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| Full name | Albert Henry Baskiville | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 January 1883 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 May 1908(1908-05-20) (aged 25) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 11 st 12 lb (75 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Three-quarters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Notable work | Modern Rugby Football: New Zealand Methods; Points for the Beginner, the Player, the Spectator | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parents |
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Albert (Bert) Henry Baskerville (born as"Baskiville"[2]) (15 January 1883 – 20 May 1908) was aWellington, New Zealand, postal clerk, arugby union forward, author of the bookModern Rugby Football: New Zealand Methods; Points for the Beginner, the Player, the Spectator and a pioneer ofrugby league.
His father, Henry William Baskiville, had been killed in an accident on 30 January 1903 when doing some drainage works on Upper Queen Street inAuckland. He and some other workmen were working in a deep excavation when one side of it began to collapse, men called out but his father moved the wrong way and was buried to his neck. He was quickly removed but his injuries were too serious to survive.[3] This left Albert as the mainincome earner for the family since then and they moved toWellington shortly afterwards.[4]
Prior to becoming the administrator of the 1907-08 tour, Baskerville played rugby for the Wellington club in 1903 (making two appearances for their senior side) before switching to the Oriental club in 1904 where he played regularly in the backs for the senior side. He was said to be on the verge ofprovincial selection towards the end of the 1907 season but was not included in the Wellington representative side.[4] He also played for the Post and Telegraph mid-week side in 1904 which won the tournament, beating Cycle and Bearers in the final. In the following year, he represented the Wednesday Players representative side in a match against the Wairarapa Thursday representative side.
His book,Modern Rugby Football: New Zealand Methods; Points for the Beginner, the Player, the Spectator, was published in 1907 and gave him somewhat of a national profile. After the success of this project he moved on to his next ambitious idea, a professional rugby tour of Great Britain.[5] Baskerville competed in many athletic events from 1903 to 1907 as a short and middle-distance runner where he would compete for prize money. In late 1905, he filed a patent for a "cuff protector and blotter".[6]
Baskerville wrote to theNorthern Union and asked if it would host a touring party of New Zealand rugby players. The Northern Union was excited by this proposal and quickly agreed. Baskerville began to work full-time on organising the tour, leaving his job at the Postal Department and severing his connection with the Oriental Football Club. TheWellington Rugby Union moved quickly to attempt to stop him from attending its grounds and he received a life ban from theNew Zealand Rugby Union. Despite this he managed to put together an impressive touring party that included eightAll Blacks, including four from the 1905tour of Great Britain. The team was dubbed theAll Golds by the Sydney press, a derogatory play on the New Zealand rugby union team's nickname theAll Blacks.
The tour was a great success both financially (each player earned roughly £300) and on the field, where the touring side won consecutive Test series against Great Britain and Australia. For most of the tour, Baskerville was busy with the administration work and it was not until the final game of the British leg, againstSt Helens R.F.C., that he played, scoring a try. On arriving in Australia he then played in thefirst ever trans-Tasman test which was the first match by theAustralia national rugby league team, again scoring a try. That was to be the only time that Baskerville representedNew Zealand in a Test match. Baskerville contractedpneumonia on the ship taking the touring party from Sydney toBrisbane and, after several days in hospital, died aged 25 in Brisbane on 20 May 1908.[7] His body was taken by the manager, Harry Palmer, and a group of players from each province back to Wellington. The rest of the touring party stayed in Australia to complete the remaining fixtures. Like five other members of the touring party, Baskerville is buried at Karori Cemetery.[8]
It was he who practically originated the professional Rugby movement in Australasia
— The Sydney Mail, 27 May 1908[9]
On their return from Australia the remaining members of the tour party held a memorial game, the first game of rugby league in New Zealand, and raised £300 for his widowed mother.[4]
TheCourtney Goodwill Trophy, international rugby league's first, was presented for the first time in 1936 and depicted Baskiville, along with other pioneering greats of the code,Jean Galia (France),James Lomas (England) andDally Messenger (Australia).[10]
He is commemorated by the naming of theBaskerville Shield, the trophy awarded whenGreat Britain andNew Zealand meet in test series. In 2001, Baskerville was inducted as one of theNZRL Legends of League.[11]
