Frederick William Ashworth (14 January 1907 – 9 September 1989), also known by the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

of "Basher", was an English

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

Aspatria RUFC Aspatria Rugby Union Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Aspatria, Cumbria (formerly Cumberland) in north west England, not far from the Anglo-Scottish Border, Scottish Border. They are nicknamed the "Black Reds", and have a red ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, and at club level for

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

, as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, after retiring as a player he served Oldham as a member of the club's committee.

Background

Fred Ashworth was born in Watchhill, Cumberland, to coalminer James Ashworth and Mary Ellen Ashworth.

Playing career

Aspatria Rugby Union Club

Ashworth (or ‘Basher’ as he was known to his friends and colleagues) came to prominence when at the age of fourteen, he played in the local school team that won the Cumberland Silver Shield, a knockout competition open to boys aged sixteen and under. In 1924 the majority of the team were runners-up in the Cumberland Under 18’s Challenge Cup, after they were narrowly defeated by

Silloth Silloth, or Silloth-on-Solway, is a port town and civil parish in the Cumberland (district), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town stands on the coast of the Solway Firth, west of Carlisle. It was developed from the 1850s onwards a ...

. In 1925, Ashworth captained the side that won the same competition, defeating

Egremont Egremont may refer to: Places * Egremont, Cumbria, England * Egremont, Merseyside, England * Egremont, Massachusetts, United States * Egremont, Alberta, Canada Other uses * Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Gr ...

by 11 points to nil.Aspatria The History of a Rugby Union Football Club pages 89-90 By 1925 he was a regular member of the senior squad and won a runners-up medal in that years Challenge Cup, when

Aspatria Aspatria is a town and civil parish in Cumberland, Cumbria, England. The town rests on the north side of the Ellen Valley, overlooking a panoramic view of the countryside, with Skiddaw to the South and the Solway Firth to the North. Its dev ...

were narrowly defeated by

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

. In 1926, Ashworth, along with T. E Holliday signed professional forms for

Oldham

Ashworth played in

's 26–7 victory over Swinton in the 1927 Challenge Cup Final during the 1926–27 season 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 ...

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 front of a crowd of 33,448. Ashworth is an Oldham Hall Of Fame Inductee.

County honours

Ashworth represented

(RL).

References

Bibliography

External links

Statistics at orl-heritagetrust.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, Fred 1907 births 1989 deaths Cumberland rugby league team players English rugby league players English rugby union players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Place of death missing Rugby league players from Aspatria Rugby union players from Aspatria Rugby league forwards 20th-century English sportsmen