Albert Henry Baskerville
Brisbane, Queensland , Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 11 st 12 lb (166 lb; 75 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Three-quarters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Albert (Bert) Henry Baskerville (born as "Baskiville"[2]) (15 January 1883 – 20 May 1908) was a Wellington, New Zealand, postal clerk, a rugby union forward, author of the book Modern Rugby Football: New Zealand Methods; Points for the Beginner, the Player, the Spectator and a pioneer of rugby league.
Rugby football
His father, Henry William Baskiville, had been killed in an accident on 30 January 1903 when doing some drainage works on Upper Queen Street in Auckland. He and some other workmen were working in a deep excavation when one side of it began to collapse, men called out but his father moved the wrong way and was buried to his neck. He was quickly removed but his injuries were too serious to survive.[3] This left Albert as the main income earner for the family since then and they moved to Wellington shortly afterwards.[4]
Prior to becoming the administrator of the 1907-08 tour, Baskerville played rugby for the Wellington club in 1903 (making two appearances for their senior side) before switching to the Oriental club in 1904 where he played regularly in the backs for the senior side. He was said to be on the verge of
His book, Modern Rugby Football: New Zealand Methods; Points for the Beginner, the Player, the Spectator, was published in 1907 and gave him somewhat of a national profile. After the success of this project he moved on to his next ambitious idea, a professional rugby tour of Great Britain.[5] Baskerville competed in many athletic events from 1903 to 1907 as a short and middle distance runner where he would compete for prize money. In late 1905, he filed a patent for a "cuff protector and blotter".[6]
The Tour
Baskerville wrote to the
The tour was a great success both financially (each player earned roughly £300) and on the field, where the touring side won consecutive Test series against Great Britain and Australia. For most of the tour, Baskerville was busy with the administration work and it was not until the final game of the British leg, against St Helens R.F.C., that he played, scoring a try. On arriving in Australia he then played in the first ever trans-Tasman test which was the first match by the Australia national rugby league team, again scoring a try. That was to be the only time that Baskerville represented New Zealand in a Test match. Baskerville contracted pneumonia on the ship taking the touring party from Sydney to Brisbane and, after several days in hospital, died aged 25 in Brisbane on 20 May 1908.[7] His body was taken by the manager, Harry Palmer, and a group of players from each province back to Wellington. The rest of the touring party stayed in Australia to complete the remaining fixtures. Like five other members of the touring party, Baskerville is buried at Karori Cemetery.[8]
Legacy
It was he who practically originated the professional Rugby movement in Australasia
— The Sydney Mail, 27 May 1908[9]
On their return from Australia the remaining members of the tour party held a memorial game, the first game of rugby league in New Zealand, and raised £300 for his widowed mother.[4]
The Courtney Goodwill Trophy, international rugby league's first, was presented for the first time in 1936 and depicted Baskiville, along with other pioneering greats of the code, Jean Galia (France), James Lomas (England) and Dally Messenger (Australia).[10]
He is commemorated by the naming of the
See also
- 2007 "All Golds" Tour – celebrating the centenary of Baskerville's 1907 Tour.
- History of Rugby League
References
- ^ "Albert Baskerville". Rugby League Project. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ Sean Fagan. "Albert Baskerville – Or Baskiville?". RL1908. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
- ^ "Telegraphic News". New Zealand Mail. No. 1614. 4 February 1903. p. 22. Retrieved 28 March 2022 – via Papers Past.
- ^ ISBN 0-473-03864-1.
- ^ "The All Golds". Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ "Patents". Evening Post. Vol. LXX, no. 91. 14 October 1905. p. 2. Retrieved 20 March 2022 – via Papers Past.
- ^ Sean Fagan. "2008 RUGBY LEAGUE CENTENARY NEWS & UPDATES". RL1908. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
- ^ "Relatives and Teams to remember Original All Golds" (Press release). New Zealand Rugby League. 10 October 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007.
- ^ "A. H. Baskerville". The Sydney Mail. 27 May 1908. p. 1414. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2009 – via Google News.
- ^ "Fast facts about rugby league". League of Legends. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009.
- ^ "New Zealand Rugby League Annual Report 2008" (PDF). NZRL. 2008. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
External links
- "Albert Baskiville". Virtual Rugby League Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009.
- Albert Baskerville at the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame