Frank Smith Sr.

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Frank Smith
Playing information
PositionSecond-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1932–47 Castleford 282 42 13 0 152
≤1943–≥43 → Dewsbury (guest) ≥4
Total 42 13 0 152
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
15 Sep 1934 Yorkshire 1 0 0 0 0

Frank Smith was a professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played at representative level for Yorkshire, and at club level for Castleford (Heritage № 124) and Dewsbury (World War II guest), as a second-row, i.e. number 11 or 12, during the era of contested scrums.[1][2][3]

Playing career[]

County honours[]

Frank Smith won a cap for Yorkshire while at Castleford playing left-second-row, i.e. number 11, in the 26-17 victory over Villeneuve at Lawkholme Lane, Keighley on 15 September 1934.[citation needed]

County League appearances[]

Frank Smith played in Castleford's victories in the Yorkshire County League during the 1932–33 season and 1938–39 season.[citation needed]

Challenge Cup Final appearances[]

Frank Smith played left-second-row, i.e. number 11, in Castleford's 11-8 victory over Huddersfield in the 1935 Challenge Cup Final during the 1934–35 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 4 May 1935, in front of a crowd of 39,000.[4]

Club career[]

Bradford Northern beat Dewsbury in the Championship play-off semi-final during the 1942–43 season. However, Dewsbury's manager, Eddie Waring, appealed to the Rugby Football League, claiming that Bradford Northern had fielded Wakefield Trinity's Sandy Orford as a guest player, and that Orford was ineligible because prior to the semi-final, he had played only three league matches for Bradford Northern, rather than the regulatory minimum of four league matches, the semi-final actually being Orford's fourth league match. Bradford Northern was disqualified, and Dewsbury went on to a 33-16 aggregate victory over Halifax in the Championship Final. However, a month later, Bradford appealed to the Rugby Football League, claiming that Dewsbury had fielded Castleford's Frank Smith as a guest player, and that Smith was ineligible because prior to the semi-final, he had played only three league matches for Dewsbury, rather than the regulatory minimum of four league matches, though he had played in a number of cup matches. Bradford Northern's appeal was upheld and the Rugby Football League Council fined Dewsbury £100 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £11,780 in 2013),[5] stripped them of the Championship title, and declared the Championship during the 1942–43 season void.[6]

Genealogical information[]

Frank Smith was the father of the rugby league footballer; Frank Smith Jr.

References[]

  1. ^ David Smart & Andrew Howard (1 July 2000). "Images of Sport - Castleford Rugby League - A Twentieth Century History". The History Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0752418957
  2. ^ "Castleford RLFC A to Z Player List (All Time)". thecastlefordtigers.co.uk ℅ web.archive.org. 31 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Statistics at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk". thecastlefordtigers.co.uk ℅ web.archive.org. 31 December 2013. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Sat 4th May 1935 - Challenge Cup - Neutral Ground - 39,000". thecastlefordtigers ℅ web.archive.org. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Measuring Worth - Relative Value of UK Pounds". Measuring Worth. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  6. ^ Collins, Tony (2006). Rugby League in Twentieth Century Britain: A Social and Cultural History. London League. p. 78. ISBN 978-0415396158.

External links[]

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