John William Higson (third ¼ 1887 – fourth ¼ 1958) was an English 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 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. He played at representative level for

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 is ...

and

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 ...

, and at club level for

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship (rugby league), Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rover ...

(two spells, pre & post-

Northern Union The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

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

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 c ...

, as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

.Bailey, Ron (1956). ''The Official History of Featherstone Rovers R.L.F.C.''. Wakefield Express. ASIN: B00O1TLDPC

Background

John Higson's birth was registered in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

district,

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, and his death aged 74 was registered in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

district,

, England.

Playing career

International honours

John Higson won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

while at Hunslet in 1908 against Wales, and in 1909 against Australia (two matches), and won

s for

while at Hunslet in 1908 against Australia, and in 1909 against Australia.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

John Higson played as a

's 14–0 victory over

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 ...

in the

1908 Challenge Cup Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Final during the 1907–08 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 ...

on Saturday 25 April 1908, in front of a crowd of 18,000.

County Cup Final appearances

John Higson played as a

's 17–0 victory over Halifax in the

1907 Yorkshire Cup Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Final during the 1907–08 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

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 populati ...

on Saturday 21 December 1907, played and scored 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 ...

's 22–10 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...

in the

1911 Yorkshire Cup A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

Final during the 1911–12 season at Belle Vue,

on Saturday 25 November 1911, and played as a

's 3–10 defeat by

in the 1926 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1926–27 season at

on Wednesday 1 December 1926, the original match on Saturday 27 November 1926 was postponed due to fog.

All Four Cups, and "The Terrible Six"

John Higson was a member of

's 1907–08 season

All Four Cups Winning All Four Cups referred to winning all four competitions available to a British rugby league side in the top division between 1907 and 1970. The cups available to win were the First Division Championship, Challenge Cup, county league (La ...

winning team, the Forwards were known as "The Terrible Six" they were; Tom Walsh, Harry Wilson, Jack Randall, Bill "Tubby" Brookes,

Bill Jukes William Jukes ( – March 1939) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Featherstone Rovers (who we ...

, and John Willie Higson, he was also a member of

's 1914–15

winning "Team of All Talents", and consequently is the only player to win All Four Cups on two occasions.

Club career

John Higson played for

before they joined the

, he was transferred from

in 1905, he was transferred from

, and rejoined

in 1921 playing alongside; Ernest Barraclough and

Billy Clements Billy Clements (birth unknown – death unknown) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s, and coached in the 1930s. He played at representative level for Yorkshire, and at club level for Featherstone Rovers ( ...

, he made his début for Featherstone Rovers in the Northern Union on Saturday 17 September 1921,Bailey, Ron (20 September 2001). ''Images of Sport – Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Football Club''. The History Press. he played his last match for

in the 29–16 victory over

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 ...

Post Office Road Post Office Road (currently known as the Millennium Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a rugby league ground in Featherstone, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of rugby league club Featherstone Rovers. The ground's curr ...

Featherstone Featherstone is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, two miles south-west of Pontefract. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2011 ...

on Saturday 25 April 1925. he made his début for

during October 1925.

Testimonial match

John Higson's benefit

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

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 ...

took place during the 1921–22 season.

Genealogical information

John Higson was the father of the rugby league footballer; Leonard Higson.

References

External links

Huddersfield – All Four Cups
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higson, John 1887 births 1958 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Featherstone Rovers players Great Britain national rugby league team players Huddersfield Giants players Hunslet F.C. (1883) players Rugby league forwards Rugby league players from Pontefract Wakefield Trinity players