Henry "Harry" Varley (25 November 1867 – 21 November 1915) was an English

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 ...

and 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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1880s and 1890s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed rugby league in the 1890s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

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 county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, and at club level for

Liversedge Liversedge is a town and former parish of Birstall, in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The Kirklees ward ...

, as a scrum-half, i.e. number 9, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

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 Lancash ...

, and at club level for

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

( Heritage No. 8) ( captain during the 1895–96 season) alongside

Arthur Lees Arthur Lees (21 February 1908 – 26 March 1992) was an English professional golfer who played from the 1930s to 1960s. He was a member of four Great Britain Ryder Cup teams in the late 1940s and 1950s, and won several tournaments in Europe du ...

from 1895, 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 popula ...

, as a , or , i.e. number 6, or. Prior to Thursday 29 August 1895, Liversedge was a

club.

Background

Harry Varley was born in

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It ...

/ Bradford (see note),

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England, and he died aged 47 in

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Harry Varley played for Liversedge (24.12.1887 v Kirkstall-?) P44. He won a

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 ...

for

(RU) while at Liversedge in the

1892 Home Nations Championship The 1892 Home Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 2 January and 5 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England took the 1892 Champion ...

against Scotland.

County honours

Harry Varley won

s for

(RU) while at Liversedge, and won

s for

(RL) while at Oldham.

Change of Code

When Liversedge converted from the

code to the

code on Thursday 29 August 1895, Harry Varley would have been 28 years of age. Consequently, he may have been both a rugby union, and rugby league footballer for Liversedge, he played rugby league for Oldham until 1897 when he became their coach, and he came out of retirement in 1899 to play for

Coaching career

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Harry Varley was the

's 19-9 victory over

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

Challenge Cup Final during the 1898–99 season at

Fallowfield Stadium Fallowfield Stadium was an athletics stadium and velodrome in Fallowfield, Manchester, England. It opened in May 1892 as the home of Manchester Athletics Club after it was forced to move from its home next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground. Fallowfi ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, in front of a crowd of 15,763, and as a mark of appreciation the Oldham players paid to have a special medal struck, that bore the

coat of arms and a Challenge Cup related inscription.

Note

ESPN states Harry Varley's birthplace as being

, whereas FreeBMD.com quotes it as being registered 6-miles away in Bradford.

References

External links

* (archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at orl-heritagetrust.org.ukThe people’s gameSearch for "Harry Varley" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Henry Varley" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varley, Harry 1867 births 1915 deaths England international rugby union players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players English rugby union players Lancashire rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos players Liversedge RFC players Oldham R.L.F.C. captains Oldham R.L.F.C. coaches Oldham R.L.F.C. players People from Cleckheaton Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Bradford Rugby union players from Bradford Rugby union scrum-halves Yorkshire County RFU players