Tommy Bishop (born 15 October 1940) is an English former 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 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 1970s and 1980s.
He played for
Blackpool Borough
Blackpool Borough was a rugby league club based in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, that played in the Rugby Football League from 1954 until 1993. The club moved to Wigan in 1987 and was renamed Springfield Borough; to Chorley in 1988 and was ...
,
Barrow and
St Helens in the English
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 ...
, and the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...
in the
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
competition in Australia. He also represented Great Britain on several occasions during his career, captaining them on two occasions, his position of choice was as a .
Now long retired from competitive rugby league, Bishop now resides at
Redcliffe, Queensland
Redcliffe is a town and suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. It also refers colloquially to the Redcliffe Peninsula as a whole, a peninsula jutting into Moreton Bay which contains several other suburbs. Since the 1880s, Red ...
, Australia.
Background
Bishop was born in
St Helens,
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 ...
,
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 ...
.
Career
Up to 1969
Tommy Bishop started his professional rugby league playing career at
Blackpool Borough
Blackpool Borough was a rugby league club based in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, that played in the Rugby Football League from 1954 until 1993. The club moved to Wigan in 1987 and was renamed Springfield Borough; to Chorley in 1988 and was ...
where he became club
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 ...
, and Player of the Year before being transferred to
Barrow, and then onto St. Helens, where he played from the January of the
1965–66 season until the end of the
1968–69 season.
Championship Final appearances
Tommy Bishop played in
St. Helens' 35–12 victory over
Halifax 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
1965–66 season at
Station Road, Swinton
Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League.
Swinton moved to Station Road w ...
on Saturday 28 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 30,165.
Challenge Cup Final appearances
Tommy Bishop played and scored 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 ...
in
St. Helens' 21–2 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
1965–66 Challenge Cup Final during the
1965–66 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 21 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 98,536.
County Cup Final appearances
Tommy Bishop played in
St. Helens' 2–2 draw with
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
in the
1967–68 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 ...
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
1967–68 season at
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
,
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 ...
on Saturday 7 October 1967, played in the 13–10 victory over
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
in the
1967–68 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 ...
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
replay during the
1967–68 season at
Station Road, Swinton
Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League.
Swinton moved to Station Road w ...
on Saturday 2 December 1967, and played , and scored 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 ...
in the 30–2 victory over
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 ...
in the
1968–69 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 ...
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
1968–69 season at
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
,
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 ...
on Friday 25 October 1968.
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances
Tommy Bishop played in
St. Helens' 4–7 defeat by
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
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
The BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy (also known as the BBC 2 Television Trophy) was a competition for British rugby league clubs held between 1965 and 1980. It was designed specifically for television, and the then director of BBC2, broadcaster David Att ...
Final during the
1968–69 season at
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
,
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 ...
on Tuesday 17 December 1968.
Cronulla
Bishop was brought in by the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...
for the next few seasons (1969-73). In that era it was fairly normal for Australian clubs to bring in British internationals. Upon Cronulla coach
Ken Kearney
Kenneth Howard "Killer" Kearney (3 May 192418 August 2006) was an Australian rugby footballer – a List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international player – and a rugby league coach. He represented the Australia national rugby ...
leaving in
the 1970 season, Bishop was offered and accepted the role of
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
for his remaining time at the Sharks. Bishop's first match as coach in 1970 provided a 23–13 win over
Newtown at
Endeavour, but the club lost their next seven consecutive matches. Then out of the blue, came one of the greatest wins in the club's history. The Sharks thrashed the premiership bound
South Sydney 25–6 with a style of open football that was soon to become the club's famous trademark.
In 1971 Bishop helped the Cronulla side secure Great Britain power front rower
Cliff Watson
Clifford H. Watson (26 April 1940 – 2 May 2018) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1960s and 1970s. He played for the St Helens in the Rugby Football League Championship, and later the Cronulla-Suthe ...
, and the club had their best season in of their history, winning a total of ten matches. Cronulla finished the season one win from the play-offs and that result most likely would have been even better, had it not been for Bishop succumbing to injury snapping his
achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...
tendon. This meant Bishop would not return to playing for Cronulla until the first match of the 1973 season. In
the 1972 season Cronulla won eight of 22 games and languished in the lower half of the table, which just shows how much of a key Bishop was to their side.
The year 1973 saw Bishop's Cronulla side make the end of season play-offs for the first time in the club's history and they did it in style. Cronulla-Sutherland lost only five games in the whole home-and-away season and finished just one point behind eventual Minor Premiers
Manly, and ahead of local rivals
St George
Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...
.
Cronulla being drawn against the Dragons defeated them surprisingly comfortably 18–0 in their first ever semi-final with the help of Bishop,
Watson and
Rogers Rogers may refer to:
Places
Canada
*Rogers Pass (British Columbia)
* Rogers Island (Nunavut)
United States
* Rogers, Arkansas, a city
* Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement
* Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...
. Bishop's Sharks lost to Manly leaving them having to achieve a win over
Jack Gibson Jack Gibson may refer to:
* Jack Gibson (rugby league) (1929–2008), Australian player and coach
* Jack Stanley Gibson (1909–2005), Irish physician
* Jack Gibson (ice hockey, born 1880) (1880–1955), ice hockey player and executive
* Jack Gibs ...
's
Newtown to achieve the club's first Grand Final appearance. Cronulla established a crushing 18–4 half time lead over the Newtown side, before eventually winning 20–11. Cronulla were into the Grand Final in their first visit to the play-offs.
Coach Bishop though knew that the Cronulla side's only real hope of beating the defending Premiers Manly was for his team of youthful players to niggle and unsettle the glamour Sea Eagles. Utilising the skills of Cliff Watson to lead the way, the 1973 Grand Final was the most brutal ever seen as Cronulla-Sutherland threw everything at Manly. In the end, it was a champion performance by
Bobby Fulton
James Hines (born October 4, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobby Fulton. He was one half of the tag team The Fantastics with Tommy Rogers.
Professional wrestling career
James Hines started wre ...
that saw the Manly side home 10–7. This result was disappointing for Bishop but his name had been etched into Sharks history from the day.
In 2005 Bishop was made an immortal of the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...
.
Latter years
After the 1973 season, Bishop was embroiled in a contractual dispute with the financially crippled Sharks, and he moved to captain-coach
Northern Suburbs
Northern Sydney is a large metropolitan area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the north shore of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River. The region embraces suburbs in Sydney’s north-east, north and inner north west. Northern Sydney ...
in
the Brisbane competition.
[Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', p. 35 ] In the 1974 season the Devils were minor premiers but lost the major semi-final to
Valleys
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
and the preliminary final to
Brothers
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
. In 1975 the Devils finished second after the home-and away season but again failed in the finals, losing the major semi to
Western Suburbs and the preliminary to
Redcliffe. In 1976, Norths fell to last and Bishop was replaced by former “master coach”
Bob Bax
Bob Bax (1925-2000) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. During the 1940s he played in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership as a half back for the Brothers club and also played for the Brisbane rugby league team in the Bulimba ...
.
Non-playing coach
For the 1978 season, Bishop was appointed coach of Illawarra in the New South Wales Country Championships, which was contested between the various leagues of the
Country Rugby League
The Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL), formed in 1934 and disbanded in 2019, was the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in areas of New South Wales outside the Sydney metropolitan area until it merged with NSW Rug ...
. After he coached Illawarra to an undefeated record and the
Amco Cup
The Amco Cup (subsequently known by various other sponsors' names including the Tooth Cup, KB Cup, National Panasonic Cup and Panasonic Cup) was a mid-week rugby league competition held in Australia between 1974 and 1989. The format was usual ...
quarter-finals, Bishop received offers to coach
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
,
North Sydney as well as to continue with his job in the Country Championships. Bishop soon declined the offer to coach Parramatta because he did not accept the degree of control he expected to gain over the team, and on 13 July accepted a contract to coach the Bears for the next three seasons. At the time the Bears had not reached the finals since
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
, but it was thought Bishop's experience in England might help bring the players to make the club competitive after having won only one game in the 1978 season when he was appointed and lacking the wealth to compete for the best players.
Bishop's move to North Sydney proved a disaster from the beginning when they lost all five pre-season encounters including a 13–17 loss to
a Port Kembla team.
[Curran, Brian; ‘Rugg Ko‘D for Two Weeks’; ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 20 April 1979, p. 26] Early in the season it was clear he was not lifting the team despite persevering with players he had hoped to build into a formidable combination before the pre-season started.
For the entire
1979 season the Bears won just two games for their worst record since
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
.
On 9 August, with three games remaining, Bishop resigned as coach of the Bears. After the season he said that they were not terrible rugby league players but that they had forgotten how to win. Initially after leaving the Bears it was though Bishop would not coach in 1980, but after the resignation of
Norm Provan
Norman Douglas Somerville Provan (18 December 1932 – 13 October 2021) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Also nicknamed "Sticks", he was a second-row forward with the St George Dragons during the first ten of t ...
, Bishop was appointed as non-playing coach of his former club Cronulla in September 1979. The Sharks had finished in the top three in 1978 and 1979, but Bishop's return proved another personal disaster as his Shark team finished ninth in a twelve-team competition
after a strong start. Despite this, Bishop was initially re-appointed for
the 1981 season, but when he refused to talk to the club after the season finished the club announced they would sever ties with him.
[See Clarkson, Alan; ‘Saints, Canterbury Hit as...Wests Players Are All Intact’; ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 5 September 1980, p. 28]
Bishop, who had established himself in Australia ever since he joined Cronulla as a player, returned to England after this double setback and coached several British rugby league teams between 1980 and 1985.
Career playing statistics
Point scoring summary
Matches played
References
External links
Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)Tommy Bishop Photo Gallery*(archived by web.archive.org
Profile at saints.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Tommy
1940 births
Living people
Barrow Raiders coaches
Barrow Raiders players
Blackpool Borough players
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks coaches
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players
English rugby league coaches
English rugby league players
Great Britain national rugby league team players
Leigh Centurions coaches
Norths Devils coaches
Rugby league halfbacks
Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens R.F.C. players
Workington Town coaches