Billy Little (rugby league, born 1911)

William Little (26 January 1911 – 17 December 2004) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played at representative level for England and Cumberland, and at club level for Barrow, as a scrum-half, i.e. number 7.[2]

Not to be confused with Billy Little (1900s rugby league).
For other people with the same name, see William Little (disambiguation).

Billy Little
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Little
Born(1911-01-26)26 January 1911
Great Clifton, England
Died17 December 2004(2004-12-17) (aged 93)[1]
Barrow-in-Furness, England
Playing information
PositionScrum-half
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1932–47 Barrow 425 47 44 229
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1932–46 Cumberland 15 1 0 3
1933–34 England 3 2 0 6
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1950 Whitehaven RLFC 0 0 0 0
Source: [2][3][4]

Background

Little was born in the small mining village of Great Clifton, Cumberland, and in his early days he played for the village's club, and he died aged 93 in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England.

Playing career

International honours

Little won caps for England while at Barrow in 1933 against Other Nationalities, and in 1934 against Australia, and France.[3]

County honours

Little represented Cumberland.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Little played scrum-half, and scored a drop goal with his left-foot in Barrow's 4-7 defeat by Salford in the 1938 Challenge Cup Final during the 1937–38 season at Wembley, London on 7 May 1938, and was a reserve in Barrow's 0-10 defeat by Wigan in the 1950–51 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London on 5 May 1951.

County Cup Final appearances

Little played scrum-half in Barrow's 4-8 defeat by Warrington in the 1937 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1937–38 season at Central Park, Wigan on 23 October 1937.[5]

Testimonial match

Little's testimonial matches at Barrow were shared with Bob Ayres, Val Cumberbatch, John Higgin and Dan McKeating, and took place against Swinton on 27 April 1946, and against Oldham on 27 January 1947.[6]

Contemporaneous article extract

On 25 January 1947, Little was described in the programme of the Big Five Benefit as "the man who spelt the end to Halifax R.L. Cup hopes in 1938. Member of a famous Great Clifton football family. International and Cumberland County man."[6]

References
  1. "Billy Little". Barrow Raiders RLFC. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  3. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 1994. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  4. Gardner, Mike (2012). Willie: The Life and Times of Willie Horne, a Rugby League Legend (2nd ed.). Ex-L-Ence Publishing. ISBN 978-1909133044.
  5. "Barrow Make Two Finals In One Year". nwemail.co.uk. 11 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  6. "Barrow Testimonial Game for Big Five". cumberbatch.org. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
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