James Davidson (28 December 1868 - ) 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 ...

Football international who came from

Aspatria Aspatria is a town and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of Allerdale, and is currently embraced in the Parliamentary constituency of Workington, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland the town rests on the north side of t ...

, in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, Davidson was a stonemason and a builder by trade.Goodwin, p109Player profile
on scrum.com, retrieved 26 February 2010 James Davidson of Aspatria RUFC

Sports career

James Davidson, more affectionately known as Jim, was born at Aspatria on 28 December 1868. He received his education at the Aspatria Agricultural College, where he excelled at sport, winning representative honours at both

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and rugby union. For over fifteen years Davidson was a prominent member of

Aspatria RUFC Aspatria Rugby Union Football Club is based in Aspatria, Cumbria (formerly Cumberland) in north west England, not far from the Scottish Border. They are nicknamed the "Black Reds", and have a red cockerel as their logo. They currently play i ...

, playing as a forward in the old scrimmaging style. He played for Aspatria when they won the Cumberland County Rugby Union Cup in 1891, ’92, ’96 and ’99. He won forty-four Cumberland County caps; made a record number of eight appearances for the North in their annual games against the South; played several times for the Rest of

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 ...

in their annual game against the County Champions, and although selected to represent England on seven occasions, would, through ill-health and injury, play in only five. In 1897, he played for England in the game against

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 ...

; in 1898, against Scotland and

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 in 1899 against Scotland 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

Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested be ...

match in 1898, he was, according to one

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, the ‘man of the match’. "When the whistle blew no man came off the field on either side fresher or more ready to renew hostilities than James Davidson." Upon retirement from the game Jim became a respected official. He was chairman of the County Selectors Committee, and the Cumberland representative to the Rugby Union. He was also one of the principal administrators in the Aspatria Club and held numerous offices. He was a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

and builder by trade, a man with a giant frame, noted for his great strength, sporting attitude and determination. Described in the sporting journal, Sporting Life, as ‘Hard as Nails’. In 1898 he became the first recipient of a sporting testimonial in Cumberland. He died at Aspatria on 23 December 1943.West Cumberland Times 22 January 1944

References

* Goodwin, Terry ''The Complete Who's Who of International Rugby'' (Blandford Press, England, 1987, ) 1868 births 1945 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union players from Aspatria Rugby union players from Workington {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub