Thomas C. Askin
(24 June 1905 – 14 January 1976) 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 1920s and 1930s. 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
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, and at club level for
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
. He usually played as a or .
Background
Tom Askin was born in
Knottingley
Knottingley is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 13,503, increasing ...
,
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 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.
Playing career
Club career
Tom Askin, who came from
Knottingley
Knottingley is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 13,503, increasing ...
, made his début for Featherstone Rovers on 21 March 1925, after the club had spotted him playing for
Knottingley Rovers. He was suspended from playing for three matches in early 1927 following an ill-tempered December game against
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 ...
in which he and three other players were sent off. He played at in Featherstone Rovers' 0-5 defeat by Leeds in the
1928 Yorkshire Cup final at
Belle Vue,
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 ...
, on 24 November 1928.
Soon after this, and hours before the midnight, 1 February 1929 cut-off time for players to be registered for the Rugby League Cup, Askin was transferred to Leeds. This was despite both clubs only days earlier scotching rumours of such a transfer, and despite rumoured interest in him from other clubs such as
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 ...
,
Salford
Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...
and
Halifax. Although he had recovered from a leg injury, the 12-
stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
, 22-year-old Askin had not played for Featherstone for a few weeks due to a disagreement with the club's board, and they now felt that they had no option but to list him. Featherstone had wanted £1000 for the player but accepted Leeds' offer of £800.
Askin played for his new club against
Hull F.C. on 2 February and then injured his leg during Leeds' defeat by
Warrington
Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
in the first round of the Cup a week later. He had to have an operation in Liverpool and was out of the team for almost all that remained of the 1928–29 season. Although signed by Leeds to strengthen their left wing, he returned to his more familiar position in the centre for the 1929–30 season and scored 15
tries before being put on the transfer market with an asking price of £500.
Askin transferred to Castleford on 13 November 1930, with ''
The Leeds Mercury'' commenting that he had "rarely touched his best form in Leeds colours and it may be that now he is nearer the district in which he learned his football he will display the ability which gained him a place in the last tour team". He played for the club from
then until the
1936–37 season,
scoring his first try for the club in the 22-3 victory over
Bramley in very bad conditions on 29 November 1930. He was joined at Castleford by his brother,
Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...
, who made his début against
Hull F.C. on 26 March 1932, a match in which Tom was unable to play due to injury.
Tom Askin was listed for transfer by Castleford at a fee of £250 in July 1932. However, he was a part of the Castleford team that won the
Yorkshire County League during the
1932–33 season. He played on the and scored a try in Castleford's 11-8 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 ...
in the
1935 Challenge Cup final 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, on 4 May 1935, in front of a crowd of 39,000. Later that year, in November, he broke his leg in the last minutes of a match against the same club. Although there were fears that the injury might signal the end of his career, he appeared to be training well in the subsequent close season.
In March 1937, an exchange deal between Castleford and Newcastle saw Askin move to
North East England
North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...
while G. L. Taylor travelled in the opposite direction. Newcastle were at that time attempting to establish the sport in the
Tyneside
Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...
region and the ''
Yorkshire Evening Post
The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' (''YEP'') is a regional daily newspaper covering the City of Leeds. Founded in 1890 it is published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, National World.
Despite being having coverage and being sold across West Yorkshire ...
'' commented that his loyalty and experience could be of much benefit in that regard.
In September 1938, Askin returned to Featherstone on loan from Castleford.
International and County honours
Askin 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 Great Britain in 1928, when he played three matches against Australia and a further three against New Zealand.
Askin 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 Yorkshire during the
1927–28 season against
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
, Lancashire, and
Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.
He played again for the county during the
1928–29 season against Lancashire. In September 1930, he played once more for Yorkshire against Cumberland at
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. ...
when
George Whittaker of
Swinton was moved from the wing to cover for the injured Castleford international
Arthur Atkinson, thus opening up a spot for Askin. However, he was dropped from the squad in favour of
George Bateman of Hull for the October match against Lancashire at
Belle Vue,
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 ...
.
In 1971, Askin, then involved with
Doncaster
Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...
, was appointed as a replacement for
Brian Snape on the RFL selection panel.
Personal life
Askin married Aubuary Stephenson of
Whitley Bridge
Whitley Bridge railway station serves the villages of Eggborough and Whitley in North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Pontefract Line and is east of . It was opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway on 1 April 1848, on their ...
at
Kellington
Kellington is a small village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, on the banks of the River Aire. Situated almost equidistant between the towns of Pontefract and Selby, the village dates back to at least the 11th century ...
Parish Church on 16 August 1933. He was elected to Knottingley council as an Independent Municipal Association candidate in May 1954.
See also
*
List of Featherstone Rovers players
References
Notes
Citations
External links
Thomas Askin Memory Box Search at archive.castigersheritage.comTommy Askin Memory Box Search at archive.castigersheritage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Askin, Thomas
1905 births
1976 deaths
20th-century English sportsmen
Castleford Tigers players
English rugby league players
Featherstone Rovers players
Great Britain national rugby league team players
Leeds Rhinos players
Newcastle RLFC players
Rugby league centres
Rugby league wingers
Rugby league players from Wakefield
Sportspeople from Knottingley
Yorkshire rugby league team players