Bert Solomon (8 March 1885 – 30 June 1961) regarded by many as the finest rugby player to ever come out of Cornwall, was a

Cornish rugby Rugby union in Cornwall is Cornwall's most popular spectator sport with a large following. The followers of the national side are dubbed Trelawny's Army. In 1991 and 1999 Cornwall won the County Championship final played at Twickenham Stadium, ...

union player who competed in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

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 ...

. He played for

Redruth R.F.C. Redruth RFC (established 1875) is a rugby union club from the town of Redruth, Cornwall, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English league system, National League 2 West. The club runs a number of men's teams including 1st XV (National ...

and was capped 26 times for

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. He was a member of the

rugby union team, which on 26 October 1908 won the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

silver medal for

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 ...

. He also played for Cornwall in the County Championship final match against Durham that same year at

Redruth Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...

, scoring twice in a famous 17-3 victory, Bert was capped by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

against

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 ...

in 1910, the first year

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

opened and scored a wonderful individual try in an 11-6 win. Although being selected for further matches against Scotland, Ireland, and France, he declined and also declined an invitation to tour with the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

in 1908 to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

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 ...

. Around the same time, it was reported that he refused 400 golden sovereigns to sign for a

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 ...

team in the north of England. In 1910, when he was just 25 years old and in his prime, Bert Solomon hung his boots up, and a legend was created. It is also reported that Bert was a solitary character who liked nothing better than his pigeons. Sometimes, he refused to play for Redruth if his pigeons were still out, and he often had to be coaxed into playing. Such was his skill that he apparently made a difference of 1000 people on a crowd. The Solomon legacy will forever live in the hearts and memories of all Cornish rugby supporters, he excited a generation of Cornish folk with his dazzling skills, a rugby genius who was outshining the greatest internationals of his era and who at the end of the day was happier out of the spotlight. A book has been published regarding his life and career.

References

External links

* * 1885 births 1961 deaths English rugby union players Rugby union players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic rugby union players for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Cornwall RFU players Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Redruth {{UK-Olympic-medalist-stub

See also

References

External links