Joseph Thomas Haslam ( – ) 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 ...

full back who played club rugby for

Batley Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of the ...

and also represented Yorkshire at county level. Although never selected at international level he was part of the British Isles team who took part in the 1888 New Zealand and Australia tour, the first British overseas tour.

Early life and family

Joseph Thomas Haslam was born in 1863 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, which at the time was in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. He was christened on 15 March 1863 at St James the Less,

Ashted Ashted (alternatively spelt ''Ashstead'' and ''Ashtead'') is an area of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, within the ward of Nechells. The area is located approximately north-east of Birmingham City Centre near to the city's Eastside district, ...

, Warwickshire. He was the son of a

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

, William Haslam and his wife Rose Anne. His mother was from

Paisley, Scotland Paisley ( ; sco, Paisley, gd, Pàislig ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Wate ...

, whilst his father was from Thornhill,

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 ...

. Joseph had at least four siblings, an older brother Gerard, two younger sisters Mary Ann and Louisa and a younger brother Charles. By 1881 the family was living in

, Yorkshire where Joseph was a

warp beamer A beamer was an occupation in the cotton industry. The taper's beam is a long cylinder with flanges where 400 plus ends (threads) are wound side-by-side. Creels of bobbins with the correct thread, mounted on a beaming frame wind their contents on ...

in a woolen mill.

Rugby career

Haslam represented

, first turning out for the senior XV in October 1882 and played to a significantly high level to have also been chosen to play rugby at county level for Yorkshire. In 1888 he was offered a place as part of the British Isles team to tour Australia and New Zealand, signing the contract in January. Although the tour was not recognised by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

, being set up as a private venture, the game is now retrospectively acknowledged as the very first tour of the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. Haslam was one of two full backs chosen for the tour along with Swinton's Arthur Paul. Haslam played his first game for the British Isles against

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

on 28 April 1888, the opening game of the tour. The British Isles won 8-3 but without Haslam on the scoresheet. He missed the second game again Otago, but rejoined the squad to play

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. ...

to record his first points of the tour, scoring two of the five British tries in a 14-6 win. Haslam played in a total of 29 of the 35 matches, scoring a total of 11 tries. On occasion he was also given kicking duties with a single conversion credited to him in the game against an Adelaide XV. He also added a drop goal against Ipswich, a match in which he finished top scorer having also scored a try. As well as being a key member of the British Isles squad, Haslam is also noted as one of the earliest exponents of the

dummy pass This list of rugby league terms is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of rugby league football. The sport has accrued a considerable amount of jargon to describe aspects of the game. Many terms originate from the Laws of the ...

, if not the inventor of the technique within the rugby code.

References

External links

Search for "Haslam" at espn.co.uk (1888 British Isles tourists statistics missing (31 December 2017))
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haslam, Thomas 1860s births 1896 deaths Batley Bulldogs players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England English rugby union players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Birmingham, West Midlands