Searching for Information on former Wigan player

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robmathews66
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Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 7:30 pm

Searching for Information on former Wigan player

Post by robmathews66 »

I am trying to find infomation about my Great Grandfather who played for Wigan and so far on the internet I have come up blank. I am hopping to pick the brains of any budding historians out there, or someone that can point me to any reccommended club history books. His name was Howell de Francis, and I know he transfered from Bradford and then played for Wigan between 1908 and 1922, all I have is an old newspaper cutting which was written when he died. I am looking to find out as much infomation as possible about his playing career and if there are any photos this would be a bonus. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Rob Mathews
mike binder
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Re: Searching for Information ...

Post by mike binder »

if you put howell Defrancis in google theres loads of info comes up
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Re: Searching for Informat...

Post by mike binder »

Wigan suffered heartbreak in 1910-11 by losing both the Challenge Cup and Championship Finals.

Wigan Final League Position: 1st (after a play off match to decide 1st place)
League Champions: Oldham (20-7 v Wigan)
Challenge Cup Winners: Broughton Rangers (4-0 v Wigan)
Lancashire Cup Winners: Oldham (4-3 v Swinton)
Lancashire League Winners: Wigan (3)

1910-1911 Northern Rugby League Date Opposition Venue Result

Sat 3 Sept Broughton Rangers Away Won 15-0
Tries: Johnston, Miller, Seeling. Goals: Price 3.
Sat 10 Sept Coventry Home Won 53-2
Tries: Seeling 4, Miller 3, Whittaker 2, Gleave, Cheetham, Johnston, Todd.
Goals: Price 2, Todd 2.
Sat 17 Sept Rochdale Hornets Away Won 13-9
Tries: Miller 2, Todd. Goals: Price 1, Hogg 1.
Sat 24 Sept Huddersfield Home Won 21-8
Tries: Todd 2, Williams, Leytham, Miller. Goals: Leytham 3.
Sat 1 Oct Leigh Away Won 31-0
T: Miller 2, Todd 2, Thomas, Jenkins, Johnston. G: Leytham 3, Thomas 1, Sharrock 1.
Sat 8 Oct Ebbw Vale Home Won 16-3
Tries: Todd 2, Seeling, Leytham. Goals: Thomas 2.
Sat 15 Oct Oldham Away Lost 2-16
Goals: Thomas 1.
Sat 22 Oct Lancashire Cup R1: Widnes Home Lost 6-10
Tries: Leytham, Miller.
Sat 29 Oct Huddersfield Away Lost 3-12
Try: Miller.
Sat 5 Nov Runcorn Home Won 31-3
Tries; Myers 2, Jenkins 2, Miller, Cheetham, Leytham. Goals: Leytham 5.
Sat 12 Nov Warrington Away Lost 10-12
Tries: Gleave, Leytham. Goals: Leytham 2.
Sat 19 Nov Leeds Home Won 10-6
Tries: Jenkins, Leytham. Goals: Sharrock 1, Thomas 1.
Sat 26 Nov Widnes Home Won 8-0
Tries: Todd, Leytham. Goals: Leytham 1.
Sat 3 Dec Ebbw Vale Away Won 8-3
Tries: Miller 2. Goals: Leytham 1.
Sat 10 Dec Broughton Rangers Home Won 37-0
T: Todd 3, Williams 2, Seeling, Price, Bullen, Ramsdale. G: Price 3, Todd 1, Shallcross 1.
Sat 17 Dec Coventry Away Won 26-10
Tries: Leytham 2, Jenkins 2, Miller 2, Seeling, Williams. Goals: Leytham 1.
Sat 24 Dec Swinton Home Won 32-10
T: Miller 2, Seeling 2, Williams, Leytham, Jenkins, Thomas. G: Sharrock 2, Thomas 2.
Mon 26 Dec St Helens Away Won 18-6
Tries: Leytham 2, Miller, Francis
Sat 31 Dec Swinton Away Won 8-3
Tries: Leytham, Thomas. Goals: Leytham 1.
Mon 2 Jan Halifax Home Won 15-8
Tries: Leytham, Miller, Ramsdale. Goals: Thomas 3.
Sat 7 Jan Salford Home Won 17-0
Tries: Thomas, Leytham, Hogg. Goals: Leytham 2, Thomas 2.
Sat 14 Jan Warrington Home Won 21-2
Tries: Miller 2, Leytham, Seeling, Todd. Goals: Thomas 2, Leytham 1.
Sat 21 Jan Barrow Away Won 11-3
Tries: Miller 3. Goals: Leytham 1.
Sat 28 Jan Leigh Home Won 33-5
Tries: Leytham 3, Miller 3, Jenkins 2, Todd. Goals: Sharrock 3.
Sat 4 Feb Widnes Away Lost 0-10
No Score.
Sat 11 Feb Hull Away Lost 8-20
Tries: Seeling, Thomas. Goals: Sharrock 1.
Sat 18 Feb Challenge Cup R1: Huddersfield Away Won 18-3
Tries: Gleave, Leytham, Whittaker, Thomas. Goals: Leytham 1, Thomas 1, Sharrock 1.
Sat 25 Feb Barrow Home Won 30-0
T: Seeling 2, Leytham, Jenkins, Francis, Thomas, Miller, Todd. G: Leytham 2, Thomas 1.
Sat 4 March Challenge Cup R2: Warrington Home Won 21-12
Tries: Leytham 2, Jenkins, Miller, Thomas. Goals: Thomas 2, Leytham 1.
Wed 8 Mar Runcorn Away Won 13-0
Tries: Jenkins, Todd, Leytham. Goals: Leytham 2.
Sat 18 Mar Challenge Cup Quarter Final: Leeds Away Won 13-4
Tries: Thomas, Todd, Williams. Goals: Leytham 2.
Sat 25 Mar Leeds Away Won 20-2
Tries: Miller 2, Leytham 2. Goals: Sharrock 4.
Wed 29 Mar Oldham Home Won 11-5
Tries: Todd 2, Leytham. Goals: Leytham 1.
Sat 1 April Rochdale Hornets Home Won 35-10
Tries: Todd 4, Rees, Silcock, Cheetham. Goals: Sharrock 7.
Sat 8 April Challenge Cup Semi Final: Batley Hudds Won 4-2
Goals: Sharrock 2.
Wed 12 Apr Salford Away Draw 12-12
Tries: Seeling, Jenkins. Goals: Sharrock 2, Thomas 1.
Fri 14 April St Helens Home Won 25-8
Tries: Miller, Renwick, Jenkins, Cheetham, Seeling. Goals: Thomas 3, Sharrock 2.
Sat 15 April Halifax Away Won 17-15
Tries: Ramsdale, Todd, Jenkins. Goals: Thomas 3, Sharrock 1.
Mon 17 Apr Hull Home Won 38-0
Tries: Jenkins 2, Leytham 2, Todd, Miller, Seeling, Thomas.
Goals: Thomas 4, Leytham 2, Sharrock 1.
Wed 19 Apr Championship 1st Place Play Off*: Oldham Wakefield Won 11-3
Tries: Renwick, Taylor, Walford. Goals: Prescott 1.
Sat 22 April Championship Play Off Semi Final: Widnes Home Won 16-0
Tries: Cheetham, Leytham, Miller, Seeling. Goals: Leytham 1, Sharrock 1.
Sat 29 April Challenge Cup Final: Broughton Rangers Salford Lost 0-4
No Score.
Sat 6 May Championship Play Off Final: Oldham Broughton Lost 7-20
Try: Leytham. Goals: Sharrock 1, Thomas 1.


*Both sides finished with identical points percentage. Wigan had more than twice the points difference of Oldham but it was decided to play off to decide 1st place. Wigan played a virtual reserve outfit with four players making their first appearances of the season. They still won but Oldham gained revenge big style by winning the championship final against us for the second year in a row.

Player
Apps
Tries Goals
Charlie Seeling 41 18 -
Joe Miller 39 35 -
Jim Sharrock 39 - 30
Lance Todd 39 25 3 Tom Whittaker 37 3 -
Percy Williams 37 6 -
Bert Jenkins 35 17 -
Dick Ramsdale 34 3 -
Fred Gleave 33 3 -
Johnny Thomas 33 10 33
Jim Leytham 32 31 33
James Shallcross 24 - 1
Dick Silcock 23 1 -
Walter Cheetham 19 5 -
Howell De Francis 17 2 - Harry Price 12 1 9
Naddy Jones 9 - -
Andy Hogg 7 1 4
Albert Renwick 8 2 -
Massa Johnston 7 3 -
Billy Winstanley 6 - -
Fred Myers 5 2 -
Rhys Rees 5 1 -
Robert Curwen 4 - -
George Holding 4 - -
William Wilcock 2 - -
Jack Prescott 2 - 1
Jimmy Bullen 1 1 -
Mark Green 1 - -
Billy Seddon 1 - -
Alan Taylor 1 1 -
Joe Topping 1 - -
Frank Walford 1 1 -

Top Try ScorersPlayer
Tries
Joe Miller 35
Jim Leytham 31
Lance Todd 25 Bert Jenkins 17
Charlie Seeling 18
Johnny Thomas 10
Walter Cheetham 5
Percy Williams 6
Tom Whittaker 3
Fred Gleave 3
Massa Johnston 3
Dick Ramsdale 3
Howell De Francis 2 Fred Myers 2
Albert Renwick 2
Jimmy Bullen 1
Andy Hogg 1
Harry Price 1
Rhys Rees 1
Dick Silcock 1
Alan Taylor 1
Frank Walford 1

Top Goal Scorers Player
Goals
Jim Leytham 33
Johnny Thomas 33
Jim Sharrock 30
Harry Price 9
Andy Hogg 4
Lance Todd 3
Jack Prescott 1
James Shallcross 1

Northern Rugby League
Coventry replaced Treherbert.

1 Wigan 34 28 1 5 - 650 205 57 83.82
2 Oldham 34 28 1 5 - 441 210 57 83.82
3 Wakefield Trinity 33 24 1 8 - 493 264 49 74.24
4 Widnes 30 19 3 8 - 310 137 41 68.33
-------------------------------------------------------------
5 Hull Kingston Rovers 33 21 3 9 - 587 294 45 68.18
6 Hunslet 34 21 0 13 - 431 389 42 61.76
7 Huddersfield 36 22 0 14 - 702 293 44 61.11
8 Hull 36 20 3 13 - 453 347 43 59.72
9 Warrington 31 15 5 11 - 284 303 35 56.45
10 Dewsbury 30 16 0 14 - 284 333 32 53.33
11 Swinton 34 18 0 16 - 333 262 36 52.94
12 Leeds 33 16 2 15 - 385 340 34 51.51
13 Rochdale Hornets 34 17 1 16 - 355 320 35 51.47
14 Halifax 36 18 1 17 - 371 328 37 51.38
15 Keighley 29 14 1 14 - 246 447 29 50.00
16 Salford 32 14 2 16 - 335 337 30 46.87
17 Batley 31 14 1 16 - 272 223 29 46.77
18 Broughton Rangers 32 14 1 17 - 208 338 29 45.31
19 St Helens 34 14 1 19 - 377 449 29 42.64
20 Leigh 32 13 0 19 - 219 355 26 40.63
21 Barrow 32 11 1 20 - 272 395 23 35.94
22 Runcorn 30 9 3 18 - 230 331 21 35.00
23 Bradford Northern 32 10 1 21 - 173 390 21 32.81
24 York 30 9 0 21 - 273 423 18 30.00
25 Ebbw Vale 30 9 0 21 - 178 297 18 30.00
26 Merthyr Tydfil 18 5 0 13 - 90 335 10 27.77
27 Coventry 32 6 1 25 - 288 524 13 20.31
28 Bramley 32 5 1 26 - 150 521 11 17.18
(R.L.Yearbook 1995-96)


Championship Play-Off:

Play-Off for First Place:

Wigan 11 beat Oldham 3.

Semifinals:

Oldham 15 beat Wakefield Trinity 12.
Wigan 16 beat Widnes 0.

Final:

Oldham 20 beat Wigan 7.











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mike binder
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Re: Searching for Informat...

Post by mike binder »

looks like your grandad played with lance todd and palyed in a challenge cup final
mikebinderflooring@yahoo.co.uk for all your carpets and vinyls suppiled and fitted


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mike binder
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Re: Searching for Informat...

Post by mike binder »

Player
Apps
Tries Goals
Jim Leytham 37 45 43
Dick Silcock 37 3 -
Johnny Thomas 36 17 41
Howell De Francis 35 8 1 Dick Ramsdale 35 2 -
Joe Miller 34 26 -
Bert Jenkins 33 12 1
Naddy Jones 32 2 -
Jim Sharrock 32 - 10
Tom Whittaker 28 2 -
Joe Topping 27 2 -
Harry Price 21 5 -
Lance Todd 20 15 1
Walter Cheetham 16 - -
Jack Barton 15 - -
Charlie Seeling 13 4 -
Jimmy Blears 7 - -
Robert Parr 5 - -
Randall Davies 4 - -
Fred Myers 4 - -
James Green 3 - -
Robert Curwen 2 2 -
James Aitcheson 1 - -
Jimmy Bullen 1 1 -
Jack Prescott 1 1 -

Top Try Scorers Player
Tries
Jim Leytham 45
Joe Miller 26
Johnny Thomas 17
Lance Todd 15 Bert Jenkins 12
Howell De Francis 8 Dick Silcock 3
Harry Price 5
Charlie Seeling 4
Naddy Jones 2
Robert Curwen 2
Dick Ramsdale 2
Joe Topping 2
Tom Whittaker 2
Jimmy Bullen 1
Jack Prescott 1
Penalty Try 1

Top Goal Scorers Player
Goals
Jim Leytham 43
Johnny Thomas 41
Jim Sharrock 10
Howell De Francis 1
Bert Jenkins 1
Lance Todd 1

Northern Rugby League
Aberdare, Barry and Mid-Rhondda dropped out, leaving 28 teams.

1 Oldham 34 29 2 3 - 604 184 60 88.23
2 Salford 31 24 1 6 - 387 210 49 79.03
3 Wigan 30 23 1 6 - 545 169 47 78.33
4 Wakefield Trinity 32 24 0 8 - 435 242 48 75.00
-------------------------------------------------------------
5 Keighley 28 19 0 9 - 382 242 38 67.85
6 Leeds 34 21 1 12 - 451 317 43 63.26
7 Warrington 34 20 2 12 - 408 252 42 61.76
8 Huddersfield 34 21 0 13 - 477 301 42 61.76
9 Halifax 34 21 0 13 - 395 269 42 61.76
10 St Helens 31 18 2 11 - 468 367 38 61.29
11 Hull Kingston Rovers 35 19 1 15 - 410 376 39 55.71
12 Leigh 32 15 5 12 - 218 206 35 54.68
13 Hull 36 19 0 17 - 456 373 38 52.77
14 Batley 33 16 2 15 - 313 201 34 51.51
15 Hunslet 32 16 0 16 - 321 347 32 50.00
16 Runcorn 30 14 1 15 - 232 317 29 48.33
17 Ebbw Vale 24 9 2 13 - 156 211 20 41.66
18 Widnes 28 10 3 15 - 152 244 23 41.07
19 Rochdale Hornets 32 13 0 19 - 272 371 26 40.62
20 Dewsbury 30 11 1 18 - 253 338 23 38.33
21 Swinton 30 10 2 18 - 203 306 22 36.66
22 Broughton Rangers 34 10 2 22 - 295 498 22 32.35
23 Bradford Northern 34 9 1 24 - 176 388 19 27.94
24 York 30 6 1 23 - 269 473 13 21.66
25 Bramley 29 6 0 23 - 181 532 12 20.68
26 Barrow 28 5 1 22 - 146 377 11 19.64
27 Merthyr Tydfil 21 2 1 18 - 94 354 5 11.90
28 Treherbert 12 0 0 12 - 55 289 0 0.00
(R.L.Yearbook
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trotski_tgwu
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Re: Searching for Informat...

Post by trotski_tgwu »

Well done finding all that out Mike.
I take it you were very bored at lucntime today :lol:

But i do like History specially when its about interesting people.


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consigliere
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Re: Searching for Informat...

Post by consigliere »

played 75 times for us
Scoring 21 times

asuming you can get into wigan go and have a look in the history shop (accross the road from the baths)

They have all the old papers on microfilm and are really helpful
www.directeta.com

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robmathews66
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Re: Searching for Information ...

Post by robmathews66 »

Thankyou for the information

Rob Mathews
mike binder
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Re: Searching for Informat...

Post by mike binder »

no probs here to help
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ancientnloyal
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Re: Searching for Informat...

Post by ancientnloyal »

You know that off top of your head mike?
https://www.ancientandloyal.com/

James Slevin
Ces Mountford
And the “kind of rugby player you’d want to be in your dreams” James Leytham
Should be in the Wigan Warriors Hall
Of Fame
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