Thomas Holliday
Encyclopedia
Thomas Edward Holliday, nicknamed "Tom" or "Tosh" (born 13 July 1898 in Wigton
— died 19 July 1969 in Carlisle), was an English
rugby union
and professional rugby league
footballer of the 1920s. He was a dual code rugby international, playing for the England national rugby union team
, British Lions
, and the England national rugby league team
.
, Wigton. After the armistice
he began playing rugby for his home town club, Aspatria RUFC
. He received the first of his 36 Cumberland county caps playing against Cheshire in 1920. In 1921, he played fullback for the North in their annual game against the South. In 1923, he received the first of his seven international caps, playing against Scotland
and France
. In the same year he captained Aspatria when they defeated Silloth RFC to regain the Cumberland county cup. In 1924, he went on the British Lions' tour to South Africa
but suffered a broken collar bone in the opening game and took no further part in the series. In 1925, he played in three of the four international matches, taking the field against Ireland
, France and Scotland. In 1925, he played against France and Scotland. In 1924, he captained Cumberland when they won the County Championship, for the first and only time in their history, defeating Kent by six points to three in the final at Carlisle. He continued to captain the county side until 1926, when he accepted one of many offers to play Rugby League
, signing professional forms for Oldham
. In 1927, Oldham beat Swinton
by 26 points to 7, in the first BBC broadcasted Rugby League Challenge Cup final. Tosh scored three tries and became only the third man in the history of the final to achieve that recognition. F. W. (Basher) Ashworth, another native of Aspatria also played in that final. In 1996, Robbie Paul
also joined that elite grouping, playing for Bradford Bulls
when they defeated St. Helens. Tosh also gained an international cap for England playing against Wales
in 1928. He retired from the game in 1931, when he returned to Aspatria to run a shop selling drapery and ironmongery. He died at Aspatria on 19 July 1969.
The eldest brother Jonathon (Jont) was a highly respected three-quarter back, won the first of his 32 county caps at the age of seventeen. He was a member of the Aspatria side that won the county cup in 1909, 1911 & 1912, and beaten finalists in 1908 and 1910. Perhaps his greatest achievement came in 1913, when he played in the county side narrowly beaten by Gloucestershire in the final of the county championship. On 18 November 1916, two individual telegrams arrived at the family home, regarding the disappearance of both Jont and his younger brother Alex, reports later substantiated.
. He also captained Cumberland in the English County Championship, against Kent in 1924.
He later played for , on 17 March 1923 against at Inverleith
. He was capped a further six times between then and 1926.
The following year, he went on the 1924 British Lions tour to South Africa
, but was injured in the first match, and so was unable to play in the rest of the tour. He was not the only 1924 British Lion to defect to rugby league, Roy Muir Kinnear
also did so.
.
Holliday won a cap for England
while at Oldham in 1928 against Wales.
), T. Holliday has played a great part in the post-war success of Cumberland in the County Championship. A tower of strength to the Aspatria Club, he gained an international cap for England in 1923, and he has since played eight (sic "seven"
) times for England. Primarily he is a full-back, but for his club and for his country he has frequently played with success in the centre (sic "only as a fullback for England"
), and his sense of position has always stood him in good stead. He is a safe full-back, and although he does not have a kick of great length, he always makes sure of finding touch."
Wigton
Wigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast...
— died 19 July 1969 in Carlisle), was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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 professional 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 of the 1920s. He was a dual code rugby international, playing for the England national rugby union team
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...
, British Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
, and the England national rugby league team
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...
.
Biography
Thomas Edward Holliday, the youngest of four brothers, two died in the Great War, came from a long line of Cumberland sporting personalities. He began his education at the local school before winning a scholarship to attend the Nelson Thomlinson Grammar SchoolThe Nelson Thomlinson School
The Nelson Thomlinson School is a Comprehensive Secondary School located in the market town of Wigton, Cumbria, England. The school's motto is the Latin phrase Fide et Operis, "By faith and works"...
, Wigton. After the armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
he began playing rugby for his home town club, Aspatria RUFC
Aspatria RUFC
Aspatria Rugby Union Football Club is based in Aspatria, Cumbria in north west England, not far from the Scottish Border. They are nicknamed the "black reds", and have a red cockerel as their logo....
. He received the first of his 36 Cumberland county caps playing against Cheshire in 1920. In 1921, he played fullback for the North in their annual game against the South. In 1923, he received the first of his seven international caps, playing against Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
. In the same year he captained Aspatria when they defeated Silloth RFC to regain the Cumberland county cup. In 1924, he went on the British Lions' tour to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
but suffered a broken collar bone in the opening game and took no further part in the series. In 1925, he played in three of the four international matches, taking the field against Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, France and Scotland. In 1925, he played against France and Scotland. In 1924, he captained Cumberland when they won the County Championship, for the first and only time in their history, defeating Kent by six points to three in the final at Carlisle. He continued to captain the county side until 1926, when he accepted one of many offers to play 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...
, signing professional forms for 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....
. In 1927, Oldham beat Swinton
Swinton Lions
Swinton Lions is an English professional rugby league club from Swinton, Greater Manchester. The club has won the Championship six times and three Challenge Cups. They currently play in the Championship.-Early years:...
by 26 points to 7, in the first BBC broadcasted Rugby League Challenge Cup final. Tosh scored three tries and became only the third man in the history of the final to achieve that recognition. F. W. (Basher) Ashworth, another native of Aspatria also played in that final. In 1996, Robbie Paul
Robbie Paul
Robert Rawiri 'Robbie' Hunter-Paul is a New Zealand rugby league player. He currently plays for Leigh Centurions in England. He played for the New Zealand national team 27 times. He is the younger brother of Leeds Carnegie player Henry Paul.-Early years:Born in Tokoroa, New Zealand, his junior...
also joined that elite grouping, playing for Bradford Bulls
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....
when they defeated St. Helens. Tosh also gained an international cap for England playing against Wales
Wales 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...
in 1928. He retired from the game in 1931, when he returned to Aspatria to run a shop selling drapery and ironmongery. He died at Aspatria on 19 July 1969.
The eldest brother Jonathon (Jont) was a highly respected three-quarter back, won the first of his 32 county caps at the age of seventeen. He was a member of the Aspatria side that won the county cup in 1909, 1911 & 1912, and beaten finalists in 1908 and 1910. Perhaps his greatest achievement came in 1913, when he played in the county side narrowly beaten by Gloucestershire in the final of the county championship. On 18 November 1916, two individual telegrams arrived at the family home, regarding the disappearance of both Jont and his younger brother Alex, reports later substantiated.
Rugby union
Holliday played at fullback for Aspatria RUFCAspatria RUFC
Aspatria Rugby Union Football Club is based in Aspatria, Cumbria in north west England, not far from the Scottish Border. They are nicknamed the "black reds", and have a red cockerel as their logo....
. He also captained Cumberland in the English County Championship, against Kent in 1924.
He later played for , on 17 March 1923 against at Inverleith
Inverleith
Inverleith is an inner suburb in the northern part of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. It is an affluent suburb. Its neighbours include Trinity to the north and the New Town to the south, with Canonmills at the south-east and Stockbridge at the south-west...
. He was capped a further six times between then and 1926.
The following year, he went on the 1924 British Lions tour to South Africa
1924 British Lions tour to South Africa
The 1924 British Isles tour to South Africa was the tenth tour by a British Isles team and the fifth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950...
, but was injured in the first match, and so was unable to play in the rest of the tour. He was not the only 1924 British Lion to defect to rugby league, Roy Muir Kinnear
Roy Muir Kinnear
Roy Muir Kinnear was a Scottish dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s and 30s, who at representative level played rugby union for British Lions, and , and at representative level played rugby league for Great Britain and Other...
also did so.
Rugby league
At club level, he played for the OldhamOldham 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....
.
Holliday 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 Oldham in 1928 against Wales.
Contemporaneous article extract
"T. Holliday' Aspatria, Cumberland and England (Rugby Union.) Born in 1899 (sic "1898"Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
), T. Holliday has played a great part in the post-war success of Cumberland in the County Championship. A tower of strength to the Aspatria Club, he gained an international cap for England in 1923, and he has since played eight (sic "seven"
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
) times for England. Primarily he is a full-back, but for his club and for his country he has frequently played with success in the centre (sic "only as a fullback for England"
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
), and his sense of position has always stood him in good stead. He is a safe full-back, and although he does not have a kick of great length, he always makes sure of finding touch."