HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dan Dempsey (15 January 1902 – 9 January 1960) was an Australian
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 ...
national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
and Queensland state representative player. He played his career at and is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.


Biography


Club career

He played with the Toowoomba side in 1924-25. Alongside
Herb Steinohrt Herbert Walt Steinohrt (21 October 1897 – 27 December 1985) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s as a front row forward for the Australian national team. He played in 9 Tests between 1928 and 1932 ...
, Tom Gorman and
Duncan Thompson Duncan Fulton Thompson MBE (14 March 1895 – 17 May 1980) was an Australian veteran of both WWI and WWII and a rugby league footballer, coach and administrator. He was wounded on active service in WWI and has been named amongst the natio ...
Dempsey was in the Toowoomba sides which beat all comers including Sydney premiers Souths, Brisbane, Ipswich and visiting representative sides including New South Wales, Victoria, Great Britain and New Zealand. In the 1930s he played in the Ipswich Rugby League for the Tivoli club, and was a major influence in the years 1933-1935 when Ipswich dominated the Bulimba Cup, the triangular series played between the city representative sides from Brisbane,
Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...
and Ipswich.


Representative career

Dempsey played in all three Tests of the 1928 domestic Ashes series and in the first two Tests of the 1932 domestic series. In the famous "
Battle of Brisbane The Battle of Brisbane was a riot between United States military personnel on one side and Australian servicemen and civilians on the other, in Brisbane, Queensland's capital city, on 26 and 27 November 1942, during which time the two nations w ...
" Test of 1932, Dempsey was forced off the field with a broken arm early in the second half. Dempsey, his arm placed in splints, began weeping on the touchline because both the ambulanceman and the team's manager,
Harry Sunderland Harry Sunderland (23 November 1889 – 15 January 1964) was an Australian rugby league football administrator and journalist. Sunderland was born in Gympie, Queensland in 1889. From 1913 to 1922, Sunderland was the Queensland Rugby League's ...
wouldn't let him back into the game. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No.135. He made two Kangaroo tours: 1929-30 where he played in one Test and nine tour matches and 1933-34 playing one Test and eleven minor games. All up Dempsey played in four Ashes series against Great Britain.


Accolades

In February 2008, Dempsey was named in the list of Australia's ''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and
ARL ARL may refer to: Military * US Navy hull classification symbol for repair ship * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, a UK adhesives comp ...
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. In 2008,
rugby league in Australia Rugby league in Australia has been one of Australia's most popular sports since it started being played there in 1908. It is the dominant winter football code in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. In 2009, it was the most watched spor ...
's centenary year, Dempsey was named at hooker in the Toowoomba and South West Team of the Century.


References


Sources

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney * Fagan, Sean (2000–2006) RL1908.com
Queensland Representatives at qrl.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Dan 1902 births 1960 deaths Australian rugby league players Australia national rugby league team players Queensland rugby league team players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Queensland Toowoomba Clydesdales players