John Henry Driscoll (1876 – 1921), 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 "Hockey", 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 1890s and 1900s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Ca ...

as a three-quarter or half-back, and club level rugby league (RL) 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 ...

Background

Driscoll was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, his wife Louisa was proprietor of a dining and

tearoom A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only serve ...

s in Cardiff , his father Patrick Driscoll was born in

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The River Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometres away, at the seaside village of Baltimore. Located ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Ireland.

Rugby union career

Driscoll joined Cardiff RFC during the 1895–96 season, playing as a half-back. He gained a place in the first team during his initial season and scored 9 tries. Driscoll was not as prolific the following season, with just five tries to his name; however during the 1897–98 season he was switched to the wing. This saw Driscoll becoming the club's fourth highest try scorer with a tally of 16, playing in 30 of the 31 first team games. Cardiff Rugby Club historian D. E. Davies described Driscoll that season as, "our excellent uncapped wing". Having been overlooked by the

(RU), the next season Driscoll switched codes to professional rugby league with

, alongside former Cardiff half-back Tom Savage.

Nickname

Hockey Driscoll's nickname of "Hockey" was a corruption of Hawkeye, and pronounced Ockey, as he would prefer to

ankle tap An ankle-tap or tap-tackle is a form of tackle used in rugby league, rugby union and gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),

tackle, rather than body tackle, which demanded both a quick-eye (Hawkeye), and fast reactions to see and catch the opposition player's foot.

References

External links

Search "Driscoll" at rugbyleagueproject.org

-> *(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at hullfc.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Stats → Past Players → D at hullfc.com (statistics for player surnames beginning with 'C' and 'D' swapped)

*(archived by web.archive.org
Cardiff RFC Season Review 1895 - 1896
*(archived by web.archive.org
Cardiff RFC Season Review 1896 - 1897
*(archived by web.archive.org
Cardiff RFC Season Review 1897 - 1898Search for "Hockey Driscoll" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Driscoll, Hockey 1876 births 1921 deaths 19th-century Welsh sportsmen 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Cardiff RFC players Expatriate rugby league players in England Footballers who switched code Hull F.C. players Rugby league players from Cardiff Rugby union halfbacks Rugby union three-quarters Rugby union players from Cardiff Welsh expatriate rugby league players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players