Richard Gemmell (6 October 1936 – 18 June 2017) was a professional
rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for both
Great Britain and
Lancashire, and at club level for
Orford Tannery ARLFC,
Hull F.C.
Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...
(two spells) (
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
) and
Leeds, as a .
Early life
Gemmell was born on 6 October 1936. The eldest of six children, he grew up in the
Whitecross area of
Warrington.
Playing career
Club career
Gemmell played at in
Leeds' 2–18 defeat by
Wakefield Trinity in the
1964 Yorkshire Cup
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
Final during the
1964–65 season at
Fartown Ground,
Huddersfield on Saturday 31 October 1964.
Gemmell played at in
Hull FC's 12–9 victory over
Featherstone Rovers in the
1969 Yorkshire Cup
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
Final during the
1969–70 season at
Headingley Rugby Stadium,
Leeds on Saturday 20 September 1969.
Representative honours
Gemmell represented
Lancashire while at Hull, and is one of only four players to do so, they are;
Ellis Clarkson
Ellis Clarkson (1887 – October 1947) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played at representative level for England, Rugby League XIII and Lancashire, and at club level for Leigh (two spel ...
,
Bob Taylor, Dick Gemmell, and
Steve Prescott
Stephen Prescott (26 December 1973 – 9 November 2013) was a professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s and 2000s.
Prescott made his début for St Helens in 1993, and soon established himself as the club's first choi ...
.
[ Lord Derby (Foreword), Michael E. Ulyatt (Author), Bill Dalton (Author) (Mar 1988). ''Old Faithful: History of Hull Football Club, 1865-1987''. Hutton Press Ltd. ]
Gemmell won
caps for
Great Britain while at Leeds in 1964 against France, and while at Hull in 1968 against France, and in 1969 against France.
Post-playing career
After retiring as a player, Gemmell was a team manager for Great Britain on their tours to the Southern Hemisphere in 1979 and 1984.
He died on 18 June 2017, aged 80.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gemmell, Dick
1936 births
2017 deaths
English rugby league players
Rugby league players from Warrington
Rugby league centres
Hull F.C. captains
Hull F.C. players
Leeds Rhinos players
Great Britain national rugby league team players
Lancashire rugby league team players