Horace Stanley Callaghan (25 December 1916 – 9 January 1989) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played for Eastern Suburbs in the NSWRL competition during their second golden era where the club won 4 premierships in 6 seasons.

Playing career

Callaghan made his first grade debut for Eastern Suburbs against

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

in Round 5 1937 at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association fo ...

scoring a try in a 52–5 victory. Callaghan went on to win a premiership in his first season at the club as they finished first on the table but were not required to play in a grand final to be declared premiers. The following year, Eastern Suburbs reached the grand final against

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs o ...

looking to win their 4th premiership in a row. Easts trailed 4–3 at halftime before being outclassed by Canterbury in the second half to lose 19–6. In 1940, Easts finished as minor premiers and reached the grand final against Canterbury-Bankstown. Eastern Suburbs would get their revenge in the final winning 24–14 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of 24,167 spectators to claim their 8th premiership. The following year, Eastern Suburbs reached another grand final with the opponents this time being

St George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

. Callaghan was not selected to play in the match as St George won their first premiership by a score of 31–14. Callaghan retired following the conclusion of the 1941 season.

References

Sydney Roosters players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league players from Kurri Kurri Rugby league centres 1916 births 1989 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1910s-stub