Calder was born in April 1858 at South Stoneham, Hampshire; his family could trace its history back to the famous Hambledon Club.
[3] He later toured South Africa in 1891–92 with a team led by Walter Read, but did not feature in any of the matches that were retrospectively given Test status.
[4] Shortly thereafter, Calder emigrated to South Africa, where in the 1892–93 Currie Cup he played two first-class matches for Western Province against Transvaal and Griqualand West.
[1] In South Africa, he had a son, Harry, who was named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1918.
There he tried to encourage Harry to join The Wanderers Club and pursue a career in first-class cricket, but to no avail.