Jack Hickey (rugby)

Jack 'Darb' Hickey (4 January 1887 – 15 May 1950) was an Australian rugby union and pioneer professional rugby league footballer and represented his country at both sports. He was one of Australia's early dual-code rugby internationals. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in rugby union and was notable for scoring the first ever try for the Australian national side in a rugby league test match.

Jack Hickey

Hickey with test cap and team kit, 1909
Birth name	John Joseph Hickey
Date of birth	4 January 1887
Place of birth	Sydney, NSW
Date of death	15 May 1950(1950-05-15) (aged 63)
Place of death	Darlinghurst, New South Wales
Rugby union career
Position(s) centre International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1908-09 Australia 2 (0)
Rugby league career
Playing information
Position	Three-quarter
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1910–15 Glebe 54 100 1911 Balmain 10 26 Total 64 0 0 0 126 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1910 Australia 2 5
Medal record Men's rugby union Representing Australasia Olympic Games 1908 London Team competition

Rugby union career

Hickey toured Britain and North America with the Wallabies captained by Paddy Moran in 1908–09. He earned two Test caps against Wales and England on the tour and was a member of the Olympic gold medal-winning Wallabies at the 1908 London Games. On his return to Australia, he joined the fledgling code of rugby league along with 13 of his Olympic teammates.

Hickey front row 2nd from right, with the 1908 Wallaby tour squad

1908 Olympic Gold Final Wallabies v Cornwall

Rugby league career

Hickey made his international league debut in the First Test in Sydney on 18 June 1910. Four of his former Wallaby teammates also debuted that day John Barnett, Bob Craig, Charles Russell and Chris McKivat - making them collectively Australia's 11th to 15th dual code internationals. This mirrored a similar occurrence two years earlier when five former Wallabies in Micky Dore, Dally Messenger, Denis Lutge, Doug McLean snr and John Rosewell all debuted for the Kangaroos in the first ever Test against New Zealand.

He played in both rugby league Tests of the 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia, the first ever, and scored the first ever try for Australia in a rugby league Test Match. Darb Hickey played 4 seasons with Glebe (rugby league team) and one season at Balmain Tigers during his club career.

Death

"Darb' Hickey died of cancer on 15 May 1950 at the Sacred Heart Hospice, St. Vincent's Hospital. He was aged 63 and was survived by his eight children. A well attended funeral was held for Darb, and he was buried at Rookwood Cemetery on 16 May 1950.

See also

• Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics

References

• Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney

External links

• John Hickey at databaseOlympics.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 2007-09-29)
• Jack Hickey at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• Jack Hickey at ESPNscrum
• Jack Hickey at Olympics.com
• Jack Hickey at Olympedia
• Jack Hickey at the Australian Olympic Committee