Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) was an Australian

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 ...

and

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 ...

player – a dual-code international. He represented the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

in three Tests in 1910 and the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey ...

in seven Tests from 1911 to 1920, his last two as captain. The captain-coach of the

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons are an Australian rugby league, rugby league football club from the St George, Sydney, St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales Rugby League, New South Wales competition ...

club in Sydney in their inaugural season, he is considered one of Australia's finest footballers of the 20th century. His sons, Herb Gilbert, Jr and

Jack Gilbert Jack Gilbert (February 18, 1925 – November 13, 2012) was an American poet. Gilbert was acquainted with Jack Spicer and Allen Ginsberg, both prominent figureheads of the Beat Movement, but is not considered a Beat Poet; he described himself a ...

were also notable rugby league footballers.

Rugby union career

Gilbert was born in

Gulgong, New South Wales Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West regions of the Australian state of New South Wales. The town is situated within the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area. It is located ...

and moved to Sydney, playing rugby union in the South Sydney district.Whiticker pp31-32 Tall and powerful for his era, Gilbert stood at 6 ft (182 cm), weighed (86 kg), and reputedly played his best football in the biggest games. Gilbert learnt his rugby in the South Sydney district and went into the NSW and Australian teams in 1910 after

Dally Messenger Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger, (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player. One of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, he is recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in eit ...

defected to league. The pro-rugby union press boasted that Gilbert was a greater asset to the union than Dally Messenger had ever been. He was first selected for

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 ...

in 1910 against

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and then the New Zealand Māori. That same year he made his

Wallaby A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized Macropodidae, macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same Taxonomy (biology), taxon ...

Test début playing in the three Test series against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

in 1910. The series was played over only eight days at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

and won by the

by two games to one. Gilbert scored two tries in the second Test and another in the third.

Rugby league career

South Sydney

Later in the same year he'd made his rugby union representative debut, he crossed over to the professional code, joining the South Sydney Club in 1910 as their first grade player number 42. He represented for

in 1911 and was chosen for the

1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the second ever Kangaroo tour and was actually a tour by an " Australasian" squad that included four New Zealand players in addition to 24 Australian representatives. It took place over the Briti ...

. Gilbert made his international league début in the first Test at Newcastle in November 1911, becoming the 16th ever Australian dual code international. He played in all three Tests on tour, heading the tour's try-scoring list with 20 tries.

Hull FC

From 1912 to 1915 he played in England for

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

, where he played at , wearing number 4, 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 ...

's 6–0 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

in the 1914 Challenge Cup Final during the 1913–14 season at

Thrum Hall Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax R.L.F.C., Halifax for 112 years. The site on which the ground stood is now occupied by a supermarket. History In 1878, Halifa ...

, Halifax, played in front of a crowd of 19,000.

South Sydney (rejoin)

After the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the three-quarter returned to Australia, where he rejoined South Sydney. In 1916, Gilbert joined Eastern Suburbs. He was a member of that club's

City Cup The City Cup was a rugby league competition involving Australian premiership teams. The post season tournament was a regular feature in the years 1912–1925. City Cups were also played in 1937, 1942 and 1959. The inaugural city cup was conteste ...

winning side before joining the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

in 1917. He played with them until 1920, helping to mould them from a struggling side to a competitive outfit.

St George

In 1921 aged 33, Gilbert signed on as foundation captain-coach of the newly formed

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

club. He retired as a player at the end of that season but coached the club until 1924. Herb_Gilbert_St

International

Gilbert returned to the Australian Test team as captain in the 2nd Test of the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

' 1920 tour of Australia. All four of Australia's illustrious three-quarter line of

Dick Vest Dick Vest (1897-1974) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s . An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative three-quarter back, he played in the New South Wales Rugby Football ...

Harold Horder Harold Norman Horder (23 February 1894 – 21 August 1978) was an Australian rugby league player. He was a national and state representative player whose club career was with South Sydney Rabbitohs, South Sydney and North Sydney Bears, North Syd ...

, Viv Farnsworth and Gilbert scored tries in Australia's 21–8 victory. With

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

already won, Australia lost to Great Britain in the 3rd Test of the series with Gilbert captaining his country for his second and final time.

Post playing and accolades

Gilbert was awarded Life Membership of the

club in 1938. He was a state and national selector from 1925 to 1937; his working career was with the New South Wales Railways; in his later years he was doorman at the

. Herb died in 1972, aged 83. In 2004 he was named by Souths in their ''South Sydney Dream Team'', consisting of 17 players and a coach representing the club from

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

through to

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. In February 2008, Gilbert was named in the list of Australia's ''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

and

ARL ARL may refer to: Military * A US Navy hull classification symbol: Landing craft repair ship (ARL) * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, ...

to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.

Progeny

Three of Gilbert's sons all played for St. George with Herb Junior and

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...

playing in the Dragons' maiden Grand Final victory in

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

. Another son,

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Bob (surname) * Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II * Bob t ...

also played with the

in first grade in 1945. Two great grandsons were professional sportsmen – Sam Gilbert played

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

with St Kilda and Larry Davidson, was a basketballer who played in the NBL for the

Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketbal ...

Playing record

* ''Club:'' Souths(1911–12 & 1915) 23 games, 6 tries, 3 goals;

, England 1912–1915; Easts (1916) 14 games, 6 tries; Wests (1917–1920) 50 games, 23 tries;

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

(1921) 8 games, 1 try. * ''Representative:'' Australia (1911–12 & 1919–1920) 7 Tests, and New South Wales (1911–20) 8 appearances.

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan (2004) ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland, Sydney

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Herb 1888 births 1972 deaths Australasia rugby league team players Australia international rugby union players Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Dual-code rugby internationals Hull F.C. captains Hull F.C. players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from New South Wales South Sydney Rabbitohs players St. George Dragons captains St. George Dragons coaches St. George Dragons players Sydney Roosters players Western Suburbs Magpies players Rugby union players from Sydney Rugby union wings New South Wales rugby union team players New South Wales rugby league team players 20th-century Australian sportsmen