Jimmy Lewthwaite (10 November 1920 – 23 December 2006), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "Gentleman Jim", born in Broughton Road,

Cleator Moor Cleator Moor is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England, within the historic county of Cumberland. It had a population of 6,936 at the 2011 census. Below Dent Fell, the town is on the Coast to Coast Walk that spans Northern England. ...

, Cumberland, was a

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

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 ...

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 ...

, Cumberland and Barrow.

Barrow

With Barrow he scored a club record 351 tries and kicked 20 goals in exactly 500 appearances from 1943–57. He scored 50 tries in his last season, 1956–57, another club record. He retired after Barrow's Rugby League Challenge Cup Final defeat by

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 popula ...

in 1957, one of three

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

appearances he made with the Cumbrian club during that decade. Lewthwaite's

Testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

at Barrow took place in 1956. He was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame when it was launched in 2001, alongside 1950s teammates

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...

and

Willie Horne Willie Horne (23 January 1922 – 23 March 2001) was an English rugby league footballer of the 1940s and '50s. He played for Great Britain national rugby league team, Great Britain, England national rugby league team, England, Lancashire and Ba ...

International

On the international front he travelled to

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

with

in 1946 – the famous "Indomitables" tour, named after the vessel on which they sailed, . He top-scored with 25 tries on that tour despite not making the Test team. He also won one

cap.

County honours

Jimmy Lewthwaite represented Cumberland. Jimmy Lewthwaite played , i.e. number 2, in Cumberland's 5-4 victory over Australia in the

1948–49 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France The 1948–49 Kangaroo tour was the seventh Kangaroo tour, in which the Australian national rugby league team travelled to Great Britain and France and played thirty-seven matches, including the Ashes series of three Test matches against Great Br ...

match at the

Recreation Ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

on Wednesday 13 October 1948, in front of a crowd of 8,818.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Jimmy Lewthwaite played , i.e. number 2, in Barrow's 0-10 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

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

Challenge Cup Final during the 1950–51 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 5 May 1951, played in the 21-12 victory over

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 and ...

in the 1955 Challenge Cup Final during the 1954–55 season at

on Saturday 30 April 1955, in front of a crowd of 66,513, and played in the 7-9 defeat by

in the

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

Challenge Cup Final during the 1956–57 season at

on Saturday 11 May 1957, in front of a crowd of 76,318.

Career records

Jimmy Lewthwaite holds Barrow's "Most Career Appearances" record with 500 appearances, and is first in Barrow's all time

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 ...

scorers list with 354-tries.

Life

He represented Cumberland at rugby union and association football as a schoolboy, as well as winning a medal in the All-England Schools Athletics competition at the age of 13. He moved to Woodley, near Reading, shortly before turning 15 to work at an aircraft factory but later relocated to Barrow to take up an apprenticeship at the town's shipyard. He continued as a footballer and had trials with

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and Preston North End before switching to rugby league with Barrow in 1943, making his first-team début against St. Helens in April that year. He later played golf around the district.

References

External links

Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
*(archived by web.archive.org
Back on the Wembley trail
1920 births 2006 deaths Barrow Raiders players Cumberland rugby league team players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players People from Cleator Moor Rugby league players from Cumbria Rugby league wingers Rugby articles needing expert attention {{England-rugbyleague-bio-stub