John Dewar Dallas (11 June 1878 – 31 July 1942) was a Scottish international

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 ...

player. Dallas played international rugby for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

but is more notable as a rugby referee, and his officiating of the ''" Match of the Century"'', the famous encounter between

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

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 ...

in 1905, a match seen as one of the greatest games in the history of the rugby union. He became the 39th

President of the Scottish Rugby Union The President of the Scottish Rugby Union is the figurehead of rugby union in Scotland. Origin In 1873, and directly after the Scotland versus England international match, representatives from eight Scottish rugby union sides came together in Gla ...

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

He captained his school's rugby team. Dallas played club rugby for

Watsonians Watsonian Football Club is a rugby union club based in Edinburgh and part of the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is connected with George Watson's College as a club for former pupils, and changed its policy in the 1980s to be a fully open club, ...

. He was elected Vice-Captain in 1898. He won the

Scottish Unofficial Championship The Scottish Unofficial Championship was the top league of Scotland's best amateur rugby union clubs. The Championship was 'unofficial' as the Scottish Rugby Union held that the sport should remain amateur and at the time did not sanction competit ...

with Watsonians in the 1902-03 season.

Provincial career

He represented Edinburgh District in 1902.

International career

Dallas played just a single international game for Scotland, the encounter with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

during the

1903 Home Nations Championship The 1903 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-first series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 10 January and 21 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

. Scotland had already beaten Wales and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the tournament, and a win over England would give the Scottish team the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

. Dallas was brought into the pack, along with a returning Jimmy Ross, as replacements for

David Bedell-Sivright David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright (8 December 1880 – 5 September 1915) was a Scottish international rugby union forward who captained both Scotland and the British Isles. Born in Edinburgh, and educated at Fettes College where he l ...

and captain

Mark Coxon Morrison Mark Coxon Morrison (2 April 1877 – 10 May 1945) was a Scottish international rugby union footballer who captained both Scotland and the British and Irish Lions. Rugby Union career Amateur career Morrison played for Royal HSFP. He played ...

. Although not an exciting game, the close score made this an interesting game, with Scotland finishing 10-6 winners. Dallas not only ended the game as a Triple Crown winning player, but he also scored one of two Scottish tries, when he crossed the line in the first half after good build-up work from wing James Stirling MacDonald. Despite the victory and the score, Dallas never represented the Scotland national team again, the Scottish selectors preferring heavy scrummagers whereas Dallas' play was more of a fast wing-forward.Smith (1980), pg 155.

Referee career

In 1905 the first New Zealand touring team came to Britain, and brought an exciting tactical game that the British clubs found difficult to play against. Before the team came to

, they had played 27 matches against teams from Scotland, England and Ireland, and beaten them all, including victories over the three national teams. Wales had just won the Home Nations Championship and were seen as possessing one of the greatest teams in the sport's history. The encounter between Wales and New Zealand was seen as a great challenge between the two hemispheres, and was being dubbed the 'Game of the Century' before the match had taken place. In the buildup to the game, the New Zealand manager George Dixon and the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

had difficulty agreeing on a referee.Smith (1980), pg 154. Four officials had been rejected before the WRU, using I.B. regulations called on a neutral union, in this case the

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

, to choose a referee on their behalf. Scotland chose Dallas. This was Dallas' first international match as a referee but the game started controversially for him as he was criticised for his poor choice of attire. Dallas turned up for the match wearing street clothes and his boots had neither bars or studs.Smith (1980), pg 167. Dallas was also criticised during the game for being unable to keep up with the action. In a thrilling game, the match was decided by a single try, scored by

Teddy Morgan Edward "Teddy" Morgan (22 May 1880 – 1 September 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the victorious Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous '' Match of the Century'' and is remembered for ...

to give Wales the win. Unfortunately for Dallas the game is also remembered for a controversial decision where New Zealand centre

Bob Deans Robert George Deans (19 February 1884 – 30 September 1908) was a New Zealand and Canterbury rugby union footballer. In 1905, Deans entered New Zealand rugby folklore for his disallowed try against Wales in the famous '' Match of the Century''. ...

claimed to have grounded the ball over the Welsh goal line, only to have the try disallowed by Dallas. Deans stated that he scored the try, but was dragged back over the line by the Welsh defence. Although New Zealand manager Dixon attacked Dallas in private for not being able to keep up with the game, and thus missing the try; Dallas had no doubts, he believed that Deans had grounded the ball 6 to 12 inches short.Smith (1980), pg 168. The IRB kept faith with Dallas, and he continued to referee at international level, officiating over the Wales vs. Ireland encounter in the

1908 Home Nations Championship The 1908 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-sixth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 18 January and 21 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Although not officia ...

then Wales vs. England and Ireland vs. England in the 1909 Championship. Dallas refereed four more matches, when the Championship became the Five Nations Championship with the inclusion of France. Dallas was given the England vs Wales and Ireland vs. Wales in the 1910 Five Nations Championship, Ireland vs. England in the 1911 Championship and a final game in the 1912 tournament between Ireland and Wales. Dallas refereed one more international match and it provides a quirky claim to fame. This was the Ireland v South Africa match in 1912. Originally the match was supposed to be refereed by Frank Potter-Irwin, the English referee. However in the days before the match Potter-Irwin fell ill. The

stepped in to help. They suggested

John Tulloch __NOTOC__ John Tulloch (1 June 1823 – 13 February 1886) was a Scottish theologian. Life Tulloch was born at Dron, south of Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, and educated at Perth Grammar School.https://archive.org/stream/fastiecclesiaesc00scot/f ...

, the Scottish referee, and this was accepted by both teams. Some of the press reports still credit Tulloch or Potter-Irwin for the match. However it was Dallas that took the field rather than Tulloch. More quirkier, Dallas became injured or 'lame' in the first half and could not continue for the second half. So the Irish referee Fred Gardiner had to step in and referee the second half. It was this international match that first saw the use of a substitute referee: Dallas the original referee and Gardiner the substitute.

Administrative career

He became the 39th

. He served one year from 1912 to 1913. He was one of two Scottish representatives on the International Rugby Board.

Military career

During the First World War, Dallas joined the British Army and was posted to

The Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

(Lothian Regiment) as part of the

16th Battalion 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

. He saw service in German East Africa and Portuguese East Africa.

Outside of rugby and military

A lawyer, he was called to the Scottish Bar in 1905. His legal career was interrupted by his military career. In his later life he was a judge based in Aberdeen.Steam trawler "Rose" and steam trawler "Sidmouth"
grantontrawlers.com Dallas was a notable tennis player. He also partook in other sports:- golf, bowling, angling and shot.

References

;Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas, John 1878 births 1942 deaths Rugby union players from Edinburgh Scottish rugby union players Rugby union forwards Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union referees Royal Scots soldiers British Army personnel of World War I McCrae's Battalion Scottish Districts referees Presidents of the Scottish Rugby Union Edinburgh District (rugby union) players