Eddie Root (1902–1986) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. A New South Wales state and Australia national representative forward, his club career was played in Sydney with South Sydney, Newtown and

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

. Enlisted in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

at the age of just 16 years, he had the distinction of being the last representative footballer to go to the Great War.

Playing career

A South Sydney junior, Root started playing first grade for Souths in 1923, becoming a mainstay in the side in 1926. That year he first tasted premiership success with Souths, who also won the following two years' competitions. He was sent off in the 1926 decider against

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He made his representative debut for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1927 and was regularly selected for the Blues over the next six seasons. He was selected to go on 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 (rugby league), Ashes series which compr ...

, playing in fifteen tour matches but no Tests. When the NSWRL changed the South Sydney/Newtown boundary distinction in 1930 Root spent the following season with Newtown due to the strict residential criteria of the time. He then returned to Souths and played in the back-to-back premiership-winning Souths sides of

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

. In 1935 he was signed by

and scored two tries in the record-breaking 91–6 win over competition newcomers Canterbury-Bankstown before later becoming the club's captain-coach. He played with Saints for two seasons before retiring. His son, Stan Root was also a St. George Dragons player between 1941 and 1950.

Death

Root died on 7 May 1986 at Brighton-Le-Sands, New South Wales, Daily Telegraph (Sydney) Death Notice 8/5/1986

References

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney

External links

Eddie Root at yesterdayshero.com.auEddie Root at nrlstats.com
1902 births 1986 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian military personnel of World War I City New South Wales rugby league team players New South Wales rugby league team players Newtown Jets players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows South Sydney Rabbitohs players Sportsmen from New South Wales St. George Dragons captains St. George Dragons coaches St. George Dragons players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-stub