Samuel Morfitt (10 December 1868 – 16 January 1954) 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 ...

and

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 1880s and 1890s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) 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 ...

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

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, and at club level for

Hull FC 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 ...

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 ...

(two spells), and

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed in ...

, as a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, or

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, and club level rugby league (RL) for

. Prior to the 1895–96 season, Hull F.C. was a

club, and prior to the 1897–98 season, Hull Kingston Rovers was a

club.

Background

Morfitt was born in Hull,

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, his birth was registered in

Sculcoates Sculcoates is a suburb of Kingston upon Hull, north of the city centre, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. For many centuries, much of what was called Hull came within the parish of St Mary's Church. Sculcoates railway station closed ...

district, and he died aged 85 in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Morfitt won caps for

(RU) while at

in 1894 against Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, and while at Hull Kingston Rovers in 1896 against Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. In the early years of rugby football the ''goal'' was to score goals, and 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 ...

had zero value, but it provided the opportunity to ''try'' at goal, and ''

convert 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" ...

'' the try to a goal with an unopposed kick at the goal posts. The point values of both the try and goal have varied over time, and in the early years footballers could "score" a try, without scoring any points.

Change of Code

When Hull Kingston Rovers converted from the

code to the

code for the 1897/98 season, Sammy Morfitt would have been approximately 28 years of age. Consequently, he was both a rugby union and rugby league footballer for Hull Kingston Rovers.

Note

Sammy Morfitt's surname is variously spelt correctly with a 'o' as Morfitt, or incorrectly with a 'u' as Murfitt.

References

External links

Search for "Morfitt" at rugbyleagueproject.orgSearch for "Murfitt" at rugbyleagueproject.org
* (archived by web.archive.org
Search for "Samuel Morfitt" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Sammy Morfitt" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Samuel Murfitt" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Sammy Murfitt" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morfitt, Samuel 1868 births 1954 deaths Durham County RFU players England international rugby union players English rugby league players English rugby union players Hull F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Rugby league players from Kingston upon Hull Rugby union players from Kingston upon Hull West Hartlepool R.F.C. players Yorkshire County RFU players