Joe Oliver (rugby league)

Joseph Oliver (birth unknown – death unknown), also known by the nicknames of "The Points Machine" and "Old Faithful", was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Cumberland, and at club level for Huddersfield, Batley, Hull F.C. {Heritage No.} (two spells), and Hull Kingston Rovers {Heritage No.}, as a fullback, or centre, i.e. number 1, or 3 or 4 and was captain of Hull during the 1930–31, 1933–34, 1934–35 and 1935–36 seasons.[4]

Joe Oliver
Personal information
Bornunknown
Maryport, England
Diedunknown
Playing information
PositionFullback, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
19??–2? Huddersfield
192?–28 Batley
1928–37 Hull F.C. 426 152 687 1842
1938–40 Hull Kingston Rovers 34 4 36 0 84
1943–45 Hull F.C.
Total 460 156 723 0 1926
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
192?–?? Cumberland 35
1928–36 England 4 2 0 0 6
1928 Great Britain 4 1 0 0 3
Source: [1][2][3]

Background

Oliver was born in Maryport, Cumberland, England.

Playing career

Oliver won caps for England while at Batley in 1928 against Wales, and won caps for Great Britain in 1928 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand.[3]

Oliver won further caps for England while at Hull in 1933 against Australia, and in 1936 against Wales, and France,[2] He also represented Cumberland.

Oliver played, was captain, and scored two tries, and five conversions in Hull FC's 21-2 victory over Widnes in the Championship Final during the 1935-36 season.

Oliver played, and was captain in Hull FC's victory in the Yorkshire League during the 1935-36 season.

The Hull F.C club song 'Old Faithful' also comes from Joe Oliver's time at the club. Joe was nicknamed 'The Points Machine' and 'Old Faithful' by the club's supporters, due to his consistent and prolific scoring rate. In 1933 when Gene Autry released his song about an 'old faithful' horse the fans adopted it for Joe. The song has adapted slightly since that time but can still be accredited to Joe's time at the club.

Oliver set Hull FC's "Most Career Goals" record with 687-goals, and Hull FC's "Most Career Points" record with 1842-points scored between 1928-37 & 1943-45.

References
  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Coaches and Captains". hullfc.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
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