Jack Kitching 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 1940s and 1950s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

ed in the 1950s. 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 ...

, and at club level for

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

and

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

, as a , and coached at club level for Castleford.

Early life

Kitching was born in Bradford. He was educated at Thornton Grammar School, Bradford and

Borough Road College The West London Institute of Higher Education (WLIHE), a two-campus academic establishment, was located in Isleworth and East Twickenham, West London, UK from 1976 until 1995 when it became Brunel University College. In 1997 it was fully integra ...

, London, where he qualified as a teacher. From 1940–45 he served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Rugby career

Kitching's rugby league career started in 1944 when he signed for Bradford Northern, having previously played for Bradford rugby union club. Kitching was three times a

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

winner. He played in the second leg of the

1943–44 Challenge Cup The 1943–44 Challenge Cup was the 43rd staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Bradford Northern and Wigan, and was played over two legs. The final was won by Bradford Northern 8–3 ...

final as Bradford beat Wigan 8–0 (winning 8–3 on aggregate) at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...

on 22 April 1944. The second win was when Bradford beat

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

8–4 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 ...

in the

1946–47 Challenge Cup The 1946–47 Challenge Cup was the 46th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Leeds reached the Wembley final for the second time, doing so w ...

final on 3 May 1947. In between Kitching played in both legs of the

1944–45 Challenge Cup The 1944–45 Challenge Cup was the 44th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. Qualifier First round Second round Semifinals Final In the final of the Rugby league Challenge Cup, Huddersfield beat Brad ...

final as Bradford lost 13–9 on aggregate to

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

. The third was in 1949 as Bradford beat Halifax 12–0 at Wembley on 7 May. While at Bradford Kitching won four caps for

between 1945 and 1947, three caps against Wales (1945, 46 and 47) and a single cap against France in 1946. In 1946 he was selected for the

team to tour Australia and New Zealand, and played in one test against Australia. During the first test of the tour he was sent off for striking Australian captain,

Joe Jorgenson Joe Jorgenson (12 September 1921 – 7 May 1993) was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1940s and '50s. He was a three-quarter for the Australian national team who played in three Tests in 1946, two as captain. Jorgensen also repres ...

. Kitching later accused Jorgensen of biting him prior to his dismissal, an allegation that was not sustained. In June 1948 Kitching accepted an offer to become manager at new club,

who were about to start their inaugural season in the league. A transfer fee of £2,500 was agreed between Whitehaven and Bradford enabling Kitching to also play for as well as manage Whitehaven in July 1948; however in December of the same year Kitching resigned as manager citing personal reasons and the inability to find a family home in Whitehaven, and returned as a player to Bradford. In October 1950 he was transferred to Castleford for a fee of £1,000. From February 1951 he was captain of the team. Between August 1951 to April 1952, he was coach of the Castleford club.

Teaching career

Away from rugby, Kitching taught geography and physical education. At the time of the 1950 General Election he was teaching at Pudsey Grammar School. He later became deputy head teacher at High Ridge School in

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town in Lincolnshire, England, and the county's third most populous settlement after Lincoln, England, Lincoln and Grimsby, with a population of 81,286 in 2021. It is the administrative centre and largest settleme ...

Political career

He was the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate for

Bradford North Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post sy ...

at the 1950 General Election. He finished third and did not stand for parliament again.

Death

Kitching died of cancer at his home in

Bottesford, Lincolnshire Bottesford is a town in North Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Historically a village, Bottesford forms a contiguous urban area of Scunthorpe. In the 2001 Census, Bottesford's population was recorded as 11,171, falling to 11,038 at the 2 ...

on 30 July 1993, aged 73. He was buried at St Giles Church,

Scartho Scartho () is a suburban village in the southern part of Grimsby, in the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire, in the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. Scartho's population is approximately 11,000. Up until the end of th ...

along with his two-year old granddaughter Mishka, who had died from

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

on the same day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitching, Jack 1920s births 1993 deaths Bradford Bulls players British sportsperson-politicians Castleford Tigers coaches Castleford Tigers players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Royal Navy personnel of World War II Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Bradford Whitehaven R.L.F.C. coaches Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players Schoolteachers from Yorkshire 20th-century English sportsmen