Jimmy Ledgard

James "Jim"/"Jimmy" Ledgard (9 June 1922 – 26 January 2007) was an English rugby union and World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and coached rugby league in the 1960s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Sandal RUFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Dewsbury (two spells), and Leigh, as a goal-kicking fullback, i.e. number 1,[2] and coached at club level for Bradford Northern.[5]

Jimmy Ledgard
Personal information
Full nameJames Ledgard
Born9 June 1922
Wakefield, England
Died26 January 2007 (aged 84)[1]
Dewsbury, England
Playing information
PositionFullback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
≤1947–48 Dewsbury
1948–58 Leigh 334 36 1043 0 2194
1958–60 Dewsbury
Total 334 36 1043 0 2194
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1949 Yorkshire ≥1
1947–55 England 12 2 24 0 54
1947–54 Great Britain 11 1 19 0 41
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1961–62 Bradford Northern
Source: [2][3][4][5]

He was transferred from Dewsbury to Leigh for a record fee of £2,650 during January 1948, (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £218,400 in 2013).[6]

Ledgard made 334 appearances for Leigh after joining the club from Dewsbury in 1948, scoring a record 1,043 goals for the club as well as 36 tries. He played for the club until 1958.

He was part of the Great Britain side that won the 1954 World Cup, winning his 11th and last cap in the 16-12 win over France in the final.

Background

Jimmy Ledgard was born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and he died aged 84 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England.

Playing career

International honours

Jimmy Ledgard won caps for England while at Dewsbury in 1947 against France (2 matches), and Wales, while at Leigh in 1948 against Wales, in 1949 against France, and Other Nationalities, in 1951 against Wales, and France, in 1952 against Other Nationalities (2 matches), and Wales, in 1953 against Wales, in 1955 against Other Nationalities,[3] and won caps for Great Britain while at Dewsbury in 1947 against New Zealand (2 matches), while at Leigh in 1948 against Australia, in 1950 against Australia (2 matches), and New Zealand, in 1951 against New Zealand, and in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup against France (5-goals), Australia (2-goals), New Zealand (1-try, 4-goals), France (2-goals) (World Cup 1954 4-caps, 1-try, 13-goals).[4]

Jimmy Ledgard played fullback in all four of Great Britain's 1954 Rugby League World Cup matches, including Great Britain’s 16-12 victory over France in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup Final at Parc des Princes, Paris on 13 November 1954.

As of December 2016, With 23 goals, Jimmy is 5th in the list of England's all-time Goal Scorers (behind Kevin Sinfield, George Fairbairn, Andrew Farrell and Ernest Ward, and with 52 points he is 8th in the list of England's all-time Point Scorers (behind Kevin Sinfield George Fairbairn, Ryan Hall, Andrew Farrell, Sam Tomkins, Rob Burrow, and Ernest Ward).

County honours

Jimmy Ledgard played fullback in Yorkshire's 3-12 defeat by Lancashire in the 1949 County Championship Final during the 1948–49 season at Thrum Hall, Halifax on Tuesday 3 May 1949, in front of a crowd of 7,000.[7]

Championship Final appearances

Jimmy Ledgard played fullback, and scored a drop goal in Dewsbury's 4-13 defeat by Wigan in the Championship Final during the 1946–47 season at Maine Road, Manchester on Saturday 21 June 1947.[8]

County Cup Final appearances

Jimmy Ledgard played fullback, and scored 2-goals in Leigh's 7-20 defeat by Wigan in the 1949–50 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1949–50 season at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on Saturday 29 October 1949,[9] and played fullback in the 6-14 defeat by Wigan in the 1951–52 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1951–52 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 27 October 1951.[10]

References
  1. Hadfield, Dave (24 March 2007). "Jimmy Ledgard: Gentlemanly rugby league full-back". The Independent. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. "Measuring Worth – Relative Value of UK Pounds". Measuring Worth. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  7. Rugby Football League (3 May 1949). Rugby League County Championship Match - Yorkshire v. Lancashire. Fawcett Greenwood & Co. Well Lane, Halifax. ISBN n/a
  8. "1946–1947 Championship Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  9. "1949–1950 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  10. "1951-1952 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
Achievements
Preceded by
Bill Hudson		 Rugby League Transfer Record
Dewsbury to Leigh
1948-49		 Succeeded by
Albert Naughton
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