Gus Risman
Encyclopedia
Augustus "Gus" John F. Risman (21 March 1911 – 17 October 1994) was a Welsh
rugby league
footballer
of the 1920s through to the 1950s.
A devastating three-quarter who also played at , and /, Risman was born in Cardiff
, brought up in Barry where he went to Barry County School, and played rugby union
in South Wales as a schoolboy before being offered a trial by Salford
.
He made his début for Salford on 31 August 1929 and went on to enjoy great success with the club. He won 17 caps for Great Britain and finished his career at Workington Town
, remarkably leading them to Rugby League Challenge Cup
glory as player-coach at the age of 41 in 1952. He retired as a player in 1954 after a career spanning 25 years. Risman captained the 1946 "Indomitable" tourists of Australia.
Risman later coached Oldham
and Bradford Northern
and was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame
in 1988. Gus Risman's son, Bev Risman
also became an accomplished rugby league footballer. As a tribute, one of the newly created streets in Workington
's regenerated town centre is named Risman Place.
, Patrick "Paddy" Dalton
, Hubert "Bert" Day
, Clifford "Cliff" Evans
, John "Jack" Feetham
, George Harris, Barney Hudson
, Emlyn Jenkins
, Alf Middleton
, Samuel "Sammy" Miller, Harold Osbaldestin, Leslie "Les" Pearson, Gus Risman, William "Billy" Watkins, and William "Billy" Williams
while at Salford 1931…1945 18-caps, won a cap for England
while at Salford in 1934 against France, and won caps for Great Britain
while at Salford in 1932 against Australia, New Zealand (3 matches), in 1933 against Australia (3 matches), in 1936 against Australia (2 matches), New Zealand (2 matches), in 1937 against Australia (3 matches), and in 1946 against Australia (3 matches).
, Gus Risman, Jim Sullivan, and Les White
.
, Halifax
on Saturday 21 March 1942.
, and England
rugby union
, and Great Britain
, England
, Lancashire, Leigh
, and Leeds
rugby league footballer of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Bev Risman
; and Workington Town
, Fulham RLFC, Blackpool Borough
and Carlisle
rugby league footballer of the 1960s and '70s, John Risman
.
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
of the 1920s through to the 1950s.
A devastating three-quarter who also played at , and /, Risman was born in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, brought up in Barry where he went to Barry County School, and played rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in South Wales as a schoolboy before being offered a trial by Salford
Salford City Reds
Salford City Reds are an English rugby league club based in Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1873, they currently play in the Super League. They have won six Rugby Football League Championships and one Challenge Cup...
.
He made his début for Salford on 31 August 1929 and went on to enjoy great success with the club. He won 17 caps for Great Britain and finished his career at Workington Town
Workington Town
Workington Town is a professional rugby league club playing in Workington in West Cumbria. They play in the Championship 1. Their stadium is called Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team....
, remarkably leading them to Rugby League Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
glory as player-coach at the age of 41 in 1952. He retired as a player in 1954 after a career spanning 25 years. Risman captained the 1946 "Indomitable" tourists of Australia.
Risman later coached Oldham
Oldham Roughyeds
Oldham Roughyeds is an English professional rugby league club based in Oldham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Championship One. Oldham is one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895....
and Bradford Northern
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
and was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame
British Rugby League Hall of Fame
The British Rugby League Hall of Fame was established by the Rugby Football League in 1988 to commemorate the greatest ever players in British rugby league...
in 1988. Gus Risman's son, Bev Risman
Bev Risman
Augustus Beverley Walter Risman is a former rugby union and rugby league footballer, a dual-code international, who later became a coach....
also became an accomplished rugby league footballer. As a tribute, one of the newly created streets in Workington
Workington
Workington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport...
's regenerated town centre is named Risman Place.
Les Diables Rouges
Gus Risman was one of the players who successfully toured in France with Salford in 1934, during which the Salford team earned the name "Les Diables Rouges", the seventeen players were; Joseph "Joe" Bradbury, Robert "Bob" Brown, Aubrey CasewellAubrey Casewell
John Aubrey Casewell was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s and '30s who at representative level played for Wales, and at club level for Salford, and Leeds....
, Patrick "Paddy" Dalton
Patrick Dalton
Patrick "Paddy" Dalton is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s and '40s who at representative level has played for England, and at club level for Salford, playing at , or , i.e...
, Hubert "Bert" Day
Hubert Day
Hubert Day was a rugby hooker who played rugby union for Newport and rugby league for Salford. He was awarded five caps for Wales under union rules and was part of the Welsh side that won the 1931 Five Nations Championship...
, Clifford "Cliff" Evans
Clifford Evans (rugby league)
Clifford "Cliff" Evans is a Welsh former professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s and '40s who at representative level has played for Wales, and at club level for Salford, and Leeds.-International honours:...
, John "Jack" Feetham
John Feetham
John "Jack" Feetham is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s, '30s and '40s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and England, and at club level for Hull Kingston Rovers, and Salford, playing at , or , i.e...
, George Harris, Barney Hudson
Barney Hudson
Bernard "Barney" Hudson is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and England, and at club level for Salford, playing at , i.e. number 2 or 5...
, Emlyn Jenkins
Emlyn Jenkins
Emlyn Jenkins is a former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s and '40s who at club level has played rugby union for Treorchy RFC and Cardiff RFC, and at representative level has played rugby league for Great Britain, Wales, and England, and at club level for Salford,...
, Alf Middleton
Alf Middleton
Alfred "Alf" Middleton is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s and '30s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and England, and at club level for Salford, playing at , i.e...
, Samuel "Sammy" Miller, Harold Osbaldestin, Leslie "Les" Pearson, Gus Risman, William "Billy" Watkins, and William "Billy" Williams
International honours
Gus Risman won caps for WalesWales national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...
while at Salford 1931…1945 18-caps, won a cap for England
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
while at Salford in 1934 against France, and won caps for Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
while at Salford in 1932 against Australia, New Zealand (3 matches), in 1933 against Australia (3 matches), in 1936 against Australia (2 matches), New Zealand (2 matches), in 1937 against Australia (3 matches), and in 1946 against Australia (3 matches).
Wales and England
Only four rugby league footballers have played initially for Wales, and then subsequently for England, they are; Emlyn JenkinsEmlyn Jenkins
Emlyn Jenkins is a former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s and '40s who at club level has played rugby union for Treorchy RFC and Cardiff RFC, and at representative level has played rugby league for Great Britain, Wales, and England, and at club level for Salford,...
, Gus Risman, Jim Sullivan, and Les White
Leslie White (rugby league born circa-1910)
Leslie "Les" L. White is a Welsh/English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s and '30s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, Wales, England, and Yorkshire, and at club level for Pontypridd, and Hunslet, playing at , i.e. number 9, during the era of contested...
.
Other notable games
Gus Risman played for a Rugby League XIII against Northern Command XIII at Thrum HallThrum Hall
Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax RLFC.-Stadium:The site, measuring 55,000 square yards and included a cricket pitch, greyhound track and bowling greens...
, Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
on Saturday 21 March 1942.
Career Records
Gus Risman is one of less than ten Welshmen to have scored more than 2000-points in their rugby league career, and is one of less than twenty Welshmen to have scored more than 200-tries in their rugby league career.Genealogical Information
Gus Risman was the father of British LionsBritish and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
, and England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, and Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
, England
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
, Lancashire, Leigh
Leigh Centurions
Leigh Centurions is an English professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester who play in the Co-operative Championship.The club was founded in 1878 as Leigh Rugby Football Club and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in...
, and Leeds
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
rugby league footballer of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Bev Risman
Bev Risman
Augustus Beverley Walter Risman is a former rugby union and rugby league footballer, a dual-code international, who later became a coach....
; and Workington Town
Workington Town
Workington Town is a professional rugby league club playing in Workington in West Cumbria. They play in the Championship 1. Their stadium is called Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team....
, Fulham RLFC, Blackpool Borough
Blackpool Borough
Blackpool Borough was a rugby league club based in Blackpool, Lancashire.The team wore tangerine, black and white jerseys.-Blackpool Borough:...
and Carlisle
Carlisle RLFC
Carlisle RLFC were a rugby league team based in Carlisle, Cumbria.-Early rugby league in Carlisle:Carlisle City, based at Harraby Greyhound Stadium close to Gillford Park, were admitted to the Northern Rugby Football Union for the 1928-29 season. They withdrew on November 8, 1928 after only ten...
rugby league footballer of the 1960s and '70s, John Risman
John Risman
John Risman is President of Scotland Rugby League. He is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1970s and '80s who at representative level has played for Wales, and at club level for Workington Town, Fulham RLFC, Blackpool Borough, and Carlisle, playing at , or , i.e. number 1, 3, 4...
.