Thomas Smales (born 19 December 1938) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at club level for Wigan,[4] Barrow and Featherstone Rovers as a loose forward,[1] and coached at club level for Dewsbury (two spells), Featherstone Rovers, Bramley, Doncaster and Batley.[2]
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| Full name | Thomas Smales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Loose forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editSmales' birth was registered in Pontefract district, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.[5]
He is the father of the rugby league footballer; Ian Smales.[6]
Playing career
editSmales made his début for Wigan in the 46–5 victory over Featherstone Rovers at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 20 September 1958, he scored his first try (2-tries) for Wigan in the 23–16 victory over Rochdale Hornets at Athletic Ground, Rochdale on Saturday 4 October 1958, he scored his last try for Wigan in the 16–14 victory over Swinton at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 23 April 1960, and he played his last match for Wigan in the 17–23 defeat by Hunslet at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 10 September 1960.[7]
After a period spent playing for Barrow, Smales then played for Featherstone Rovers, making his debut in September 1965.[8] He played loose forward, and scored 3-goals in Featherstone Rovers' 12–25 defeat by Hull Kingston Rovers in the 1966–67 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1966–67 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 15 October 1966. Smales played loose forward, scored a try, two conversion's, and a penalty, in Featherstone Rovers' 17–12 victory over Barrow in the 1966–67 Challenge Cup Final during the 1966–67 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 13 May 1967, in front of a crowd of 76,290. He played loose forward in Featherstone Rovers' 9–12 defeat by Hull F.C. in the 1969–70 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1969–70 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 20 September 1969.
Coaching career
editDuring the 1972–73 Northern Rugby Football League season Smales was the coach in Dewsbury's 22–13 victory over Leeds in the Championship Final at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on Saturday 19 May 1973. Smales was the coach of Batley from June 1979 to October 1981.
References
edit- ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ "Tommy Smales". fevarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Heritage Numbers - In Debut Order". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Birth details at freebmd.org.uk". freebmd.org.uk. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ^ "Tommy Smales (L/F)". fevarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ "Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Smales, Tommy". fevarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
External links
edit- Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
- Wigan RL History – 1958–59 Season at wigan.rlfans.com
- Wigan RL History – 1959–60 Season at wigan.rlfans.com
- Wigan RL History – 1960–61 Season at wigan.rlfans.com
- To date Batley and Dewsbury have met 199 times…
- Wembley trip makes top double for faithful
- Fax banking on Tommy's magic.[dead link]
- (archived by web.archive.org) Barrow RL class of '67 set to gather
- (archived by web.archive.org) Reunion for class of '67
- Playing at Smales pace sank champions
- Pain of defeat serves Dewsbury well to prevent any repeat performance