Samuel Houghton (16 August 1870 – 17 August 1920) 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 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 and 1900s. 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 ...

and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, and at club level for

Runcorn RFC Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the ...

, and Birkenhead Wanderers, as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

, i.e. number 15. and representative level rugby league (RL) for

, and at club level for

, who he rejoined in January 1896, and who had switched to professional

in 1895.

International honours

Sam Houghton was born in

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

, England, and he also died in

, England.

International honours

Sam Houghton won first selected to play for

(RU), while representing Runcorn at club level, for the encounter against Ireland in the

1892 Home Nations Championship The 1892 Home Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 2 January and 5 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England took the 1892 Champion ...

. Despite England winning 7–0, Houghton was replaced for the next match of the tournament by

Thomas Coop Thomas Coop (10 March 1863 – 16 April 1929) was an English rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1890s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for England, and at club level for Leigh ( Heritage № ...

, who himself was uncapped before the match. It would take almost four years for Houghton to win his second cap, when he was chosen for the

1896 Home Nations Championship The 1896 Home Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 4 January and 14 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

. This was a key match for England, as it was the first international after the formation of the Northern League, and the selectors were now unable to call upon a large number of former players who had now turned professional. Houghton by this time had switched clubs from Runcorn to Birkenhead Wanderers, and on 4 January 1896 he was called upon to face Wales in the opening game of the Championship, the match was a one-sided affair after the talented Welsh three-quarters,

Owen Badger Owen Badger (3 November 1871 – 17 March 1939) was a Welsh international rugby centre who played rugby union for Llanelli, and was capped four times for Wales. He later switched codes, playing professional rugby league for Swinton. Rugby car ...

, broke his collar bone within the first fifteen minutes and was forced to leave the pitch. England went on to win 25–0. Despite being called back into the England team, and then being selected for the second match of the 1896 Championship against Ireland, Houghton switched codes before the 1 February fixture, joining his old club Runcorn. Runcorn who were previously a union team had turned professional in 1895, and by signing back to the club, Houghton was now considered a professional footballer, and could therefore never represent a rugby union team at club, county, or country level.

Note

ESPN states Samuel Houghton's date of birth as 16 August 1870, whereas FreeBMD quotes the birth as being registered during first ¼ 1870.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houghton, Samuel 1870 births 1920 deaths Cheshire rugby league team players England international rugby union players English rugby league players English rugby union players Rugby league players from Runcorn Rugby union fullbacks Sportspeople from Runcorn Rugby union players from Runcorn Runcorn RFC players