Rugby-Pioneers

Tom Browne's comic rugby series

Some comic postcards... it's been a long time...

Tom Browne (1870-1910) was one the most popular cartoonist in England at the turn of the XXth century.

You could find an enthusiastic bio on "About Postcards" , a blog dedicated to postcards collecting (and thank you for Tom B's photo).

So, many sporting postcards among his massive production... and special mention to rugby football !

Here are four rugby postcards c.1905... and many others in my drawers for future posts... top to bottom are "Touch", "a Try", "Are we down-hearted? No!!!" and "Who's got the ball?" (click on the links for larger pics)

Tom Browne

Maori ruggers can play tennis !

A kind contribution from New Zealand... referred by Dick Garratt from Maori Sports Awards (Te Tohu Taakaro o Aotearoa Charitable Trust) which shows George Nepia and John Hoani MacDonald, two of the finest Maori athletes ever, playing tennis in Sydney, at Rushcutters Bay tennis courts in 1935. (pictures from Sydney Morning Herald)

Nepia and MacDonald were respectively captain and vice-captain of the Maori team then touring to Australia. Upper photography (larger picture here) will give you the impressive list of sporting distinctions gained by these two champions... Interestingly, both were honoured in Rugby Union, Rugby Union and Tennis... Both belong to Maori Sports Hall of Fame.

Are these "bridges" between rugby and tennis common ? Earlier this month, former French international player Jean Gachassin (aka Peter Pan) - 30 caps between 1961 and 1969 - was elected President of Federation Française de Tennis (French Tennis Union).

(picture from FC Lourdes website - thank you!)

Rugby on stamps... merci La Poste...

This note is for my blog-friend @Pem... sorry, private joke ;-)

Another rugby-pioneers.com "goodies"... I used to have mousepads, name cards, postcards... here are the stamps... Maybe I should open a corner-shop...?

French post office La Poste has been providing a "make your own design" online service since a year or so (www.montimbreamoi.fr)... that I visited only recently...

Indeed, this is not a "world premiere" as similar services are also proposed by USPS in the US and Royal Mail in the UK, but this is surely quick and easy to use for a nice result (and what about an API to Flickr like moo.com ?... and why so many ugly babies in the public gallery...? )

Memorabilia collectors would recognize Bristol colours published in 1906 by Ogden's Cigarettes, as well as French Art Deco artist Harry Eliott's "La Vie Sportive" postcard... Actually, a new challenge for Derry @ rugbystamps.com if he wants to catch up with each and every rugby stamp around the world...

 

Technorati Tags : rugby, stamps, La Poste

France v Scotland : Secret Cigarette Card...

France v Scotland tomorrow at Stade de France... and a recent find that will only interest a few hardcore rugby memorabilia collectors...

Let me tell you the whole story... Collecting each and every rugby cigarette cards is a titanesque (and expensive...) mission that only a few Masters in collecting are tackling (Paul, John, Justin... if you're passing by...). That's why I've decided to keep it low profile... and only collect British cards involving French rugby ! Untill very recently, I was thinking that my herald mission was completed as it was believed to be only two of them... and, booom !, I found that W.D.&H.O.Wills cigarette card, card n°32 in "Homeland Events series 1932" captioned "Rugby International Match"

A careful reading of the back of the card will detail that the front picture is Scotland v France at Murrayfield, 1931... where French side (Galia, Rousié, Ribère...) lost 4-6 to the Scots... Hope the odds will be better for France tomorrow !

BTW, let me introduce Justin McCullough's "Rugby Cards International Collectors Guide"... a wonderful Rugby Card Reference book published last year that every serious collector or memorabilia fan should consider buying : you'll find all details about it on Justin's website... Here are the cover and a sample page...

        

   

and a short video presentation...

Enjoy the rugby this week-end...

Caps & co...

A new cap recently joined the "family" in my display cabinet...
Thank you, Mando!

Could someone help me to identify it ? Embroidery reads A.T.F.C. or T.A.F.C. (yes, it could be Association....). Only hint : it was manufactured in Manchester...

The (other) Calcutta Cup

A story from India... referred to us by Paul Walsh, manager of the Kolkata Jungle Crows XV in Calcutta...

VI Nations tournament is about to start, and Paul reminds us of the fact that there is another Calcutta Cup... another trophy as old as the Cup challenged by England and Scotland every year, disputed among local clubs in Calcutta.

Above is the 1917 Calcutta Cup winner, i.e. the Brecnockshire Battalion from South Wales Borderers (larger picture here). This picture is used by kind permission from the Museums of the Royal Regiment of Wales. Curator Martin Everett indicates that "soldiers of Brecknockshire territorials were mobilised in August 1914 at the start of the First World War. The battalion was sent to Mhow in India as a garrison battalion. The Calcutta Cricket & Football Club had introduced Rugby in India in 1872 and the club provided a Challenge Cup for army teams in India. The Brechnocks XV, containing a number of Welsh club players, won the cup in 1917".

Martin mentions that several members of the South Wales Borderers regiment were also Welsh international players, i.e. Charles M. Pritchard, who was part of the famous Welsh side that beat the All Blacks in 1905 and was killed in France in August 1916.  There's a full story about Welsh rugby players who died in service during WW1 here @ BBC Wales : this story was published last November when our rugby memorabilia fellow Phil Atkinson brought his pupils to Pritchard's grave in France and had them work on his bio (too bad : only UK residents can play the video...)

And, as a nice shortcurt in history, here are the Calcutta guys who won the very same trophy last summer (Jungle Crows b CCFC 45-20 mid of page here)... Congrats, Crows !


(picture credit to The Telegraph - larger pic here)

Finally, let me also take this opportunity to share my only vintage print about rugby in India... published in 1894 in Germany (how come... ?!)



Caption (in German) reads "Englishmen in India - Soldiers playing Football"... larger picture here. I am not able to identify the place nor the team (though one of them has a very distinctive jersey) but it could be another episode of this famous Calcutta Cup ...

rugby, calcutta cup

Caption Contest !

A weird book cover !

Another illustration from English youth litterature... "The Red House of Boville" by H.Elrington, first published in 1925... (a larger picture here)

I haven't read the book so far (will I ever ?) but, say, I fairly puzzled about the story suggested by this picture... I am not sure that these two young gentlemen are discussing here about rugby and tactics !

Hence, this idea of a caption contest !

Please imagine a caption or a dialog ... in English, in French, in Catalan, whatever...