Editing Brian Close (section)

==Early years==
Close was born into a [[working class]] family in [[Rawdon, West Yorkshire|Rawdon]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], around {{convert|7|miles}} west of [[Leeds]], on 24 February 1931. His parents were Harry, a weaver, and Esther (''née'' Barrett). He was the second eldest of five boys and a girl. The family lived in a series of small [[council houses]] in Rawdon, [[Guiseley]] and [[Yeadon, West Yorkshire|Yeadon]]. Growing up, Close practised cricket with his father in the houses' back gardens; Harry Close was himself a keen cricketer, who [[wicket-keeper|kept wicket]] and was a big hitter in the [[Bradford Cricket League]], although he never attained the standard of the [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire county team]].{{sfn|Hill|2003|pp=12–14}} Rawdon had cricketing pedigree: [[Hedley Verity]]—an [[England cricket team|England]] international in the period before the [[Second World War]], in which he was killed —grew up there, and the Verity family continued to live in the village.{{sfn|Waters|2014|pp=16–18}} At Rawdon Littlemoor Primary School, Close was taught by Grace Verity, Hedley's sister, and he was friends with two of his children, Wilfred and Douglas.{{sfn|Hill|2003|p=14}}

At [[Aireborough Grammar School]], Close excelled both academically and athletically. The school went unbeaten in the six cricketing summers while Close was there,{{sfn|Hill|2003|p=17}} and the school's sport's master arranged for him to receive coaching from [[George Hirst]], a former England international who coached Yorkshire.<ref name="coty">{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/154558.html |title=Cricketer of the Year 1964: Brian Close |work=Wisden Cricketers' Almanack |year=1964 |via=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=25 February 2020}}</ref> Close dominated junior level cricket in the area; he joined Rawdon Cricket Club in 1942, when he was eleven years of age, and was almost immediately selected to play for both the under-18 side and the second team.{{sfn|Hill|2003|pp=18–19}} Close was also proficient at [[association football|football]], and at the age of fourteen, he was signed as an [[amateur sports|amateur]] by [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]. A natural inside forward, he became the first Leeds player to feature as a youth international, when in October 1948, he played with [[England national football team|England]] against [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] at [[Pittodrie Stadium|Pittodrie Park]] in [[Aberdeen]].{{sfn|Hill|2003|p=22}}

After passing his [[Higher School Certificate (England and Wales)|Higher School Certificate]], Close seriously considered becoming a doctor; his headmaster at [[Aireborough]] believed that he could have been accepted into [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]] or [[Oxford University|Oxford]] university,{{sfn|Hill|2003|pp=15}} but he was not allowed to start university until he had completed two years of [[national service]] with the military. With the enforced break from his studies he chose to try a career as a professional sportsman; he signed a professional contract with Leeds United and having already played for the Yorkshire Colts in second eleven cricket, he joined them for winter coaching. The coaches encouraged Close to switch from bowling [[Seam bowling|seam]] to being an [[off spin]]ner.<ref name="coty"/>