Phil Milton 1956-2011
There are not many men who have contributed so much to so many St Albans clubs as the late Phil Milton, who passed away last week at the age of 55.
In his younger days he played for Phoenix Football Club, and later started a team at the Camp Liberal Club (now the Hatfield Road Sports and Social Club). He joined their Committee in 1983 and became Treasurer in 1985, a post he held until last summer. He also played in the darts and dominoes league, and extended his football activities by acting as Treasurer of the London Road Football Club for many years.
His cricket activities started at the St John Fisher Cricket Club in 1970, where he was a noisy and large presence behind the stumps. As a batsman he didn’t believe in much defence and his favourite shot he called the Milton Hoike (in more refined terms something like a slog-sweep). He encouraged the social side of this club and became one of its first Vice Presidents.
But it was at St Albans Cricket Club that he made his biggest contribution. In 1999 after observing the Friday night junior practice sessions, he volunteered for the role of ‘looking after the mums’ and recruiting more volunteers, while the coaches (who later envied him!) got on with the serious business of teaching cricket.
Phil then took on the financial responsibilities for the club’s Junior section and maintained all the administration records, which later proved vital for the clubs’ Clubmark application. This job expanded as membership numbers increased significantly, from approximately 50 then to 300 last year. Furthermore, he succeeded in increasing the number of volunteers running the club, to over 40. This included active support of the parents who started the famous Sizzling Sausage barbeque held on Friday evenings and the Cricket Café on Sunday mornings, and was more often than not found watching the home matches and helping the team managers.
Phil became overall Chairman of St Albans Cricket Club in 2008, during a time when there were serious problems with the club finances, and in 2010, he added to his workload, becoming the Bar Manager. His common sense approach to finance and his efforts to unite all different areas of the club have left it in its best state for years, both financially and socially. His tireless support for other members trying to improve the Club have led to significant improvements, the main one of which will be a new state of art nets facility at Clarence Park, which he only recently learned was going ahead but unfortunately will never get to see it completed. It is sure that Phil’s legacy will live on long into the future.
As a man, no one ever had a bad word to say about Phil Milton. Everyone at St Albans Cricket Club will miss his larger than life personality, his affable humour and boundless kindness that set him apart from others. It was impossible not to be smiling in his company. A father figure to all junior members at the club and a friend to all, he was one of the nicest and warmest people you’ll ever meet. Phil was a man who gave so much to so many, but asked for only thanks in return.
In the words of one 10 year old junior cricketer, “Phil put the light into cricket”.