Charlie Hopley | |||||||
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OVERALL STATISTICS | |||||||
| BIRTH | AGE | SIGNED ON | FROM | ||||
| DEBUT | LAST MATCH | LEFT | |||||
| CAREER | APPEARANCES (SUBS) | ||||||
| TRIES | GOALS | DGOALS | PTS | ||||
Biography of Charlie Hopley |
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 HERITAGE NO : Charlie Hopley YOUNG CHARLIE Charlie Hopley was born on the 20th of February, 1875 in St. Helens. He lived in Morley Street, originally and his father, William, worked as an engine fitter. Given his date of birth it seems he would be of a rather tender age to have made his Saints’ debut, as a three-quarter against Birkenhead Wanderers in the first-ever season at Knowsley Road, on 14th March 1891. Indeed, he was just 16 years and 22 days when he first donned a Saints’ jersey. Charlie continued to feature occasionally in the first team for the following four seasons. NORTHERN UNION ERA Charlie continued to play rugby when Saints entered the breakaway Northern Union in 1895-96. He came into the team for three consecutive matches, the first being selection in the left centre position for the match against Brighouse in Yorkshire, on 4th January 1896. His winger was the sprinter Tom Sudlow. When the Saints signed Billy Jacques from Hull, the new man took up that left centre role for the rest of the campaign. Charlie’s last match was on the 18th January, when the Saints went down by 18 points to 3 at Stockport. The 1901 Census tells us that Charlie lived with his wife, Alice (nee) Edwards in Wilcock Street, St. Helens. Alice was three years older than Charlie and from Bethnal Green in London. Charlie worked as a pattern maker in an iron foundry, presumably following on in the industry from his father. The 1939 Census has him living at 6 Scots Barn Lane in Prescot. He passed away in December 1950, aged 75. Charlie must be one of the youngest players in the Saints’ long history. |
| Date | Match | Pos | Opponents | Comp | Venue | FT | FTO | T | G | DG | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14th Mar 1891 | 1 | W |
2 | Birkenhead Wanderers* | SWLL | A | 1 | 0 | VIEW | |||
| 21st Mar 1891 | 2 | L |
4 | Morecambe* | FR | H | 1 | 3 | VIEW | |||
| 27th Mar 1891 | 3 | W |
1 | Sutton* | FR | H | 9 | 0 | VIEW | |||
| 30th Mar 1891 | 4 | W |
3 | Mona (Isle of Man)* | FR | H | 1 | 0 | VIEW | |||
| 4th Apr 1891 | 5 | W |
1 | Sale* | FR | H | 9 | 4 | VIEW | |||
| 18th Apr 1891 | 6 | L |
3 | Walkden* | SWLL | A | 0 | 11 | VIEW | |||
| 21st Nov 1891 | 7 | W |
2 | Tyldesley* | FR | H | 6 | 2 | VIEW | |||
| 24th Mar 1894 | 8 | W |
1 | Barton* | FR | H | 5 | 4 | VIEW |
| *Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub. |
| WINS : 6 | LOSSES : 2 | DRAWS : |
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