James Arthur Bacon (fourth ¼ 1896 – fourth ¼ 1968) 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 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, and coached rugby league in the 1920s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Cross Keys, 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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2 ...

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

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 ...

(

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 ...

), 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 the ...

, as a , or , and coached at club level for

Background

Jim Bacon's birth was registered in Newport, Wales, and his death aged 72 was registered in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmi ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ; Archaism, archaically Somersetshire , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the so ...

Playing career

Jim Bacon played

for

Cross Keys RFC Cross Keys RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Pont-y-Cymer) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Dragons regional team. History The club achieved first ...

, and having appeared as a trialist for

(RU) some weeks before, he moved north and made his professional début for English rugby league club

against

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 predomi ...

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 Headin ...

on Saturday 14 December 1918.Dalby, Ken (1955). ''The Headingley Story – 1890–1955 – Volume One – Rugby''. The Leeds Cricket, Football & Athletic Co. Ltd ASIN: B0018JNGVM Bacon was selected to go on the

1920 Great Britain Lions tour The 1920 Great Britain Lions tour was the third British national rugby league team or 'Lions' tour of Australasia, where it was winter and matches were played against the Australian and New Zealand national sides, as well as several local teams. In ...

of Australasia. He 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 s ...

s for

(RL) while at Leeds in 1920 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (3 matches), in 1921 against Australia (2 matches), in 1922 against Australia, in 1924 against Australia, and in 1927 against New Zealand. From 1921 until 1927 he also represented

, winning six caps, all against England, including 1-victory, and 5-defeats. Jim Bacon played in

's 14-18 defeat by

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

in the non- County Championship match during the 1926–27 season at

Taff Vale Park Taff Vale Park is a rugby union ground and former greyhound racing track in Treforest, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Taff Vale Park is situated on the River Taff at the end of Nile Street in Treforest. It was originally fields adjacent ...

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). T ...

on Saturday 30 April 1927.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 32 – 1926–27". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a Jim Bacon played left- and scored 2- tries in

' 11–3 victory over

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

in the 1921–22 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1921–22 season at

Thrum Hall Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax for 112 years. The site on which the ground stood is now occupied by a supermarket. History In 1878, Halifax, who had just w ...

, Halifax on Saturday 26 November 1921. Bacon played left- and was

' 28–3 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 wer ...

in the 1922–23 Challenge Cup Final during the 1922–23 season at Belle Vue,

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, ...

, the only occasion the Challenge Cup Final has ever been staged at Belle Vue. The

backline in the early 1920s was known as the Busy Bs, as it included; Jim Bacon, Arthur Binks, Billy Bowen, Joe Brittain and Harold Buck.

Coaching career

Bacon coached Castleford in the 1928–29 season from Saturday 25 August 1928 to Saturday 27 April 1929, Castleford finished 21st out of 28 clubs 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 ...

, and reached the semi-final of the

1928–29 Challenge Cup The 1928–29 Challenge Cup was the 29th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Wigan and Dewsbury at Wembley Stadium in London. This was the first Challenge Cup final to be held at W ...

, losing 3-9 to the eventual runner-up

on Saturday 6 April 1929.

Genealogical information

Bacon's marriage to Vera (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Tatterson) was registered during second ¼ 1927 in Bramley district. They had children; Courtney J. Baco

and Glenys O. Baco

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, James 1896 births 1968 deaths Castleford Tigers coaches Castleford Tigers players Cross Keys RFC players Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos captains Leeds Rhinos players Monmouthshire rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Newport, Wales Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Newport, Wales Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league coaches Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players