7th December….
Having signed on from Castleford RU Ted Carroll made his debut today in 1946 against Workington Town at Parkside. He had previously played for Leeds City Boys and in the war served with Royal Signals, Dunkirk and Palestine being among his postings. Initially playing in the three-quarters he was gradually converted into a second-rower. He had his disciplinary problems and after repeated sendings off was called into Chapletown Road to be told “One more and you’re finished” – there is no evidence of a further dismissal. He played 282 matches and scored 64 tries before transferring to Dewsbury for a short spell before retiring. He gained one Yorkshire cap whilst at Hunslet. After rugby he took up acting appearing in, among others, Flash Gordon, Kes, The Railway Children and Dracula as well as many TV roles.
Ted Carroll
The start of the 1907/08 season had been near perfect for Hunslet, only a home draw with Salford spoiling their 100% record. This had brought them to the semi-final of the Yorkshire Cup against Wakefield Trinity at Parkside. On a pitch which had thawed after overnight frost the surface was slippery which made for a forward battle and Wakefield were no match for the “Terrible Six”. After a forward rush in the first half the ball was kicked over the Wakefield line and Bill Jukes “racing up at tremendous speed” touched down. Albert G. kicked the goal. Early in the second half Fred Smith got a try from a scrum and Albert’s conversion was enough to take Hunslet into the final.
Today’s other cup tie was away at Barrow in 1980’s John Player Trophy but the long journey yielded no reward as Hunslet lost 13-26.
At the formation of the Northern Union in1895 it was decided to hold a County Championship between Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire. It was the Roses match today at Oldham and Owen Walsh was Hunslet’s representative. It was snowing until just before kick-off and in a low scoring game a try and a drop goal were enough for Yorkshire to win 8-0. Each team had then won one game each so it was decided to replay the fixtures in the new year to determine the champions (Lancashire).
In 1929 Cumberland took on Australia at Workington and Johnny Coulson was in attendance as his county overcame the tourists 8-5.
Another tour match in 1951 saw Wales take on New Zealand at Bradford with Les Williams in the centre. In a match played under an early version of floodlights on a waterlogged pitch the Kiwi pack outplayed the Welsh six to gain a 15-3 win.
Four years later the New Zealanders were back with a game against a Rugby League XIII featuring hooker Sam Smith, again at Odsal. It was a match which was highly unusual in that not one penalty was awarded by referee Charlie Appleton to either side. This match was also an early TV match which may have persuaded the ref to keep the game flowing rather than pepper it with stoppages (the reporters at the match agreed many penalties could have been given). It was a scratch RL side which, due to their spirit and determination and an error strewn Kiwi performance, they won 24-11.
Sam Smith
8th December….
In 1900 Hunslet signed a forward from the Kippax area. On debut today against Hull Kingston Rovers in a 7-6 win at Parkside was William Brookes and it’s reported that the spectators were amused by his portly appearance and he was christened “Tubby”, a name which stuck throughout his career. In 1905 he became Hunslet’s first International representative when he turned out for England against Other Nationalities. He played in 1905’s Yorkshire Cup final and in 1907/08 as one of the “Terrible Six” he played in three of the finals. He was omitted from the Championship replay reportedly due to the high temperature on the day considered unsuitable for his physique. He added one more match to his international appearances and was selected for Yorkshire three times in 1904/05. His Hunslet record was 307 appearances scoring 16 tries before ending his career in October 1910.
In the same match as Tubby centre Harold Whiteley also made his debut. He signed from Hunslet Carr Association and gave good service appearing in 103 matches and scoring 32 tries before moving to Bramley in 1905/06. He returned to Hunslet for two matches in 1910 and then served on the committee. His brother Jim was a winger for Hunslet.
Harold Whiteley
Expansion of Rugby League has always been on the agenda and after the relatively successful early days of Fulham many clubs sprang up and quickly disappeared over the years. One such was Scarborough Pirates and they made their only visit to Hunslet today in 1991. The Pirates had assembled a strong squad for Division three and Hunslet in mid-table were expected to crumble as the game progressed. However skipper Roy Sampson and Australian Paul Carr led the way with two tries apiece a Hunslet provided an outstanding team performance. After conceding an early try stand-in full-back Andy Simpson pulled off two try saving tackles to keep his side in the game and they capitalised by gaining a 10-8 interval lead. Ther lead was extended early in the second half and it was looking good for Hunslet until in the 57th minute Danny McKelvie received his marching orders. Scarborough quickly pulled a try back against the 12 men to give Hunslet some concern but Paul Carr’s try ten minutes from time sealed the match and a 25-14 win.
In 2015 Mo Agoro and Richie Barnett were again in action for Jamaica in the World Cup qualifiers, this time against Canada in DeLand, Florida. The match ended in an 18-18 draw.
Earlier representative games features Dai Jenkins in 1928 assisting Glamorgan & Monmouthshire against Lancashire at Leigh. Dai and his pack colleagues were out-weighted and outplayed by the home six and went down 10-25.
And in 1923 Walter Guerin was selected for Yorkshire against Lancashire at Oldham. In a match which was considered a trial for the upcoming tour it was a low scoring affair, Lancashire winning 6-5.
