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Thank you to Darryl Brown, a St Albans Centurions
& Workington Town fan
taking the time to contact Quigs at Team Era with
the story of the commissioning of the Statue to
Honour Douglas 'Duggie' Clark.
This is what Darryl wrote......
Quiggs, just to let you know that a statue is being
commissioned of Douglas Clark, an early RL 'Great'.
Hope you can use it on your Statues and Grandstand
site.
Here's the story from the local West Cumberland
newspaper. I've also put it (and a photo) on the
TotalRL website:-
Duggie Clark, Maryport's rugby legend, will soon
get the recognition he deserves.
Work is starting on a statue of Douglas Clark, the
international rugby player and world champion wrestler,
and should be ready early in the new year.
The statue has become possible thanks to a £2,000
donation from his niece, Joyce Dempsey, to top of
the £210,000 raised by donations from clubs, relatives
and friends of this local hero, means that the work
can proceed.
Artist Fliss Watts has been commissioned to create
the statue, which will eventually be displayed in
the new Maryport visitor centre which is due to
be built within the next couple of years.
Duggie, as he was known locally, has already been
inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame, one
of only 17 to be inducted after a ceremony at the
George Hotel, Huddersfield, where the rugby league
was founded in 1896.
He was born in Ellenborough, Maryport, in 1891.
He played more than 500 games in nearly 20 seasons
for Huddersfield. He built a reputation as one of
the game’s best loose-forwards, winning 11 Test
caps, eight for England and 31 for his county.
From 1909, when he made his debut at the age of
18, his path was strewn with honours. He won three
Northern Union Challenge Cup final medals, played
in 10 Yorkshire Challenge Cup Finals and five Northern
League Championship finals. He turned out for Cumberland
31 times and, towards the end of his career, was
appointed captain.
The most memorable of his tests against Australia
was in Sydney in 1914, which went down in history
as the Rorke's Drift test. The England team was
reduced to nine men in the second half but managed
to defeat the mighty Australians.
He was one of the casualties of that epic struggle,
playing on with a broken thumb and dislocated collarbone,
and he cried tears of frustration as he was forcibly
led from the field.
His extraordinary career as a sportsman was at its
height when World War One broke out and, having
excelled all his life in sport, he did the same
serving on the front line in France in 1917. While
collecting wounded comrades at Ypres, he was badly
injured when a German shell exploded and he suffered
18 shrapnel wounds. After the war he was awarded
the Military Medal for his valour during combat.
He went on to wrestling, becoming heavyweight champion
of the world, winning the army wrestling belt outright
and touring Australia in the 1930s.
He married Maryport girl Jennie Gate in 1922.
He died in 1951, aged 59, and is buried in Maryport
cemetery.
Quigs here - thank you again Darryl for sending
the great story of a great man...
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