Jack Kitching 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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed in the 1950s. 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 i ...

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

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

and

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 th ...

( Heritage № 258), as a , and coached at club level for Castleford.

Early life

Kitching was born in Bradford. He was educated at Thornton Grammar School, Bradford and

Borough Road College Borough Road is in Southwark, London SE1. It runs east–west between St George's Circus and Borough High Street. History and location The route was created as part of the planning and road improvements associated with the completion of We ...

, London, where he qualified as a teacher. From 1940–45 he served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Rugby career

Kitching's rugby league career started in 1944 when he signed for Bradford Northern, having previously played for Bradford rugby union club. Kitching was three times a Challenge Cup winner. He played in the second leg of the 1943–44 Challenge Cup final as Bradford beat Wigan 8–0 (winning 8–3 on aggregate) at Odsal Stadium on 22 April 1944. The second win was when Bradford beat

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 popula ...

8–4 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

in the

1946–47 Challenge Cup The 1946–47 Challenge Cup was the 46th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First Round Second Round Quarter Finals Semi Finals Final Leeds reached the Wembley final for the second time, doing so ...

final on 3 May 1947. In between Kitching played in both legs of the

1944–45 Challenge Cup The 1944–45 Challenge Cup was the 44th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. Qualifier First round Second round Semifinals Final In the final of the Rugby league Challenge Cup, Huddersfield beat Bradf ...

final as Bradford lost 13–9 on aggregate to

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 ...

. The third was in 1949 as Bradford beat Halifax 12–0 at Wembley on 7 May. While at Bradford Kitching won four caps for

between 1945 and 1947, three caps against Wales (1945, 46 and 47) and a single cap against France in 1946. In 1946 he was selected for the

team to tour Australia and New Zealand, and played in one test against Australia. During the first test of the tour he was sent off for striking Australian captain,

Joe Jorgenson Joe Jorgenson (12 September 1921 – 7 May 1993) was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1940s and '50s. He was a three-quarter for the Australia national rugby league team, Australian national team who played in three Tests in 1946, ...

. Kitching later accused Jorgensen of biting him prior to his dismissal, an allegation that was not sustained. In June 1948 Kitching accepted an offer to become manager at new club,

who were about to start their inaugural season in the league. A transfer fee of £2,500 was agreed between Whitehaven and Bradford enabling Kitching to also play for as well as manage Whitehaven in July 1948; however in December of the same year Kitching resigned as manager citing personal reasons and the inability to find a family home in Whitehaven, and returned as a player to Bradford. In October 1950 he was transferred to Castleford for a fee of £1,000. From February 1951 he was captain of the team. Between August 1951 to April 1952, he was coach of the Castleford club.

Teaching career

Away from rugby Kitching taught geography and physical education. At the time of the 1950 General Election he was teaching at Pudsey Grammar School.

Political career

He was the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate for

Bradford North Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post sy ...

at the 1950 General Election. He finished third and did not stand for parliament again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitching, Jack 1920s births Year of death missing Bradford Bulls players British sportsperson-politicians Castleford Tigers coaches Castleford Tigers players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Place of death missing Royal Navy personnel of World War II Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Bradford Whitehaven R.L.F.C. coaches Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players Schoolteachers from Yorkshire