Joseph Cartwright (29 December 1890 – 17 December 1949) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Lancashire, and at club level for

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

( Heritage № 209), as a , i.e. number 9, during the era of contested scrums.

Family and early life

Cartwright was born in

Leigh, Greater Manchester Leigh is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, on low-lying land northwest of Chat Moss. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire, Leigh was originally the cen ...

in December 1890, the ninth child of coal miner Allen Cartwright and Ellen Houghton Cartwright. By 1911, he was also working as a colliery foreman assistant while playing rugby. He married Mary Alice Newton in 1921 in Leigh. They had four children: Sydney (born 9 January 1921), Marion (born 5 October 1922), Alice (born 28 May 1924) and Harold (born 1 May 1926).

Playing career

Club career

Joe Cartwright made 348 appearances for Leigh between 1911 and 1927, scoring seven tries.

International honours

Joe Cartwright won caps for England while at Leigh in 1921 against Wales, Other Nationalities, and Australia, in 1922 against Wales, and in 1923 against Wales (2 matches), he was selected to go on the

1920 Great Britain Lions tour The 1920 Great Britain Lions tour was the third British national rugby league team or 'Lions' tour of Australasia, where it was winter and matches were played against the Australian and New Zealand national sides, as well as several local teams. In ...

of Australasia, and he won caps for Great Britain while at Leigh in 1920 against Australia, and New Zealand (3 matches), and in 1921-22 against Australia (3 matches).

County honours

Joe Cartwright won caps for Lancashire while at Leigh.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Joe Cartwright played in

's 13-0 victory over Halifax in the 1920–21

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1920–21 season at

The Cliff A cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliff, The Cliff or The Cliffs may also refer to: Buildings *Cliff Brewery, a former brewery near Ipswich, England *Cliff Palace, largest cliff dwelling in North America *The Cliffs, a histo ...

, Broughton on Saturday 30 April 1921, in front of a crowd of 25,000.

Retirement and death

Joe Cartwright retired from playing football in 1926, and he started work at the Parsonage Colliery, Leigh building underground roads. After his death in December 1949, an inquiry was held to determine if it was caused by work conditions, at which point his health was investigated. Cartwright had not been employed at the colliery very long when he was struck in the back by a sharp piece of stone, and he was out of work 15 weeks. In 1937, Cartwright was treated by Dr. Hayward for eye trouble. Around 1947 he had an accident in the mine when he was struck in the right eye by a piece of stone, which opened up an old footballing wound. In 1939, he was still employed at the colliery working as a hewer. In July 1949, Cartwright was forced to retire from the colliery because of a persistent cough. Nurse Ellen Wilcock of Leigh Infirmary said that on 16 December 1949 his condition worsened and he died the next day. Dr. S. H. Jackson of the University of Manchester, the pathologist who conducted Cartwright's

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

, said that in his opinion Cartwright's death was due to toxic absorption caused chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema) of the right lung. When questioned by C. L. Tyrer, the President of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation, Dr. S. H. Jackson said he had found slight traces of

pneumoconiosis Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of interstitial lung disease where inhalation of dust ( for example, ash dust, lead particles, pollen grains etc) has caused interstitial fibrosis. The three most common types are asbestosis, silicos ...

in Cartwright, but that this had not accelerated his death. At Leigh Police Station, the district coroner, R. M. Barlow, said that he had heard the impartial evidence of the pathologist, and in his opinion he was quite satisfied that the pneumoconiosis had not caused death in any way, and so returned a verdict of death from natural causes.''Leigh Chronicle'', "'Natural Causes' Verdict on Former Footballer".

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Joseph 1890 births 1949 deaths England national rugby league team players English miners English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Leigh Leopards captains Leigh Leopards players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Leigh, Greater Manchester