MEN 1873-1895
MEN 1895-2024
WOMEN 2018-2024
 

William Monsey Parr

OVERALL STATISTICS

BIRTHAGESIGNED ONFROM
30-5-1859
N/A
Date unknown.
Unknown.
DEBUTLAST MATCHLEFT
4-12-1880 v St Helens Recs
Blacked
1885-
CAREERAPPEARANCES (SUBS)
1880-1885
21 (0)
TRIESGOALSDGOALSPTS
0
0
0
0

Biography of William Monsey Parr



HERITAGE NO :
William Parr

THE ONE AND ONLY ‘MONSEY’

William Parr was a stalwart for the St Helens Recs team but he also played an important role in the history of the Saints. As for his nickname, he was once asked to go and get some beer by his workmates at the glassworks, who had to endure the searing heat of the tanks. He took a while. Asked why he replied, “There were a lot of monseys (men) there.” And so it was ‘Monsey’ for the rest of his life.

He was born on the 30th of May, 1859 in St. Helens. His father, Joseph, was a miner. In the mid 1870s he was a prominent member of the YMCA held in the Ragged School near Brook Street in the town. The lads would practise goal kicking through the trapeze, using a boxing glove for a ball. On Saturday afternoons the would watch the ‘Gentlemen’ of the newly formed St. Helens RFC on grounds near Boundary Road in the town. If the team were short on personnel, some of the young lads would be drafted in. Eventually, these young ragamuffins would usurp the Gentlemen and form the core of the team as it evolved in the late 1870s.

His first team debut was on the 4th of January 1881 against local rivals St. Helens Recs. Monsey played ink the forwards and finished the day on the losing side. His last recorded match for the Saints was against Blackrod on Christmas Day 1885.

Despite these early flirtations with the Saints Monsey took up with the St. Helens Recs. We can probably assume that he worked for Pilkington’s Brothers and this would be a major factor in determining your local team of choice. He had many memorable clashes with the Saints through the 1880s. This durable player became captain of the Recs side and his dedication to the sport almost cost him his life. On the 7th of April, 1888 St Helens Recs were facing Wigan and Monsey was crushed during a scrimmage and an operation was performed by Dr. Knowles. Despite rumours of his demise Monsey rose to play again. Recovering consciousness, his first words were: “Who’s won?”

Monsey lived at 39 Water Street in St. Helens for a considerable time. In 1919 he married Hilda Bailey at the age of 60. There were no children from the marriage and the 1939 tells us that Hilda had died leaving Monsey a widower. He died in April 1944 in St. Helens at the age of 85.

Alex Service and Dave Dooley
DateMatchPosOpponentsCompVenueFTFTOTGDG
4th Dec 1880 1
N/K
 9 St Helens Recs* FR A VIEW
1st Jan 1881 2
N/K
 9 St Helens Recs* FR A VIEW
8th Jan 1881 3
N/K
 11 Newton Le Willows* FR H VIEW
5th Nov 1881 4
N/K
 9 Runcorn A* FR H VIEW
21st Jan 1882 5
N/K
 9 Glodwick* FR A VIEW
11th Feb 1882 6
N/K
 9 Everton Valley* FR H VIEW
4th Mar 1882 7
N/K
 9 St Helens Recs* FR H VIEW
7th Oct 1882 8
N/K
 8 Widnes Wasps* FR H VIEW
2nd Dec 1882 9
N/K
 8 Aspull* FR A VIEW
1st Jan 1883 10
N/K
 8 Widnes* FR H VIEW
20th Jan 1883 11
N/K
 8 Everton Valley* FR H VIEW
17th Mar 1883 12
N/K
 8 Everton Valley* FR H VIEW
3rd Nov 1883 13
N/K
 7 Blundelsands* FR H VIEW
10th Nov 1883 14
N/K
 7 Runcorn* FR H VIEW
1st Dec 1883 15
N/K
 7 Sutton* FR H VIEW
8th Dec 1883 16
N/K
 7 Newton* FR H VIEW
16th Feb 1884 17
N/K
 8 Southport Olympique* FR A VIEW
23rd Feb 1884 18
N/K
 8 Wigan* FR A VIEW
4th Apr 1885 19
N/K
 9 Ossett* FR H VIEW
26th Sep 1885 20
N/K
 9 Aspull* FR H VIEW
25th Dec 1885 21
N/K
 9 Blackrod* FR H VIEW
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub.
WINS : | LOSSES : | DRAWS :




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