Hubert Charles Day (8 May 1908 – 27 June 1977) was a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

hooker who played

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 ...

for

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

and

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 ...

for

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

. He was awarded five caps for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

under union rules and was part of the Welsh side that won the

1931 Five Nations Championship The 1931 Five Nations Championship was the seventeenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty ...

. At Salford Day forged a reputation as the greatest hooker to play for the club, his record 488 appearances for the club went unbroken for over 35 years.

Background

Bert Day was born in

Griffithstown Griffithstown is a large suburb of Pontypool in the borough of Torfaen, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in May 1898, from Llanfrechfa Upper and Panteg, and includes Sebastopol, but ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, and he died aged 69 in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England.

Rugby career

Day was first selected for Wales in the 1930 Five Nations Championship in a match against Scotland at

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

. Day was one of two new caps in the Welsh squad alongside

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

's Dai Thomas. Wales lost the match 9-12, but Day was reselected for the next game of the tournament in a win over Ireland, under the captaincy of

Jack Bassett Jack Bassett (11 July 1905 – 19 February 1989) was a Welsh international rugby union full back who played club rugby for Penarth. He won 15 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1930 British Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. He cap ...

. The final game of the Championship was an away game to France. The match was notoriously bad tempered with the referee forced to make multiple stoppages to reproach both packs as fist fights broke out throughout the game. Day himself was kicked in the mouth and was forced to leave the pitch to have several stitches in his lip. Day played twice in the 1931 Five Nations Championship which Wales won after drawing against England and beating the remaining three teams. Day's final match was the second game in a victory over Scotland at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

. Day later switched codes, 'Going North' to join Salford RLFC.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 465. * 1931 * 1930 * 1930 * 1930, 1931

International honours

Bert Day won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

while at Salford 1935…1945 3-caps.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Bert Day played in

's 7-4 victory over Barrow in the 1938 Challenge Cup Final during the 1937–38 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in front of a crowd of 51,243.

County Cup Final appearances

About Bert Day's time, there was

's 10-8 victory over Swinton in the 1931 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1931–32 season at

The Cliff A cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliff, The Cliff or The Cliffs may also refer to: Buildings *Cliff Brewery, a former brewery near Ipswich, England *Cliff Palace, largest cliff dwelling in North America *The Cliffs, a histo ...

Broughton, Salford Broughton is a suburb and district of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Located on the east bank of the River Irwell, it is northwest of Manchester and south of Prestwich. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, the form ...

on Saturday 21 November 1931, the 21-12 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the 1934 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1934–35 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 20 October 1934, the 15-7 victory over

in the 1935 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1935–36 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year l ...

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

on Saturday 19 October 1935, the 5-2 victory over

in the 1936 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1936–37 season at

on Saturday 17 October 1936, and played in the 7-10 defeat by

in the

1938 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

Final during the 1938–39 season at

on Saturday 22 October 1938.

Les Diables Rouges

Day was one of the players who successfully toured in France with Salford in 1934, during which the Salford team earned the name "

Les Diables Rouges The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, England. They play home games at Salford Community Stadium in Barton upon Irwell and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. Salford Red Dev ...

", the seventeen players were;

Joe Bradbury Joseph Bradbury was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played at club level for Salford, Castleford and Huddersfield (two spells, including the first as a World War II guest), as a . Backgroun ...

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is an Australian former politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a Australian Senate, senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian ...

Aubrey Casewell John Aubrey Casewell (11 September 1909 – 26 May 1974) was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s, and coached in the 1940s. He played at representative level for Wales, and at club level for Salford, L ...

Paddy Dalton Patrick Dalton (summer – ?) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played at representative level for England, and English League XIII, and at club level for Salford, as a or . Backgroun ...

, Bert Day, Cliff Evans,

Jack Feetham John Feetham ( 1909 – March 1968) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Hull Kingston Rovers, and S ...

, George Harris,

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 ...

Emlyn Jenkins Emlyn Jenkins (1 December 1910 – October 1993) was a Welsh cinema manager, trainee teacher, landlord of a public house, rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s, and coached rugby league in the 19 ...

Alf Middleton Alfred "Alf" Middleton was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Salford (captain ), as a . Playing career Salf ...

Sammy Miller Samuel Hamilton Miller MBE (born 11 November 1933) is a Northern Irish championship winning motorcycle racer, in both road racing and trials. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours fo ...

Harold Osbaldestin Harold Osbaldestin (20 February 1909 – September 1955) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at club level for Salford Red Devils, Salford, as a . Background Harold Osbaldestin was b ...

Les Pearson Leslie "Les" Pearson (birth unknown – death unknown) was a professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s. He played at club level for Salford Red Devils, Salford and Oldham RLFC as a wartime guest player, as a . Playing career ...

Gus Risman Augustus "Gus" John Ferdinand Risman (21 March 1911 – 17 October 1994) was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s through to the 1950s, and coached in the 1940s through to the 1970s. A devastating three-quarter ...

, Billy Watkins and

Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is an American former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National L ...

Bibliography

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Hubert 1908 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Blaenavon RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Newport RFC players Rugby league players from Pontypool Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Pontypool Salford Red Devils players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players