Frank Tobin

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

was a

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 it ...

international who represented

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 ...

in the first international rugby match in 1871.

Early life

Tobin was born in Liverpool on 23 September 1849. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

where he played football using rugby school rules. After leaving education he returned to Liverpool where he played for the rugby union side

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

Rugby union career

Tobin, having played rugby at school, went on to play for Liverpool F.C. (latterly Liverpool St Helens). Tobin was selected to play in the first international match in 1871. He was one of only a handful of players selected from clubs outside London. The match was played on 27 March 1871 at

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, which the hosts won. In the match he was said to have played splendidly behind the scrummage.

Career and personal life

Tobin left England for Lima, Peru in 1872 and lived there for 12 years, commanding the British Fire Brigade "Victoria" there. He returned to become a stockbroker in Liverpool and became very well known in this profession. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, at the request of Sir James Barr, he organised the Avenue Auxiliary Hospital. His involvement in war work was both in this medical capacity as Corps Superintendent of the St John Ambulance Association in Liverpool (he later became the Chairman of the Liverpool Centre of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem) and also through his connections with the Civic Service League. He took over and adapted a large nursing home in Prince's avenue, and this was set apart for officers. It was Tobin who collected the necessary funds for the equipment of the hospital, and in his endeavours he was assisted by both the St.John Ambulance Association, and by the Liverpool branch of the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

. As a stockbroker, among other appointments he became the chairman of directors of the London Nitrate Company, at Liverpool. Tobin was later honoured by becoming a

. He married Li La Beach on 17 January 1878, the daughter of Sanford Smith and widow of Edward Holden Martindale of Rochester, New York.

Other sport

Tobin was reportedly also a good cricketer having played for his school's First XICricket archive profile
/ref> and an excellent shot, winning several national titles at the National Rifle Meeting.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobin, Frank 1849 births 1927 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union halfbacks People educated at Rugby School Liverpool St Helens F.C. players Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Rugby union players from Liverpool