Bill Farnsworth
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Andrew William Farnsworth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Newtown, New South Wales, Australia | 14 January 1887|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 30 October 1966 Waterfall, New South Wales | (aged 79)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Five-eighth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Whiticker |
Andrew William Farnsworth (14 January 1887 – 30 October 1966) was an Australian pioneer
Rugby Union career
Farnsworth's
Rugby League career
In
The following year the Farnsworth brothers were selected for the 'Australasian' Kangaroo tour of Britain in 1911–1912. They were the first set of brothers to play representative rugby league for Australia. Their brother Roy also played at Newtown.[2]
Farnsworth also played in Brisbane for Toombul and Kurilpa, gaining selection for Queensland in 1912.[3]
With his brother Viv, he headed to England and the end of 1912 and joined the Oldham club (Heritage No. 142). He was still in England at the out-break of the Great War and enlisted for active duty. He continued playing for Oldham 'til 1920.[4]
Farnsworth returned to the Newtown club as coach for part of the 1924 NSWRFL season.[5]
Cricket career
Farnsworth also played in two first-class cricket matches: one in 1908-09 for New South Wales and one in 1919 for Lancashire.[6] He became the first player to represent New South Wales at Rugby, Rugby League and Cricket.[7]
Accolades
Bill Farnsworth was the great-uncle of the Parramatta Eels ex player and CEO Denis Fitzgerald. His youngest brother Roy Farnsworth also played for Newtown. In 2008, the centenary year of rugby league in Australia, Farnsworth was named as five-eighth of the Newtown Jets 18-man team of the century.
See also
References
- ^ Whiticker, Alan, Hudson, Glen (2006). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. Australia: Gary Allen Publishing. p153.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Newtown Faces of History Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ QRL. "QRL history". Queensland representatives. qrl.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
- ^ "OLDHAM RLFC INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATION". Hall of Fame. Oldham Rugby League Heritage Trust. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ISBN 1875169571
- ^ "Bill Farnsworth". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ Alan Whiticker, www.rugbyleagueproject.org
Sources
- Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson (2007). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. ISBN 978-1-877082-93-1.