Harry Butler (rugby league)

Harry Butler (1887–1965) was a pioneer Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. A New South Wales representative, Butler played for South Sydney in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition, as a lock.

Harry Butler

Personal information
Full name	Harold William Butler
Born	(1887-04-23)23 April 1887 Redfern, New South Wales, Australia
Died	21 April 1965(1965-04-21) (aged 77) Redfern, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Position	Prop, Hooker, Second-row, Lock
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1908–15 South Sydney 96 16 8 0 64 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1913 New South Wales 5 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Playing career

Butler began his career for Souths in the first ever season of the NSWRL competition and played in South Sydney's first ever game as a club when they played against North Sydney at Birchgrove Oval. Butler was a member of Souths first ever premiership winning team defeating Eastern Suburbs 14–12 at the Royal Agricultural Showground. The following year, Butler won his second premiership as a Souths player when South Sydney won the grand final against Balmain by default. Souths were due to play Balmain but the club boycotted the match. ^[2] South Sydney attended the game, kicked off to an invisible opposition, scored a try and were declared premiers. In 1910, Butler played in the 1910 grand final draw against Newtown which ended 4-4. Newtown won the premiership due to them finishing as minor premiers in the regular season. Butler played a further five seasons for the club and retired at the end of 1915.^[3][4]

References

1. Harry Butler at rugbyleagueproject.org
2. Whittacker/Hudson: The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. 1995 ISBN 1875169571
3. "South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League Player Report - Harry Butler". www.ssralmanac.com.
4. "Results: 1908-1910". South Sydney Rabbitohs. 11 December 2017.