Billy Holder

For the footballer who played in the 2010s for the United States, see Will Holder (rugby union). For other people, see William Holder (disambiguation).

William Holder (birth unknown – 22 August 1941) was an English rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Gloucester RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Hull F.C., as a forward.^[1]

Billy Holder

Personal information
Full name	William Holder
Born	unknown
Died	(1941-08-22)22 August 1941 Hull, England
Playing information
Rugby union
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P ≤1907–07 Gloucester RFC
Rugby league
Position	Forward
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1907–18 Hull F.C. Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1908 England 1 0 0 0 0 1908 Great Britain 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2][3]

Playing career

Hull

Originally a rugby union player, Holder switched to rugby league in August 1907, signing for Hull.^[4]

Holder played as a forward, in Hull's 0–14 defeat by Hunslet in the 1907–08 Challenge Cup Final during the 1907–08 season at Fartown Ground, Huddersfield on Saturday 25 April 1908, in front of a crowd of 18,000, played as a forward in the 0–17 defeat by Wakefield Trinity in the 1908–09 Challenge Cup Final during the 1908–09 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 24 April 1909, in front of a crowd of 23,587.^[5] played as a forward in the 7–7 draw with Leeds in the 1909–10 Challenge Cup Final during the 1909–10 season at Fartown Ground, Huddersfield, on Saturday 16 April 1910, in front of a crowd of 19,413, this was the first Challenge Cup Final to be drawn, played as a forward in the 12–26 defeat by Leeds in the 1909–10 Challenge Cup Final replay at Fartown Ground, Huddersfield, on Monday 18 April 1910, in front of a crowd of 11,608, and played as a forward in the 6–0 victory over Wakefield Trinity in the 1913–14 Challenge Cup Final during the 1913–14 season at Thrum Hall, Halifax, in front of a crowd of 19,000.^[6]

Testimonial matches at Hull F.C. were shared with; Jim Devereux, Tom Herridge, William Holder, and Ned Rogers, and took place against Keighley at The Boulevard, Hull on Saturday 29 January 1921, and against York at The Boulevard, Hull on Saturday 12 February 1921.

International honours

Bill Holder won a cap for England while at Hull in 1908 against Wales,^[2] and won a cap for Great Britain while at Hull in 1908 against New Zealand.^[3][7]

Post-playing career

After retiring from rugby, Holder worked for a local shipping company, Ellerman's Wilson Line. He died on 22 August 1941.^[8]

References

1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
2. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
3. "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
4. "County Forwards for Hull". The Leeds and Yorkshire Mercury. 12 August 1907. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. Hoole, Les (2004). Wakefield Trinity RLFC - FIFTY GREAT GAMES. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-429-9
6. "A complete history of Hull FC's Challenge Cup finals". Hull Daily Mail. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
7. "The Great Match of the Edwardian Period". allgoldsrugby.com. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
8. "Ex-Hull F.C. Player's Fatal Collapse". Hull Daily Mail. 23 August 1941. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.

External links

• Stats → Past Players → H at hullfc.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 December 2013)
• Statistics at hullfc.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 December 2013)