Staten Island Cricket Club
| Walker Park | |
| Location | Livingston, Staten Island, New York, USA |
|---|---|
| Owner | City of New York |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1886 |
| Opened | 1931 |
| Tenants | |
| Staten Island Cricket Club (NYMDAL) (1886-present) | |
The Staten Island Cricket Club (SICC) is a cricket club on Staten Island, New York that was incorporated as the Staten Island Cricket and Base Ball Club on March 22, 1872. It became the first tennis venue in the United States.
The club originally played at St. George on the “Flats” or old Camp Washington Terminal from 1866 to 1886. While not the oldest cricket club in the United States, it does claim to be the oldest cricket club in continuous use since its founding in that country.Mary Outerbridge brought tennis to the club in 1874. The first national tennis tournament in America was held at the club on September 1, 1880. 'The waterfront land was known by its Civil War use as Camp Washington. It was here that Mary Ewing Outerbridge, resident of the historic area, introduced lawn tennis in the spring of 1874. Her brother Emilius helped her to set up a net and mark out a tennis court on the grounds of Camp Washington used by the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club. The club had to give way to Erastus Wiman's ventures at that site and move to the former Rufus King Delafield estate in the Livingston neighborhood of Staten Island about 1.8 miles (2.9 km) away from St. George. In 1906 the name of the club was changed to the Staten Island Cricket and Tennis Club, and changed again in 1931 to the Staten Island Cricket Club. In 1925 the property was sold to the Staten Island Academy then sold in 1930 to the city of New York. After the sale to city the estate was originally named Livingston Park but was later renamed Walker Park in memory of Randolph St. George Walker Jr., a casualty of World War I and son of a prominent member and officer of the club." A clubhouse on the grounds burned down in 1932, taking many of the club's records with it. The clubhouse was replaced with a Tudor style brick structure in 1934 that is still standing.
Famous cricketers that have played while visiting at the SICC include Gilbert Jessop, Donald Bradman, Everton Weekes, and Garry Sobers. Uncorroborated club lore has it that W. G. Grace, Colin Blythe, and K. S. Ranjitsinhji also played at Walker (Livingston) Park.
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