James Alfred Hale (1916-1992) 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1940s.

Career

Hale was graded with the South Sydney club in 1940 and switched mid-season to join

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

with whom he played seven seasons between 1941 and 1947. He is remembered as the second-row forward in the St George side that was defeated in the 1946 Grand Final by Balmain. At the end of the game, Jim Hale and his ex team-mate Herb Gilbert, Jr. were involved in a brawl when a spectator jumped onto the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

playing area and punched Hale. The incident almost caused a riot amongst rival players and fans and resulted in a number of arrests by police. Hale, like his father Percy (1887-1953), was an amateur heavy-weight boxer, and the brawl between him and Gilbert was a huge talking point in the Sydney press for days afterward. A brother,

Bill Hale Bill Hale (1915-2007) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. Hale was a big front row forward who played at St. George with his younger brother Jim Hale. His career was interrupted when he was moved arou ...

also played for

After retiring from Sydney first grade football, Hale captain coached the Boorowa Rovers Rugby League Club in 1948–1949.

Death

Hale died on 28 December 1992, aged 76.Sydney Morning Herald - Death Notice 29/12/1992

References

St. George Dragons players Australian rugby league players 1916 births 1992 deaths Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1910s-stub