Emlyn Walters (20 May 1918 – 21 January 2001) was a Welsh

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 ...

, and 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 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Glynneath RFC Glynneath RFC are a Welsh Rugby Union club playing in WRU Division 1 West Central of the WRU National Leagues. The Club has won a number of honours over the years, including the locally famous Invincibles of the 1961–62 season captained by Bas ...

and Pontypridd RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

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 ...

, and at club level for

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 predomi ...

, as a , i.e. number 2 or 5.

Background

Emlyn Walters was born in Glynneath,

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

district, Wales, and he died aged 82 in

Cwmgwrach Blaengwrach ( ; ) is a community near Glynneath and Resolven in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It is also the name of an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, which is a larger area than the Community. The principal ...

, Wales.

Playing career

Pontypridd RFC

flyhalf In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

Oliver Morris Oliver James Morris (fourth ¼ 1916 – 20 September 1944) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Llanelli RFC and Pontypridd RFC, and repre ...

lodged at a house in Rosser Street, Maesycoed before he 'went North' and signed for

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

in November 1937, with team mate Emlyn Walters, who went on to Captain Pontypridd RFC from 1937 to 1939, before he too turned professional with

in July 1939. Walters was an outstanding player in the great Bradford Northern team of this era. His career was interrupted in 1944 when he was called up to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in the second world war where he served as a

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi� ...

International honours

Emlyn Walters won 10 caps for

(RL) in 1940–1948 while at Bradford Northern.

County Cup Final appearances

Emlyn Walters played , i.e. number 5, in

's 15-5 victory over

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

in the 1940–41

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1940-41 season at Fartown Ground,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

on Saturday 5 April 1941, played in the 24-0 victory over Halifax in the 1941–42 Yorkshire Cup

Final during the 1941-42 season at Fartown Ground,

on Saturday 6 December 1941, and played in the 10-7 aggregate victory over

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...

in the 1943–44

Final during the 1943-44 season, the 5-2 first-leg victory at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

on Saturday 27 November 1943, and the 5-5 second-leg draw at Lawkholme Lane,

on Saturday 4 December 1943.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Emlyn Walters played in

's 8-3 aggregate victory over

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 ...

in the 1943–44

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 1943-44 season, absent from the 0-3 first-leg defeat 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 15 April 1944, he played in the 8-0 second-leg victory at

on Saturday 22 April 1944, and played and scored the opening

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in the 8-4 victory over

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in the 1946–47

Final during the 1946-47 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 3 May 1947 in front of a crowd of 77,605.

Rugby Football League Championship

1939–40 Championship play-off final played over two legs, played in the first leg, against Swinton away won 21–13 home won 16–9. The 1940–41 Championship play-off Final against

played in both legs away won 17–6 home won 28–9 away, scoring a try in the home and away ties. The 1941-42 Championship play-off Final against

losing 0-13, at Headingley, Leeds.

Yorkshire League

County League Winners 1939–40 and Yorkshire League Winners 1940–41

Testimonial match

Bradford Northern's home fixture with

on Wednesday 12 May 1949 was Emlyn Walters Testimonial match which he shared with

Willie Davies Willie Davies (23 August 1916 – 26 September 2002) was a Welsh international dual-code rugby fly half who played rugby union for Swansea and rugby league for Bradford Northern. He won six caps for the Wales rugby union team and nine caps for ...

, this match was also their great friend and fellow Welshman Frank Whitcombe's last match for Bradford Northern, a crowd of 19,000 attended Odsal to witness the game

References

4. https://web.archive.org/web/20160804032351/http://www.ponty.net/captain-marvel

External links

Photograph "The 1947 Team" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Team to visit Barrow in the Cup 1946" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Emlyn Walters" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Emlyn Walters" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Northern at Fartown" at rlhp.co.uk
* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-31057224 Stolen Bradford Northern rugby medals appeal by police {{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Emlyn 1918 births 2001 deaths Bradford Bulls players Footballers who switched code Glynneath RFC players Pontypridd RFC players Royal Navy personnel of World War II Rugby league players from Neath Port Talbot Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Glynneath Rugby union wings Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players