Arthur Harper Daniels (12 September 1922 – 4 October 2001) was a Welsh

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer. Arthur Daniels was born in

Pontyberem Pontyberem () is a village and community situated in the Gwendraeth Valley halfway between Carmarthen and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. As of the 2001 Census, the population was recorded as 2,829, reducing to 2,768 at the 2011 Census. The ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, Wales. In 1945, he was one of three Welshmen, all from the

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

area, who had trials with the Halifax rugby league club ( Heritage № 546). A , he made a relatively slow start to his rugby league career, which was interrupted with a period in the armed forces. Following a big improvement in his form in 1948–49, he was by 1949 an important part of the Halifax side. In 1950, he toured Australasia with the Great Britain squad, but injury forced him to return home early before the first test. He made 13 appearances for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, scoring nine tries. He was Halifax captain for the 1952/53 season. However, injuries would curtail his season. A splintered ankle bone sustained in the Second Test playing for Great Britain against the touring Australians at Swinton kept him out of the third. A broken arm in a home match against Huddersfield on Christmas Day 1952 ended his season. His domestic career also included two Challenge Cup Final appearances at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

. The first was in 1954 when Halifax drew with

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, the tie was settled in the famous Odsal replay where he had a try disallowed in a defeat for Halifax. His next Wembley appearance came in 1956 against St. Helens where once again, Halifax were the losing side.

International honours

Daniels won 13 caps for

in 1949–1953 while at Halifax, and won 3 caps for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in 1952–1955 while at Halifax.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Arthur Daniels played , i.e. number 2, in Halifax's 4–8 defeat by

in the 1954 Challenge Cup Final replay during the 1953–54 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on Wednesday 5 May 1954, in front of a record crowd of 102,575 or more.

Career highlight

All footballers during their career have one match which stands out more prominently than others. When Daniels was asked if there was such a game, he chose the First Test of the 1952 series against Australia at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Rugby Stadium, a game in which he scored his first try at test level, helping to secure a 19–6 victory.

Bradford and retirement

The 1956–57 season was his last at

Thrum Hall Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax for 112 years. The site on which the ground stood is now occupied by a supermarket. History In 1878, Halifax, who had just w ...

, after which he had a brief spell with

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...

before his retirement. After retiring, he lived for a time in the Halifax area where he was a publican. He moved to

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 22,408. History T ...

and then Bramley, before moving back to Pontyberem. He later ran a newsagents in Swansea. He spent his later years in Neath.

Honoured at Halifax

Arthur Daniels is a Halifax Hall of Fame inductee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Arthur 1922 births 2001 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Bradford Bulls players Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Publicans Rugby league players from Carmarthenshire Rugby league wingers Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players