James Wasdale Brough (5 November 1903 – 16 September 1986), 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 'Gentleman Jim' , was an English dual-code international

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 ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(soccer)

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, 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 1920s and 1930s, and rugby league

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 ...

of the 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

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

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, and at club level for Silloth RUFC, as a fullback, and club level association football as an amateur for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

(

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

), as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) 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 ...

(

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 ...

), and

, and at club level for

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 ...

, as a , or , and coached representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain, and at club level for

Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...

and

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 ...

. Born in

Silloth Silloth, or Silloth-on-Solway, is a port town and civil parish in the Cumberland (district), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town stands on the coast of the Solway Firth, west of Carlisle. It was developed from the 1850s onwards a ...

, England, he died in

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England.

Playing career

Rugby union

Brough was working in the fishing industry and his main interest was sailing model yachts until, aged 17, he joined some other young men in forming a rugby union club. This short-lived club, set up by friends who could not get a game with Silloth RUFC, gave him an interest in the sport and he soon found himself playing for the Silloth club itself. By the age of 19, he was playing rugby union for the county team of

, and by age 21 he had played for

(RU). His

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

début was in January 1925 against

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 ...

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. Two weeks later, he appeared against

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 ...

. Various rugby league sides were now taking note of Brough's ability, including Barrow,

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 ...

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 ...

, Swinton and

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 ...

. Despite being offered as much as £350 to join the league ranks, Brough chose instead to sign with

club

as an amateur association footballer. He then discovered that he was unlikely to supplant Liverpool's incumbent

Elisha Scott Elisha Scott (24 August 1893 – 16 May 1959) was a Northern Irish football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1912 to 1915 and from 1919 to 1934, and still holds the record as their longest-serving player. Life and playing career Elisha ...

, and when

club Leeds offered him a signing-on fee in excess of £600, he joined the ranks of professional

footballers.

Rugby league

Brough made his rugby league début for Leeds against

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

on Wednesday 2 September 1925.Dalby, Ken (1955). ''The Headingley Story – 1890–1955 – Volume One – Rugby''. The Leeds Cricket, Football & Athletic Co. Ltd ASIN: B0018JNGVM Brough played in Leeds' 11–8 victory over Swinton in the 1931–32 Challenge Cup Final at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

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 ...

, on Saturday 7 May 1932, in front of a crowd of 29,000, then was

in the 18–2 victory over Huddersfield in the

1935–36 Challenge Cup The 1935–36 Challenge Cup was the 36th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Leeds beat Warrington 18-2 in the Challenge Cup Final played at We ...

Final 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 ...

on Saturday 18 April 1936, in front of a crowd of 51,250, he missed the 19–2 victory over Halifax in the 1940–41 Challenge Cup Final 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 ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, and played fullback in the 15–10 victory over Halifax in the

1941–42 Challenge Cup The 1941–42 Challenge Cup was the 41st staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final References {{DEFAULTSORT:1941-42 Challenge Cup Challenge ...

Final at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, on Saturday 6 June 1942.

International honours

As a professional

footballer, Brough 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 England in 1926 against Wales, and Other Nationalities, in 1928 against Wales, in 1929 against Other Nationalities, in 1932 against Wales, in 1933 against Other Nationalities, in 1934 against Australia, in 1935 against France, and Wales, in 1936 against Wales, and France, and won

s for Great Britain while at Leeds in 1928 against Australia (2 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches), and in 1936 against Australia (captain).

Coaching career

Brough was the coach of

from January 1948 to May 1948,2 January 1948. ''Mick Exley Leaves Batley''.

Yorkshire Evening Post The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' (''YEP'') is a regional daily newspaper covering the City of Leeds. Founded in 1890 it is published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, National World. Despite being having coverage and being sold across West Yorkshire ...

. ISBN n/a and was the coach in Workington Town's 12–21 defeat by Barrow in the

1954–55 Challenge Cup The 1954–55 Challenge Cup was the 54th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final This is the only all-Cumbrian Final to date, although its occurre ...

Final at

on Saturday 30 April 1955, and was the coach in the 9–13 defeat by

in the 1957–58 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 10 May 1958, in front of a crowd of 66,109. Aside from his club roles, Brough was also coach of the

rugby league team.

Honoured at Silloth RUFC

In 2005, in honour of Jim Brough, Silloth RUFC renamed its ground, The Jim Brough Rugby Park.

Personal life

Jim Brough married Florance Annie (née Carr) in 1928 in Wigton. They had two children, the golfers Samuel John Brough (1931–2014), and Florance Poinsettia Pamela Brough (1936–2017); the organist and composer Michael James Arman Brough (b. 1960) is Jim Brough's grandson.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brough, James 1903 births 1986 deaths Men's association football goalkeepers Batley Bulldogs coaches Dual-code rugby internationals England international rugby union players England national rugby league team captains England national rugby league team players English men's footballers English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team captains Great Britain national rugby league team coaches Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos captains Leeds Rhinos players People from Silloth Rugby union players from Cumbria Footballers from Cumbria Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Cumbria Rugby union fullbacks Whitehaven R.L.F.C. coaches Workington Town coaches 20th-century English sportsmen Cumberland rugby league team players