Frank Lee

OVERALL STATISTICS

BIRTHAGESIGNED ONFROM
04-10-1880
N/A
Date unknown.
pocket Nook Shamrocks
DEBUTLAST MATCHLEFT
10-03-1900 v Salford
Runcorn
1911-
CAREERAPPEARANCES (SUBS)
1899-1911
201 (0)
TRIESGOALSDGOALSPTS
15
25
0
95

Biography of Frank Lee



HERITAGE NO : 86
Frank Lee by Alex Service

St.Helens-born Frank Lee, from the Pocket Nook district, made his debut on 10 March 1900 against Salford, when rugby league was not substantially different from the code it had left behind. Teams were 15-a-side, with eight forwards. There were still line-outs and, as the marvellous footage shot by Mitchell and Kenyon at the turn of the century shows, there was a scrum after every breakdown in play, with forwards packing down on a 'first come' basis. Frank Lee was one of the most effective 'scrimmaging' forwards around and a strong runner with the ball in hand.

In 1902/03, the Saints were relegated from the First Division after a miserable season, finishing second from bottom, with 9 wins from 34 matches. Keighley and Leeds replaced them. Twelve months later, however, the Saints had fought hard to gain a quick return to the top flight, yet tied in second place on 49 points with the Holbeck club from Leeds. The only solution was to have a special play-off match to see which club was to be promoted with the Champions, Wakefield Trinity. The 'Test Match' took place at Huddersfield on 14 May 1904 and special permission had to be obtained for the game to take place. Frank Lee and the forwards dominated a rather dour encounter, as the Saints clinched promotion in a 7-0 success. Despite showing top form, Frank had once again missed out on county selection.

There was more woe for the Saints in 1904/05, as they finished second-from-bottom, although the League was re-structured into one division for the 1905/06 campaign, sparing the blushes of everyone at Knowsley Road. The team finished in 14th place in the new Northern Rugby League, yet fell to unfancied Runcorn in the Intermediate Round of the Challenge Cup. It was Frank Lee's best season to date, however, as he was selected for Lancashire, playing in all three of the county's matches during the season, including a superb 8-0 victory against rivals Yorkshire at the Boulevard. This meant the competition ended in a tie, with Lancashire playing Cumberland in a play-off on 21 February 1906 at Wigan's Central Park ground - but this match also ended in a 3-3 draw!

Frank also gained international honours with his selection for England against Other Nationalities on New Year's Day at Central Park, only the second international rugby league match played in this country. His team-mate Tom Barton was also called up into the full-back spot as a late replacement. They became the first international representatives of the St.Helens club ' a marvellous achievement.

Frank Lee went on to complete over 200 matches for the club, playing on until 1911. He later joined York for a spell, while he was working in the city. Like his contemporaries, William Briers and James 'Butcher' Prescott, he was a fine forward who gave his all for his home-town team in the early years of the 20th century, in what were hardly the easiest of times at Knowsley Road.

The following information has been supplied by great-granddaughter Jean Ellis, via the York RLFC: "Frank left Saints and played for York, where he played 51 games between 1912/13 and 1913/14 scoring 5 tries and 1 goal for 17 points, 31 games in 1912/13, 5 games in 1913/14 and 15 games in 1914/15."

Frank initially worked at Pilkingtons and Sapper Frank Lee of the Royal Engineers, West Lancs Division, Regimental Number 426341 served in France during the First World War. Frank later lived in Orders Lane, Kirkham according to the 1939 Census. He died in 1949 and is buried in Kirkham, Lancashire


SEASON STATISTICS

Season (Official Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1899~000 0 0 1
1900~01 0 0 0 3
1901~022 9 0 21
1902~031 2 0 24
1903~040 7 0 23
1904~05 0 1 0 20
1905~06 1 2 0 18
1906~07 0 0 0 2
1907~08 1 0 0 26
1908~09 5 4 0 20
1909~10 2 0 0 20
1910~111 0 0 10
1911~12 2 0 0 13
TOTALS:15 25 0 201
Season (Other Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1908~09 0001
1909-100001
1909~10 0001
TOTALS:0003

ALL MATCHES

DateMatchPosOpponentsCompVenueFTFTOTGDG
10th Mar 1900 1
L
 13 Salford L A 0 8 VIEW
15th Sep 1900 2
D
 11 Warrington L A 0 0 VIEW
22nd Sep 1900 3
L
 11 Runcorn L H 0 11 VIEW
29th Sep 1900 4
W
 11 Wigan L H 16 9 VIEW
7th Sep 1901 5
L
 12 Wigan L & SWLL H 2 8 VIEW
14th Sep 1901 6
W
 12 Lancaster L H 4 0 2 VIEW
21st Sep 1901 7
L
 12 Widnes L & SWLL H 2 5 1 VIEW
28th Sep 1901 8
W
 12 Rochdale Hornets L A 9 2 VIEW
5th Oct 1901 9
W
 12 Barrow L H 7 3 1 VIEW
12th Oct 1901 10
L
 12 Stockport L A 0 3 VIEW
19th Oct 1901 11
L
 12 Runcorn SWLL H 0 2 VIEW
26th Oct 1901 12
L
 12 Lancaster L A 4 17 1 VIEW
2nd Nov 1901 13
W
 12 Radcliffe L A 19 0 1 1 VIEW
9th Nov 1901 14
L
 12 Warrington SWLL H 9 17 1 VIEW
16th Nov 1901 15
W
 12 Birkenhead Wanderers L AB A 5 0 VIEW
23rd Nov 1901 16
W
 12 Millom L A 8 6 1 VIEW
30th Nov 1901 17
L
 12 Warrington SWLL A 5 11 VIEW
1st Jan 1902 18
W
 12 Rochdale Hornets L H 7 5 VIEW
4th Jan 1902 19
W
 9 Altrincham L A 11 0 VIEW
11th Jan 1902 20
L
 12 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 7 15 1 VIEW
8th Feb 1902 21
D
 8 Millom L H 3 3 VIEW
1st Mar 1902 22
W
 12 Morecambe L H 3 2 1 VIEW
8th Mar 1902 23
W
 12 Widnes L & SWLL A 3 2 VIEW
15th Mar 1902 24
L
 12 Hull Kingston Rovers CC1 A 0 7 VIEW
31st Mar 1902 25
L
 12 Runcorn SWLL A 3 11 VIEW
6th Sep 1902 26
L
 9 Bradford L H 11 21 1 VIEW
13th Sep 1902 27
L
 9 Huddersfield L A 3 8 VIEW
20th Sep 1902 28
L
 9 Warrington L H 5 18 VIEW
25th Oct 1902 29
W
 9 Salford L H 9 5 1 VIEW
1st Nov 1902 30
L
 9 Halifax L A 0 8 VIEW
27th Dec 1902 31
L
 9 Widnes L A 0 8 VIEW
1st Jan 1903 32
W
 9 Batley L H 7 5 VIEW
3rd Jan 1903 33
L
 9 Bradford L A 2 14 VIEW
10th Jan 1903 34
L
 9 Huddersfield L H 5 13 VIEW
24th Jan 1903 35
L
 9 Brighouse Rangers L H 0 7 VIEW
31st Jan 1903 36
L
 9 Swinton L A 0 15 VIEW
7th Feb 1903 37
L
 9 Runcorn L A 0 19 VIEW
21st Feb 1903 38
L
 9 Rochdale Hornets CC2 H 2 8 VIEW
24th Feb 1903 39
L
 9 Warrington L A 0 6 VIEW
28th Feb 1903 40
W
 9 Halifax L H 7 3 1 VIEW
7th Mar 1903 41
W
 9 Leigh L A 8 5 VIEW
14th Mar 1903 42
W
 9 Hull L H 10 8 VIEW
28th Mar 1903 43
L
 9 Broughton Rangers L H 3 18 VIEW
31st Mar 1903 44
L
 9 Oldham L A 4 13 VIEW
4th Apr 1903 45
L
 9 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 2 6 VIEW
11th Apr 1903 46
D
 9 Hunslet L H 5 5 VIEW
13th Apr 1903 47
L
 9 Salford L A 3 11 VIEW
18th Apr 1903 48
W
 9 Wigan L A 5 3 VIEW
25th Apr 1903 49
W
 9 Widnes L H 8 3 VIEW
1st Sep 1903 50
W
 9 Leigh SWLL A 5 2 1 VIEW
5th Sep 1903 51
W
 9 Dewsbury L H 29 5 3 VIEW
12th Sep 1903 52
W
 9 Birkenhead Wanderers L A 3 0 VIEW
26th Sep 1903 53
L
 9 Holbeck L A 3 19 VIEW
3rd Oct 1903 54
W
 9 Normanton L H 27 0 2 VIEW
17th Oct 1903 55
W
 9 York L H 2 0 VIEW
14th Nov 1903 56
W
 9 Millom L H 17 4 VIEW
21st Nov 1903 57
D
 9 Bramley L A 0 0 VIEW
28th Nov 1903 58
W
 9 Wakefield Trinity L H 11 8 VIEW
5th Dec 1903 59
W
 9 Pontefract L A 10 3 VIEW
12th Dec 1903 60
L
 9 Castleford L A 0 7 VIEW
19th Dec 1903 61
W
 9 Rochdale Hornets L OBJ H 14 2 VIEW
25th Dec 1903 62
L
 9 Wigan SWLL A 6 12 VIEW
26th Dec 1903 63
L
 9 Lancaster L OBJ A 3 10 VIEW
16th Jan 1904 64
W
 9 Barrow L A 8 0 VIEW
23rd Jan 1904 65
W
 9 Holbeck L H 10 0 VIEW
30th Jan 1904 66
W
 9 Normanton L A 8 6 1 VIEW
13th Feb 1904 67
L
 9 York L A 0 5 VIEW
16th Feb 1904 68
D
 9 Dewsbury L A 3 3 VIEW
20th Feb 1904 69
W
 9 Morecambe L H 8 0 VIEW
22nd Feb 1904 70
W
 9 Rochdale Hornets L H 6 0 VIEW
26th Mar 1904 71
L
 13 Wakefield Trinity L A 0 20 VIEW
14th May 1904 72
W
 11 Holbeck LPO N 7 0 VIEW
3rd Sep 1904 73
L
 13 Oldham L H 4 10 VIEW
24th Sep 1904 74
L
 1 Broughton Rangers L A 5 24 VIEW
1st Oct 1904 75
W
 13 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 10 6 VIEW
19th Nov 1904 76
L
 13 Leigh L A 5 14 VIEW
3rd Dec 1904 77
L
 13 Hull L A 0 14 VIEW
24th Dec 1904 78
W
 13 Runcorn L H 9 5 VIEW
26th Dec 1904 79
D
 13 Warrington L H 0 0 VIEW
31st Dec 1904 80
L
 13 Oldham L A 3 13 VIEW
7th Jan 1905 81
L
 13 Wigan L A 3 15 VIEW
11th Jan 1905 82
W
 13 Halifax L H 14 5 1 VIEW
14th Jan 1905 83
W
 13 Swinton L H 5 3 VIEW
21st Jan 1905 84
L
 13 Broughton Rangers L H 6 8 VIEW
28th Jan 1905 85
L
 13 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 3 6 VIEW
4th Feb 1905 86
W
 13 Batley L H 4 0 VIEW
11th Feb 1905 87
L
 13 Hunslet L A 5 16 VIEW
18th Feb 1905 88
L
 13 Widnes L H 5 7 VIEW
25th Feb 1905 89
L
 13 Salford L A 2 19 VIEW
4th Mar 1905 90
W
 13 Rochdale Rangers CC1 H 9 2 VIEW
11th Mar 1905 91
L
 13 Wakefield Trinity L A 0 21 VIEW
18th Mar 1905 92
L
 13 Broughton Rangers CC2 A 0 18 VIEW
2nd Sep 1905 93
W
 11 Millom L H 34 3 VIEW
9th Sep 1905 94
W
 11 Morecambe L H 26 6 1 1 VIEW
16th Sep 1905 95
L
 11 Widnes L A 2 3 VIEW
23rd Sep 1905 96
W
 11 Hull L H 8 5 VIEW
14th Oct 1905 97
L
 9 Wigan LC1 A 0 18 VIEW
21st Oct 1905 98
L
 8 Runcorn L A 3 12 VIEW
18th Nov 1905 99
W
 11 Rochdale Hornets L A 11 0 VIEW
9th Dec 1905 100
W
 11 Barrow L H 25 0 VIEW
16th Dec 1905 101
W
 9 Millom L A 2 0 VIEW
30th Dec 1905 102
W
 11 Morecambe L A 10 3 VIEW
6th Jan 1906 103
L
 11 Leigh L A 2 3 VIEW
13th Jan 1906 104
W
 11 Barrow L A 3 2 VIEW
17th Feb 1906 105
L
 11 Runcorn CCInt. H 0 3 VIEW
24th Feb 1906 106
W
 11 Dewsbury L H 7 0 VIEW
10th Mar 1906 107
W
 11 Rochdale Hornets L H 15 0 VIEW
17th Mar 1906 108
D
 11 Swinton L H 0 0 VIEW
24th Mar 1906 109
L
 11 Leigh L H 8 15 1 VIEW
31st Mar 1906 110
W
 11 Normanton L A 9 5 VIEW
10th Nov 1906 111
L
 12 Salford L A 13 26 VIEW
20th Nov 1906 112
L
 12 Keighley L A 5 15 VIEW
3rd Sep 1907 113
L
 11 Keighley L A 3 12 VIEW
7th Sep 1907 114
L
 11 Swinton L A 0 22 VIEW
19th Oct 1907 115
W
 11 Runcorn L H 17 11 VIEW
26th Oct 1907 116
L
 11 Rochdale Hornets L H 8 12 VIEW
2nd Nov 1907 117
L
 11 Broughton Rangers L A 13 25 VIEW
9th Nov 1907 118
L
 11 Oldham L A 2 39 VIEW
14th Dec 1907 119
L
 11 Leigh L A 2 20 VIEW
21st Dec 1907 120
L
 11 Wigan L H 2 18 VIEW
25th Dec 1907 121
L
 10 Runcorn L A 0 19 VIEW
26th Dec 1907 122
L
 11 Barrow L A 8 9 VIEW
28th Dec 1907 123
W
 11 Bramley L H 16 3 VIEW
1st Jan 1908 124
L
 11 Hunslet L H 8 24 VIEW
4th Jan 1908 125
L
 11 Wigan L A 5 35 VIEW
25th Jan 1908 126
W
 11 Keighley L H 11 3 VIEW
1st Feb 1908 127
D
 11 Widnes L H 5 5 VIEW
15th Feb 1908 128
W
 11 Ebbw Vale L A 5 3 VIEW
22nd Feb 1908 129
L
 11 New Zealand Tour H 10 21 1 VIEW
29th Feb 1908 130
L
 11 Whitehaven Recs CC1 A 8 13 VIEW
7th Mar 1908 131
L
 11 Hunslet L A 6 21 VIEW
14th Mar 1908 132
L
 11 Bradford L A 10 17 VIEW
21st Mar 1908 133
L
 11 Oldham L H 5 14 VIEW
4th Apr 1908 134
L
 11 Warrington L A 5 20 VIEW
12th Apr 1908 --
L
 10 Rochdale Hornets * Fr A 0 15 VIEW
13th Apr 1908 135
L
 11 Broughton Rangers L H 11 28 VIEW
18th Apr 1908 136
W
 11 Barrow L H 15 5 VIEW
20th Apr 1908 137
D
 11 Leigh L H 5 5 VIEW
21st Apr 1908 138
L
 11 Bramley L A 13 16 VIEW
26th Sep 1908 139
L
 10 Bradford Northern L A 12 31 VIEW
10th Oct 1908 140
L
 11 Broughton Rangers L A 9 19 VIEW
17th Oct 1908 141
W
 11 Widnes L H 11 0 VIEW
24th Oct 1908 142
L
 11 Swinton L A 0 2 VIEW
31st Oct 1908 143
L
 11 Salford L H 8 13 1 VIEW
14th Nov 1908 144
W
 11 Leigh L H 10 8 1 2 VIEW
21st Nov 1908 145
W
 11 Widnes L A 8 5 1 VIEW
12th Dec 1908 146
D
 11 Rochdale Hornets L H 13 13 1 VIEW
19th Dec 1908 147
L
 11 Salford L A 14 15 VIEW
25th Dec 1908 148
W
 11 Runcorn L H 6 0 VIEW
26th Dec 1908 149
L
 11 Wigan L H 7 22 VIEW
23rd Jan 1909 150
L
 11 Warrington L H 9 15 1 VIEW
30th Jan 1909 151
D
 11 Barrow L A 3 3 VIEW
6th Feb 1909 152
W
 11 Swinton L H 16 10 VIEW
27th Feb 1909 153
L
 11 Halifax CC1 A 8 15 VIEW
6th Mar 1909 154
L
 11 Oldham L A 0 13 VIEW
13th Mar 1909 155
W
 11 Aberdare L A 45 18 1 VIEW
9th Apr 1909 156
W
 11 Wigan L A 8 5 VIEW
10th Apr 1909 157
W
 11 York L H 33 20 VIEW
12th Apr 1909 158
L
 11 Warrington L A 6 78 1 VIEW
2nd Sep 1909 159
L
 12 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 7 30 VIEW
4th Sep 1909 160
W
 12 Broughton Rangers L A 10 7 VIEW
11th Sep 1909 161
D
 12 Runcorn L H 5 5 1 VIEW
18th Sep 1909 162
L
 12 Warrington L A 15 19 1 VIEW
25th Sep 1909 163
W
 12 Bramley L H 27 5 VIEW
2nd Oct 1909 164
W
 12 Barrow L A 21 9 VIEW
16th Oct 1909 165
W
 12 Widnes LC1 A 10 4 VIEW
30th Oct 1909 166
L
 12 Swinton LC2 A 0 2 VIEW
13th Nov 1909 --
L
 13 Hull* F A 21 33 VIEW
4th Dec 1909 167
W
 12 Hunslet L A 24 8 VIEW
11th Dec 1909 168
W
 12 Salford L H 7 3 VIEW
13th Dec 1909 169
W
 12 Swinton L A 20 9 VIEW
18th Dec 1909 170
L
 12 Oldham L A 6 36 VIEW
25th Dec 1909 171
W
 12 Runcorn L A 13 0 VIEW
27th Dec 1909 172
L
 12 Wigan L H 6 7 VIEW
15th Jan 1910 173
W
 12 Leigh L H 11 3 VIEW
22nd Jan 1910 --
L
 10 Coventry * Fr A 11 19 VIEW
5th Feb 1910 174
L
 12 Dewsbury L A 3 11 VIEW
19th Mar 1910 175
L
 12 Widnes L A 3 10 VIEW
29th Mar 1910 176
W
 12 Hunslet L H 28 15 VIEW
2nd Apr 1910 177
W
 12 Bramley L A 33 18 VIEW
16th Apr 1910 178
W
 12 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 23 8 VIEW
3rd Sep 1910 179
W
 9 Oldham L H 16 5 VIEW
10th Sep 1910 180
L
 9 Runcorn L A 4 8 VIEW
17th Sep 1910 181
W
 13 Salford L H 19 14 VIEW
24th Sep 1910 182
W
 8 Merthyr Tydfil L A 17 6 VIEW
1st Oct 1910 183
L
 12 Widnes L A 12 28 VIEW
4th Feb 1911 184
W
 11 Coventry L H 26 15 1 VIEW
11th Feb 1911 185
D
 11 Barrow L H 8 8 VIEW
18th Feb 1911 186
W
 11 Bramley CC1 H 26 7 VIEW
4th Mar 1911 187
L
 11 Leeds CC2 H 6 11 VIEW
11th Mar 1911 188
L
 11 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 10 42 VIEW
2nd Sep 1911 189
W
 10 Barrow L A 15 6 VIEW
9th Sep 1911 190
W
 10 Warrington L H 10 2 1 VIEW
16th Sep 1911 191
W
 10 Swinton L A 13 5 VIEW
23rd Sep 1911 192
W
 10 Runcorn L H 25 0 VIEW
7th Oct 1911 193
L
 10 Widnes L A 11 14 VIEW
14th Oct 1911 194
L
 10 Australia Tour H 5 16 VIEW
21st Oct 1911 195
W
 10 Salford LC1 H 18 7 VIEW
28th Oct 1911 196
L
 10 Coventry L A 8 10 VIEW
4th Nov 1911 197
L
 12 Wigan LC2 A 8 22 VIEW
11th Nov 1911 198
L
 12 Ebbw Vale L A 0 2 VIEW
18th Nov 1911 199
W
 12 Salford L A 15 13 1 VIEW
25th Nov 1911 200
W
 12 Rochdale Hornets L H 27 12 VIEW
23rd Dec 1911 201
W
 9 Runcorn L A 9 0 VIEW
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub.
WINS : 88 | LOSSES : 103 | DRAWS : 13

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