Thomas "Tommy" Smales (19 December 1934 – 26 October 2017) 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 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, 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 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

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

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

( Heritage № 443),

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

(

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 ...

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 ...

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. The club competes in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in the ...

and

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

( Heritage № 736) as a , i.e. number 7, and coached at club level for

and

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 ...

(two spells).

Background

Tommy Smales's birth was registered in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England, he was the

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...

of the Traveller's Rest

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

lic house, Pontefract Road, Featherstone for 35-years, from 1969 until 2004, and he died aged 82 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 ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Tommy Smales 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 Huddersfield in 1962 against France, and won

s for

while at Huddersfield in 1962 against France, in 1963 against France, and Australia, in 1964 against France (2 matches), and while at Bradford Northern in 1965 against New Zealand (3 matches).

Championship final appearances

Tommy Smales played , and was

's 14-5 victory over

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final during the 1961–62 season at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

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 ...

on Saturday 19 May 1962.Edgar, Harry (2008). ''Rugby League Journal Annual 2009 age-57'. Rugby League Journal Publishing.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Tommy Smales played , and was

's 6-12 defeat by

in the 1961–62

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1961–62 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 12 May 1962, in front of a crowd of 81,263.

County Cup Final appearances

Tommy Smales played , and scored a

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's 15-8 victory over

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in the 1957–58

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 ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1957–58 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

Rugby Stadium,

on Saturday 19 October 1957, played in the 10-16 defeat by

in the 1960–61

Final during the 1960–61 season at

Rugby Stadium,

on Saturday 29 October 1960, and played in

's 17-8 victory over

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...

in the 1965–66

Final during the 1965–66 season at

Rugby Stadium,

on Saturday 16 October 1965.

Club career

Tommy Smales made his début for

on Saturday 25 September 1965,Bailey, Ron (20 September 2001). ''Images of Sport - Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Football Club''. The History Press. he appears to have scored no drop-goals (or field-goals as they are currently known in Australasia), but prior to the 1974–75 season all goals, whether;

conversion 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" ...

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

, or drop-goals, scored 2-points, consequently prior to this date drop-goals were often not explicitly documented, therefore '0' drop-goals may indicate drop-goals not recorded, rather than no drop-goals scored.

Coaching career

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Tommy Smales was the

's 7-2 victory over

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 ...

in the 1969–70

Final during the 1969–70 season at

on Saturday 9 May 1970, in front of a crowd of 95,255.

Club career

Tommy Smales was the

, his first game in charge was on Sunday 3 August 1969, and his last game in charge was on Saturday 28 November 1970.

Genealogical information

Tommy Smales was the uncle of the rugby league footballer; Dale Fennell.

Note

Somewhat confusingly, Tommy Smales played in the same era as the unrelated

, Barrow and

of the 1950s and 1960s, Thomas "Tommy" Smales.

References

External links

Rogers receives late call-up Video 'Wakefield Win Cup 1962' at britishpathe.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
The Millennium Masters - BacksPhotograph "Huddersfield v Wakefield Trinity 1962 - Huddersfield beat Wakefield in this final, much against form, by 14 points to 5 in front of 37,451 the attendance being kept down by poor weather and a feeling that Wakefield would be much too strong for Huddersfield. Not so! - 01/01/1962" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Return to Odsal - Ex-players lead out the team on the return to Odsal after two seasons at Valley Parade - 09/03/2003" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Trevor kisses the turf - Trevor Foster kisses the turf on the return to Odsal after two seasons at Valley Parade - 09/03/2003" at rlhp.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smales, Tom 1934 births 2017 deaths Bradford Bulls players Castleford Tigers coaches Castleford Tigers players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Featherstone Rovers coaches Featherstone Rovers players Great Britain national rugby league team captains Great Britain national rugby league team players Huddersfield Giants captains Huddersfield Giants players North Sydney Bears players Publicans Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Castleford Wakefield Trinity players