Thank you, Tommy

Local cricket has lost one of its greatest servants with the death of journalist, statistician and “passionate” fan Tommy Aitchison.

That’s the consensus of many towards a man that gave so much to local cricket without asking for anything in return.

The former Bermuda Cricket Annual co-editor died of multiple organ failure in Arizona earlier this week at age the 95 – five-years shy of what would’ve been a well-deserved century.

During his time in Bermuda Aitchison was a sports editor for the Mid Ocean News as well as an accountant and records committee chairman for what was then referred to as Bermuda Cricket Board of Control (BCBC).

But it is perhaps his involvement with the Bermuda Cricket Annual magazine that has immortalized him in the annals of local cricket.

The leading magazine was launched in 1980 and with the help of sponsors was able to record the rich tapestry of local cricket’s history.

All revenue from sales went towards junior development programs in schools run in conjunction with the BCBC.

Respected sports photographer and journalist Lawrence Trott is among those who had the privilege of working alongside the late Aitchison.

He said: “I worked with Mr Aitchison on several Bermuda Cricket Annuals when he was the editor and his passion for cricket was always very obvious to me.”

Aitchison served as co-editor for the Bermuda Cricket Annual for a decade before passing the baton over to Royal Gazette sports journalists Dexter Smith, Chris Gibbons and Trott, who feels Cup Match rivals Somerset and St. George’s owe the late statistician a “debt of gratitude”.

“For many years he compiled the Cup Match records and up until a few years ago when he turned the records over to others he would distribute the updated records to the newspapers without failure every year prior to Cup Match,” he said.

“Certainly it was because of him that I realized that Wendell Smith needed 12 runs going into the 1995 Cup Match at Wellington Oval to become the first batsman to score 1,000 runs in Cup Match.

“Would we even know that Clarence Parfitt holds the record for most wickets (115) in Cup Match were it not for Tommy Aitchison or that Dennis Wainwright has the most catches (37) for a wicketkeeper?”

Former Western Stars captain and respected umpire Randy Butler echoed Trott’s sentiments.

“Tommy was a real cricket enthusiast who had a great concern for keeping stats on Bermuda cricket. He was a very good cricket historian as well,” he recalled.

“His thing was keeping the records up to date and he always had the stats and everything like that, which took a lot of work to compile. Tommy was a very quiet man but when he did speak to cricketers at the ground he always had kind words to say.

“His passing is a sad loss to Bermuda cricket because he always had our cricket at heart.”

Gibbons said: “I was very sad to hear of Tommy's passing. When I first came to Bermuda as a sports journalist in 1982, he was a generous and invaluable source and guide to Bermuda cricket at a time when the BCBC was a complete shambles in terms of results and statistics.

“Were it not for his painstaking work, many of the Cup Match and county records would never have been recorded or preserved properly.

“We worked on many cricket annuals and projects over the years and remained friends. He never lost his infectious enthusiasm and love for cricket, all sports and Bermuda.”