Edward "Eddie" George Dowdall ( – ) was a Welsh

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 professional

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 1920s and 1930s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Ever ...

, as a scrum-half (alongside

Jack Wetter Jack Wetter DCM (29 December 1887 – 29 July 1967) was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby predominantly for Newport. He was captain for both his club and country and earned 10 caps for Wales. Wetter's rugby career ...

), and club level rugby league (RL) for

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 ...

and St Helens, as a or .

Background

Eddie Dowdall's birth was registered in

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 ...

district, Wales, and his death aged 66 was registered in

district, Wales.

Playing career

Notable tour matches

Eddie Dowdall played in

's 10–13 defeat by

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 ...

(RU) during the

1924–25 New Zealand rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France The Invincibles was a nickname given to the 1924–25 New Zealand national team which toured the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Canada. The team was captained by Cliff Porter, and numbered among its top players George Nēpia and brothers ...

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's central bus and railway stations via Newport Bri ...

, Wales on Thursday 2 October 1924, and played in the 0–0 draw with New Zealand Māori (RU) during the

1926–27 New Zealand Māori rugby union tour Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * 19 (film), ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * Nineteen (1987 film), ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * ''19-Nineteen'', a 20 ...

, Wales on Thursday 21 October 1926.

Club career

Eddie Dowdall joined

in 1927 with a signing-on fee of £500 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £79,180 in 2014), and he made his début for

as a in the 51–11 victory over Pemberton Rangers ARLFC ( Pemberton,

) at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

on Friday 12 February 1927, and he played his last match for

as a in the 8–15 defeat by

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

on Friday 25 February 1928, he joined St. Helens in 1929 with a transfer fee of £200 to £300 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £32,020 to 48,030 in 2014), and he made his début for St. Helens as a in the 32–2 victory over Lindley ARLFC ( Lindley,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

) at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

, St. Helens on Saturday 9 February 1929, scored his only try for St. Helens as a in the 18–5 victory over

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Clarence Street Clarence Street is a former rugby stadium in York, England. From 1885 until 1989 it was the home of York F.C. (later York R.L.F.C.) before being sold and demolished. The site is now housing. History York Football Club was formed in 1868 and p ...

on Saturday 30 November 1929, and he played his last match for St. Helens as a in the 5–22 defeat by

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 ...

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 ...

on Saturday 18 January 1930.

Genealogical information

Eddie Dowdall's marriage to Ada E. (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Newman) was registered during second ¼ 1929 in

Prescot Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 femal ...

district. Eddie Dowdall was "possibly" the nephew of the rugby union fullback of the 1880s for

, Fred Dowdall

References

External links

Statistics at blackandambers.co.ukSearch for "Dowdall " at rugbyleagueproject.orgStatistics at wigan.rlfans.comSaints Heritage Society profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdall, Edward 1905 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Newport RFC players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Newport, Wales Rugby union scrum-halves Rugby union players from Newport, Wales St Helens R.F.C. players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Wigan Warriors players