William J. Shankland (25 July 1907 – 8 September 1998) was one of Australia's great all-round sportsmen. An Australia national and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

state representative rugby league

three-quarter back Three-quarter back is the back-line positions of wing or centre in either rugby league or rugby union. See also *Rugby league positions *Rugby union positions *Half back (disambiguation) *Quarter back *Fullback (disambiguation) Fullback or Full bac ...

, he played his club football in Sydney, country New South Wales and then in England, where he became a

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, 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 populati ...

Hall of Fame inductee. Shankland remained in England and became a renowned golfer, finishing third at the

1939 Open Championship The 1939 Open Championship was the 74th Open Championship, held 5–7 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Dick Burton won his only major title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Johnny Bulla. The purse was £500 with a winner's sha ...

, and golf teacher.

Early life

Shankland was born in Sydney,

. He is said to have been an accomplished

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom *Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe eel, ...

and

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

, as well as footballer.

Rugby league career

Shankland played for the

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

and Eastern Suburbs clubs in

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 ...

. While playing for Glebe in 1928, the 21-year-old was selected to make his state debut, the following year, moving to the Eastern Suburbs club, Shankland was selected for the

1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the fourth Kangaroo tour, and took the Australia national rugby league team all around England and also into Wales. The tour featured the ninth Ashes series which comprised four Test matches and wa ...

. The winger played in all 4

test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

and was the leading try scorer on the tour with 24. On tour, Shankland was pursued by English clubs but returned to Australia, captain-coaching Leeton's club in the Riverina. In 1931 Shankland signed for Warrington. The 'fleet of foot'

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

-three-quarter made 231 appearances for that club, scoring 74 tries and 70 goals. He led Warrington in 2

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 ...

cup finals, becoming the first Australian to do so, as well as captaining the side in 2 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 ...

finals. Bill Shankland played in

's 10–9 victory over St.Helens in the 1932–33

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

County Cup Final during the 1932–33 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 19 November 1932, and played , scored a

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

and was

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 ...

in the 8–4 victory over Barrow in the 1937–38

County Cup Final during the 1937–38 season at

on Saturday 23 October 1937. The 1937 season saw him lead Warrington to victory over Barrow in the Lancashire cup final. The 1937 was his last in rugby league, his retirement allowed him to concentrate on his other sporting passion –

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

Golf career

In the years 1937 to 1956 Shankland appeared in every

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

except 1948 when he failed to qualify. His best finishes were third, fourth and sixth. His best chance of winning was at

Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of the Duke of ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January– February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the count ...

. Although four strokes behind after three rounds he took 34 for the first 9 holes and then scored 3-3-3-3 to be in a very strong position but finished 5-6-5-3-5 for the last five holes to finish with a 70. Shankland was one of the early starters and his score of 295 was the leading score at the time. His 70 turned out to be the best round of the day but left him two shots behind the eventual winner, Fred Daly. He finished second at the Yorkshire Professional Championship in 1939, 1945 and 1947, at the

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was an international golf tournament in the English Yorkshire area before the European Tour was founded. It was a match play tournament for most of its existence, but switched to stroke play in the 1940s. The ...

in 1944 and 1947, at the Yorkshire Open in 1950, at the

Spalding Tournament The Spalding Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. It was played annually from 1946 to 1960. The total prize money was £1500 in 1946, £1250 in 1947 and 1948, £1350 from 1949 to 1959 and £2250 in 1960. Th ...

in 1952 and at the

Swallow-Harrogate Tournament The North British-Harrogate Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. It was played annually from 1947 to 1952. Total prize money was £2100. From 1947 to 1949 there were two qualifying rounds on two c ...

in 1954. He was semi-finalist at the Daily Chronicle Tournament in 1939. He finished third at the 1950 Irish Open. From golfing exhibitions, Shankland raised almost a million pounds for charity. He was an assistant professional at

Royal Sydney Golf Club Royal Sydney Golf Club is golf club in Rose Bay, New South Wales, Australia, a suburb of Sydney. Founded in 1893, Royal Sydney is one of Australia's premier sporting and social clubs. It features an 18-hole Championship Course, a 9-hole Cent ...

, Australia, and West Lancashire Golf Club,

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, and head professional at Marbury Country Club,

Cheshire, England Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and Historic counties of England, historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Sta ...

, Haydock Park,

Merseyside, England Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral ...

, and in 1938 Temple Newsam Golf Club,

Leeds, England 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 populatio ...

, were he replaced

Percy Alliss Percy Alliss (8 January 1897 – 31 March 1975) was one of the leading English professional golfers in the 1920s and 1930s, winning many tournaments in Britain and Continental Europe. He was the father of commentator and former golfer Peter Allis ...

. He was an Honorary Life member of eleven clubs and Honorary member of six clubs.

Private life and death

He was married to his wife Daphne for 67 years until her death. He had three sons, two of whom were golf professionals owning golf courses in the United States. Shankland died aged 91 of heart failure in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

, England.

Professional tournament wins

*1940 Childwall Tournament *1948

Leeds Cup The Leeds Cup is a golf tournament that has been played annually in northern England since 1902. The event is organised by the north region of the Professional Golfers' Association. It is the oldest trophy in professional golf that is still play ...

*1955 Middlesex Professional Championship Source:

Results in major championships

''Note: Shankland only played in The Open Championship.''
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

External links

* The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players; Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson * The Guardian (Warrington newspaper) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shankland, Bill 1907 births 1998 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian male golfers Australian rugby league players City New South Wales rugby league team players Country New South Wales rugby league team players Dominion XIII rugby league team players Glebe rugby league players New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league wingers Sydney Roosters players Warrington Wolves captains Warrington Wolves players