Malcolm "Mal" "Sammy" Sampson (12 March 1940 – 10 October 2012) 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 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He played at club level for

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 ...

(two spells),

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 ...

and Bramley, as a .

Background

Malcolm Sampson's birth was registered in Lower

Agbrigg Agbrigg is a suburb of the city of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. History The village of Agbrigg was historically within the parish of Sandal Magna and a large area of present-day Agbrigg was common land and can be seen on older maps as ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, England, and he died aged 72 in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

Playing career

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Mal Sampson played at and scored the first try in

's 25-10 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 1963 Challenge Cup Final during the 1962–63 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 11 May 1963, in front of a crowd of 84,492.Hoole, Les (2004). ''Wakefield Trinity RLFC - FIFTY GREAT GAMES''. Breedon Books.

Club career

Mal Sampson signed for

Juniors (under 17s) in 1956, and made his début for Wakefield Trinity in the 31-6 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 ...

at Belle Vue,

in November 1959, his third game came in the 20-10 victory over the 1959 Australian

Kangaroo Tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australia national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours too ...

ists at Belle View, Wakefield. He had played 24 successive matches up to April 1960 when he was involved in a

car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

in which he suffered a badly broken arm, he consequently missed the

1959–60 Challenge Cup The 1959–60 Challenge Cup was the 59th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final The 1959–60 Challenge Cup tournament ended in a final between Wa ...

Final (being replaced by Leslie Chamberlain) and the possibility to play 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 ...

in the

1960 Rugby League World Cup The 1960 Rugby League World Cup was the third World Cup for men’s national teams and was held between 24 September and 8 October and hosted in England. The same format used in 1957 was used, with Great Britain winning their second World Cup af ...

(Great Britain's World Cup s were;

Brian McTigue Brian McTigue (3 August 1930 – 9 December 1981), also known by the nickname "The Wizard", was an English World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He is a Wigan RL Hall of Fame member and is co ...

(

) and colleague Jack Wilkinson (Wakefield Trinity), complications to the broken arm meant he eventually made his comeback some 2½ years later, in November 1962 against

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

at Naughton Park,

, he finished the 1962–63 season with a try in the Challenge Cup Final, and is still the only Wakefield Trinity

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

to score a try at Wembley, he became Wakefield Trinity's first ever league substitute against Halifax, 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 in September 1964, he had a four-game loan period at

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 ...

during the 1965–66 season, his last match for Wakefield Trinity was 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 ...

at Belle View,

in November 1966, after which he signed for Bramley.

Genealogical information

Mal Sampson was the older brother of the rugby league footballer, 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 ...

David Sampson, and uncle of the sprinter Denise Ramsden, rugby league footballer

Dean Sampson Dean Sampson (born 27 June 1967) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a , and spent the majority of his professional career at the Castleford Tigers, with spells in Australia for Gold Coast and the Parramatta ...

, and rugby union and rugby league footballer

Paul Sampson Paul Christian Sampson (born 12 July 1977) is an English rugby union and rugby league player who played at Wing (rugby union), wing or Fullback (rugby union), full-back for London Welsh, Blackheath R.C., Blackheath, Worcester Rugby Football Cl ...

References

External links

Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
->
Search for "Sampson" at rugbyleagueproject.orgRugby League Final 1963
*(archived by archive.is) ttps://archive.today/20130505093701/http://www.wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/news/malcolm-sampson-rip/2012/10/ Malcolm Sampson RIP at wakefieldwildcats.co.ukbr>Malcolm Sampson RIP at forums.rlfans.com
* (archived by web.archive.org
Stats → Past Players → S at hullfc.com
* (archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at hullfc.comObituary - Wakefield Express
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Malcolm 1940 births 2012 deaths Bramley R.L.F.C. players English rugby league players Hull F.C. players Place of birth missing Rugby league props Rugby league players from Wakefield Wakefield Trinity players 20th-century English sportsmen