Brian Gabbitas

Brian Lawrence Gabbitas (born c. 1935) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and English League XIII, and at club level for Hunslet, as a stand-off.^[2]

Brian Gabbitas

Personal information
Full name	Brian Lawrence Gabbitas[1]
Born	c. 1935 (age 88–89)
Playing information
Position	Stand-off
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1952–65 Hunslet 343 67 0 201 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1958 English League XIII 2 0 0 0 0 1959 Great Britain 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [2]

Playing career

Hunslet

Gabbitas made his début for Hunslet on Boxing Day 1952.^[3] He went on to make 343 appearances for the club before announcing his retirement in December 1965.^[4]

Gabbitas played Stand-off in Hunslet's 12-2 victory over Hull Kingston Rovers in the 1962 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1962–63 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 27 October 1962.

Gabbitas played Stand-off in Hunslet's 16-20 defeat by Wigan in the 1965 Challenge Cup Final during the 1964–65 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 8 May 1965, in front of a crowd of 89,016.^[5]

Wigan's Ray Ashby, and Hunslet's Brian Gabbitas, jointly won the Lance Todd Trophy for man of the match in the 1965 Challenge Cup final,^[6] it was the first time two players polled the same number of votes.^[7]

International honours

Gabbitas won a cap for Great Britain while at Hunslet in 1959 against France.^[2]

Gabbitas played stand-off for English League XIII while at Hunslet in the 8-26 defeat by France on Saturday 22 November 1958 at Knowsley Road, St. Helens.

References

1. "Player Stats". Hunslet Rugby Foundation. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
3. "Brian Gabbitas". Hunslet RLFC. 28 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
4. "St Helens sign Sayer". The Guardian. London. 9 December 1965. p. 19.
5. "1964-1965 Challenge Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
6. "Lance Todd Trophy winners". BBC Sport. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
7. Ledger, John (31 December 2011). "What a shoddy way to treat Challenge Cup final heroes". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 1 January 2012.