Jack Cunliffe (3 March 1921 – 5 February 1973) was an English 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 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

as a utility

Back The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...

, e.g. or . Jack Cunliffe played for

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 four decades; he made his début for Wigan on Saturday 9 December 1939, and he played his last match for Wigan on Saturday 9 January 1960 (a record that is unlikely to be equaled within rugby league).

Playing career

International honours

Jack Cunliffe won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

while at Wigan in 1949 against France, in 1950 against France (2 matches), and Wales, in 1951 against Other Nationalities, and Wales, in 1956 against France, won

s for British Empire XIII while at Wigan in 1952 against New Zealand, and won

s for

while at Wigan in 1950 against Australia and New Zealand, in 1951 against New Zealand, in 1954 against Australia.

Championship final appearances

Jack Cunliffe played in

's victories in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

Finals during the 1945-46 season, 1946–47 season, 1949–50 season, 1951–52 season and 1959–60 season.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Jack Cunliffe played in

's 12-13 defeat by

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

1945–46 Challenge Cup The 1945–46 Challenge Cup was the 45th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Wakefield Trinity and Wigan at Wembley Stadium in London. This was the first Challenge Cup to be held ...

Final during the 1945–46 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, played in the 10-0 victory over Barrow in the

1950–51 Challenge Cup The 1950–51 Challenge Cup was the 50th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Wigan Warriors, Wigan and Barrow Raiders, Barrow at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium in London. ...

Final during the 1950-51 season

on Saturday 5 May 1951, and played , and scored 2-

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

s in the 13-9 victory over

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

in the 1957–58 Challenge Cup Final during the 1957–58 season

on Saturday 10 May 1958.

County League appearances

Jack Cunliffe played in

's victories in the Lancashire League during the 1945–46 season, 1946–47 season, 1949–50 season, 1951–52 season and 1958–59 season.

County Cup Final appearances

Jack Cunliffe played right- in

's 20-7 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the

1949–50 Lancashire Cup The 1949–50 Lancashire Cup competition was the 37th Rugby League Lancashire Cup. In the final, Wigan beat Leigh 20–7 to win the trophy. Thirty-five thousand people attended the match, which took place at Wilderspool, Warrington with receipt ...

Final during the 1949–50 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year l ...

on Saturday 29 October 1949, played , and scored a try in the 28-5 victory over

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

in the 1950–51 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1950–51 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 4 November 1950, played in the 14-6 victory over

in the

1951–52 Lancashire Cup The 1951–52 Lancashire Cup was the thirty-ninth occasion on which rugby league's Lancashire Cup competition was held. It was won by Wigan who defeated Leigh in the final. Background Overall, the number of teams entering this year's competi ...

Final during the 1951–52 season at

on Saturday 27 October 1951, played in the 8-16 defeat by St. Helens in the 1953–54 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1953–54 season at

on Saturday 24 October 1953, and played , and scored a

in the 8-13 defeat by

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 ...

in the

1957–58 Lancashire Cup 1957–58 was the forty-fifth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held. Oldham R.L.F.C., Oldham won the trophy by beating Wigan Warriors, Wigan by the score of 13-8 The match was played at Station Road, Swinton, Station Road ...

Final during the 1957–58 season at

on Saturday 19 October 1957.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Britain hold out Kiwis at Odsal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunliffe, Jack 1921 births 1973 deaths British Empire rugby league team players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league players from Wigan Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league wingers Wigan Warriors players 20th-century English sportsmen