William Cunliffe (1897 – 10 August 1942) was an English professional

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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. He played at representative level 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 is ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and at club level for Pemberton Rovers ARLFC (in Pemberton,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

), and

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 ...

( Heritage № 211), as a , i.e. number 8 or 10, during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

s. Cunliffe is a Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame inductee.

Background

Cunliffe was born in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, England, and he died aged 45 in

Ince-in-Makerfield Ince-in-Makerfield or Ince is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the Ince ward at the 2011 census was 13,486, but a southern part of Ince was also listed under the Abram ward (north o ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Cunliffe was selected to go on the

1920 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand The 1920 Great Britain Lions tour was the third British national rugby league team or 'Lions' tour of Australasia, where it was winter and matches were played against the Australian and New Zealand national sides, as well as several local teams. In ...

and

1924 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. He won caps for

while at Warrington in 1920 against Australia, and New Zealand (2 matches), in 1921-22 against Australia (3 matches), in 1924 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand, and in 1926 against New Zealand. and also won caps for

while at Warrington in 1921 against Wales,

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

, and Australia, in 1922 against Wales, in 1923 against Wales (2 matches), in 1925 against Wales (2 matches), in 1926 against Wales, and Other Nationalities,

Championship final appearances

Cunliffe played left-, i.e. number 8, in

's 10-22 defeat by

in the Championship Final during the 1925–26 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted ...

, St. Helens on Saturday 8 May 1926, in front of a crowd of 20,000.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 31 – 1925–26".

Rugby Leaguer Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

ISBN n/a

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Cunliffe played left-, i.e. number 8, in

's 3-5 defeat by Swinton in the 1927–28

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1927–28 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

on Saturday 14 April 1928, in front of a crowd of 33,909.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 33 – 1927–28".

ISBN n/a

Genealogical information

Billy Cunliffe was the older brother of the forward for

( Heritage № 213);

Tom Cunliffe Tom Cunliffe (born 1947) is a British yachting journalist, author and broadcaster. Biography Cunliffe learnt how to sail in a 22 ft gaff sloop as a teenager on the Norfolk Broads. After studying law at university, he chose not to enter th ...

, the brothers shared a joint testimonial match in the 1927–28 season.

References

External links

Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunliffe, Billy 1890s births 1942 deaths Broughton Rangers players Date of birth missing England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Rugby league players from Wigan Rugby league props Warrington Wolves players