Harry Caples (1898–1933) was an Australian representative

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 ...

player. His club football was played with the

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 ...

club.

Club career

A former schoolboy star, Caples attended St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill before being graded by the

Roosters The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

in 1916. He played 110 matches for the club in the years (1916-23 & 1929). A five-eighth, Caples captained Easts to the club's fourth premiership in 1923, scoring two tries in that match.

Representative career

Caples was selected for the

1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the third ever Kangaroo tour. Again an Australasian side rather than an Australian team alone (although the 28-man squad featured only one New Zealander) travelled to Great Britain to contest the ...

. He played for Australia in two Tests on tour and 22 minor tour matches. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 117. During his career he represented for three different states

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 ...

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 , establishe ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Interstate service to the game

After his premiership success in 1923, Harry Caples moved to Victoria in 1924 at the direction of

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 ...

executive

Harry Sunderland Harry Sunderland (23 November 1889 – 15 January 1964) was an Australian rugby league football administrator and journalist. Sunderland was born in Gympie, Queensland in 1889. From 1913 to 1922, Sunderland was the Queensland Rugby League's ...

to help organize Rugby League in the southern states. Sydney's Evening News newspaper quoted: "Mr Sunderland is making strong efforts to place the game on a solid footing in Melbourne, and he has approached several noted players to go south and give their services." Sunderland (who was Queensland based), then sent him to Ipswich, Queensland in 1925 and he played there for a number of years. Caples captain-coached

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

in 1928, before returning to Easts for one last season in 1929.

Premature death

Caples died after contracting Meningitis at the relatively young age of 35. A large funeral was held for him at the Sacred Heart Church, Randwick and he was buried at

Randwick Cemetery South Coogee is a coastal suburb in South-Eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. South Coogee is located 9 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwi ...

. He was survived by his wife Dorothy and three young children.Obituary, Harry Caples :Catholic Freemans Journal, Sydney, 2 November 1933

References

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) ''The History of Rugby League Clubs'', New Holland, Sydney * Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
Queensland representatives at qrl.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caples, Harry 1898 births People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill Australian rugby league players Sydney Roosters players Sydney Roosters captains Australia national rugby league team players Queensland rugby league team players 1933 deaths Australasia rugby league team players Rugby league five-eighths Date of birth missing Rugby league players from Bathurst, New South Wales