John William Ward (29 January 1873 – 30 April 1939) was an English

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 ...

, and 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 1890s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

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 Castleford RUFC (

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

) (in

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

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, ...

), 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 ...

, e.g.

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

hooker Hooker may refer to: People * Hooker (surname) Places Antarctica * Mount Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands) New Zealand * Hooker River * Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps * Hoo ...

, lock, number eight, or

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

, and club level rugby league (RL) for

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 ...

( Heritage № tbc) .Lindley, John (1960). ''Dreadnoughts – A HISTORY OF Wakefield Trinity F. C. 1873 – 1960''. John Lindley Son & Co Ltd. ISBN n/a

International honours

John Ward won caps for

while at

rugby union club in

1896 Home Nations Championship The 1896 Home Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 4 January and 14 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

in the 25–0 victory over wales Wales at Rectory Field,

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

on Saturday 4 January 1896, the 4–10 defeat by Ireland at

Meanwood Road Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Origins and history The name Meanwood goes back t ...

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 1 February 1896, and the 0–10 defeat by Scotland at

Old Hampden Park Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

, Glasgow on Saturday 14 March 1896.

Outside of rugby

John Ward was a licensed victualler at a number of

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

lic houses including, The

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

("King Billy") in Cutsyke,

, and The Victoria Hotel, ("The Vic") in

Hemsworth Hemsworth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire and had a population of 13,311 at the 2001 census, ...

Notes

Th
Every Picture Tells a Story
web page on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

website states that "He also went on to play Rugby League for Great Britain",

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 ...

's first international was in 1908 when John "Willie" Ward would have been 34, and

's first international was in 1904 when John Ward would have been 31, but there is no additional evidence of that John Ward played in these, or other, test matches. However, a

Billy Ward Billy Ward may refer to: * Billy Ward (singer) (1921–2002), American singer with Billy Ward and His Dominoes * Billy Ward (boxer) William Ward (16 July 1993 – 4 August 2013) was an Australian amateur boxer selected for the 2012 Summer Olym ...

won caps for England while at

in 1910, and 1911, and won a cap for Great Britain while at Leeds on the 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, but John "Willie" Ward would have been 37, and likely too old to be playing international rugby, and there is no evidence of him playing for Leeds. Th
Every Picture Tells a Story
web page on the

website also states that "He was playing and captaining the Castleford Rugby Union side and then they changed over to Rugby League and he became captain of the Rugby League side", however

rugby union club continued through the rugby schism of 1895, winning rugby union's

Yorkshire Challenge Cup The Yorkshire Cup is an English Rugby Football Union competition founded in 1878. It is organised by the Yorkshire Rugby Football Union and is open to all eligible clubs in the Yorkshire area. It was initially known as the Yorkshire Challenge Cu ...

in 1896, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1906, and 1908, in the same era that

rugby league club were playing in the Northern Rugby Football Union Competition, and

rugby union club are still in existence today.

References

External links

Search for "John Willie Ward" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, John 1873 births 1939 deaths Castleford R.U.F.C. players England international rugby union players English rugby league players English rugby union players Publicans Rugby league players from Castleford Rugby union players from Castleford Wakefield Trinity players