF		SF	2

Tournament	1890^[11]	1891	1892^[12]	1893^[13]	1894^[14]	1895	1896^[15]	1897^[16]	1898	1899^[17]
The Open Championship			T28
The Amateur Championship	SF		SF	R16	R16	1	R32	SF		R16

Tournament	1900^[18]	1901^[19]	1902^[20]	1903^[21]	1904^[22]	1905^[23]	1906^[24]	1907^[25]	1908^[26]	1909^[27]
The Open Championship	WD
The Amateur Championship	R32	R32	R128	QF	R128	R128	R32	R64	R128	QF

Note: Balfour-Melville only played in the Open Championship and the Amateur Championship.
LA = Low amateur
NT = No tournament
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16,, = Round in which player lost in match play

Team appearances

• England–Scotland Amateur Match (representing Scotland): 1902 (winners), 1903

Rugby union career

Amateur career

Leslie Balfour, as he was then, played for Edinburgh Academicals.^[3]

International career

He was capped once in 1872.^[33]

Referee career

He refereed the East v West district match in 1880.^[34]

Administrative career

Balfour-Melville became the 21st President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served the 1893–94 term in office.^[35]

Tennis career

Balfour won the Scottish Lawn Tennis Championships in 1879.^[36]

Achievements

• Played rugby for Scotland against England, 1872
• Scottish Lawn Tennis Championship winner, 1879
• Captained Scotland to a cricketing victory over Australia, 1882
• The Amateur Championship winner, 1895; and runner-up in 1889; both at St Andrews Links
• Scottish billiards champion

See also

• List of Scottish cricket and rugby union players

Further reading

• Book: Terry . Godwin . John M. . Jenkins . Complete Who's Who of International Rugby . June 1987 . Sterling Pub Co Inc . 978-0-7137-1838-6.

External links

• • • Wisden obituary

Notes and References

1. http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CSTATZ/saltires/bio/B/balfour-melville_lm.html StatsZone Scotland
2. Web site: Leslie Balfour-Melville . espnscrum.com. 4 January 2013.
3. Book: Bath, Richard . Scotland Rugby Miscellany . registration . 2007 . VSP Books . 978-1-905326-24-2. 104.
4. Drysdale, Neil (13 March 2007) "Memories of the day we defeated Australia", The Herald.
5. http://www.espnscrum.com/scotland/rugby/player/272.html Player profile
6. Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1911–12
7. http://www.cricketscotland.com/player/balfour-melville/ Leslie Balfour-Melville Scotland 1874-1910 (18 caps)
8. Web site: Presidents and Honorary Members. www.cricketscotland.com. 27 October 2022.
9. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18860923&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 23 September 1886, p. 5.
10. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18880511&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 11 May 1888, p. 8
11. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18900503&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 3 May 1890, p. 10
12. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18920514&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 14 May 1892, p. 4
13. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18930511&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 11 May 1893, p. 12
14. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18940427&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 27 April 1894, p. 11
15. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18960521&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 21 May 1896, p. 11
16. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18970430&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 30 April 1897, p. 11
17. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18990525&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 25 May 1899, p. 8
18. http://www.usgamuseum.com/researchers/usga_segl/ Golf, July 1900, p. 20
19. http://www.usgamuseum.com/researchers/usga_segl/ Golf, June 1901, p. 413
20. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19020430&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 30 April 1902, p. 10
21. http://www.usgamuseum.com/researchers/usga_segl/ Golf, July 1903, p. 10
22. http://www.usgamuseum.com/researchers/usga_segl/ Golf, July 1904, p. 6
23. http://www.usgamuseum.com/researchers/usga_segl/ Golf, June 1905, p. 340
24. http://www.usgamuseum.com/researchers/usga_segl/ Golf, July 1906, p. 30
25. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19070529&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 29 May 1907, p. 12
26. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19080527&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 27 May 1908, p. 14
27. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19090528&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 28 May 1909, p. 14
28. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19100601&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 1 June 1910, p. 10
29. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19110531&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 31 May 1911, p. 10
30. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19130528&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 28 May 1913, p. 15
31. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19140520&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 20 May 1914, p. 12
32. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19200609&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, 9 June 1920, p. 11
33. Web site: Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Leslie Balfour-Melville - Test matches.
34. Web site: subscription.
35. Web site: Scottish Rugby Record 2018/19. Scottish Rugby. 20 March 2020. 16 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191116210013/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sru-files/files/SR_RR1819_digital.pdf. dead.
36. Web site: A Sporting Nation Early Days 1744–1899. bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 31 July 2016.