Frederick William Ashworth (14 January 1907 – 9 September 1989), also known by the nickname of "Basher", was an English rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Aspatria RUFC Aspatria Rugby Union Football Club is based in Aspatria, Cumbria (formerly Cumberland) in north west England, not far from the Scottish Border. They are nicknamed the "Black Reds", and have a red cockerel as their logo. They currently play i ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, and at club level for Oldham, as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, after retiring as a player he served Oldham as a member of the club's committee.

Background

Fred Ashworth was born in

Watchhill Watchhill is a hamlet in the parish of Allhallows, Cumbria, England. The parish had 538 recorded residents in the 2001 census. Watchhill is sited near the highest point in the parish, most of the houses fronting the B5299 road from Caldbeck Comm ...

, Cumberland, to coalminer James Ashworth and Mary Ellen Ashworth.

Playing career

Aspatria Rugby Union Club

Ashworth (or ‘Basher’ as he was known to his friends and colleagues) came to prominence when at the age of fourteen, he played in the local school team that won the Cumberland Silver Shield, a knockout competition open to boys aged sixteen and under. In 1924 the majority of the team were runners-up in the Cumberland Under 18’s Challenge Cup, after they were narrowly defeated by Silloth. In 1925, Ashworth captained the side that won the same competition, defeating Egremont by 11 points to nil.Aspatria The History of a Rugby Union Football Club pages 89-90 By 1925 he was a regular member of the senior squad and won a runners-up medal in that years Challenge Cup, when

Aspatria Aspatria is a town and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of Allerdale, and is currently embraced in the Parliamentary constituency of Workington, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland the town rests on the north side of t ...

were narrowly defeated by Workington. In 1926, Ashworth, along with T. E Holliday signed professional forms for Oldham.

Oldham

Ashworth played in Oldham's 26–7 victory over Swinton in the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

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 1926–27 season at Central Park, Wigan, in front of a crowd of 33,448. Ashworth is an Oldham Hall Of Fame Inductee.

County honours

Ashworth represented

(RL).

References

Bibliography

External links

Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
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Search for "Ashworth" at rugbyleagueproject.org

Search for "Fred Asworth" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Basher Asworth" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, Frederick 1907 births 1989 deaths Cumberland rugby league team players English rugby league players English rugby union players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Place of death missing Rugby league players from Aspatria Rugby union players from Aspatria Rugby league forwards