George Seagar (6 May 1888 – 30 June 1968) was a New Zealand

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 represented

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 ...

. His younger brother Allan Seagar also represented New Zealand at rugby league.

Rugby League Playing career and Rowing

George Seagar was a boiler maker by trade, living in Devonport on Auckland's North Shore. Seagar was one of the first rugby league footballers in New Zealand, representing

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

against

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escapes death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Janu ...

. In

, he joined the North Shore Albions club as a founding player and also served on the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

's management committee. Seagar played for both Auckland and

against the touring

Great Britain Lions The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions. For most of the 20th century, the Great Britain team toured overseas, p ...

He again represented New Zealand in 1911, being part of the tour of Australia, although no test matches were played on tour. By

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

, Seagar was the captain of North Shore Albions and he again represented

.W.J.Davidson ''Rugby League Annual - 1949'', New Zealand Rugby League, 1949 He did return to Auckland after the war and resumed his career with North Shore playing for them until 1920. Seagar was also a well known member of the North Shore Rowing club. His brother Allan Wilfred Seagar would also play for North Shore in the 1920s and 30s and he represented New Zealand in 1930.

World War I

Like many other players of the time his sporting career was either cut short or punctuated by the war. He enlisted in the army and embarked on the Waimana on October 16, 1914 to join the war effort as a corporal, landing at Suez, Egypt. He was part of the Divisional Train, A.S.C., Main Body. He was promoted to sergeant and returned to New Zealand onboard the steamer Willochra early in 1916 after being admitted to hospital on August 8, 1915 suffering from dysentery. Seagar was discharged from service on April 12, 1916 and later awarded the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were st ...

and the Victory Medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seagar, George 1888 births 1968 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players British Army personnel of World War I New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league players North Shore Albions players Place of birth missing Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Auckland