Richard Varley | |||||||
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OVERALL STATISTICS | |||||||
| BIRTH | AGE | SIGNED ON | FROM | ||||
| DEBUT | LAST MATCH | LEFT | |||||
| CAREER | APPEARANCES (SUBS) | ||||||
| TRIES | GOALS | DGOALS | PTS | ||||
Biography of Richard Varley |
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 HERITAGE NO : Richard Whitelock Varley DIFFERENT PATH The eldest of three brothers to play for the Saints, Richard, known as Dick, was born on the 5th of February 1851 in St. Helens. His father James was an iron founder employed 45 men and 25 boys. It is true to say that father James had built a very successful business in St. Helens and regularly dallied in the upper echelons of the business and social circles in the town. His mother, Annie, is from the Isle of Man. The 1861 census recorded the large family living in Eccleston Road, St. Helens. Indeed, Richard had nine siblings included brothers William and Harry who both were to play for St. Helens alongside Richard. The Varleys really set an impressive precedent here, later to be followed by the Creeveys, Warings and Cunninghams amongst others. Dick, alongside Harry and William, played in the very first match for the newly-formed St. Helens RFC, a twenty-a-side game against Liverpool Rifle Brigade, on 24th of January 1874 at Boundary Road, St. Helens. He played in the forwards that day. St. Helens didn’t trouble the scorers on that great day; the opposition that day made five touchdowns, but didn’t convert any so the result was ‘a draw in their favour’! Richard married Kate Bushell on the 22nd of September 1875. The marriage took place in Westbury on Trym in Gloucestershire, close to the bride’s home. The couple moved to live for a short while at Green Cottage in Eccleston, St, Helens. Dick did not follow his father into the iron industry but pursued a career as a commercial clerk. Certainly the events that followed demonstrate that Dick was to plough his own furrow in life. On the 14th of June, 1878 the couple emigrated to find a new life in Australia. Richard made a dramatic sidestep with regards two his occupation as well. He became a police constable with the New South Wales Police. Richard’s adventure did not last long though. He passed away in 1890 at Fitzroy, Victoria. His widow, Kate, returned to England after his death but boomeranged back to Victoria, Australia after a short while where she spent the rest of her days. |
| Date | Match | Pos | Opponents | Comp | Venue | FT | FTO | T | G | DG | ||
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| 24th Jan 1874 | 1 | N/K |
18 | Liverpool Royal Infirmary* | FR | H | VIEW | |||||
| 7th Mar 1874 | 2 | N/K |
11 | Waterloo* | FR | A | VIEW | |||||
| 5th Dec 1874 | 3 | D |
8 | Wigan* | FR | H | 0 | 0 | VIEW | |||
| 9th Oct 1875 | 4 | N/K |
12 | Liverpool Rifle Brigade* | FR | H | VIEW | |||||
| 21st Oct 1876 | 5 | N/K |
1 | Birkenhead Flamingoes* | FR | H | VIEW | |||||
| 3rd Feb 1877 | 6 | N/K |
7 | Cheetham* | FR | H | VIEW | |||||
| 3rd Mar 1877 | 7 | N/K |
1 | Wigan* | FR | H | VIEW |
| *Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub. |
| WINS : | LOSSES : | DRAWS : 1 |
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