Archibald James Crippin (1916–2008) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1930s. A New South Wales interstate and Australian international representative winger, he played his whole club career with the

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in Cammeray on Sydney's North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The club currently competes in the NSW Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL s ...

Early life and club career

Originally from

Forbes, New South Wales Forbes is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the Newell Highway between Parkes and West Wyalong. According to the , Forbes has a population of 9,319. Forbes is probably named after Sir Francis For ...

, Crippin moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

where he attended St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill for his last two years of school in 1934 & 35. He was a talented sportsman and in his senior year he played in the champions 1st XV, the 1st XI and was in the senior Athletics squad setting a new GPS record in the long jump at the GPS carnival. He was selected to Combined GPS representative sides in cricket,

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and athletics.Whiticker/Hudson, p. 108 He joined

in 1936 and played three seasons with them. Such was his talent, he was selected for representative teams in his first year in first grade, although shoulder injuries had virtually ended his career in 1937. He missed the entire 1938 season with injury and made a brief return in 1939, before retiring.

Representative honours

Only one year out of school and aged 19, Crippin was selected in the Kangaroos side to play

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in 1936. He played in all three Tests on the wing outside captain Dave Brown. He marked his arrival with a brilliant 60m try in the second Test but bad-luck struck in the dying stages of the third when an England kick-through bounced back over his head and into the arms of

Barney Hudson Bernard "Barney" Hudson (birth registered first ¼ 1906 – 1971) was an English rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Horden Rugby Football Cl ...

who scored the series-winning try. He was selected to play for the 1937-38 Kangaroos but a shoulder dislocation that would sideline a modern-day player for a matter of weeks forced him into early retirement. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 204. Kangaroo Debutants 1936

War service and later life

Crippin served in the 35th Battalion a militia unit, in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Living to the age of 92, Crippin held the mantle as Australia's oldest living Test player for many years prior to his death. He was honoured in 2006 to present the Australian team with their jumpers before the Anzac Test against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

."Unassuming hero", author Andrew Webster www.leaguehq.com.au
/ref> He had sixteen great-grandchildren at the time of his death.

Sources

* Middleton, David ''Rugby League Yearbook'' * Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney

References

Arch Crippin Obituary at Bears Den

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crippin, Arch 1916 births 2008 deaths People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill Australian rugby league players North Sydney Bears players Australia national rugby league team players Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from Forbes, New South Wales New South Wales rugby league team players 20th-century Australian sportsmen