Richard Calvert Stafford (23 July 1893 – 1 December 1912) was an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He played four times for the

England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasion ...

in 1912 but died later that year aged only nineteen.

Life

Stafford was born on 23 July 1893 in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, a member of a family of local auctioneers. He was educated at Bedford Modern School where he was successful at rowing, athletics and rugby union. Stafford made his debut for

Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro ...

in March 1909, aged fifteen and became club captain in September 1911. By this time he had already appeared in a trial match for the England national team, and another appearances in a trial match in 1912 led to his selection for the national side. He made his England debut against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

on 20 January 1912 and played in all four games of the

1912 Five Nations Championship The 1912 Five Nations Championship was the third series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirtieth se ...

, which England won jointly with

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Dick Stafford began the 1912-13 season as captain of Bedford again and represented the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

county side but was forced to stop playing in November by injury and illness and was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the spine. He died on 1 December 1912 and his funeral was marked by shops and businesses in Bedford closing. As a player, Stafford was a forward, usually listed as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

in modern publications although there was less specialisation of positions in 1912. A local paper assessed him as "almost prodigal of his powers, doing the work of two men in the scrum and, in the loose, racing across to take up a three-quarter movement, or hurling an opponent to earth with that terrible tackle of his", and in the 1911-12 season he scored 14 tries for Bedford in 22 matches.

References

1893 births 1912 deaths Bedford Blues players Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from spinal cancer England international rugby union players English rugby union players Neurological disease deaths in England People educated at Bedford Modern School Rugby union players from Bedford Rugby union props {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub