Cyril Kramer was born on 11 April 1916 to Leopold and Rose Kramer. Leopold, an immigrant to South Africa from Talsen in Latvia, was a successful businessman, with a finger in many pies.
As well as being a co-founder of one of the largest wine and spirit companies in South Africa (Federal Wine and Brandy Co.), he managed a diverse portfolio of businesses, which included ownership of nine farms, diamonds and other minerals.
Leopold passed away in 1943, leaving his fortune to Rose and their four children. In terms of the will, this inheritance was only released to Cyril and his two brothers and a sister on 10 January 1950. The inheritance was so generous however, that Cyril did not ever have to work at a conventional job again.
As a player, Kramer joined the Plumstead club in 1950 and went on to earn legendary status for his marathon efforts at the wicket. Cyril used to frustrate bowlers into a frenzy when they could not dislodge him from the crease, playing in the 2B or 3A sides.
He became CTCC Match Secretary in 1954 and held this post until the end of the 1991/92 season. He would always introduce himself to new faces at the nets … and then would start the infamous “Kramer grilling”! What did the new player do? What was his highest score at school level? Where did he work? What did he … etc., etc., etc.? The benefit of all this was that, at the next selection meeting, Cyril would be able to, with a muttered “Now let me get this right”, instantly give the other selectors a word picture of a players ability and potential skill.
Cyril saw it as a crime for players to miss a practice and any culprit could expect to be hounded by phone calls if this occurred. In Cyril’s day, CTCC fielded up to 11 teams. Cyril organised all the net practices, making sure all the kit was there, because in those days, except for the First Team, most players didn’t own their own kit.
Apart from organising the nets, he then used to organise each team in terms of Saturday’s game. He had eleven sides to deal with and if someone was injured and had to drop out of the First Team, Cyril would have to replace all the way up. He would let every single person in each side know where they were playing and what they had to do. Being a night-owl, Cyril never went to bed before one o’clock in the morning, and would keep on phoning players until he got hold of them, regardless of the time.
Cyril was renowned for his team selection sheets. He would put the sides up on the club notice board on a piece of A4 paper, in horrendously crabby handwriting. On Tuesday they would be up and everyone would go and look to see where they would be playing. If someone withdrew, he would just cross the name out of the team and move another name in, repeating the process down the line, and always in even more crabby handwriting, crammed in between two names. By the end of Wednesday, the piece of paper was almost indecipherable.
As far as his personal life was concerned, Cyril married Lena Sussara Louw, a widow, on 5 January 1979.
Cyril retired as Match Secretary at the end of the 1991/92 season.
With the death of Boon Wallace in 1994, Cyril was offered, and accepted, the post of President of CTCC, a position that he filled with great honour and distinction. His interest in the Club never dimmed despite his now largely non-Executive role.
Cyril was the first recipient of the President’s Trophy in 1976, and instituted the Cyril Kramer Cup for the junior player showing the most meritorious club spirit. In 1997 he was awarded the Western Province Cricket Association Medal of Honour for services to cricket. Cyril stepped down as Club President before the start of the 2001/02 season. Part of the CTCC tribute to Cyril Kramer reads: “And as always he selflessly decided to step down for someone he felt could better serve the Club. He was always an example to everyone of scrupulous honesty, unfailing reliability and self-effacing modesty. He was a part of the Club for over half a century – player, administrator, counsellor, benefactor and, above all, a solid friend.”
Former First XI player Richard Knowles remembers that: “The thing about Cyril that we never really understood as youngsters was his absolute love of cricket. He loved cricket. And he loved cricket played in the correct way – he just loved the game.”
Cyril Kramer passed away on 7 December 2003 in Claremont following complications caused by pneumonia, leaving behind his wife Lena and his two stepdaughters, Andrea and Dawn. As generous in death as he had been in life, Cyril made a substantial bequest to CTCC and also to many other charities and organisations he deemed to be worthy recipients.
Phil Hartman co-authored “Playing the Game” with Les Moult depicting the history of Cape Town Cricket Club from 1857 – 2012
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