James Leytham (birth registered fourth ¼ 1879 – 20 August 1916), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "Gentleman Jim", 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1890s, 1900s and 1910s. 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 is ...

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

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 Lancaster and

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 ...

(

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 ...

), as a , i.e. number 2 (number 14 in a 15-player team) or 5 (number 11 in a 15-player team).

Background

Jim Leytham's birth was registered in

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a bran ...

, he lived with his wife and children in Lodge Street, Lancaster, the house was demolished a number of years ago, and as of 2019 is a car park at the rear of the

Grand Theatre, Lancaster The Grand Theatre in Lancaster, England is one of the oldest theatres in England and the third oldest in Britain, having been in near continuous use since 1782. Though it has seen numerous extensions and alterations, much of the original stone ...

, opposite Classic Drinks (a delivered wholesale business supplying drinks to pubs and bars, previously part of

Booker Group Booker Group Limited is a British food wholesale operator and subsidiary of Tesco. In January 2017, it was announced that the British multinational supermarket retailer Tesco had agreed to purchase the company for £3.7 billion. It was confirm ...

, now part of

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

), he along with several members of his family died in a fishing accident in the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and deriv ...

Estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

on Sunday 20 August 1916, his death aged 36 was registered in

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

Playing career

Club career

Leytham made his début for

, 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 14-0 victory over

Batley Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of the ...

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 Saturday 12 December 1903. During Jim Leytham's time at Wigan, they also won the South West Lancashire League in 1904–05 and 1905–06. Leytham played , and scored two

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

s 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. Leytham played in

's victories in the

County League during the 1908–09 season, 1910–11 season and 1911–12 season. Leytham played right wing, 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 1905–06

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 right wing, and scored a conversion in the 8-0 victory over

in the 1905–06

Final replay during the 1905–06 season at Wheater's Field, Broughton, on Monday 11 December 1905, played right wing, and scored a conversion in the 10-9 victory over

in the 1908–09

Final during the 1908–09 season at Wheater's Field, Broughton, on Saturday 19 December 1908, and played right wing and scored a

, and two conversions in the 22-5 victory over

in the 1909–10

Final during the 1909–10 season at Wheater's Field, Broughton, on Saturday 27 November 1909, and he played his last match for

, and scored a

in the 8-8 draw with

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 were ...

, on Monday 8 April 1912, after which injury forced him to retire.

Notable tour matches

Leytham played , and scored 3-

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 ...

s in

's 12-8 victory over

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 ...

in the

1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Mus ...

match at

, on Saturday 9 November 1907, played , and scored 2-

s in the 10-7 victory over

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 ...

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

, on Saturday 9 January 1909, played in the 16-8 victory over

in the

match at

, on Wednesday 20 January 1909, and played , and scored his team's sole

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.

International honours

Leytham played in the first ever

international for

while at Wigan in 1905 against

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

, he went on to win further caps in 1906 against Other Nationalities and in 1908 against

, and 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

while at Wigan in 1908 against New Zealand (2 matches), and in 1910 against

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 ...

(2 matches). He was selected to go 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 ...

, and played against Australia (2 matches),

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. In this tour's

Ashes series The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

, he set the record for most tries in a match with four in Britain's victory in the second test. Along with Stanley "Stan" Moorhouse, Peter Norburn,

Keith Fielding Keith John Fielding (born 8 July 1949) is an English dual-code international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a winger. He played representative level rugby union for England, a ...

, Stuart Wright,

Martin Offiah Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE ( (''original pronunciation''), (''commonly used'')); born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Offiah was inducted i ...

and

Sam Tomkins Sam Tomkins (born 23 March 1989) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and occasional for the Catalans Dragons in the Betfred Super League and England at international level. He is the two time and current and r ...

; having scored four tries, Jim Leytham, jointly holds the record for the most tries scored in an

match, scoring four tries against

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

on 2 January 1905.

Genealogical information

Jim Leytham's marriage to Mary Isabella (

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 ...

Wilson) was registered during April→Jun 1908 in Lancaster district. They had children; Isabel Leytham (birth registered fourth ¼ 1908 in Lancaster district), Reginald G. Leytham (birth registered fourth ¼ 1910 in Lancaster district), and James Leytham (birth registered fourth ¼ 1911 in Lancaster district).

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.comLancaster RLFC honour league legend
ĎŔƑ {{DEFAULTSORT:Leytham, James 1879 births 1916 deaths Boating accident deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Lancaster RFC players Rugby league players from Lancashire Rugby league wingers Sportspeople from Lancaster, Lancashire Wigan Warriors captains Wigan Warriors players