Thomas "Tommy" Brannan (1893–1960), 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 "Dowdy", 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 1910s and 1920s. He played at club level for

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 ...

, 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 ...

, as a .

Background

Tommy 'Dowdy' Brannan's birth was registered in

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

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 ...

, he was a

knocker-up A knocker-up or knocker-upper was a member of a profession (''One of the curious ways of earning a livelihood in the manufacturing towns'') in the Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, and some other countries that started during, and lasted well into, ...

per in

, on Tuesday 28 July 1914 Brannan was found guilty of being

drunk Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...

and

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

ous, and

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

ing a

police constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an police officer, officer within a police ser ...

(PC) named Thompson, who said in court that Brannan had used objectionable language toward him whilst on-board a

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

car, and that this continued after they descended from the tramcar, when PC Thompson went to arrest Brannan, Brannan kicked PC Thompson several times, including twice in the head, it took five police constables to transfer Brannan to the police station, which was witnessed by a crowd of 500-people on Taylor Street,

, at midnight on Friday 24 July 1914. Brannan said in court that he was sober, and that PC Thompson took offence because he thought he was laughing at him, and that PC Thompson had hit him on the nose and he had retaliated; Brannan was fined 5-

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s (5/–) plus costs for being drunk and disorderly, fined 10-

s (10/–) plus costs for assaulting PC Thompson, the total fine being 15-

s (15/–) plus costs (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £247 in 2016), and his death aged 66 was registered in Upper

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 ...

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 ...

Playing career

Notable tour matches

Tommy 'Dowdy' Brannan played on the in

's 3-29 defeat by

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

1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the third ever Kangaroo tour. Again an Australasian side rather than an Australian team alone (although the 28-man squad featured only one New Zealander) travelled to Great Britain to contest t ...

match at Belle Vue,

on Saturday 22 October 1921, in front of a crowd of 6,000.Hoole, Les (2004). ''Wakefield Trinity RLFC - FIFTY GREAT GAMES''. Breedon Books.

Club career

Tommy 'Dowdy' Brannan was transferred from

in January 1921. Like the Batley player; Herbert 'Dodger' Simms, to keep fit he raced against

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

s, and beat them.

Career records

Batley Bulldogs The Batley Bulldogs are an English professional rugby league club in Batley, West Yorkshire, who play in the Championship. Batley were one of the original twenty-two rugby football clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. ...

' "most tries in a match" record of 5- tries, is jointly held by; Joe Oakland (1908), Tommy 'Dowdy' Brannan (against Swinton at Mount Pleasant,

on Saturday 17 January 1920), Jim Wale (1926 and 1927), Tommy Oldroyd (against Highfield on 6 March 1994), Ben Feehan (against Halifax on 18 August 2008), and Jermaine McGillvary (against

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. ...

on 24 May 2009).

References

External links

Batley Footballer FinedA Batley Footballer FinedSearch for "Brannan" at rugbyleagueproject.orgSearch for "Brannon" at rugbyleagueproject.orgSearch for "Brenning" at rugbyleagueproject.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brannan, Thomas 1893 births 1960 deaths Batley Bulldogs players English rugby league players Rugby league players from Dewsbury Rugby league wingers Wakefield Trinity players 20th-century English sportsmen