William Joseph Shankland (25 July 1907 – 8 September 1998) was one of Australia's great all-round sportsmen. An Australia national and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

state representative rugby league three-quarter back, he played his club football in Sydney, country New South Wales and then in England, where he became a

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 ...

Hall of Fame inductee. Shankland remained in England and became a renowned golfer, finishing third at the

1939 Open Championship The 1939 Open Championship was the 74th Open Championship, held 5–7 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Dick Burton won his only major title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Johnny Bulla. The purse was £500 with a winner's sha ...

, and golf teacher.

Early life

Shankland was born in

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 ...

. He is said to have been an accomplished

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and

cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, as well as footballer.

Rugby league career

Shankland played for the

Glebe A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...

and Eastern Suburbs clubs in

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 ...

. While playing for Glebe in 1928, the 21-year-old was selected to make his state debut, the following year, moving to the Eastern Suburbs club, Shankland was selected for the

1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the fourth Kangaroo tour, and took the Australia national rugby league team all around England and also into Wales. The tour featured the ninth Ashes series which comprised four Test matches ...

. The winger played in all 4

test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

and was the leading try scorer on the tour with 24. On tour, Shankland was pursued by English clubs but returned to Australia, captain-coaching Leeton's club in the Riverina. In 1931 Shankland signed for Warrington. The 'fleet of foot'

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

-three-quarter made 231 appearances for that club, scoring 74 tries and 70 goals. He led Warrington in 2

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

cup finals, becoming the first Australian to do so, as well as captaining the side in 2 English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

finals. Bill Shankland played in

's 10–9 victory over St.Helens in the

1932–33 Lancashire Cup The 1932–33 Lancashire Cup was the twenty-fifth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held. Warrington won the trophy by beating St. Helens by 10–9 in the final. Competition and results The number of teams entering thi ...

Final during the 1932–33 season at

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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 ...

on Saturday 19 November 1932, and played on the , scored a

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and was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 8–4 victory over Barrow in the

1937–38 Lancashire Cup The 1937–38 Lancashire Cup was the thirtieth occasion on which the RFL Lancashire Cup, Lancashire Cup competition had been held. Warrington Wolves, Warrington won the trophy by beating Barrow Raiders, Barrow by 8–4. The match was played at C ...

Final during the 1937–38 season at

on Saturday 23 October 1937. The 1937 season saw him lead Warrington to victory over Barrow in the Lancashire cup final. The 1937 was his last in rugby league, his retirement allowed him to concentrate on his golfing career.

Golf career

In the years 1937 to 1956 Shankland appeared in every

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

except 1948 when he failed to qualify. His best finishes were third, fourth and sixth. His best chance of winning was at

Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of Prince Arth ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

. Although four strokes behind after three rounds he took 34 for the first 9 holes and then scored 3-3-3-3 to be in a very strong position but finished 5-6-5-3-5 for the last five holes to finish with a 70. Shankland was one of the early starters and his score of 295 was the leading score at the time. His 70 turned out to be the best round of the day but left him two shots behind the eventual winner,

Fred Daly Fred Daly may refer to: * Fred Daly (American football), American football player at Yale, head football coach at Williams College (1913–1914) * Fred Daly (politician) (1912–1995), member of the Australian House of Representatives (1943 ...

. He finished second at the Yorkshire Professional Championship in 1939, 1947 and 1949, at the

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was a professional golf tournament that was held in the Leeds area of Yorkshire, England between 1923 and 1963. It was a fixture on the British PGA tournament circuit, which would later become the European To ...

in 1944 and 1947, at the Yorkshire Open in 1950, at the

Spalding Tournament The Spalding Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. It was played annually from 1946 to 1960. The total prize money was £1500 in 1946, £1250 in 1947 and 1948, £1350 from 1949 to 1959 and £2250 in 1960. Th ...

in 1952 and at the Swallow-Harrogate Tournament in 1954. He was semi-finalist at the Daily Chronicle Tournament in 1939. He finished third at the 1950

Irish Open Irish Open may refer to: *Irish Open (golf), a golf tournament on the European Tour ** Irish Senior Open, a golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour **Ladies Irish Open, a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour * Irish Open (darts), annua ...

. From golfing exhibitions, Shankland raised almost a million pounds for charity. He was an assistant professional at

Royal Sydney Golf Club Royal Sydney Golf Club is golf club in Rose Bay, New South Wales, Australia, a suburb of Sydney. Founded in 1893, Royal Sydney is one of Australia's premier sporting and social clubs. It features an 18-hole Championship Course, a 9-hole Centen ...

, Australia, and

West Lancashire Golf Club West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, Germanic word pass ...

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

, and head professional at Marbury Country Club,

Cheshire, England Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shropshire to the south; to the west ...

, Haydock Park,

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, and in 1938 Temple Newsam Golf Club,

Leeds, England Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, where he replaced

Percy Alliss Percy Alliss (8 January 1897 – 31 March 1975) was one of the leading English professional golfers in the 1920s and 1930s, winning many tournaments in Britain and Continental Europe. He was also the father of commentator and former golfer Peter ...

. He was an Honorary Life member of eleven clubs and Honorary member of six clubs.

Professional tournament wins

*1940 Childwall Tournament *1948

Leeds Cup The Leeds Cup is a golf tournament that has been played annually in northern England since 1902. The event is organised by the north region of the Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain & Ireland), Professional Golfers' Association. It ...

*1955 Middlesex Professional Championship Source:

Results in major championships

''Note: Shankland only played in The Open Championship.''
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Private life and death

He was married to his wife Daphne for 67 years until her death. He had three sons, two of whom were golf professionals owning golf courses in the United States. Shankland died aged 91 of heart failure in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England.

References

External links

* The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players; Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson {{DEFAULTSORT:Shankland, Bill 1907 births 1998 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian male golfers Australian rugby league players City New South Wales rugby league team players Country New South Wales rugby league team players Dominion XIII rugby league team players Glebe rugby league players New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league wingers Sydney Roosters players Warrington Wolves captains Warrington Wolves players Sportsmen from New South Wales 20th-century Australian sportsmen Other Nationalities rugby league team players