John "Johnny"/"Johny" Thomas ( – 25 September 1954) was a Welsh

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 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

and

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, and at club level for

Maesteg RFC Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Mae ...

and

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

, as a full-back or scrum-half, i.e. number 15, or 9, and representative level rugby league (RL) 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 ...

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

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, and at club level for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, as a or , i.e. number 6 (number 10 in a 15-player team), or 7 (number 9 in a 15-player team).Graham Williams, Peter Lush, David Farrar (November 2009). "The British Rugby League Records Book age-108…114. London League Publications Ltd.

Background

Johnny Thomas was born in

Aberkenfig Aberkenfig ( cy, Abercynffig, meaning "mouth of the Kenfig" (stream)) is a village located in the Bridgend (county borough), County Borough of Bridgend, Wales to the north of Bridgend town. It is in the Community (Wales), community of Newcastle H ...

, Wales, after retiring from playing, he joined the

boards of directors, and he died aged 73 in

Ince Ince may refer to: *Ince, Cheshire, a village in Cheshire, UK *Ince-in-Makerfield in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, UK *Ince (UK Parliament constituency), a former constituency covering Ince-in-Makerfield *Ince (ward), an electoral ward covering ...

district,

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Johnny Thomas 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

(RL) while at Wigan including in 1908 against New Zealand, and won

s for

(RL) while at Wigan in 1908 against New Zealand, and Australia, in 1909 against Australia (2 matches), on the

1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand The 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand was the first international tour of the Great Britain national rugby league team, "The Lions". They played the second ever Ashes series against Australia, and their first as the visiti ...

against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(2 matches), and

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

(2 matches), 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 ...

, and in 1911 against Australia.

County honours

Johnny Thomas won

s for

(RU) while at Cardiff, including against

Devonshire Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a ...

, and won a

s for

(RL), and

(RL) while at Wigan.

Championship final appearances

Johnny Thomas played in

's 7-3 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final during the 1908–09 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named after the abunda ...

on Saturday 1 May 1909.

County League appearances

Johnny Thomas played in

's victories in the

County League during the 1908–09 season, 1910–11 season, 1911–12 season, 1912–13 season, 1913–14 season and 1914–15 season.

County Cup Final appearances

Johnny Thomas played , i.e. number 9 (in a 15-player team), in

's 0-0 draw with

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 ...

in the

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1905–06 season at

Wheater's Field Wheater's Field was a rugby ground in Broughton, Salford, England. It was home to the Broughton Rangers rugby league club of the Northern Union. On 19 October 1907, the stadium hosted a match between Rangers and the New Zealand All Golds. It ...

, Broughton, on Saturday 2 December 1905, 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 ...

in the 8-0 victory over

in the

Final replay during the 1905–06 season at

, Broughton, on Monday 11 December 1905, played (in a 13-player team), and scored a

in the 10-9 victory over

in the

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

Final during the 1908–09 season at

, Broughton, on Saturday 19 December 1908, played (in a 13-player team), and scored a

in the 22-5 victory over

in the

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

Final during the 1909–10 season at

, Broughton, on Saturday 27 November 1909. and played , and scored a

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

in the 21-5 victory over

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

in the

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

Final during the 1912–13 season at

Weaste Weaste () is a suburb in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. In 2014, Weaste and Seedley ward had a population of 12,616. History Historically in Lancashire, it is an industrial area, with many industrial estates. The A57 (Ec ...

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, on Wednesday 11 December 1912.

Notable tour matches

Johnny Thomas played , and scored a

, and 2-

s in

's 16-8 victory over

in the

1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the first ever such tour for the newly-formed Australia national rugby league team (or 'The Kangaroos'). The tour was to England and Wales and coincided with the first Wallabies Rugby Union tour of ...

match at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

, on Wednesday 20 January 1909, and played , and scored a

in the 7-2 victory over

in the

1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the second ever Kangaroo tour and was actually a tour by an " Australasian" squad that included four New Zealand players in addition to 24 Australian representatives. It took place over the British ...

match at

, on Saturday 28 October 1911.

Testimonial match

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 ...

was shared by; Bert Jenkins,

Dick Ramsdale Richard Ramsdale (birth registered second ¼ 1885 – 8 June 1933) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Lancashire, and at ...

, and Johnny Thomas.Tom Mather (2010). "Best in the Northern Union". Pages 128–142.

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Johnny 1880s births 1954 deaths Year of birth uncertain Cardiff RFC players Footballers who switched code Glamorgan County RFC players Great Britain national rugby league team captains Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Maesteg RFC players Rugby league players from Bridgend County Borough Place of death missing Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Aberkenfig Rugby union scrum-halves Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Wigan Warriors players