Ernest "Ernie" J. Ashcroft (28 February 1925 – May 1985) 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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed in the 1950s and 1960s. 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 i ...

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 ...

British Empire XIII The British Empire XIII was a rugby league football team in that played a fixture against New Zealand in 1952 at Stamford Bridge. List of players * Trevor Allan * Robert "Bob" Ayres * William "Billy" Banks * Robert Bartlett * Frank Barton *Har ...

and

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 Lancash ...

, and at club level for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the 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 north-east and Warrington t ...

( Heritage № 465), and

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 ...

, as a , or , i.e. number 1, 2 or 5, or, 3 or 4, and coached at club level for

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 ...

Background

Ernie Ashcroft was born in

, England, and he died aged 60 in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, England.

Playing career

Ashcroft joined his hometown club

during the Second World War. He made his début for Wigan in December 1942 against

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

, and signed professional terms with the club a month later.

International honours

Ashcroft won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

while at Wigan in 1946 against Wales, in 1947 against France, and Wales, in 1948 against France, in 1949 against France, and Other Nationalities, in 1950 against Wales, and France, in 1951 against Other Nationalities, Wales, and France, and won

s for

in 1947 against New Zealand (2 matches), in 1950 against Australia (2 matches), New Zealand, and Australia, and in 1954 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches). He was also a reserve-to-travel for

in 1952 against New Zealand, and appeared ten times for

Championship Final appearances

Ernie Ashcroft played , i.e. number 5, in

's 13-9 victory over Dewsbury in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final first-leg during the 1943–44 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

on Saturday 13 May 1944, and played in the 12-5 victory over Dewsbury in the

Final second-leg during the 1943–44 season at

Crown Flatt Crown Flatt, currently known as the Tetley's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a rugby league stadium in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of the Dewsbury Rams, who play in the Championship. The ground occupies the site of t ...

, Dewsbury on Saturday 20 May 1944, played left-, i.e. number 4 and scored two tries in the 13-4 victory over

in the

Final during the 1945–46 season at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest a ...

, Manchester on Saturday 18 May 1946, and played left- in the 13-4 victory over Dewsbury in the

Final during the 1946–47 season at

, Manchester on Saturday 21 June 1947.

County League appearances

Ernie Ashcroft played in

's victories in the Lancashire League during the 1946–47 season, 1949–50 season and 1951–52 season.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Ernie Ashcroft played left-, i.e. number 4, in

's 8-3 victory over

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 pre ...

in the

1947–48 Challenge Cup The 1947–48 Challenge Cup was the 47th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Wigan and Bradford Northern at Wembley Stadium, and was the first ever rugby league match to be televise ...

Final during the 1947–48 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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

on Saturday 1 May 1948, in front of a crowd of 91,465.

County Cup Final appearances

Ernie Ashcroft played right-, i.e. number 3, and scored a

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 ...

's 3-7 defeat by

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

in the

1945–46 Lancashire Cup 1945–46 was the thirty-third occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held, and the first since the end of the Second World War in Europe. For the first time for several seasons there is a new name on the trophy; that of one of ...

Final during the 1945–46 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year lea ...

on Saturday 27 October 1945, played left-, i.e. number 4, in the 9-3 victory over Belle Vue Rangers in the 1946–47 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1946–47 season at Station Road, Swinton, on Saturday 26 October 1946, played in the 10-7 victory over Belle Vue Rangers in the 1947–48 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1947–48 season at

, on Saturday 1 November 1947, played left- in the 14-8 victory over

in the 1948–49 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1948–49 season at Station Road, Swinton, on Saturday 13 November 1948, played left- in the 20-7 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in the 1949–50 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1949–50 season at

, on Saturday 29 October 1949. played left- in the 14-6 victory over

in the 1951–52 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1951–52 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 27 October 1951, played left- in the 8-16 defeat by St. Helens in the 1953–54 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1953-54 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 24 October 1953, played left- in the 8-13 defeat by

in the 1957–58 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1957–58 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 19 October 1957, played left-, and was coach/ captain in

's 10-16 defeat by

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

in the 1960–61 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1960–61 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Rugby Stadium,

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 popula ...

on Saturday 29 October 1960.

Honours

(5): 1943–44, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1951–52 Challenge Cup (1): 1948 Lancashire League (4): 1945–46, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1951–52 Lancashire Cup (5): 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1951–52.

Genealogical information

Ernie Ashcroft's marriage to Vera ( née Dean) was registered on 23 February 1952 in

district.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
*(archived by archive.is
U.K. League Hooker in DoubtStatistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashcroft, Ernest 1925 births 1985 deaths British Empire rugby league team players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team captains Great Britain national rugby league team players Huddersfield Giants captains Huddersfield Giants coaches Huddersfield Giants players Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league players from Wigan Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Warrington Wolves players Warrington Wolves coaches Wigan Warriors players