Norman Foster (birth registered fourth ¼ 1907 – February 1999) 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 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, 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 1940s and 1950s. He played at representative level for

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

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, and at club level for

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...

(two spells), Halifax,

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...

and

Newcastle RLFC Newcastle was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The club played semi-professional rugby league for two seasons, 1936–37 Northern Rugby Football League season, 1936–37 and 1937–38 Northe ...

, as a , and coached at club level for

( A-Team Assistant Coach to Billy Watson), Prince-Smith & Stells ARLFC (see also Prince-Smith baronets) and Keighley Albion ARLFC.

Playing career

International honours

Norman Foster won a

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 ...

for

while at Keighley in 1935 against France.

County honours

Norman Foster won

(s) for

while at Keighley.

Club career

Norman Foster made his début for

against

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship (rugby league), Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rover ...

Post Office Road Post Office Road (currently known as the Millennium Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a rugby league ground in Featherstone, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of rugby league club Featherstone Rovers. The ground's curr ...

during the 1928-29 season on Tuesday 2 April 1929, and he was transferred from Keighley to Halifax in 1935 for £1,600 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £279,700 in 2016).

Testimonial match

Norman Foster's

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 ...

took place during the 1945–46 season.

Honoured at Keighley Cougars

Norman Foster is a

Keighley Cougars The Keighley Cougars are a professional rugby league club from Keighley in West Yorkshire, England who compete in League 1, the third tier of English rugby league. Keighley's home ground, Cougar Park has a capacity of 7,800. History Early y ...

Hall of Fame inductee, inducted in November 1998.

Genealogical information

Norman Foster's marriage to Hilda (

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 ...

Gordon, birth registered fourth ¼ 1906 in Keighley) was registered second ¼ 1929 in

district.

Funeral

Norman Foster funeral took place at 1.45pm on Tuesday 16 February 1999 at St Mary's Church, Riddlesden.

References

External links

Keighley Hall of Fame
* (archived by web.archive.org
Good health, Keighley Cougars - Rugby League Express - November 1998Norman Foster at keighleyrugbyleagueheritage.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Norman 1907 births 1999 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers players Keighley Cougars players Newcastle RLFC players People from Settle, North Yorkshire Place of death missing Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Keighley Yorkshire rugby league team players