George Seagar was a New Zealand 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 represented

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 ...

. His younger brother

Allan Seagar Allan Wilfred Seagar (20 June 1903 – 20 April 1984) was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand in 1930 in 9 matches, thus becoming New Zealand's 212th player. He also played for Auckland in 13 matches and played from 1923 to 1941 fo ...

also represented New Zealand at rugby league.

Rugby League Playing career and Rowing

George Seagar was a boiler maker by trade, living in Devonport on Auckland's North Shore. Seagar was one of the first rugby league footballers in New Zealand, representing

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

against

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

. In

he joined the

North Shore Albions The North Shore Albions were a rugby league club based on the North Shore of Auckland in Devonport, New Zealand, Devonport before moving to Bayswater at a later time. They formed in 1909 and folded in the early 2000s due to a lack of playing nu ...

club as a founding player and also served on the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

's management committee. Seagar played for both Auckland and

against the touring Great Britain Lions. Auckland touring team of 1910

He again represented New Zealand in 1911, being part of the tour of Australia, although no test matches were played on tour. By

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

Seagar was the captain of

and he again represented

.W.J.Davidson ''Rugby League Annual - 1949'', New Zealand Rugby League, 1949 He did return to Auckland after the war and resumed his career with North Shore playing for them until 1920. Seagar was also a well known member of the North Shore Rowing club. His brother Allan Wilfred Seagar would also play for North Shore in the 1920s and 30s and he represented New Zealand in 1930.

World War I

Like many other players of the time his sporting career was either cut short or punctuated by the war. He enlisted in the army and embarked on the Waimana on October 16, 1914 to join the war effort as a corporal, landing at Suez, Egypt. He was part of the Divisional Train, A.S.C., Main Body. He was promoted to sergeant and returned to New Zealand onboard the steamer Willochra early in 1916 after being admitted to hospital on August 8, 1915 suffering from dysentery. Seagar was discharged from service on April 12, 1916 and later awarded the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and the Victory Medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seagar, George 1888 births 1968 deaths Auckland rugby league team players British Army personnel of World War I New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league players North Shore Albions players Place of birth missing Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league locks