Frederick "Fred" Webster (third ¼ 1882 – March 1939) 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. 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 is ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and at club level for Brotherton ARLFC (in

Brotherton Brotherton is a village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. The village is on a border with the City of Wakefield and West Yorkshire (here formed by the River Aire). History Brotherton was historically part of ...

, now represented by Brotherton Bulldogs ARLFC of the Pennine League

, and

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 ...

(

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

), 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 ...

(prior to the specialist positions of; ), during the era of contested

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Background

Webster was born in Whittington Derbyshire, England.

Playing career

International honours

Fred Webster 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 Leeds in 1906 against

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

, in 1910 against Wales (2 matches), in 1911 against Wales, and won

s for

while at Leeds on the

1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand The 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand was the first international tour of the Great Britain national rugby league team, "The Lions". They played the second ever Ashes series against Australia, and their first as the visiti ...

against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(2 matches),

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

(2 matches), and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

County honours

Fred Webster won

(s) for

while at Leeds, including against

at Belle Vue,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

on Wednesday 18 December 1907.

Championship appearances

Fred Webster played as a

, i.e. number 12, in

' 2–35 defeat by

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 ...

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 during the 1914–15 season.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Fred Webster played as a

, i.e. number 12, and was

' 7–7 draw with

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

in the 1909–10

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 1909–10 season at

Fartown Ground The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Rugby League Club from 1878 to 1992. T ...

on Saturday 16 April 1910, in front of a crowd of 19,413, this was the first

Final to be drawn, and played as a

, i.e. number 8, was

, 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 ...

in the 26–12 victory over

in the 1909–10

Final replay during the 1909–10 season at

on Monday 18 April 1910, in front of a crowd of 11,608, this was

' first

Final win in their first appearance.

County Cup Final appearances

Fred Webster played in Leeds' 5–24 defeat by

in the 1919–20

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 1919–20 season at

Thrum Hall Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax for 112 years. The site on which the ground stood is now occupied by a supermarket. History In 1878, Halifax, who had just w ...

, Halifax on Saturday 29 November 1919.

Career at Leeds

Fred Webster joined Leeds from Brotherton in 1902, on the eve of his 20th birthday, and was a mainstay of the side for the next 18 years, he scored a club record eight tries in the 102–0 win over

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

in 1913, later equalled by Eric 'Toowoomba Ghost' Harris. During Fred Webster's time at Leeds he made 543 appearances, a club record which stood for more than 60 years, only John Holmes has played more games for Leeds.

Testimonial match

Fred Webster's

Testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

at Leeds took place in 1919.Tom Mather (2010). "Best in the Northern Union". Pages 128–142.

The Leeds RL Greats

The ''

Yorkshire Evening Post The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' is a daily evening publication (delivered to newsagents every morning) published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The paper provides a regional slant on the day's news, and traditio ...

'' named

Arthur Clues Arthur Clues (2 May 1924 – 3 October 1998) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative second-row forward, he played his c ...

, Bert Cook,

Ellery Hanley Cuthwyn Ellery Hanley MBE (born 27 March 1961) is an English former rugby league player and coach. Over a nineteen-year professional career (1978–1997), he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain, Western Suburbs and Leeds. He won 36 ...

Eric Harris Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold (; September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999) were an American mass murder duo who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Harris and Klebold ...

Vic Hey Victor John Hey (18 November 1912 in Liverpool, New South Wales – 11 April 1995), also known by the nickname of "The Human Bullet", was an Australian rugby league national and state representative and later a successful first-grade and natio ...

, John Holmes, Lewis Jones,

Danny McGuire Daniel Phillip McGuire (born 6 December 1982) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or , and is currently the interim head-coach of Hull Kingston Rovers. He spent the majority of his professional career play ...

Garry Schofield Garry Edward Schofield OBE (born 1 July 1965) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and is a member of the British Rugby League Hall of Fame. At the time of his retirement he was the most ...

, and Frederick "Fred" Webster, as the greatest ever Leeds RL players.

References

External links

Search for "Frederick Webster" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Fred Webster" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Frederick 1882 births England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos captains Leeds Rhinos players People from Thorne, South Yorkshire Rugby league players from South Yorkshire Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster Place of death missing Rugby league forwards Year of death missing Yorkshire rugby league team players