Cec Fifield
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Full name | Cecil Richard Henry Fifield | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Adelong, New South Wales, Australia | 23 September 1903|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 7 December 1957 Earlwood, New South Wales, Australia | (aged 54)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Cec "Dicky" Fifield (1903–1957)
Background
Cecil Richard Henry Fifield was born to Sara Ann (née Compton) and George Fifield in Adelong, New South Wales, Australia on 23 September 1903. He played for West Wyalong as a teenager in Group 9.
Club career
Fifield was recruited to play in the NSWRFL premiership with the Western Suburbs club, playing there during the 1923, 1925–26, 1929 and 1936 seasons. He played over 100 first grade games with the Magpies. He was selected to play for the New South Wales rugby league team in 1925 and 1929. After the latter season Fifield was selected to play on the 1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain. The team sailed on the Orsova via the Panama Canal and played an exhibition game in New York before arriving in England, with Fifield becoming Kangaroo number 152. The first Test was played at Hull, Yorkshire, the second at Wembley and the third at Swinton, during which there was an infamous controversy over a disallowed try. After much deliberation it was decided to play a fourth Test at Rochdale. This was the first and only time that a fourth test has been played on any Kangaroo tour. In this match Fifield broke his ankle and was unable to play the remainder of the tour.
On returning to Australia in 1930 Fifield played for and captained Balmain, and in 1931 he returned to England to play football for Hull, Boulevard. Owing to the difference in seasons, he played there until it was time to depart England and returned to Australia to play for Junee. Fifield continued to play for Hull, playing 224 games and scoring 80 tries, gaining England Championship honours in 1936 and in 1937 he returned to Australia. He played one season with Canterbury-Bankstown in 1937 before returning to Western Suburbs as captain-coach for the 1938 NSWRFL season.[2]
Coaching career
After a couple of years' involvement with Canterbury-Bankstown, during which he coached the team in 1944, Fifield returned to England. In 1950 he was approached by English club
Death
Cec "Dick" Fifield died suddenly at his Earlwood home on 7 December 1957 at the age of 54. After a largely attended funeral, he was cremated at Rookwood on 11 December 1957.[4]
Accolades
In 2008 he was named as one of the Australian Rugby League's 100 Greatest Players of all Time.
Cec never had any sons. Jack and George Fifield were his nephews born to Norman. They both started playing rugby league in Sydney in the late 1940s.
His Epitaph reads: "He was the most marked man on the field but the most respected off"
References
- ^ a b Cec Fifield Cec Fifield; rugbyleagueproject.org
- ISBN 1875169768
- ^ 'Rugby League News: From the District Club'; The Broadcaster, 25 January 1956, p. 3
- ^ 'Death of R.L. International'; Sydney Morning Herald, 9 December 1957, p. 12