Wilfred Hodder (6 May 1896 – 12 November 1957) was a Welsh dual-code international

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 1910s and 1920s, and rugby league administrator. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and at club level for

Talywain RFC Talywain Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in Talywain near the town of Pontypool, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons. In December 1947 a combined Pontypo ...

and

Pontypool RFC Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool, which plays in the WRU Championship (known as the SWALEC Championship for sponsorship purposes). Due to the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003, Pontypo ...

, as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, i.e. number 4 or 5, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

, and at club level for

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 ...

, as a , or , i.e. number 8 or 10, or, 11 or 12, during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

s, and he was a member of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

at Wigan RLFC.

Background

Hodder was born in

Abersychan Abersychan is a town and community (Wales), community north of Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales, and lies within the boundaries of the Monmouthshire (historic), historic county of Monmouthshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county o ...

, Wales, he was a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

ier, served in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and he died aged 61 in

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a bran ...

Playing career

International honours

Hodder won 6 caps for

(RU) in 1922–1928 while at Pontypool RFC in 1921 against England, Scotland, and France, and 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

(RL) while at Wigan, including the 34-8 victory over New Zealand at Pontypridd in 1926, and five losses to England.

Club career

Hodder was in the Wigan team that won the Challenge Cup final when it was played for the first time at the Empire Stadium, Wembley on 4 May 1929. He was one of five Welshmen in the Wigan side. He also won the League Championship in his first season, the Lancashire Cup and League in his second season, the Lancashire League again in 1923/24, the Lancashire League and League Championship in 1924/25 and the Lancashire Cup in 1928/29.

Championship Final appearances

Hodder played right-, i.e. number 10, in

's 13-2 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

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 1921–22 season at

The Cliff A cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliff, The Cliff or The Cliffs may also refer to: Buildings *Cliff Brewery, a former brewery near Ipswich, England *Cliff Palace, largest cliff dwelling in North America *The Cliffs, a histo ...

, Broughton on Saturday 6 May 1922, and played left-, i.e. number 8, in the 22-10 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

Final during the 1925–26 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted ...

, St. Helens on Saturday 8 May 1926.

County Cup Final appearances

Hodder played left-, i.e. number 8, in

's 20–2 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in the 1922–23

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 ...

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Final during the 1922–23 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named after the abunda ...

on Saturday 25 November 1922, played left- in the 11-15 defeat by Swinton in the 1925–26

Final during the 1925–26 season at

, Broughton on Wednesday 9 December 1925, and played right-, i.e. number 10, in the 5-4 victory over

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

in the 1928–29

Final during the 1928–29 season at

on Saturday 24 November 1928.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at newportgwentdragons.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Profile at ww1talk.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodder, Wilfred 1896 births 1957 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British hoteliers British rugby league administrators Dual-code rugby internationals Rugby union players from Torfaen Pontypool RFC players Royal Field Artillery soldiers Rugby league players from Torfaen Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Abersychan Talywain RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh miners Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Wigan Warriors players