Edmund Timothy Spillane (5 January 1905 – 2 December 1991) was a New Zealand 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 and 1930s, 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 1930s. He played at representative level for Dominion XIII and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, and at club level for Marist, and the English clubs

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

(

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 , or , and coached at club level for

(assistant), and Bramley, he died in

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 ...

. Spillane played in

's 26–66 defeat by

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in the 1928 New Zealand rugby league season

Northern Union Cup The Rugby League Cup is a New Zealand rugby league trophy that is contested between districts on a challenge basis. The trophy used to be known as the Northern Union Challenge Cup. It is the oldest rugby league competition in New Zealand. Histo ...

. Having become a well-known player and five-eighth for the Marist senior team, he signed on with English club Wigan in October 1929. Spillane played in Dominion XIII's 6–3 victory over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Stadium Municipal Stadium de Toulouse is the largest multi-purpose stadium in Toulouse, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches, mainly those of the Toulouse Football Club, as well as rugby matches for Stade Toulousain in the European Rugby Champ ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

on Sunday 21 March 1937. He worked as an assistant coach at Bradford before being appointed Bramley's head coach.

Personal life

Spillane married Edith Coyle in

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 ...

in April 1938. The marriage caused Spillane to be sued for

breach of promise Breach of promise is a common law tort, abolished in many jurisdictions. It was also called breach of contract to marry,N.Y. Civil Rights Act article 8, §§ 80-A to 84. and the remedy awarded was known as heart balm. From at least the Middle ...

by Lily Prust to whom Spillane had previously been engaged. At trial, in July 1938 at Bradford County Court, Miss Prust claimed that she and Spillane had become engaged in 1937 and were at the time of Spillane's marriage still engaged. Spillane asserted that the engagement to Miss Prust had ended by mutual agreement. The jury found in Miss Prust's favour and awarded her £67 10s in damages. The damages award forced Spillane to petition for his own

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in October 1938. The bankruptcy was not discharged until 1956 when a dividend of 4s 1d in the pound (21%) was paid. Spillane died on 2 December 1991, and was buried at the

Killingbeck Killingbeck is a district of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England that is situated between Seacroft to the north, Cross Gates and Whitkirk to the east, Gipton to the west, Halton Moor to the south, Halton to the south-east and Osmondthorpe ...

Roman Catholic Cemetery.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.comPhotograph "Ted Spillane - Ted Spillane, a Kiwi who captained Northern making 101 appearances. - Date: 01/01/1935" at rlhp.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spillane, Ted 1905 births 1991 deaths Bradford Bulls players Bramley R.L.F.C. coaches Canterbury rugby league team players Dominion XIII rugby league team players Keighley Cougars players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from Dunedin Wigan Warriors players