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Frank Tracey

OVERALL STATISTICS

BIRTHAGESIGNED ONFROM
16-08-1918
N/A
01 -02-1939
St. Helens Recs
DEBUTLAST MATCHLEFT
04-02-1939 v Salford
Liverpool Stanley
1947- Wigan
CAREERAPPEARANCES (SUBS)
1938-1946
80 (0)
TRIESGOALSDGOALSPTS
30
0
0
90

Biography of Frank Tracey



HERITAGE NO : 496
Frank Tracey by Dave Dooley

Frank Tracey was a skilful player for the club playing 80 matches mostly as a stand off. He made his debut in Saints on the 4th. February 1939 against Salford. Frank was a local lad and in 80 matches for the Saints Frank scored 30 tries, kicked no goals for total points aggregate of 90 points. Frank played for the England RL team whilst at Knowsley Road.

His final match for the Club was against Liverpool Stanley on the 1st. of January 1947. He was subsequently transferred to Wigan, where he played in six matches in the Seniors, scoring just the one try. Like so many fine players his career was blighted by the outbreak of the Second World War.

More info regarding Frank Tracey. Alex Service writes:

The gradual, sad demise of the St. Helens Recreation team just before the Second World War enabled the Saints, their fierce local rivals, to sign Frank with money partly donated by Saints` Supporters Club. They signed the fearsome front-rower George Davies round about the same time, from Liverpool Stanley and using the same financial assistance. Ironically, Frank became an England international soon after his transfer, when the French came to play at Knowsley Road, probably much to the disdain of Recs` supporters, who thought that Saints had got quite a bargain. He was considered to be a real match-winner at City Road and the St. Helens Reporter carried the following information about the move:

"Frank Tracey, aged just twenty, who signed for Saints rugby club on Tuesday, was brought up within a few yards of the ground at City Road where he began his career in senior rugby football. As a boy he was a particularly clever boxer and also figured brilliantly in the Lowe House rugger team. His real position is scrum-half, although he has figured as centre and out-half with distinction. His height is 5ft 6ins and he turns the scales at 10st 4lbs. One feature of his play is his splendid ball distribution, but his trump card is a sudden acceleration in individual bursts which marks him apart from the ordinary player. There are times when he weaves his way through the ranks of the whole team. If given protection by the loose forward against crushing work by out-sized forwards he should have a brilliant career." He died in St Helens in March 1971, aged 52.

This appreciation of Frank appeared in the Recs’ history They Bled Red Amber and Black.

A brilliant schoolboy star, Frank Tracey lived just a stone’s throw from City Road, in Windle City. He was a superb ball distributor, at 5 feet 6 inches and 10 stones 4 pounds not of unusual build for half-backs of the day. He could score tries too, against the most capable defences. That knowledgeable correspondent, The Colonel, was quite naturally down-beat about Recs’ demise against the Yorkshiremen, but was upbeat when it came to the new boy at scrum-half: “Tracey, playing behind badly beaten forwards, showed distinct promise.” He was a good player, certainly and became a regular First Teamer from that point, injury permitting. His all-round skills enabled him to play in the centres, too, which he did at the start of the 1938-39 campaign to good effect.

Yet 21 year old Frank was to become the symbol of the demise of St. Helens Recreation, when it was announced that he had signed for deadly rivals, Saints, at the end of January, 1939, who were also experiencing financial problems of their own. In fact, Tracey had been signed thanks to money provided by Saints’ Supporters’ Club. The St. Helens Reporter reflected on the sense of gloom pervading City Road at the time: “My deepest sympathy goes out to Mr. Jim Stewart and the Recs’ Directors in being forced to sell their star men. For two decades the intense Saints-Recs rivalry has ebbed and flowed with real prosperity always evading the Recs and not staying sufficiently long with the Saints to enable them to amass a £12,000 reserve fund, like Wigan.” Frank soon played in an international, for England against France, ironically at Knowsley Road, although the onset of war truncated his career, like so many.

After the conflict, he joined Wigan [Heritage Number 508] and played 6 senior matches for the Riversiders.

In 1921 he was living in City Road, St Helens with his parents. His father, James, from Ireland worked a s a machine hand in a glass factory. He passed away in 1971 at the age of 52 and remained a symbol of the demise of one of rugby league’s great clubs.

PLAYER HONOURS

SEASON STATISTICS

Season (Official Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1938~39 7 0 0 12
1939~40 1 0 0 6
1940~41 7 0 0 12
1941~4211 0 0 17
1945~464 0 0 17
1946~470 0 0 16
TOTALS:30 0 0 80
Season (Other Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1940~41 1001
TOTALS:1001

ALL MATCHES

DateMatchPosOpponentsCompVenueFTFTOTGDG
4th Feb 1939 1
L
 6 Salford CC1 A 0 11 VIEW
11th Feb 1939 2
W
 6 Barrow L H 17 2 1 VIEW
4th Mar 1939 3
W
 6 Bramley L H 13 7 1 VIEW
11th Mar 1939 4
L
 6 York L A 0 10 VIEW
18th Mar 1939 5
W
 6 Leigh L H 22 12 VIEW
25th Mar 1939 6
L
 6 Oldham L A 0 2 VIEW
3rd Apr 1939 7
L
 6 Halifax L A 5 20 1 VIEW
7th Apr 1939 8
L
 6 Wigan L A 2 6 VIEW
15th Apr 1939 9
L
 6 Oldham L H 10 15 1 VIEW
22nd Apr 1939 10
L
 6 Halifax L H 4 25 VIEW
24th Apr 1939 11
W
 6 Warrington L A 8 7 1 VIEW
29th Apr 1939 12
W
 6 Featherstone Rovers L H 37 10 2 VIEW
14th Oct 1939 13
W
 6 Warrington WEL H 13 9 VIEW
21st Oct 1939 14
L
 6 Swinton WEL A 2 41 VIEW
28th Oct 1939 15
W
 6 Swinton WEL H 15 7 VIEW
4th Nov 1939 16
W
 6 Broughton Rangers WEL H 28 10 1 VIEW
11th Nov 1939 17
L
 6 Salford WEL H 10 15 VIEW
18th Nov 1939 18
L
 6 Oldham WEL A 3 7 VIEW
21st Sep 1940 19
W
 6 Swinton WEL H 41 0 2 VIEW
28th Sep 1940 20
W
 6 Oldham WEL A 16 5 1 VIEW
5th Oct 1940 21
W
 6 Leigh WEL H 44 8 1 VIEW
12th Oct 1940 22
W
 6 Liverpool Stanley WEL A 26 11 1 VIEW
19th Oct 1940 23
W
 6 Salford WEL H 6 0 VIEW
26th Oct 1940 24
L
 6 Salford WEL A 13 15 VIEW
2nd Nov 1940 25
L
 6 Warrington WEL H 0 13 VIEW
16th Nov 1940 26
D
 6 Wigan WEL A 5 5 VIEW
23rd Nov 1940 27
W
 6 Broughton Rangers WEL H 23 3 1 VIEW
30th Nov 1940 28
W
 6 Leigh WEL H 50 0 VIEW
14th Dec 1940 29
W
 7 Oldham WEL H 19 2 1 VIEW
25th Dec 1940 --
W
 7 Leigh * Fr H 37 18 1 VIEW
19th Apr 1941 30
L
 7 Castleford CC2 A 13 21 VIEW
6th Sep 1941 31
W
 7 York WEL H 23 13 1 VIEW
13th Sep 1941 32
W
 7 Hull WEL H 11 10 2 VIEW
20th Sep 1941 33
W
 7 Keighley WEL A 20 2 VIEW
27th Sep 1941 34
L
 7 Huddersfield WEL A 13 21 VIEW
4th Oct 1941 35
W
 7 Batley WEL H 26 16 1 VIEW
17th Oct 1941 36
W
 7 Castleford WEL H 16 2 VIEW
19th Oct 1941 37
L
 6 Hunslet WEL A 5 13 1 VIEW
8th Nov 1941 38
W
 7 Featherstone Rovers WEL H 24 10 3 VIEW
15th Nov 1941 39
L
 7 Featherstone Rovers WEL A 13 17 VIEW
22nd Nov 1941 40
W
 7 Keighley WEL H 17 11 1 VIEW
29th Nov 1941 41
L
 7 Castleford WEL A 5 12 VIEW
6th Dec 1941 42
L
 7 Leeds WEL A 8 18 VIEW
25th Dec 1941 43
L
 7 Wigan WEL A 3 8 VIEW
3rd Jan 1942 44
L
 7 Wigan WEL H 0 18 VIEW
18th Apr 1942 45
W
 7 Featherstone Rovers CC1(2) H 8 3 VIEW
25th Apr 1942 46
L
 7 Hunslet CC2(1) A 3 16 VIEW
2nd May 1942 47
W
 7 Hunslet CC2(2) H 21 14 2 VIEW
25th Aug 1945 48
L
 6 Widnes L A 8 20 1 VIEW
1st Sep 1945 49
L
 6 Widnes L H 2 7 VIEW
22nd Sep 1945 50
L
 6 Workington Town LC1(1) A 8 9 VIEW
29th Sep 1945 51
W
 7 Workington Town LC1(2) H 21 11 VIEW
6th Oct 1945 52
W
 3 Rochdale Hornets L A 11 4 VIEW
17th Oct 1945 53
L
 6 Wigan LCSF A 5 18 VIEW
3rd Nov 1945 54
D
 6 Swinton L A 5 5 VIEW
16th Feb 1946 55
W
 6 Castleford CC1(2) H 14 5 VIEW
23rd Feb 1946 56
L
 6 Warrington L H 10 17 VIEW
2nd Mar 1946 57
L
 6 Workington Town CC2 H 6 13 VIEW
9th Mar 1946 58
W
 6 Halifax L H 13 0 1 VIEW
23rd Mar 1946 59
L
 6 Halifax L A 11 21 VIEW
30th Mar 1946 60
L
 6 Barrow L H 22 30 1 VIEW
6th Apr 1946 61
L
 6 York L A 14 33 VIEW
19th Apr 1946 62
L
 7 Wigan L A 9 15 VIEW
20th Apr 1946 63
L
 7 Wakefield Trinity L A 10 32 VIEW
22nd Apr 1946 64
W
 7 Batley L H 15 7 1 VIEW
31st Aug 1946 65
L
 7 Widnes L H 2 10 VIEW
7th Sep 1946 66
L
 7 Leigh LC1(1) H 5 14 VIEW
14th Sep 1946 67
L
 6 Leigh LC1(2) A 4 17 VIEW
12th Oct 1946 68
W
 6 Workington Town L H 12 7 VIEW
19th Oct 1946 69
W
 6 Salford L A 11 2 VIEW
2nd Nov 1946 70
W
 6 Oldham L A 7 3 VIEW
9th Nov 1946 71
L
 6 Swinton L H 11 15 VIEW
16th Nov 1946 72
D
 6 Belle Vue Rangers L A 10 10 VIEW
23rd Nov 1946 73
L
 7 Bramley L A 0 10 VIEW
30th Nov 1946 74
W
 6 Huddersfield L H 18 10 VIEW
7th Dec 1946 75
L
 6 Leigh L A 3 10 VIEW
14th Dec 1946 76
W
 6 Salford L H 9 8 VIEW
25th Dec 1946 77
L
 3 Liverpool Stanley L H 16 17 VIEW
26th Dec 1946 78
L
 3 Wigan L H 9 11 VIEW
28th Dec 1946 79
L
 6 Huddersfield L A 12 19 VIEW
1st Jan 1947 80
L
 7 Liverpool Stanley L A 7 8 VIEW
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub.
WINS : 36 | LOSSES : 42 | DRAWS : 3

GALLERY





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