James Leytham (birth registered fourth ¼ 1879 – 20 August 1916), 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 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 1890s, 1900s and 1910s. 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 ...

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

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

and

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 ...

(

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 .

Background

Jim Leytham's birth was registered in

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city in Lancashire, England, and the main cultural hub, economic and commercial centre of City of Lancaster district. The city is on the River Lune, directly inland from Morecambe Bay. Lancaster is the county town, although ...

. He lived with his wife and children in Lodge Street, Lancaster. The house was demolished a number of years ago. As of 2019 it is a car park at the rear of the

Grand Theatre, Lancaster The Grand Theatre in Lancaster, England is one of the oldest theatres in England and the third oldest in Britain, having been in near continuous use since 1782. Though it has seen numerous extensions and alterations, much of the original stone ...

, opposite Classic Drinks (a delivery wholesale business supplying drinks to pubs and bars, previously part of

Booker Group Booker Group Limited is a British wholesale distributor, and subsidiary of Tesco plc. In January 2017, it was announced that the British multinational supermarket retailer Tesco had agreed to purchase the company for £3.7 billion. It was con ...

, now part of

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

). Leytham along with several members of his family died in a fishing accident in the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic languages, Brittonic ...

Estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second largest ga ...

on Sunday 20 August 1916. His death at age 36 was registered in

.Tom Mather (2010). "Best in the Northern Union". Pages 128–142.

Playing career

Club career

Leytham made his début for

Warriors, and scored a try in the 14-0 victory over

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 ...

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 ...

, on Saturday 12 December 1903. During Jim Leytham's time at Wigan, they also won the South West Lancashire League in

1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' D ...

and 1905–06. Leytham played on the , and scored two

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

s in

's 7-3 victory over

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

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 ...

Final during the 1908–09 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, City of Salford, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named ...

on Saturday 1 May 1909. Leytham played in

's victories in the Lancashire League during the 1908–09 season, 1910–11 season and 1911–12 season. Leytham played right wing, in

's 0-0 draw with

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

1905–06 Lancashire Cup The 1905 Lancashire Cup was the inaugural year for the rugby league Lancashire Cup competition. The cup was won by Wigan Warriors, Wigan who beat Leigh Centurions, Leigh in a replay at Wheater's Field, Broughton, Greater Manchester, Broughton, S ...

Final during the 1905–06 season at

Wheater's Field Wheater's Field was a stadium, rugby ground in Broughton, Salford, Broughton, County Borough of Salford, Salford, England. It was home to the Broughton Rangers rugby league club of the Rugby Football League, Northern Union. On 19 October 1907, ...

, Broughton, on Saturday 2 December 1905; played right wing, and scored a conversion in the 8-0 victory over

in the

Final replay during the 1905–06 season at Wheater's Field, Broughton, on Monday 11 December 1905. He played right wing, and scored a conversion in the 10-9 victory over

in the

1908–09 Lancashire Cup The 1908–09 Lancashire Cup was the fourth year for this regional rugby league competition and saw a final between two previous cup winners. The cup was won by Wigan who beat Oldham in the final at Wheater's Field, Broughton, Salford, by a scor ...

Final during the 1908–09 season at Wheater's Field, Broughton, on Saturday 19 December 1908, and played right wing and scored a try, and two conversions in the 22-5 victory over

in the

1909–10 Lancashire Cup The 1909–10 Lancashire Cup was the fifth year of this regional rugby league competition and for the first time the defending champions retained the trophy as Wigan Warriors, Wigan beat Leigh Centurions, Leigh in the final at Wheater's Field, Br ...

Final during the 1909–10 season at Wheater's Field, Broughton, on Saturday 27 November 1909. He then played his last match for

, and scored a try in the 8-8 draw with

Hull F.C. 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 ...

, on Monday 8 April 1912, after which injury forced him to retire.

Notable tour matches

Leytham played on the , and scored 3-

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

's 12-8 victory over

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 ...

in the

1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' D ...

match at

, on Saturday 9 November 1907, and played on the , and scored 2-

s in the 10-7 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

1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the first ever such tour for the newly-formed Australia national rugby league team (or 'The Kangaroos'). The tour was to England and Wales and coincided with the first Wallabies Rugby Union tour of ...

match at

, on Saturday 9 January 1909. He then played on the in the 16-8 victory over

in the

match at

, on Wednesday 20 January 1909, and played on the , and scored his team's sole try in the 7-2 victory over

in the

1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the second ever Kangaroo tour and was actually a tour by an " Australasian" squad that included four New Zealand players in addition to 24 Australian representatives. It took place over the Briti ...

match at

, on Saturday 28 October 1911.

International honours

Leytham played in the first ever

international for

while at Wigan in 1905 against Other Nationalities; he went on to win more caps in 1906 against Other Nationalities and in 1908 against

. He also 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 1908 against New Zealand (2 matches), and in 1910 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 ...

(2 matches). He was selected to go on the

1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand Year 191 ( CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 191 for this ye ...

, and played against Australia (2 matches),

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

(2 matches), and New Zealand. In this tour's

Ashes series The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, i ...

, he set the record for the most tries in a match with four in Britain's victory in the second test. Along with Stanley "Stan" Moorhouse, Peter Norburn,

Keith Fielding Keith John Fielding (born 8 July 1949) is an English dual-code international rugby footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a winger. He played representative level rugby union for England, and at club level for Moseley Rugby Fo ...

, Stuart Wright,

Martin Offiah Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE ( (''original pronunciation''), (''commonly used'')); born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Offiah was inducted ...

and

Sam Tomkins Sam Tomkins (born 23 March 1989) is a professional rugby league analyst for Sky Sports and professional player, after coming out of retirement to finish the 2024 season with Catalans Dragons in the Super League, (the club he had initially re ...

; having scored four tries, Jim Leytham, jointly holds the record for the most tries scored in an

match, scoring four tries against Other Nationalities 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 ...

on 2 January 1905.

Genealogical information

Jim Leytham's marriage to Mary Isabella (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Wilson) was registered during April→Jun 1908 in

district. They had children: Isabel Leytham (birth registered fourth ¼ 1908 in

district), Reginald G. Leytham (birth registered fourth ¼ 1910 in

district), and James Leytham (birth registered fourth ¼ 1911 in

district).

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com

Lancaster RLFC honour league legend
ĎŔƑ {{DEFAULTSORT:Leytham, James 1879 births 1916 deaths Boating accident deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Lancaster RFC players Rugby league players from Lancashire Rugby league wingers Sportspeople from Lancaster, Lancashire Wigan Warriors captains Wigan Warriors players