Alf Rigby was an Ireland international footballer. Rigby played for several clubs in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

including

Bray Unknowns Bray Unknowns Football Club was an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Bray, County Wicklow, Bray, County Wicklow. During the 1920s and 1930s the Unknowns were the dominant foot ...

, St James's Gate and

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

. He was also the top goalscorer in the League of Ireland for two successive seasons.

Playing career

St James's Gate

In 1933–34 and 1934–35, while playing for St James's Gate, Rigby was the top scorer in the

, scoring 13 and 17 goals respectively. On 17 March 1934 he also played for Gate in the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

final which Gate lost 2–1 to

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. Rigby's goals helped Gate finish as runners–up in the

1934–35 League of Ireland The 1934–35 League of Ireland was the fourteenth season of the League of Ireland. Bohemians were the defending champions. Dolphin won their first title. Overview Cork Bohemians and Shelbourne were not re-elected to the League, while Waterford ...

season and then win the 1935–36

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began and was seen as the third most imp ...

International career

During the 1934–35 season Rigby played three times for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. On 16 December 1934 he made his debut against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in a 4–2 defeat at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

. In May 1935 he was a member of an Ireland squad that went on a European tour. On 5 May he played in 1–0 against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Then on 8 May he played in a 3–1 defeat against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Rigby made all three of his international appearances while playing for St James's Gate.

Honours

; St James's Gate *

**''Winners'': 1935–36 * League of Ireland **''Runners Up'': 1934–35 *

**''Runners Up'': 1933–34 ;Individual * League of Ireland Top Scorer: ** 1933–34, 1934–35

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigby, Alf Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers St James's Gate F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players League of Ireland players Year of birth missing Place of birth missing Year of death missing Men's association football forwards