Albert Goldthorpe

Who was Albert Goldthorpe?

Albert Goldthorpe was an English rugby footballer from the period around 1895's schism in English rugby, which led to the formation of rugby league football around the turn of the century.

One of five brothers, Goldthorpe made his first team debut with Hunslet, at fullback, as a 16-year-old in October, 1888. He went on to become one of the best known figures in English rugby, both before and after the split, and he was one of the finest individual talents in the game at the time of the Northern Union's formation in 1895. He was also a successful cricketer.

Goldthorpe was still playing for Hunslet twenty years after his debut, when in the 1907-08 season he led the club to unprecedented success, winning all four cups. Hunslet were the first team to achieve that feat.

When he finally retired in 1910, Goldthorpe had scored more goals and points than any player in the game's history at that time. After his playing career ended he served on the Hunslet committee until, in 1924, he was appointed as the club's second full-time secretary-manager, a post he held for seven years.