Thomas Fletcher (third ¼ 1874 – 28 August 1950) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 at club level for Seaton

RFC RFC may refer to: Computing * Request for Comments, a memorandum on Internet standards * Request for change, change management * Remote Function Call, in SAP computer systems * Rhye's and Fall of Civilization, a modification for Sid Meier's Civ ...

(in Seaton,

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

), as a

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, i.e. number 12 or 13, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, and at club level for Seaton ARLFC (three spells) (in Seaton,

), and

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 ...

( Heritage No. 50) (two spells), as a , i.e. number 3 or 4. Prior to the 1898–99 season, Seaton was a rugby union club.

Background

Tom Fletcher's birth was registered in Seaton,

, England, and he died aged 75 in Cockermouth,

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Tom Fletcher won a cap for

(RU) while at Seaton in 1897 against Wales.

County honours

Tom Fletcher won caps for

(RL) while at Seaton (or

) in 1898 against

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

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 ...

Change of Code

When Seaton converted from the

code to the

code for the 1898–99 season, Tom Fletcher would have been 24 years of age. Consequently, he was both a rugby union and rugby league footballer for Seaton.

References

External links

* (archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at orl-heritagetrust.org.ukSearch for "Thomas Fletcher" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Tom Fletcher" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Thomas 1874 births 1950 deaths Cumberland rugby league team players England international rugby union players English rugby league players English rugby union players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Seaton, Cumbria Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Seaton, Cumbria