The History of Cribbage

THE HISTORY OF CRIBBAGE Origins The game of cribbage has been beloved by men for centuries. It is believed to have been invented by British soldier and poet Sir John Suckling . In the 1630’s Suckling, also a famous courtier and gambler altered an earlier similar game of “noddy” by inventing the crib, which is basically an extra hand the dealer gets to play. (Noddy first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1589.) Suckling spent several years in France and Italy and returned to England in 1630 to be knighted by the King." Suckling inherited his father's fortune when he was only 18. Rich, handsome and generous, Suckling was very popular and regarded as the best card player and bowler in Britain, if not all Europe. In 1641 he led a conspiracy to rescue a friend who was jailed in the Tower of London. When the plot was discovered, he was accused of treason and fled to France. A year later - unable to return to his beloved England, the unhappy poet took poison and died. Cribbage in 1822 © The Trustees of the British Museum. Cribbage was brought to American shores by English settlers where it became quite popular in the colonies, especially in New England. Requiring only two players, it was readily adopted by sailors and fishermen as a way to pass the time. Cribbage boards, which have either 61 or 121 holes, were crafted from a variety of materials and could be quite unique and elaborate in form and style. Eskimos would make cribbage boards out of walrus tusks to trade with the sailors and fishermen who made port near their villages. Cribbage boards were often made from walrus tusks. Photo source. A Game That Led to a Naval Tradition Cribbage was a common pastime in the navy during World War II, especially among American submariners patrolling for Japanese ships. The most famous incident of cribbage in the Navy occurred in 1943 aboard one of the war’s most celebrated submarines, the USS Wahoo. For the Wahoo’s fourth war patrol, it was ordered to head to the extreme northern reaches of the Yellow Sea, an area where no sub had gone before. To take their minds off the tension, the sub’s commander, Dudley “Mush” Morton and his executive officer, Richard “Dick” O’Kane, began a game of cribbage. On the first deal, Morton dealt O’Kane a “Perfect 29” hand - four fives and a Jack - the highest possible score for combinations in a single cribbage deal. Back-of-the-envelope calculations were done, and 216,000 to 1 were the odds thrown out as to the chances of that happening. The crew’s spirits were bolstered by what they felt was a very lucky omen. O’Kane had his fellow officers sign the five cards and he framed them. Good fortune did prevail on the patrol – at its end the Wahoo had set a record for the number of ships sunk. O’Kane’s lucky cribbage board has become an important submariner tradition. Since WWII it has been passed along to the oldest active submarine in the United States Pacific Fleet. Once the sub is decommissioned, it is given to the next oldest submarine, where it is placed in the wardroom. See this famous board in this brief video. Sources: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-manly-history-of-cribbage-and-how-to-play-the-game/ https://www.cribbagesupply.com/crhi.html Trivia • The cribbage board actually predates cribbage and was used for scoring other games, such as whist, and a similar board was even found in an Egyptian pyramid. • The pegs for scoring are also known as “spilikins” • The American Cribbage Congress was founded in January 1980 • During the 2016 World Series, Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona played cribbage daily in the dugout • Every March, the World’s Largest Cribbage Tournament attracts 600-700 players who battle it out at the Sands Regency in Reno, Nevada • Cribbage has been immortalized in Charles Dickens’ “The Old Curiosity Shop”, as the eccentric shopkeeper plays cribbage and teaches a young servant girl he dubs “the Marchioness,” how to play the game. Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness, “The Old Curiosity Shop,” Illustration by Charles Green .

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