James Haywood Cumberbatch (9 February 1909 – first ¼ 1972) 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. He played at representative level 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 at club level for

Broughton Rangers Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one rugby clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton, Salford, but in 1933 moved to Gorton, Manchester ...

and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, as a .

Background

James Cumberbatch was born in

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 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and his death aged was registered in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

South district.

International honours

Cumberbatch 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 Broughton Rangers in 1937 against France, and while at

in 1938 against Wales, and was the only player to win an England cap while at the now defunct

rugby league club.

Contemporaneous article extract

"''This live piece of mercury, who has come before the selectors as a Tour probable, first came to Manchester to play for Swinton, who passed him over. However, he signed for Broughton and has since proved their finest acquisition. His clever play on the Broughton left wing has also proved him to be one of the League's foremost attackers. Born in Liverpool, he first played the Association game for his school until he became attached to Barrow St. Matthew’s Club. Has earned his County Cap, and has also played for the League against France. Jimmy’s brother is a member of the Barrow Club, and two brothers keep up the family tradition of excelling at sport. Jimmy is a good sport, a good player, and one of the League’s most popular players.''"''Sporting Events and Stars - Series of 96 - No. 74 - J. Cumberbatch''. Senior Service. ISBN n/a

Personal life

Cumberbatch was the brother of the rugby league footballer Val Cumberbatch.

References

External links

Parkinson, Kate (25 June 2007). "Bringing Broughton Rangers back", Greater Manchester Online. Retrieved 6 August 2022.Jimmy Cumberbatch at cumberbatch.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumberbatch, James 1909 births 1972 deaths Black British sportsmen Broughton Rangers players England national rugby league team players English people of Barbadian descent Sportspeople of Barbadian descent English people of Manx descent English rugby league players Lancashire rugby league team players Newcastle RLFC players Rugby league players from Liverpool Rugby league wingers 20th-century English sportsmen