Trevor John French Foster

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(3 December 1914 – 2 April 2005) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

footballer, 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 ...

. He played

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 it ...

for Newport and

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 11 ...

for

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 pre ...

. Trevor Foster was a Sergeant

Physical Training Instructor Physical training instructor (PTI) is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness. United Kingdom In the British Army, specialist Ph ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Early years

Trevor Foster was born on 3 December 1914 in

Newport, Monmouthshire Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest au ...

, but is best known for his association with the

club having joined them as a player in 1938 for £400 from Newport RFC, his home town's

club. He made a name for himself playing for Newport Schoolboys and Pill Harriers as a teenager, before joining Newport. He was also chosen to play for invitational team Crawshays.

Bradford Northern career

In all he played 428 games for Bradford Northern, usually as a and occasionally a . During this time he scored 140 tries (an incredible return for a forward) including 24 in the 1947–48 season and 6 in 1 game.(It could have been 7 but the ball was knocked from his hands as he crossed the line.) Trevor was the key forward of an outstanding Bradford Northern side in the post war period which won the Rugby League Challenge Cup in 1947 and 1949 with Trevor scoring in both games. The Northern side at this time had some great Welsh players including mercurial Willie Davies, s Des Case and Alan Edwards, and of course

Frank Whitcombe Frank William Whitcombe (29 May 1913 – 17 January 1958), also known by the nickname of "The Big Man", was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played rugby union (RU) for Cardiff ...

at .

Great Britain and Wales caps

Trevor Foster won

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 ...

s for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

while at Bradford Northern 1939...1951 16-caps, including 7 as captain, and won

s 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 i ...

while at Bradford Northern in 1946 against New Zealand, and in 1948 against Australia (2 matches) It is certain he would have won more caps had it not been for

. Foster was selected for the

1946 Great Britain Lions tour The 1946 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team of Australia and New Zealand which took place between April and August 1946. The tour involved a schedule of 27 games: 20 in Australia including a three- ...

of Australia, but was injured before being able to play a game.

Championship final appearances

Trevor Foster played right-, i.e. number 12, in

's 6–13 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the 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 north-east and Warrington t ...

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 1951–52 season at

Leeds Road Leeds Road was a football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 season. It was the home of Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from 1908 to 1994 and was ...

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 ...

on Saturday 10 May 1952.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Trevor Foster played right-, i.e. number 12, in

's 3–8 defeat by

in the 1947–48 Challenge Cup Final during the 1947–48 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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

on Saturday 1 May 1948.

Other notable matches

Trevor Foster played left- and was captain for

Northern Command XIII Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

against a

Rugby League XIII The Rugby League XIII was an invitation team run along the same lines as the Rugby Union Barbarians team. Particularly in the Second World War, when international fixtures were restricted to England V Wales. The Rugby League would play representat ...

Thrum Hall Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax for 112 years. The site on which the ground stood is now occupied by a supermarket. History In 1878, Halifax, who had just w ...

, Halifax on Saturday 21 March 1942.

Unblemished disciplinary record

Remarkably for a forward of the time Trevor was never sent from the field of play or even cautioned during his 17 years of top flight rugby.

Retirement and coaching

After his retirement in 1955 he remained a servant of the Bradford club successively as Coach, Director and Chairman of the Supporters Club and timekeeper for Super League home games.

Club saviour

It was in 1963 when he secured his place in Bradford and Rugby League history when he was the central figure in a campaign to save his beloved Bradford Northern club who had disbanded due to financial problems. He led efforts to reconstitute the club which was then able to rejoin the league the following season. Without his work it is unlikely that the club would exist today.

Honours

In the

2001 New Year Honours The 2001 New Year Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British honours system, where New Year's Day, 1 January, is marked in several Commonwealth countries by appointing new members of orders of chivalry and recipient ...

, Trevor Foster was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) "for services to the community in Bradford, West Yorkshire."United Kingdom list: In 2004 he was inducted into

Welsh Sports Hall of Fame The Welsh Sports Hall of Fame (WSHOF) is a charitable organisation created to commemorate the sporting achievements and preserve the artefacts of Welsh athletes. It was established in 1980 from the memorabilia collection of Welsh radio commentato ...

Honoured at Bradford

Trevor Foster, has been included in Bradford's; 'Millennium Masters', 'Bull Masters', and in August 2007 he was named in the 'Team of the Century'. Only six players have been included in all three lists, they are; Karl Fairbank, Trevor Foster,

James Lowes James Lowes is a former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. He played for Hunslet and Leeds, but arguably his best years were spent with the Bradford Bulls, where he won many trophies. He played there from 1996 to 2003. Club care ...

, Keith Mumby,

Robbie Paul Robert Rawiri Hunter-Paul (born 3 February 1976) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer. He has since become a business owner and television pundit, runninXtra Mile Marketing an inbound and digital marketing company. Robbie retired fr ...

and Ernest Ward.

Honoured by Arriva Yorkshire

Arriva Yorkshire Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...

honoured 13 rugby league footballers on Thursday 20 August 2009, at a ceremony at

The Jungle ''The Jungle'' is a 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair's primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States. However, most readers we ...

, the home of the Castleford Tigers. A fleet of new buses were named after the 'Arriva Yorkshire Rugby League Dream Team'. Members of the public nominated the best ever rugby league footballers to have played in West Yorkshire, supported by local rugby league journalists; James Deighton from BBC Leeds, and Tim Butcher, editor of

Rugby League World ''Rugby League World'' is a dedicated rugby league magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. Other rugby league titles published by League Publications Ltd include the weekly newspaper ''Rugby Leaguer & League Express'' and the annual ''G ...

. The 'Arriva Yorkshire Rugby League Dream Team' is; Trevor Foster

, Neil Fox

Albert Goldthorpe Albert Edward Goldthorpe (3 November 1871 – 8 January 1943) was an English rugby footballer from the period around 1895's schism in English rugby, which led to the formation of rugby league football around the turn of the century. Career One ...

, Alan Hardisty,

Stan Kielty Stanley "Stan" Kielty (20 July 1925 – 31 December 2008) was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and Coach (sport), coached in the 1960s. He played at representative level for England national rugby league team, ...

, Lewis Jones,

Roger Millward Roger Millward (16 September 1947 – 2 May 2016) was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. A goal-kicking , he gained a high level of prominence in the sport in England by p ...

, Malcolm Reilly,

Garry Schofield Garry Edward Schofield OBE (born 1 July 1965) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and is a member of the British Rugby League Hall of Fame. At the time of his retirement he was the most ...

Keith Senior Keith Andrew Senior (born 24 April 1976) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Sheffield Eagles and the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. A Great Britain and England international representative , he is ...

David Topliss David Topliss (29 December 1949 – 16 June 2008), also known by the nickname of "Toppo", was an English Rugby League World Cup, World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and Coach (sport), ...

Dave Valentine David Donald Valentine (12 September 1926 – 14 August 1976) was a Scottish representative rugby union and Rugby League World Cup, World Cup winning rugby league footballer, a List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code rugby internatio ...

and

Adrian Vowles Adrian Vowles (born 30 May 1971) is a former professional Scotland international rugby league footballer who played as a or in the 1990s and 2000s. He played in Australia for several years, gaining State of Origin selection in 1994, but spent ...

Death

Trevor Foster died peacefully in hospital in Bradford after a short illness.

References

External links