Thomas "Tommy" Smales (19 December 1934 – 26 October 2017) 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, 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 in the 1960s and 1970s. 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 ...

and

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 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 ...

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 ...

(

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 ...

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 ...

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in Cammeray on Sydney's North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The club currently competes in the NSW Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL s ...

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 , and coached at club level for

and

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

(two spells).

Background

Tommy Smales's birth was registered in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

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, he was the

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

of the Traveller's Rest

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

lic house, Pontefract Road, Featherstone for 35-years, from 1969 until 2004, and he died aged 82 in

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 ...

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 ...

, England.

Playing career

Club career

Tommy Smales made his début for

on Saturday 23 August 1952.Bailey, Ron (20 September 2001). ''Images of Sport – Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Football Club''. The History Press.

Championship final appearances

Tommy Smales played , and was

's 14-5 victory over

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 1961–62 season 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 Saturday 19 May 1962.Edgar, Harry (2008). ''Rugby League Journal Annual 2009 age-57'. Rugby League Journal Publishing.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Tommy Smales played , and was

's 6-12 defeat by

in the

1961–62 Challenge Cup The 1961–62 Challenge Cup was the 61st staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Wakefield Trinity beat Huddersfield 12-6 in the Challenge Cup Fina ...

Final during the 1961–62 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 12 May 1962, in front of a crowd of 81,263.

County Cup Final appearances

Tommy Smales played , and scored a try in

's 15-8 victory over

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 ...

in the

1957–58 Yorkshire Cup The 1957 Yorkshire Cup was the 50th occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup (rugby league), Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Huddersfield Giants, Huddersfield won the trophy by beating York F.C., York by the score of 15-8. Results This seaso ...

Final during the 1957–58 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 ...

on Saturday 19 October 1957, played in the 10-16 defeat by

in the 1960–61 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1960–61 season at

on Saturday 29 October 1960, and played in

's 17-8 victory over

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

in the 1965–66 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1965–66 season at

on Saturday 16 October 1965.

International honours

Tommy Smales 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

while at Huddersfield in 1962 against France, and won

s for

while at Huddersfield in 1962 against France, in 1963 against France, and Australia, in 1964 against France (2 matches), and while at Bradford Northern in 1965 against New Zealand (3 matches).

Coaching career

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Tommy Smales was the

's 7-2 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

1969–70 Challenge Cup The 1970 Challenge Cup was the 69th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Castleford and Wigan at Wembley in front of a crowd of 95,255. Castleford won the match 7–2. The winner o ...

Final during the 1969–70 season at

on Saturday 9 May 1970, in front of a crowd of 95,255.

Club career

Tommy Smales was the

, his first game in charge was on Sunday 3 August 1969, and his last game in charge was on Saturday 28 November 1970.

Genealogical information

Tommy Smales was the uncle of the rugby league footballer; Dale Fennell.

Note

Somewhat confusingly, Tommy Smales played in the same era as the unrelated

, Barrow and

of the 1950s and 1960s, Thomas "Tommy" Smales.

References

External links

Rogers receives late call-up Video 'Wakefield Win Cup 1962' at britishpathe.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
The Millennium Masters - BacksPhotograph "Huddersfield v Wakefield Trinity 1962 - Huddersfield beat Wakefield in this final, much against form, by 14 points to 5 in front of 37,451 the attendance being kept down by poor weather and a feeling that Wakefield would be much too strong for Huddersfield. Not so! - 01/01/1962" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Return to Odsal - Ex-players lead out the team on the return to Odsal after two seasons at Valley Parade - 09/03/2003" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Trevor kisses the turf - Trevor Foster kisses the turf on the return to Odsal after two seasons at Valley Parade - 09/03/2003" at rlhp.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smales, Tom 1934 births 2017 deaths Bradford Bulls players British publicans Castleford Tigers coaches Castleford Tigers players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Featherstone Rovers coaches Featherstone Rovers players Great Britain national rugby league team captains Great Britain national rugby league team players Huddersfield Giants captains Huddersfield Giants players North Sydney Bears players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Castleford Wakefield Trinity players 20th-century English sportsmen