Famous and Forgotten

The Rugby Revolution of 1895 had a cataclysmic effect on the game in England, particularly in the north of the country and especially in Yorkshire, the powerhouse of rugby in the late Victorian and early Edwardian era.

 The Northern Union was formed by 22 rebel clubs from Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire, thereby launching the game which became known as Rugby League. A by-product of that secession was the enfeeblement of the England international Rugby Union XV, effectively for the following 15 years. Many of the most outstanding rugby players of the period crossed the great divide into the Northern Union and were lost to the older game.

 Among them were Albert Goldthorpe of Hunslet and Archie Rigg of Halifax and later Bradford Northern. These two paragons of ancient rugby history operated in the same spheres, enjoyed similar triumphs, suffered similar disappointments, established club records and were renowned for fair play and durability.

 Albert and Archie were exact contemporaries. They both enjoyed successful careers extending over two decades in both codes of rugby. Both earned public adulation for their outstanding qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and match-winning prowess. Both excelled as half-backs and centres. Both won Yorkshire caps before and after the Great Schism of 1895, but both were denied their dreams of international honours despite their towering reputations.

 Over a century later, their legacies could hardly be more different. Albert Goldthorpe was elevated to the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2015, the game’s ultimate accolade for a player. Since 2008, he has been memorialised in the annual player-of-the-year awards and the Albert Goldthorpe medals, instituted by League Express. In contrast, Archie Rigg appears to have simply dissolved into the mists of time … The one famous; the other forgotten. Until now.