Jack Scroby (1936 – 25 April 2020) 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 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, 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 1970s. He played rugby union (RU) for

Army Rugby Union The Army Rugby Union (ARU) is the governing body for rugby union in the British Army and a constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The ARU was formed on 31 December 1906 and marked the fulfilment of Lieutenant J. E. C. "Birdie" Partr ...

and the

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) 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

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

and Halifax ( Heritage № 701), as a or , and coached at representative level for

, and at club level for

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 ...

and Halifax.

Background

Jack Scroby was born in Halifax,

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. After playing rugby union at junior level, he played amateur rugby league for

Ovenden Ovenden is a village in West Yorkshire, England, next to Boothtown and Illingworth about a mile from Halifax town centre. It is also a Calderdale Ward whose population at the 2011 Census was 12,351. Ovenden railway station on the Halifax and ...

and Siddal before turning professional in 1955 with Bradford Northern.

Playing career

Scroby played for Bradford from 1955–1959 making 104 appearances before joining Halifax for a then club record fee of £7,500. At the time Scroby was serving in the army and played for the British Army rugby union team against the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. During his 315 appearances for Halifax between 28 August 1959 and 28 February 1970, he scored 22 tries. He played in one

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

final - in 1965 when Halifax beat St. Helens 15–7 at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 22 May 1965. Scroby was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

seven times for

Coaching career

Scroby played his last match in February 1970, before leaving to coach

and later returned to Halifax., later he was Chris Anderson's assistant during the glory days of the late 1980s, and then had 10 years as the club’s timekeeper. He also coached the Yorkshire side during the mid-1970s.

Halifax Hall of Fame

Jack Scroby is a Halifax RLFC Hall of Fame inductee.

References

External links

Keith Neller meets up with some Fax past PlayersCup winners back togetherRugby League Heritage Lunch Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scroby, Jack 1936 births 2020 deaths Army rugby union players Bradford Bulls players Duke of Wellington's Regiment soldiers English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Halifax R.L.F.C. coaches Halifax R.L.F.C. players Huddersfield Giants coaches Rugby league locks Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Halifax, West Yorkshire Yorkshire rugby league team coaches Yorkshire rugby league team players