Robster pauses for a minute silence on the player he is just about to write about.
---------------
Tribute to Albert Baskerville.
It was 100 years ago this week that a Rugby player turned Rugby League legend Albert Henry Baskerville passed away in Brisbane Hospital. Baskervilles vision made him one of the most controversial figures in New Zealand sport. His pioneering efforts have made him a Rugby League icon and earned him the title Father of New Zealand & Australian Rugby League.
Baskerville was an extraordinary man who was raised in the village of Waioronomai. Having earned an enviable reputation as an All Black, the powers that be were furious with the news that Baskerville was organizing a Northern Union team together with fellow All Blacks winger George Smith. The NZRU threatened life bans for any players who switched codes. Despite the threat, and the financial risk, Albert Baskerville stuck to his dream. His insight has triumphed remarkably, with Rugby League now recognized as one of the top sports in New Zealand.
It was never all beer and skittles for Baskerville. Having left school at 14 and prior to earning football fame, Baskerville began working for the Auckland Post & Telegraph Office. The tragic accidental death of his father when Albert was 20, left his mother to raise seven young children. A promotion meant transferring to Wellington and Albert flew his entire family there to join him.
In 1906, the young postie was also plying his trade as a prolific try-scorer for a local rugby union club. His inspiration to take a New Zealand team to challenge clubs in the north of England was ignited when a work mate gave him a copy of the Manchester Athletic News. He noted that a magnificent crowd had turned out to watch a Northern Union game in Bradford (UK).
Fortuitously, he befriended champion All Black George Smith, who had witnessed a Northern Union football match in 1905. With the All Blacks players striving to create a Northern Union International team, the concept almost went pear-shaped after life bans were meted out for those who turned their back on the NZRU, following Baskerville and Smith to the new code of the Northern Union.
Baskerville is recognized as the pivotal figure in the foundation of International Rugby League in both New Zealand and Australia. His most notable contribution to IRL was the promotion of the inaugural test match (1908) between the New Zealand All Golds and the Australian Kangaroos. It should be remembered that All Golds was not the official name, but rather a derogatory swipe at Baskervilles men, their All Blacks connection and their perceived avarice.
This was the game where Northern Union Football was, for the first time, officially called Rugby League and was the tail end of the successful All Golds tour of England. The profits generated by this mini-tour funded the inception of the NSWRL.
The legendary Dally Messenger, who had toured as a guest with the team, reverted back to the enemys camp while several key players such as George Smith, Lance Todd and Jim Glesson were unavailable due to British club commitments. This pressured player depth for the All Golds.
With Baskerville on the wing. the All Golds managed to narrowly win 11-10 in a thrilling match. The best play of the day belonged to Baskerville, when he intercepted a pass on halfway, beat two Australian would be tacklers and sprinted under the posts to give the All Golds kicker an easy kick. In front of 20,000 spectators, that converted try won the match as the All Golds took the lead and held on for victory.
Eleven days later Baskerville caught a chill during the steam ship trip from Sydney to Brisbane and couldnt play against Queensland, although he watched from the sideline as the All Golds cruised to a 34-12 victory on May 16th. The chill escalated to pneumonia and Baskerville was hospitalized. Shocked and saddened teammates raced from their midweek win over Brisbane to his bedside, where he died at 6.pm on the 20th of May.
It was in recognition of Baskervilles contributions and sacrifice that the first Rugby League Match in New Zealand was played at Athletic Park in Wellington on June 13th, 1908 with proceeds going to his mother. Albert Henry Baskerville was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and the NZRL Legends of League in 2001.
Baskerville is my only non-contemporary hero. God Bless the father of Rugby League in New Zealand. Your passion has been realised and I humbly thank you.
---
749 words.
Refrences- The Kiwis - 100 years of Rugby league by John Coffery and Bernie Wood.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Henry_Baskerville