John Beaton (2 January 1914 – 5 June 1996) 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 11 ...

player, a national representative of the 1930s whose short but brilliant club career was played with Sydney's

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. He has been named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.

Early life and club career

Originally from

Yass, New South Wales Yass () is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Council. The name appears to have been derived from an Aboriginal word, "Yarrh" (or "Yharr"), said to mean 'running water'. Yass is located 280 km ...

, Beaton moved to Sydney where he attended St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, enjoying schoolboy success at

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 ...

, track & field, and cricket. Beaton took up a role as captain with a country rugby league side in

Lismore, New South Wales Lismore is a city in northeastern New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area; it is also a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State. It is situated on a low flood pl ...

, before moving back to Sydney the following season to join up with the

club. Beaton, who was better known as a or , was an extremely versatile player who could play anywhere in the backline. From his debut with club in 1934 till his retirement at the end of the 1937 season Easts lost just 4 matches. He played in some of the Tricolours greatest teams during his brief career, winning 3 premierships with the club and was runner-up in his only other year. Beaton retired at just 24 years of age to take up a business opportunity. 1937 Aust RL Kangaroos

Representative and honours

He was first selected for

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in 1934 and made 13 appearances up til his retirement in 1937. Beaton played in ten Test matches for Australia debuting against England in 1936. He was selected for the 1937 Kangaroo tour, played in all five Tests plus 22 minor matches and returned as the tour's top point-scorer with 124 points (6 tries and 53 goals). Jack Beaton is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 203. In February 2008, Beaton was named in the list of Australia's ''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007), which was commissioned by the NRL and

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to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. He had previously been named as a reserve in

'Team of the Century'.

Sources

* Middleton, David ''Rugby League Yearbook'' * Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Middleton, David and Heads, Ian (2008) ''A Centenary of Rugby League'', MacMillan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaton, Jack 1914 births 1996 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Yass, New South Wales Sydney Roosters players