James Lomas (rugby league)

James Lomas (26 August 1879 – 11 February 1960), also known by the nickname of "Jumbo", was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1890s, 1900s, 1910s and 1920s, and coached in the 1920s. three-quarter, and prominent goal-kicker, he captained the Great Britain national rugby league team. After starting with his home town Maryport's rugby union club, Lomas switched to rugby league, playing for Bramley, Salford, Oldham (Heritage No. 136) and York in a career that lasted for twenty-four years from 1899 to 1923, and saw him set new transfer fee and point scoring records. He also played representative matches for England, Lancashire and Cumberland.[2][7] After retiring from playing Lomas coached Salford.[5]

Jim Lomas
Personal information
Full nameJames Lomas
Born26 August 1879
Maryport, Cumberland, England
Died11 February 1960(1960-02-11) (aged 80)
Crumpsall, Manchester, Lancashire, England
Playing information
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[1]
Weight13 st 5 lb (85 kg; 187 lb)[1]
Rugby union
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1896–98 Maryport
Rugby league
Positionwing, centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1900–01 Bramley 31 4 21 54
1901–11 Salford 304 208 464 0 1552
1911–12 Oldham 80 38 37 0 188
1913–19 York 53 21 68 199
1922–24 Salford 8 0 6 12
Total 476 271 596 0 2005
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1899–12 Cumberland 14 6 8 34
1901–06 Lancashire 9 2 6 18
1904–11 England 13 6 21 60
1908–12 Great Britain 7 4 12 36
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1922–26 Salford

Early life

Lomas was born on 26 August 1879 in Maryport, Cumberland, England, the son of Sarah (née Tyson) and James Lomas. He is the younger brother of Tom Smith,[8] who played association football for Preston North End and Tottenham Hotspur.

Career

Early career

Lomas started his career with his hometown rugby club, Maryport, while they were still playing rugby union. His first known appearance for the first team came on 14 November 1896 in a 3–0 defeat against Millom.[6] Lomas remained with the club when they made the switch to rugby league and joined the Northern Rugby Football Union in March 1898. In 1899, he made his début appearance for Cumberland aged 19, scoring the only try of the match which was a 3-0 victory over Cheshire at Whitehaven.[9]

1900s

Lomas became rugby league's first £100 transfer, from Bramley to Salford in 1901[10] (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £35,890 in 2013).[11] He played for them in the 1902 Challenge Cup Final loss against Broughton Rangers. He then played in 1904's first ever international rugby league match for England against Other Nationalities. His club record for most points in a game (39), achieved for Salford against Liverpool City on 2 February 1907, still stands today. He also played in the 1904 Challenge Cup final for Salford.

Lomas was also notable for his goal-kicking style. He was the first player to stand the ball up on its end.[12] Lomas won caps for England while at Salford playing Centre, i.e. number 4, but arriving after the start of the match, in the 3-9 defeat by Other Nationalities at Central Park, Wigan on Tuesday 5 April 1904, in the first ever international rugby league match.[13] in 1905 against Other Nationalities, in 1906 against Other Nationalities, in 1908 against New Zealand, and Wales, in 1909 against Australia (3 matches) and Wales.[3] Lomas also won caps for Great Britain while at Salford in 1908–09 against Australia (2 matches, both as captain), in 1910 against Australia (2 matches), Australasia, and New Zealand.[4] Lomas captained the successful first British tour of the Southern Hemisphere which began on 4 June 1910. He also represented England in 1910 against Wales.[1]

1910s

In January 1911 he joined Oldham from Salford for a fee of £300, (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £104,600 in 2013).[11] While there in 1911 he played for England against Wales, and Australia (2 matches). During the 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain Lomas captained Great Britain in the second and third Ashes tests. Lomas also played in Oldham's 1912 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Dewsbury.

During Lomas' time there was Salford's 5-3 victory over Huddersfield in the Championship Final during the 1913–14 season. He had also represented Cumberland and Lancashire.

1920s

As the coach of Salford, player shortages forced Lomas to play in some cup matches for Salford in the 1922–23 season, and in 1923–24 season he was again forced to make some appearances. His last match for Salford, aged 44, was against Wakefield Trinity on 29 September 1923.[14] He continued in his coaching role at Salford until the 1925–26 season.

Statistics

Lomas was a prolific points scorer throughout his career, finishing with a total of 2,312 points in all competitions.[15] Lomas' total points was an all-time career record until it was surpassed by Jim Sullivan during the 1928–29 season.

Club

Maryport

Cumberland Senior League (1): 1899–1900

Oldham

Rugby League Championship: 1910–11

Representative

Lancashire

County Championship (3): 1902–03, 1903–04, 1905–06

Cumberland

County Championship (3): 1907–08, 1909–10, 1911–12

Legacy

The Courtney Goodwill Trophy, international rugby league's first, was presented for the first time in 1936 and depicted Lomas, along with other pioneering greats of the code, Jean Galia (France), Albert Baskiville (New Zealand) and Dally Messenger (Australia).[16] Lomas died in Manchester, England on 11 February 1960. He was the subject of a book, The King of Brilliance: James Lomas – a Rugby League Superstar, which was published in 2011.[6]

References
  1. "Papers Past – Evening Post – 14 May 1910 – Football". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org (RL)". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (RL)". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (RL)". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. Morris, Graham (2011). The King of Brilliance : James Lomas - A Rugby League Superstar. London League Publications. ISBN 978-1-903659-57-1.
  7. "Statistics at orl-heritagetrust.org.uk". orl-heritagetrust.org.uk. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  8. According to Morris (2011), Lomas' mother, Sarah, had previously been married to John Smith, who was reportedly lost at sea in October 1870. Sarah subsequently met James Lomas, but they could not marry until Sarah's husband was officially declared dead. Morris surmises that "it is highly probable that Tom was their first child and, because they were not then wed, he inherited his mother's surname."
  9. newsandstar.co.uk (17 March 2010). "'Name Man of the Match Award after Cumberland Legend'". News & Star. UK: CN Group. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  10. Baker, Andrew (20 August 1995). "100 years of rugby league: From the great divide to the Super era". Independent, The. independent.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  11. "Measuring Worth – Relative Value of UK Pounds". Measuring Worth. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  12. Cann, W. A. (12 June 1946). "1908–09 Kangaroos blazed R. L. trail". Sydney Morning Herald, The. Australia. p. 9. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  13. Fagan, Sean. "The First International Rugby League Match". rl1895.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2004. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  14. Tom Mather (2010). "Best in the Northern Union". Pages 128–142. ISBN 978-1-903659-51-9
  15. Lomas also scored an additional 28 points for Maryport, but these are excluded from official records
  16. “League Legends: fast facts about rugby league” Archived 14 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine at nsm.org.au
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