Herbert Kershaw (first ¼ 1885 – February 1955), 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 "Harry", 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 its m ...

, 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

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

Wakefield RFC Wakefield RFC was an English rugby union club, founded in 1901 and folded in 2004 as a result of poor finances, with a trading loss of £105,000 for the season and unsecured creditors' loans of approximately £640,000. The club's final season w ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) 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

, and at club level for

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 ...

(

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 ...

. After retirement from rugby league, in 1928

employed him as a bagman and he also assisted in training, paying him 2 s/6 d a week, (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £20.97 in 2016).

Background

Kershaw was born in

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, ...

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, he was the

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...

of the Admiral Duncan Inn, Thornes Lane, Wakefield from 1914 to 1926, and the Brewers' Arms, Westgate, Wakefield ,Wakefield Trinity Committee, 7 Tammy Hall Street, Wakefield (Saturday 19 March 1927). ''Wakefield Trinity Gazette''. John Lindley, Ltd., Printers, 8 Thompson's Yard, Westgate, Wakefield. ISBN n/a he died aged 69 in

, England, and he is buried in Thornes Parish Church of Saint James, Denby Dale Road,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Herbert Kershaw 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

(RL) while at Wakefield Trinity in 1910 against Wales, in 1911 against Wales, and Australia, and won caps for

(RL) while at Wakefield Trinity 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,

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 ...

, and New Zealand.

County honours

Herbert Kershaw won

(s) for

while at Wakefield Trinity.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Herbert Kershaw played as a

's 17–0 victory over

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 1908–09 Challenge Cup Final during the 1908–09 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

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 ...

on Tuesday 20 April 1909, in front of a crowd of 23,587.Hoole, Les (2004). ''Wakefield Trinity RLFC – FIFTY GREAT GAMES''. Breedon Books. and played as a

was

, and five minutes after the half-time restart he was sent off for kicking in the 0–6 defeat by

in the 1913–14 Challenge Cup Final during the 1913–14 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, in front of a crowd of 19,000.

County Cup Final appearances

Herbert Kershaw played as a

's 8–2 victory over

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

1910–11 Yorkshire Cup The 1910–11 Yorkshire Cup was a knock-out competition between (mainly professional) rugby league clubs from the county of Yorkshire. The actual area was at times increased to encompass other teams from outside the county such as Newcastle, Man ...

Final during the 1910–11 season at

on Saturday 3 December 1910.

Notable tour matches

Herbert Kershaw played as a

's 20–13 victory over

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 ...

in the

1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the first ever such tour for the newly-formed Australia national rugby league team (or 'The Kangaroos'). The tour was to England and Wales and coincided with the first Wallabies Rugby Union tour of ...

match at Belle Vue,

on Saturday 19 December 1908.

Testimonial match

Herbert Kershaw'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 ...

for

took place against

Batley Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of the ...

at Belle Vue,

on Saturday 12 February 1921,Wakefield Trinity Committee, 7 Tammy Hall Street, Wakefield (Saturday 13 November 1920). ''Wakefield Trinity Gazette''. John Fletcher Printers, Albion Court, Westgate, Wakefield, WF1 1BD. ISBN n/a it was a joint Testimonial match with George Taylor.Tom Mather (2010). "Best in the Northern Union". Pages 128-142.

Club career

Herbert Kershaw made his début for Wakefield Trinity during January 1906, he appears to have scored no drop-goals (or field-goals as they are currently known in Australasia), but prior to the 1974–75 season all goals, whether;

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

, or drop-goals, scored 2-points, consequently prior to this date drop-goals were often not explicitly documented, therefore '0' drop-goals may indicate drop-goals not recorded, rather than no drop-goals scored. In addition, prior to the 1949–50 season, the archaic field-goal was also still a valid means of scoring points.

Contemporaneous Article Extract

"''Played his earliest football with Thornes Lane Rovers and Thornes United, then at scrum half for Wakefield R.U. he gained Yorkshire County R.U. honours. His entry into

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

's ranks came at a time when the highly successful half-back combination of

Slater A slater, or slate mason, is a tradesman, tradesperson who covers buildings with slate. Tools of the trade The various hand tool, tools of the slater's trade are all drop-forged. The slater's hammer is forged in one single piece, from crucib ...

and Newbould was in full swing – but he proved himself a versatile player and when, for that famous

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

semi-final against

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 ...

found themselves without a loose-forward, Herbert stepped into the breach. His fast and clever play plus deadly tackling made a handsome contribution to

's victory. He played at loose forward in the

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 v.

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 ...

, and that became his settled position. Not only that, but he went on the 1910 Tour as loose-forward, and played in the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Test''"Lindley, John (1960). ''Dreadnoughts – A HISTORY OF Wakefield Trinity F. C. 1873 – 1960''. John Lindley Son & Co Ltd. ISBN n/a

Genealogical information

Herbert Kershaw was married to Mary Hannah Kershaw (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

unknown, born – died April 1962 (aged 75) in

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kershaw, Herbert 1885 births 1955 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players English rugby union players Great Britain national rugby league team players Place of death missing Publicans Rugby league forwards Rugby league players from Wakefield Rugby union players from Wakefield Wakefield RFC players Wakefield Trinity captains Wakefield Trinity players Yorkshire County RFU players Yorkshire rugby league team players