John McCarthy Blackham was born in Melbourne in 1854 and made his first-class debut for Victoria in 1874. He was the wicketkeeper in the very first Test match in 1877 and remained Australia's keeper through almost every Test for the next 17 years.
What set him apart was his habit of standing up to the stumps to even the fastest bowling. Where almost every other Test wicketkeeper of the era stood back to fast bowling and required a long-stop behind him, Blackham took everything close, including Spofforth's full-pace cutters. The result: Australia could play one extra batsman or fielder, since the long-stop position became redundant.
In an era before proper wicketkeeping gloves (Wisden later compared his to gardening gloves) and well before pads or helmets, this was physically punishing work. Blackham's hands were misshapen by the end of his career; his fingers had been broken so many times he could barely hold a teacup.
Wisden made him Wicketkeeper of the Year in 1891 and called him 'the greatest wicket-keeper the world has yet seen'. He ended with 36 Test catches and 24 stumpings — modest by modern standards, but in an era when the wicketkeeper rarely received the ball cleanly. His captaincy of Australia in the 1894-95 Ashes was distinguished if brief; he played his last Test in 1894 and retired aged 40.
In England, a small group of clergymen reportedly complained to MCC that Blackham was 'a danger to the wellbeing of cricket' because by abolishing the long-stop position he was depriving village clergy of their traditional fielding spot.