Duncan Thompson

{{Short description|Australian RL coach and former Australia international rugby league footballer}}

{{Infobox rugby league biography

|name = Duncan Thompson
{{nobold|{{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|MBE}}}}

|fullname = Duncan Fulton Thompson

|image = Duncan Thompson.jpg

|caption = Thomson in 1925

|birth_date = {{birth date|1895|03|14|df=yes}}

|birth_place = Warwick, Queensland, Australia

|death_date = {{death date and age|1980|05|17|1895|03|14|df=yes}}

|death_place = Auchenflower, Queensland, Australia

|height = {{convert|171|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}

|weight = {{convert|72|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}

|position = {{Rlp|HB}}

|club1 = St.Paul's (Ipswich)

|year1start = 1911

|year1end = 15

|appearances1 =

|tries1 =

|goals1 =

|fieldgoals1 =

|points1 =

|club2 = Wests (Newcastle)

|year2start = 1915

|year2end =

|appearances2 =

|tries2 =

|goals2 =

|fieldgoals2 =

|points2 =

|club3 = North Sydney

|year3start = 1916

|year3end =

|appearances3 = 13

|tries3 = 1

|goals3 = 0

|fieldgoals3 = 0

|points3 = 3

|club4 = Starlights (Ipswich)

|year4start = 1919

|year4end =

|appearances4 =

|tries4 =

|goals4 =

|fieldgoals4 =

|points4 =

|club5 = North Sydney

|year5start = 1920

|year5end = 23

|appearances5 = 46

|tries5 = 11

|goals5 = 46

|fieldgoals5 = 0

|points5 = 125

|club6 = Valleys (Toowoomba)

|year6start = 1924

|year6end = 25

|appearances6 =

|tries6 =

|goals6 =

|fieldgoals6 =

|points6 =

|teamA = Queensland

|yearAstart = 1915

|yearAend = 25

|appearancesA = 11

|triesA = 1

|goalsA = 18

|fieldgoalsA = 0

|pointsA = 38

|teamB = {{rlnt|Australia}}

|yearBstart = 1920

|yearBend = 24

|appearancesB = 9

|triesB = 2

|goalsB = 4

|fieldgoalsB = 0

|pointsB = 11

|teamC = New South Wales

|yearCstart = 1921

|yearCend = 22

|appearancesC = 3

|triesC = 2

|goalsC = 0

|fieldgoalsC = 0

|pointsC = 6

|teamD = Metropolis

|yearDstart = 1922

|yearDend = 23

|appearancesD = 3

|triesD = 2

|goalsD = 1

|fieldgoalsD = 0

|pointsD = 8

|coachteam1 = Toowoomba

|coachyear1start = 195?

|coachyear1end = ??

|coachgames1 =

| coachteamA = Queensland

| coachyearAstart = 1953

| coachyearAend =

| coachgamesA = 0

| coachwinsA = 0

| coachdrawsA = 0

| coachlossesA = 0

|retired = yes

|updated =

|source =

}}

Duncan Fulton Thompson MBE (14 March 1895 – 17 May 1980) was an Australian veteran of both World War I and World War II and a rugby league footballer, coach and administrator. He was wounded on active service in World War I and has been named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century,[http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players Century's Top 100 Players] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225164807/http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players|date=25 February 2008}} and is regarded as the father of modern coaching.{{cite news|last=Leslie|first=Cameron|title=Rugby League Team of the Century named|url=http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2008/08/21/team-of-greats-shows-depthof-south-west/|access-date=8 January 2012|newspaper=The Chronicle|date=21 August 2008}} He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1960 New Year Honours "for services to the community in the field of Sport."United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |issue=41909 |date=29 December 1959 |pages=23 |supp=y}}

Early life

Born in Warwick, Queensland, on 14 March 1895, Thompson would go on to become a banker and skillful rugby league {{rlp|hb}}. He commenced his club career in the Queensland town of Ipswich, and first represented for Queensland in 1915.

First World War

Thompson moved to Sydney where he played for Norths before enlisting in the First Australian Imperial Force in 1916 during World War I. He left Sydney in 1917 on HMAS Ayrshire with the 49th Battalion (Queensland) within 13th Brigade of the Australian 4th Division, and saw active service in Belgium and France. In April 1918 during the German spring offensive he was shot through the chest at Dernancourt on the Ancre River but survived. He was told he would not play sport again and carried a bullet fragment in his body for the rest of his life. He was discharged after demobilisation in January 1919.

Continued playing career

After returning to Australia in 1919 Thompson joined the Commonwealth Bank and re-commenced his football career. He made the 1919 tour of New Zealand in the first Australian full Test representative side to cross the Tasman. With the world still recovering from World War I and in the midst of the deadly Spanish flu pandemic, the side could only find passage to New Zealand on a cockroach and rat-infested cargo ship out of Newcastle harbour. Half-way across the Tasman, bites from the ship-bred vermin led to Thompson and "Chook" Fraser falling victim to blood-poisoned legs.

File:Sh 1921 kangaroos.jpg]]

Thompson won premierships with Norths in 1921 and along with other North Sydney stars Harold Horder and Cec Blinkhorn he was selected to go on the 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain, playing in all three Tests and twenty-three tour matches, topping 100 points on the overall tour with 49 goals. He also took Norths to victory in the 1922 NSWRFL season's premiership final, captaining the side.

Thompson's departure from Sydney was bitter following a suspension on a kicking charge which he steadfastly denied. Returning to Queensland, he captained the Toowoomba team in 1924 and 1925, alongside Herb Steinohrt and Tom Gorman. This renowned Toowoomba side beat all comers, including Sydney premiers Souths, Brisbane, Ipswich and visiting representative sides, including New South Wales, Victoria, Great Britain and New Zealand. His international representative career closed in 1924 with two Test appearances in the Ashes series against the touring British Lions.

Post playing and WWII

He served again for his country in the AIF in World War II as an amenities officer at Townsville and in Papua New Guinea. He served as an administrator for the Queensland Rugby League{{cite news

| title = Sydney clubs ready to sign Hall

| work = The Sunday Herald

| place =Australia

| pages = 7

| date = 21 August 1949

| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vl0QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H5MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7124,2588293

| access-date = 7 December 2009}} and also coached the Toowoomba Clydesdales to six victories in the Bulimba Cup in the 1950s. He was a state and national selector in the 1950s and 1960s.

A Toowoomba champion tennis player and Queensland state tennis representative, Thompson played in the men's doubles at the 1931 New South Wales Open. He was also an accomplished cricketer, fine golfer and lawn bowler.{{cite book

| last = Pollard

| first = Jack

| title = Gregory's Guide to Rugby League

| publisher = Grenville Publishing

| year = 1965

| location = Australia

| id = p167

}}[https://secure.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/98638/Australian_Rugby_League_2005.pdf 2005 Annual Report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705170103/https://secure.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/98638/Australian_Rugby_League_2005.pdf|date=5 July 2009}} – Australian Rugby League (p. 50)

His brother Colin Thompson also played representative rugby league for Queensland in the 1920s.

Thompson died in Auchenflower, Queensland on 17 May 1980.

Accolades

In 1929 the Duncan Thompson Stand at the North Sydney Oval was named after him as well as the main grandstand at Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba. In 1960 Thompson was honoured as a Member (civil) of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to sport.

In 2005 he was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and in August 2006 was named at halfback in the North Sydney Bears' Team of the Century.[http://rl1908.com/Hoffame/index.htm Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518042953/http://rl1908.com/Hoffame/index.htm|date=18 May 2008}} In February 2008, Thompson was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.{{cite news|author=Peter Cassidy|publisher=Macquarie National News|title=Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players|url=http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players|access-date=23 February 2008|date=23 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225164807/http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players|archive-date=25 February 2008}}{{cite web|publisher=NRL & ARL|title=Centenary of Rugby League – The Players|url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true|access-date=23 February 2008|date=23 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226180521/http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true|archive-date=26 February 2008}} In June 2008, he was chosen in the Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century on interchange bench.{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23843448-10389,00.html|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=10 June 2008|title=Locky named No.1 but Wal's still King|access-date=20 May 2009|first=Steve|last=Ricketts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702003008/http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23843448-10389,00.html|archive-date=2 July 2008|url-status=dead}}

In 2008, rugby league in Australia's centenary year, Thompson was named as half-back and coach of the Toowoomba and South West Team of the Century.

References

External links

[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120226b.htm Duncan Thompson at the Online Dictionary of Australian Biographies]
[http://rugbyleagueproject.com/players/Duncan_Thompson.html Duncan Thompson stats at rugbyleagueproject.com]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080722091021/http://www.qrl.com.au/display.php?pg_id=958 Master Coach Joins Hall Of Fame – article at qrl.com.au]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140114111429/http://nz.leagueunlimited.com/news.php?newsid=16380 Queensland Team of the Century named – article at nz.leagueunlimited.com]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080801044241/http://www.nrlstats.com/archive/players.cfm?PlayerID=2740 Duncan Thompson at nrlstats.com]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110524211341/http://www.qrl.com.au/qrl_history/qld_rep_t.php Queensland representatives at qrl.com.au]

{{Succession box

| before = {{nowrap|Fred Gilbert}}
1951

| after = {{nowrap|Clive Churchill}}
1959

| title = Coach
{{leagueicon|queensland|size=18}}
{{nowrap|Queensland}}

| years = 1953

}}

Category:1895 births

Category:1980 deaths

Category:Australasia rugby league team players

Category:Australia national rugby league team players

Category:Australian bankers

Category:Australian cricketers