James Devereux (1887–1934), 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 "Muscles",
was a pioneering 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 ...
footballer who played in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. A
New South Wales state and
Australia national representative
three-quarter back Three-quarter back is the back-line positions of wing or centre in either rugby league or rugby union.
See also
*Rugby league positions
*Rugby union positions
*Half back (disambiguation)
A halfback, half back, or half-back may refer to:
* , in ru ...
, he played in the
New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sou ...
from its first season in 1908 for the
North Sydney club, before playing several seasons in England will
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 were ...
. He later returned to Australia and coached North Sydney.
Playing career
The son of Irish immigrant parents, Michael and Honorah Devereux,
Devereux played for the first ever
New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the an ...
in their début match against
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, and later on was selected to play in the
first ever trans-Tasman test, which was début match of the
Australia national rugby league team against New Zealand on the return leg of their tour of Britain. Devereaux is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 4. He went on to play in all three matches.
Devereaux was a member of the Australian side selected for the first ever
Kangaroo tour and was the first Australian to score a
try
Try or TRY may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio
* ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs
* "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987)
* "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014)
* "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004)
* " Try (Ju ...
in rugby league against
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 i ...
when he got a hat-trick in the first ever Test between the nations.
After the tour he stayed in England and played for
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 were ...
, and became the first player to score 100 tries for the club. He was awarded Life Membership of the
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
in 1914.
Jim Devereux played right-, i.e. number 3, in
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 were ...
's 7–7 draw with
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 popula ...
in the
1910
Events
January
* January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
Challenge Cup Final during the
1909–10 season at
Fartown Ground
The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Rugby League Club from 1878 to 1992. T ...
,
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 ...
, on Saturday 16 April 1910, in front of a crowd of 19,413, this was the first
Challenge Cup Final to be drawn, played right-, i.e. number 3, in the 12–26 defeat by
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 popula ...
in the
1910
Events
January
* January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
Challenge Cup Final
replay at
Fartown Ground
The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Rugby League Club from 1878 to 1992. T ...
,
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 ...
, on Monday 18 April 1910, in front of a crowd of 11,608, played in the 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 ...
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 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.
Devereux was in England during
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 ...
and served in the military. In April 1916 he gained selection in an Australasian servicemen's
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 ...
side. After the war he resumed his playing career with Hull.
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 ...
es at
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 ...
were shared with; Jim Devereux,
Tom Herridge,
William Holder
William Holder FRS (1616 – 24 January 1698) was an English clergyman and music theorist of the 17th century. His most notable work was his widely known 1694 publication ''A Treatise on the Natural Grounds and Principles of Harmony''.
Life
He ...
and
Ned Rogers, and took place against
Keighley
Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish
in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford.
Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...
at
The Boulevard,
Hull on Saturday 29 January 1921, and against
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
at
The Boulevard,
Hull on Saturday 12 February 1921.
Post playing
Returning to Australia after the War, Devereux coached North Sydney in the
1924 NSWRFL season
The 1924 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the seventeenth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Nine teams from across the city contested during the season which culminated in Balm ...
, and worked as a labourer on the construction of the
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...
. On 3 December 1929, his leg was crushed in an industrial accident on the bridge, and was subsequently amputated at
Royal North Shore Hospital
The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has over 600 beds. It is the prin ...
.
Devereux was unable to work thereafter, and came close to destitution. The
North Sydney Leagues Club
The North Sydney Leagues Club (rebranded as Norths) is a licensed club located in Abbott Street, Cammeray. The club was established in 1955 by the district's football club, the North Sydney Bears, in a house in the Sydney suburb of Neutral Bay. ...
voted him a £50 donation in 1932 to assist with living costs.
Devereux died in England on 7 March 1934. as stated in the Sydney Sun by Claude Corbett on 22 March 1934. The Sydney Sun newspaper noted on 30 October 1941, that "Devereux had died about 4 years ago." Some argued for many years that he died at sea, but his death was later confirmed as being registered at
Wisbech
Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...
in
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...
. His wife, Daisy Elizabeth Deveruex née Heath, did not remarry and died at Leeds in 1956.
[Tom Brock Lecture: Andrew Moore]
On 26 August 2006 the North Sydney club announced their team of the century, with Devereux named in the centres.
References
External links
Jim Devereuxat stats.rleague.com
1887 births
1936 deaths
Australia national rugby league team players
Australian people of Irish descent
Australian rugby league coaches
Hull F.C. players
New South Wales rugby league team players
North Sydney Bears coaches
North Sydney Bears players
Rugby league centres
Rugby league players from Sydney
Rugby union players from Sydney
Sportsmen from New South Wales
{{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-stub