Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) 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 ...

and

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 its m ...

player – a dual-code international. He represented the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

in three Tests in 1910 and the Kangaroos in seven Tests from 1911 to 1920, his last two as captain. The captain-coach of the St. George Dragons club in Sydney in their inaugural season, he is considered one of Australia's finest footballers of the 20th century. His sons, Herb Gilbert, Jr and

Jack Gilbert Jack Gilbert (February 18, 1925 – November 13, 2012) was an American poet. Gilbert was acquainted with Jack Spicer and Allen Ginsberg, both prominent figureheads of the Beat Movement, but is not considered a Beat Poet; he described himself as ...

were also notable rugby league footballers.

Rugby union career

Gilbert was born in Gulgong, New South Wales and moved to Sydney, playing rugby union in the South Sydney district.Whiticker pp31-32 Tall and powerful for his era, Gilbert stood at 6 ft (182 cm), weighed (86 kg), and reputedly played his best football in the biggest games. Gilbert learnt his rugby in the South Sydney district and went into the NSW and Australian teams in 1910 after Dally Messenger defected to league. The pro-rugby union press boasted that Gilbert was a greater asset to the union than Dally Messenger had ever been. He was first selected for

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 1910 against

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_ ...

and then the New Zealand Māori. That same year he made his Wallaby Test début playing in the three Test series against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

in 1910. The series was played over only eight days at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

and won by the

by two games to one. Gilbert scored two tries in the second Test and another in the third.

Rugby league career

Later in the same year he'd made his rugby union representative debut, he crossed over to the professional code, joining the South Sydney Club in 1910 as their first grade player number 42. He represented for

in 1911 and was chosen for the

1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the second ever Kangaroo tour and was actually a tour by an " Australasian" squad that included four New Zealand players in addition to 24 Australian representatives. It took place over the British ...

. Gilbert made his international league début in the first Test at Newcastle in November 1911, becoming the 16th ever Australian dual code international. He played in all three Tests on tour, heading the tour's try-scoring list with 20 tries. From 1912 to 1915 he played in England, he played left-, wearing number 4, 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 ...

Hull FC 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 wer ...

's 6–0 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

in the

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

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 1913–14 season at Thrum Hall, Halifax, played in front of a crowd of 19,000. After the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the three-quarter returned to Australia, where he rejoined South Sydney. In 1916, Gilbert joined

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

. He was a member of that club's

City Cup The City Cup was a rugby league competition involving Australian premiership teams. The post season tournament was a regular feature in the years 1912–1925. City Cups were also played in 1937, 1942 and 1959. The inaugural city cup was contested ...

winning side before joining the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1917. He played with them until 1920, helping to mould them from a struggling side to a competitive outfit. Gilbert returned to the Australian Test team as captain in the 2nd Test of the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

' 1920 tour of Australia. All four of Australia's illustrious three-quarter line of

Dick Vest Dick Vest (1897-1974) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s . An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative three-quarter back, he played in the New South Wales Rugby Football ...

Harold Horder Harold Norman Horder (23 February 1894 – 21 August 1978) was an Australian rugby league player. He was a national and state representative player whose club career was with South Sydney and North Sydney between 1912 and 1924. Regarded as on ...

Viv Farnsworth Viv Farnsworth (1889–1953) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He played for Newtown Jets, Newtown, Western Suburbs Magpies, Wests, New South Wales state rugby league team, New South Wales a ...

and Gilbert scored tries in Australia's 21–8 victory. With

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

already won, Australia lost to Great Britain in the 3rd Test of the series with Gilbert captaining his country for his second and final time. In 1921 aged 33, Gilbert signed on as foundation captain-coach of the newly formed

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 ...

club. He retired as a player at the end of that season but coached the club until 1924.

Post playing and accolades

Gilbert was awarded Life Membership of the St. George Dragons club in 1938. He was a state and national selector from 1925 to 1937; his working career was with the New South Wales Railways; in his later years he was doorman at the

. Herb died in 1972 – aged 83. In 2004 he was named by Souths in their ''South Sydney Dream Team'', consisting of 17 players and a coach representing the club from

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

through to

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. In February 2008, Gilbert was named in the 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 compan ...

to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.

Progeny

Three of Gilbert's sons all played for St. George with Herb Junior and Jack playing in the Dragons' maiden Grand Final victory in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

. Another son,

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

also played with the St. George Dragons in first grade in 1945. Two great grandsons were professional sportsmen –

Sam Gilbert Samuel Gilbert (born 19 August 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Gilbert is a rugby league convert who didn’t start playi ...

played

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

with St Kilda and

Larry Davidson Larry Davidson (born 19 January 1983) is an Australian former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). Junior career A scholarship-holder at the Australian Institute of Sport, Davidson led ...

, was a basketballer who played in the NBL for the

Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

Playing record

* ''Club:'' Souths(1911–12 & 1915) 23 games, 6 tries, 3 goals;

, England 1912–1915; Easts (1916) 14 games, 6 tries; Wests (1917–1920) 50 games, 23 tries;

St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...

(1921) 8 games, 1 try. * ''Representative:'' Australia (1911–12 & 1919–1920) 7 Tests, and New South Wales (1911–20) 8 appearances.

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan (2004) ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland, Sydney

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Herb 1888 births 1972 deaths Australasia rugby league team players Australia international rugby union players Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Dual-code rugby internationals Hull F.C. captains Hull F.C. players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from New South Wales South Sydney Rabbitohs players St. George Dragons captains St. George Dragons coaches St. George Dragons players Sydney Roosters players Western Suburbs Magpies players Rugby union players from Sydney Rugby union wings