Frank Balmer | |||||||
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OVERALL STATISTICS | |||||||
BIRTH | AGE | SIGNED ON | FROM | ||||
DEBUT | LAST MATCH | LEFT | |||||
CAREER | APPEARANCES (SUBS) | ||||||
TRIES | GOALS | DGOALS | PTS | ||||
Biography of Frank Balmer |
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HERITAGE NO : 494 Frank Balmer by SHS with additional information from Keith Bowen Frank was a very talented player with strength and skill who could play anywhere for the Saints and he did. He played in all seven back positions and even donned the loose forward jersey. Like so many, he had a rugby career which was blighted by the Second World War. Starting in the centres he went on to score 13 tries for the club including two braces against Barrow and Workington Town. His career straddled the pre and early post war years, mirrored by another Saint Jimmy Stott. Frank once scored a hat trick against Barrow in the early season Ward Cup charity fixture. Keith Bowen advises us that he also played one match for Wigan in January 1943 against Huddersfield. His observations about Frank make interesting reading: I attended Wigan Grammar School from 1953 - 59 and a certain PE teacher there was Frank Balmer who played for Saints and managed one game for Wigan on January 2nd 1943 in an away match against Huddersfield which was lost 20 -7. He faced my father a number of time when he played for Saints and dad played for Wigan. As a teacher Frank had a touch of the Robert Mitcham tough guy style I thought, but underneath was a heart of gold. Only after I left school did I realise he had played against my father who had played for Wigan RL. I also remember him on the annual sports day which gave him the opportunity to wear his Loughborough College blazer - it always impressed me. Sometime in the late 1950s he moved to the John Rigby RC Grammar in Orrell, which was closer to where Frank was born in Billinge. On the 1939 Census he is recorded as an electrician living in Birchley Road, Billinge, who later went on to attend Loughborough College and joined the teaching profession. He died in January 1985, aged 64 and his death was registered in Wigan. |
SEASON STATISTICS | ||||
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Season (Official Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
1938~39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
1939~40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
1942~43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
1943~44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
1944~45 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
1945~46 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
1946~47 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
1948~49 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
TOTALS: | 13 | 0 | 0 | 68 |
Season (Other Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
1942~43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
1948~49 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
TOTALS: | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
ALL MATCHES |
Date | Match | Pos | Opponents | Comp | Venue | FT | FTO | T | G | DG | ||
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21st Jan 1939 | 1 | L |
3 | Salford | L | H | 5 | 32 | VIEW | |||
4th Mar 1939 | 2 | W |
3 | Bramley | L | H | 13 | 7 | VIEW | |||
18th Mar 1939 | 3 | W |
4 | Leigh | L | H | 22 | 12 | VIEW | |||
25th Mar 1939 | 4 | L |
4 | Oldham | L | A | 0 | 2 | VIEW | |||
3rd Apr 1939 | 5 | L |
4 | Halifax | L | A | 5 | 20 | VIEW | |||
7th Apr 1939 | 6 | L |
4 | Wigan | L | A | 2 | 6 | VIEW | |||
8th Apr 1939 | 7 | L |
4 | Bramley | L | A | 8 | 10 | VIEW | |||
10th Apr 1939 | 8 | W |
4 | Rochdale Hornets | L | H | 36 | 8 | 1 | VIEW | ||
15th Apr 1939 | 9 | L |
4 | Oldham | L | H | 10 | 15 | VIEW | |||
24th Apr 1939 | 10 | W |
4 | Warrington | L | A | 8 | 7 | VIEW | |||
26th Aug 1939 | 11 | W |
4 | Leigh | L | A | 23 | 3 | VIEW | |||
29th Aug 1939 | 12 | W |
4 | Swinton | L | H | 13 | 0 | VIEW | |||
2nd Sep 1939 | 13 | L |
4 | New Zealand | Tour | H | 3 | 19 | 1 | VIEW | ||
29th Sep 1939 | 14 | W |
4 | Rochdale Hornets | WEL | H | 28 | 9 | VIEW | |||
7th Oct 1939 | 15 | W |
4 | Liverpool Stanley | WEL | A | 20 | 0 | VIEW | |||
14th Oct 1939 | 16 | W |
4 | Warrington | WEL | H | 13 | 9 | VIEW | |||
21st Oct 1939 | 17 | L |
4 | Swinton | WEL | A | 2 | 41 | VIEW | |||
2nd Dec 1939 | 18 | L |
4 | Salford | WEL | A | 5 | 10 | VIEW | |||
9th Dec 1939 | 19 | W |
4 | Broughton Rangers | WEL | H | 27 | 9 | VIEW | |||
16th Dec 1939 | 20 | L |
4 | Warrington | WEL | A | 6 | 8 | VIEW | |||
16th Mar 1940 | 21 | L |
6 | Wigan | LC2 (1) | A | 0 | 5 | VIEW | |||
22nd Mar 1940 | 22 | L |
6 | Wigan | WEL | A | 0 | 6 | VIEW | |||
25th Mar 1940 | 23 | L |
12 | Rochdale Hornets | WEL | A | 10 | 12 | VIEW | |||
24th Oct 1942 | 24 | W |
3 | Wigan | YC2(1) | H | 21 | 8 | VIEW | |||
31st Oct 1942 | 25 | L |
4 | Keighley | WEL | H | 7 | 12 | 1 | VIEW | ||
7th Nov 1942 | 26 | L |
4 | Wigan | YC2(2) | A | 11 | 32 | VIEW | |||
28th Nov 1942 | 27 | L |
4 | Wakefield Trinity | WEL | A | 3 | 36 | VIEW | |||
5th Dec 1942 | 28 | L |
3 | Halifax | WEL | A | 12 | 36 | VIEW | |||
25th Dec 1942 | 29 | L |
1 | Wigan | WEL | A | 3 | 10 | VIEW | |||
26th Dec 1942 | 30 | L |
1 | Wigan | WEL | H | 8 | 20 | VIEW | |||
6th Feb 1943 | -- | L |
3 | Wigan * | Fr | H | 3 | 24 | VIEW | |||
27th Feb 1943 | 31 | L |
3 | Oldham | WEL | A | 6 | 12 | VIEW | |||
6th Mar 1943 | 32 | W |
13 | Oldham | WEL | H | 12 | 11 | VIEW | |||
13th Mar 1943 | 33 | W |
6 | Barrow | CC1(1) | H | 13 | 2 | 2 | VIEW | ||
20th Mar 1943 | 34 | L |
6 | Barrow | CC1(2) | A | 0 | 4 | VIEW | |||
27th Mar 1943 | 35 | L |
6 | Oldham | CC2(1) | A | 12 | 17 | VIEW | |||
3rd Apr 1943 | 36 | L |
6 | Oldham | CC2(2) | H | 5 | 20 | VIEW | |||
11th Sep 1943 | 37 | L |
6 | Leeds | WEL | H | 5 | 28 | VIEW | |||
25th Sep 1943 | 38 | L |
1 | Barrow | WEL | H | 5 | 24 | VIEW | |||
16th Oct 1943 | 39 | L |
1 | Wigan | YC1(1) | H | 9 | 14 | VIEW | |||
23rd Oct 1943 | 40 | L |
1 | Wigan | YC1(2) | A | 10 | 20 | VIEW | |||
30th Oct 1943 | 41 | L |
3 | Oldham | WEL | A | 8 | 10 | VIEW | |||
6th Nov 1943 | 42 | L |
4 | Batley | WEL | A | 8 | 16 | VIEW | |||
18th Dec 1943 | 43 | L |
3 | Wakefield Trinity | WEL | H | 0 | 10 | VIEW | |||
27th Dec 1943 | 44 | L |
3 | Wigan | WEL | H | 2 | 7 | VIEW | |||
1st Jan 1944 | 45 | L |
3 | Featherstone Rovers | WEL | H | 0 | 30 | VIEW | |||
2nd Sep 1944 | 46 | D |
1 | Huddersfield | WEL | H | 5 | 5 | VIEW | |||
30th Sep 1944 | 47 | L |
1 | Halifax | WEL | H | 7 | 21 | 1 | VIEW | ||
14th Oct 1944 | 48 | W |
1 | Featherstone Rovers | WEL | H | 18 | 3 | VIEW | |||
21st Oct 1944 | 49 | L |
1 | Barrow | YC1(1) | H | 8 | 22 | VIEW | |||
25th Nov 1944 | 50 | L |
1 | Wakefield Trinity | WEL | H | 6 | 14 | VIEW | |||
25th Dec 1944 | 51 | L |
7 | Wigan | WEL | A | 5 | 20 | 1 | VIEW | ||
26th Dec 1944 | 52 | L |
3 | Wigan | WEL AB | H | 3 | 12 | VIEW | |||
30th Dec 1944 | 53 | W |
3 | Keighley | WEL | H | 10 | 0 | VIEW | |||
17th Feb 1945 | 54 | L |
4 | Barrow | WEL | H | 8 | 24 | VIEW | |||
24th Feb 1945 | 55 | L |
4 | Leeds | WEL | A | 14 | 20 | 1 | VIEW | ||
10th Mar 1945 | 56 | L |
3 | Oldham | WEL | H | 10 | 21 | 1 | VIEW | ||
17th Mar 1945 | 57 | L |
3 | Bradford Northern | CC1(1) | H | 8 | 15 | VIEW | |||
22nd Sep 1945 | 58 | L |
1 | Workington Town | LC1(1) | A | 8 | 9 | VIEW | |||
29th Sep 1945 | 59 | W |
2 | Workington Town | LC1(2) | H | 21 | 11 | 2 | VIEW | ||
2nd Mar 1946 | 60 | L |
5 | Workington Town | CC2 | H | 6 | 13 | VIEW | |||
31st Aug 1946 | 61 | L |
2 | Widnes | L | H | 2 | 10 | VIEW | |||
7th Sep 1946 | 62 | L |
2 | Leigh | LC1(1) | H | 5 | 14 | 1 | VIEW | ||
14th Sep 1946 | 63 | L |
2 | Leigh | LC1(2) | A | 4 | 17 | VIEW | |||
21st Sep 1946 | 64 | L |
2 | Widnes | L | A | 10 | 17 | VIEW | |||
28th Dec 1946 | 65 | L |
3 | Huddersfield | L | A | 12 | 19 | VIEW | |||
14th Aug 1948 | -- | W |
2 | Barrow* | Fr Ward Cup | A | 38 | 2 | 3 | VIEW | ||
21st Aug 1948 | 66 | W |
2 | Widnes | L | H | 6 | 2 | VIEW | |||
8th Sep 1948 | 67 | L |
5 | Wigan | LC1(2) | A | 7 | 8 | VIEW | |||
11th Sep 1948 | 68 | W |
5 | Liverpool Stanley | L | A | 17 | 0 | 1 | VIEW |
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub. |
WINS : 19 | LOSSES : 50 | DRAWS : 1 |
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GALLERY |
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