Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "The Old Fox", was an Australian

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 and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and international representative who played 12 matches for

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 the International Championship from 1949 to 1955, he played as a and has been referred to as the best Australian rugby league player never to be picked for the Australian national team. Following his retirement, Bath coached in the

New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

for two decades, also achieving selection as the Australian national team coach.

Playing career

Australia

Bath, to be known late in his career as 'the Old Fox', was graded as a sixteen-year-old to play for the Brisbane club Southern Suburbs in 1940. After six years with the club, including selection to represent Queensland, he moved to Sydney to play for the Balmain club in

New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1946 The 1946 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-ninth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season which culminated in Balmain ...

. He represented

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in 1945 and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1946 after one Sydney season. In the 1946 fixture for NSW against the touring

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side he badly injured his leg and so was unavailable for

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

Test selection a week later. Also in his first season for Balmain, Bath helped his side reach the Grand Final in which they defeated

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

13–12. In 1947 he again won a premiership with the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in t ...

. He was also selected to play for Australia against a touring England side that year but injured his leg in a club match and was prevented from playing in any of the three tests. A year later he again helped Balmain reach their second Grand Final appearance and a 13–9 victory over the

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...

club.

England

Harry Bath then accepted an offer to play in Britain for Barrow. The forward only stayed at Barrow for six months before being signed by

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 ...

. He spent a total of nine seasons with Warrington, playing 346 games for the club. Harry Bath played left-, i.e. number 11, and was

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 ...

's 19–0 victory over

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

in the 1949–50

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 1949–50 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 Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 6 May 1950, in front of a crowd of 94,249, played in the 4–4 draw with Halifax in the 1953–54

Final during the 1953–54 season at

on Saturday 24 April 1954, in front of a crowd of 81,841, and played left-, and scored a

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in the 8–4 victory over Halifax in the 1953–54

Final replay during the 1953–54 season at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

on Wednesday 5 May 1954, in front of a record crowd of 102,575 or more. Bath's reputation as a skillful ball-player and a great goal-kicker grew while playing in Britain. He scored over 700 goals in his career, including 173 goals in 1952–53 when he was the season's leading goal kicker. Bath played right-, i.e. number 12, in

's 8–14 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, 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 nor ...

in the 1948–49

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 Lancashi ...

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 1948–49 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 13 November 1948, and played left-, i.e. number 11, in the 5–28 defeat by

in the 1950–51

Final during the 1949–50 season at

on Saturday 4 November 1950. He played for the

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 ...

versus

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 ...

on Wednesday 23 January 1952 at Stamford Bridge.

Return to Australia

Bath returned to Australia in 1957 and joined

after his former club Balmain decided against a signing due to his age of 33. In the 1957 NSWRFL season St. George were premiers, winning the Grand Final against

Manly-Warringah The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

31–9. He was the leading point scorer in the competition in 1958 scoring a season club record of 225 points (3 tries, 108 goals). His 16-point tally in the Grand Final has never been equaled. In 1958 St. George again made it to the Grand Final this time defeating Western Suburbs 20–9. Bath again topped the season's point scoring table, totalling 211 points. The following season St. George again won the premiership with a 20–0 Grand Final victory over Manly. Bath was sent off in the Grand Final for fighting with Manly's

Rex Mossop Rex Peers "Moose" Mossop (18 February 1928 – 17 June 2011) was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s – a dual-code international, and an Australian television personality from 1964 un ...

. It has been suggested that Bath was punished by the Australian selectors for the ten years he spent in the English league. However he was 33 years old when he returned to Australia for his last three seasons and he was then competing for a representative position against star players

Norm Provan Norman Douglas Somerville Provan (18 December 1932 – 13 October 2021) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Also nicknamed "Sticks", he was a second-row forward with the St George Dragons during the first ten of t ...

and

. He retired at the end of 1959 at the age of 35.

Playing records

Bath became the only player to have won a premiership in every season of his Sydney first-grade career (1946 and 1947 with Balmain and 1957, 1958, and 1959 with St. George). His eight goals from eight attempts in the 1957 Grand Final is the standing record for the most goals in a grand final and the most points scored in a grand final (16). He holds two places in the record of top point scorers in one season by position. His 205 points scored in 1959 are the most ever scored by a in a season and the 225 points of 1958 stands as the most ever scored by a in a season.

Coaching career

Bath took up a career in rugby league coaching and joined the inaugural

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

coaching panel in 1961. He was selected manager, coach and as the sole selector for the Australian national team's 1962 Ashes series. Bath's greatest achievement in coaching the national side was leading the Kangaroos to

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

glory in the 1968 and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

World Cups. He also coached the team on tours of New Zealand in 1969 and 1971. He coached the national side in the 1972 World Cup in which they lost to Great Britain in controversial circumstances. The World Cup Final was tied at 10–10 after full-time and was still locked after extra time. Great Britain were awarded the victory due to a higher points table placing after the pool rounds of the competition. Harry Bath also took the coaching helm at his former club Balmain. He guided them to Grand Final appearances in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and 1966 both lost against St. George 6–11 and 4–23 respectively. He also coached Newtown between 1969 and 1972. He came out of retirement to coach his other former club

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

to premiership success in 1977. The Grand Final against

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

was drawn 9–9 but St. George won the replay 22–0. He again coached the Dragons to premiership success in 1979 after their 17–13 Grand Final victory over Canterbury. His side was nicknamed 'Bath's Babes' due to the side's youthful roster. He retired from Rugby League coaching in 1981.

Accolades

Bath was recognised in 2004 for his outstanding achievements in playing and coaching rugby league when was inducted into the

Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame The Australian Rugby LeaguHall of Fame'' honours players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian. It was officially established in 2002, ...

. In February 2008, Bath was named in a list of Australia's '' 100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

and

ARL ARL may refer to: Military * US Navy hull classification symbol for repair ship * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, a UK adhesives comp ...

to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Bath is also a Warrington RLFC Hall of Fame inductee. On 20 July 2022, Bath was named in the St. George Dragons District Rugby League Club's team of the century.

Death

Bath died after a long illness on 4 October 2008, 55 days short of his 84th birthday. "Harry's loss will be felt by many within the game", NRL boss

David Gallop David Gallop is an Australian sports administrator, lawyer and served as the chief executive of the Football Federation Australia until December 2019. He previously served as the chief executive officer of the National Rugby League between Febr ...

said. "He is one of the few people to have a distinguished career as both a player and a coach." His funeral was held at St. Andrew's Church, Cronulla on 9 October 2008 and he was cremated at Woronora Memorial Park. A largely attended wake was held for Harry at the St. George Leagues Club after the funeral service.Sydney Morning Herald 9/10/2008 – Obituary "Harry Bath" His ashes have been memorialised at Woronora Memorial Park at Henry Lawson Garden Walk, section GWR no. 0135

References

Sources

* Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney