Alfred James Croston (3 April 1911 – August 1992) was an English rugby union, 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 1930s and 1940s, 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 rugby league in the 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, at military level for Army Rugby Union (with

Frank Whitcombe Frank William Whitcombe (29 May 1913 – 17 January 1958), also known by the nickname of "The Big Man", was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played rugby union (RU) for Cardif ...

), and the 38th Field Company

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, and at club level for United Services Portsmouth, 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 ...

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

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 at club level for

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 ...

and

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 ...

(

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 ...

), as a , and coached at club level for

Playing career

Castleford

Croston came from Wigan and had begun playing rugby at Castleford around 1932 after leaving the army, where he had played for United Services and won a

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 ...

for Hampshire. Croston played at in

's 11-8 victory over

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 ...

in the 1935 Challenge Cup Final during the 1934–35 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 ...

on Saturday 4 May 1935, in front of a crowd of 39,000. In November 1938, he put in a transfer request to the Castleford board and, although selected, did not turn up for the club's match with Hull. He was not named for the team that played Barrow on 26 November and said that he would retire from the sport unless his request was granted. Despite this, he was available to play for the club at the start of the 1938-39 season. Croston played in

's victory in the Yorkshire League during the 1938–39 season.

Wakefield Trinity

Croston made his début for

during September 1943, and he played his last match for Wakefield Trinity during the 1946–47 season. He was

's 13-12 victory over

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 the 1946 Challenge Cup Final during the 1945–46 season at

on Saturday 4 May 1946, in front of a crowd of 54,730.Hoole, Les (2004). ''Wakefield Trinity RLFC - FIFTY GREAT GAMES''. Breedon Books. Croston was the

's 2-5 defeat by

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 ...

in the 1945 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1945–46 season at

Thrum Hall Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax R.L.F.C., Halifax for 112 years. The site on which the ground stood is now occupied by a supermarket. History In 1878, Halifa ...

, Halifax on Saturday 3 November 1945, played at , and was the

in the 10-0 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1946 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1946–47 season at

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 ...

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 ...

on Saturday 31 November 1946, and was the

(standing in for Harry Beverley) in the 17-3 victory over

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

in the 1951 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1951–52 Northern season at

Fartown Ground The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown, Huddersfield, Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Giants, Huddersfi ...

on Saturday 27 October 1951.

Representative honours

Jim Croston won

s for

while at Castleford in 1936 against Wales, in 1938 against Wales (2 matches), and France, in 1939 against France, and Wales, and won a

for

while at Castleford in 1937 against Australia. Jim Croston won

s for

while at

; he played at in Lancashire's 5-5 draw with Yorkshire at

' stadium on 9 January 1935, played in the 7-4 victory over Cumberland at

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. ...

's stadium on 21 September 1935, scored a try in the 28-6 victory over Yorkshire at

's stadium on 21 October 1936, scored two tries in the 18-10 victory over Cumberland at St. Helens' stadium on 31 October 1936, played in the 23-17 victory over Cumberland at

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 ...

's stadium on 18 September 1937, played at and scored a try in the 7-5 victory over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

1937–38 Kangaroo tour The 1937–38 Kangaroo tour was the sixth Kangaroo tour, in which the Australian national rugby league team travelled to New Zealand, Great Britain and France and played thirty-eight matches, including the Ashes series (rugby league), Ashes series ...

match 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 ...

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 ...

on Wednesday 29 September 1937, in front of a crowd of 16,250. played in the 8-7 victory over Cumberland at

's stadium on 14 September 38, and played in the 10-10 draw with Yorkshire at

' stadium on 26 October 1938.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Profile at thecastlefordtigers.co.ukJohn Ledger: Legend Croston's starring role in real golden era of the CupCas The Golden Point PioneersSearch for "Jim Croston" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croston, James 1911 births 1992 deaths Army rugby union players British Army personnel of World War II Castleford Tigers players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players English rugby union players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Royal Engineers soldiers Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Wigan Rugby union players from Wigan United Services players Wakefield Trinity captains Wakefield Trinity coaches Wakefield Trinity players 20th-century English sportsmen