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. Growing up, Close practised cricket with his father in the houses' back gardens; Harry Close was himself a keen cricketer, who kept wicket and was a big hitter in the Bradford Cricket League, although he never attained the standard of the Yorkshire county team. Rawdon had cricketing pedigree: Hedley Verity—an England international in the period before the Second World War—grew up there, and the Verity family continued to live in the village. 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. At Aireborough Grammar School, Close excelled both academically and athletically. The school went unbeaten in the six cricketing summers while Close was there, and the school's sport's master arranged for him to receive coaching from George Hirst, a former England international who coached Yorkshire. 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. Close was also proficient at football, and at the age of fourteen, he was signed as an amateur by 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 against Scotland at Pittodrie Park in Aberdeen. After passing his Higher School Certificate, Close seriously considered becoming a doctor; his headmaster at Aireborough believed that he could have been accepted into Cambridge or Oxford university, 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 to being an off spinner. Yorkshire and England Debut season In February 1949, Close underwent a medical examination with the British Army, but due to an injury he had suffered playing football