Joe McLees | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OVERALL STATISTICS | |||||||
| BIRTH | AGE | SIGNED ON | FROM | ||||
| DEBUT | LAST MATCH | LEFT | |||||
| CAREER | APPEARANCES (SUBS) | ||||||
| TRIES | GOALS | DGOALS | PTS | ||||
Biography of Joe McLees | ||||
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 HERITAGE NO : 7 James McLees by Alex Service and Dave Dooley James McLees, who was nicknamed Joe by his rugby team mates, was a dynamic half-back who played in the first-ever game of Northern Union football at Knowsley Road, against Rochdale Hornets on 7th September 1895. He played mostly at scrum-half, with Cumbrian Player-Coach Billy Cross outside him at stand-off. He could also play in the centres, which he did on a few occasions when he was partnered on the outside by Tom Sudlow. One gets the impression of a nuggety little player, in the mould of Wilf Smith in later years. Joe did not complete the season in the First Team, for whatever reason and he made 15 appearances overall. He was, however, a member of those pioneering group of players who formed the Northern Union in 1895 and one of the few Saints' players to have been born in Ireland. James known as Joe in his days at the Saints certainly had a mobile life. His family moved to Widnes from Galway in the late 1860s. By 1881 they had moved the short distance to St Helens where his father Daniel and Joe eventually took up employment in local brick and pottery works. It was this hard labour that strengthened Joe`s body for his leisure time on the rugby fields. Before the great schism in 1895 Joe played 53 matches for the Saints as a rugby union team. This made him a fixture in the side. 1901 Census tells us that he lived with his parents in Westfield Street and was a pipe carrier at a pottery works. He was 28 when the Census was taken, so he would be 23 when playing for Saints. Interesting too is the fact that his father, Daniel, is listed as a saltcake worker, aged 56. The Irishman could be found living in Field Street, Liverpool in 1939. He was listed as a dock labourer. Joe dies in the same city in 1948 aged 75. | ||||
PLAYER HONOURS | ||||
SEASON STATISTICS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season (Official Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
| 1895~96 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| TOTALS: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Season (Other Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
| TOTALS: | ||||
ALL MATCHES | ||||
| Date | Match | Pos | Opponents | Comp | Venue | FT | FTO | T | G | DG | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7th Sep 1895 | 1 | W |
7 | Rochdale Hornets | L | H | 8 | 3 | VIEW | |||
| 14th Sep 1895 | 2 | W |
7 | Runcorn | L | H | 5 | 0 | VIEW | |||
| 21st Sep 1895 | 3 | D |
7 | Batley | L | A | 3 | 3 | VIEW | |||
| 28th Sep 1895 | 4 | L |
7 | Stockport | L | H | 0 | 3 | VIEW | |||
| 5th Oct 1895 | 5 | W |
4 | Broughton Rangers | L | A | 5 | 3 | VIEW | |||
| 7th Oct 1895 | 6 | L |
4 | Bradford | L | A | 4 | 15 | VIEW | |||
| 12th Oct 1895 | 7 | W |
4 | Warrington | L | H | 3 | 0 | VIEW | |||
| 19th Oct 1895 | 8 | W |
4 | Hull | L | H | 3 | 0 | VIEW | |||
| 26th Oct 1895 | 9 | D |
7 | Tyldesley | L | H | 3 | 3 | VIEW | |||
| 2nd Nov 1895 | 10 | D |
4 | Leigh | L | H | 6 | 6 | VIEW | |||
| 9th Nov 1895 | 11 | L |
2 | Hunslet | L | A | 0 | 12 | VIEW | |||
| 18th Jan 1896 | 12 | L |
7 | Stockport | L | A | 3 | 18 | VIEW | |||
| 8th Feb 1896 | 13 | L |
7 | Hunslet | L | H | 0 | 5 | VIEW | |||
| 15th Feb 1896 | 14 | L |
7 | Manningham | L | A | 5 | 9 | VIEW | |||
| 22nd Feb 1896 | 15 | L |
7 | Runcorn | L | A | 0 | 3 | VIEW |
| *Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub. |
| WINS : 5 | LOSSES : 7 | DRAWS : 3 |
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