 Gibson,c. 1954 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edward Gibson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1927-11-27)27 November 1927 Northumberland, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 18 January 2018(2018-01-18) (aged 90) Workington,Cumbria, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre, Stand-off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Edward "Eppie"Gibson (27 November 1927 – 18 January 2018), was an Englishrugby league player who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level forEngland andCumberland, and at club level forWorkington Town, as acentre, orstand-off,[1] and wasplayer-coach (later coach only) forWhitehaven.
Gibson was born on 27 November 1927, inNorthumberland. The son of professional soccer playerTed Gibson, he was raised inEllenborough. After attendingCockermouth Grammar School, Gibson went toLoughborough Teacher Training College where captained therugby union team. He won acap forCumberland and Westmorland, and also played for the English Universities team. Between 1947 and 1949, he was anational serviceman in the 1st BattalionEast Lancashire Regiment.[3]
Despite being in the army for the first two years of his career Gibson signed for Workington Town in June 1947, aged 19. Playing at stand-off he made an immediate impact and before the end of the season he had been selected for the first of an eventual 17 caps forCumberland, and was selected to play forEngland, making his international début in a 20–15 victory againstFrance atFartown, Huddersfield. Two more caps followed in 1951 in England's 35–10 defeat by theOther Nationalities atCentral Park, Wigan; and in a 35–11 victory overWales atKnowsley Road, St Helens.[3][4]
Eppie Gibson playedstand-off inCumberland's 5–4 victory overAustralia in the1948–49 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France match at theRecreation Ground,Whitehaven on Wednesday 13 October 1948, in front of a crowd of 8,818.[5]
Workington won their first (and to date only)Championship in1950–51; Gibson scored two tries in the Championship Final in the 26–11 victory overWarrington atMaine Road.[6] The following season Gibson played at centre as Workington won theChallenge Cup in 1952 (the first time in the club's history) as they beatFeatherstone Rovers 18–10 atWembley Stadium,London on Saturday 19 April 1952, in front of a crowd of 72,093.[4]
A fourth and final England cap came in 1953 in a 30–22 victory against the Other Nationalities at Central Park, Wigan.[4]
In 1955, Workington played in anotherChallenge Cup final with Gibson at centre and although he scored a try, Workington lost 21–12 toBarrow at Wembley on 30 April before a crowd of 66,513.[4]
At the end of the 1956–57 season during which he had been granted atestimonial Gibson left Workington to becomeplayer-coach at nearby rival Whitehaven. During his 10 years at Workington he appeared for the club 335 times, scoring 145 tries and kicking 19 goals.[3]
Gibson succeededNeville Emery as coach at Whitehaven and continued to play until the end of the 1960–61 season during which he played 88 times and scored 20 tries as well as coaching the team to the quarter-finals of the1959–60 Challenge Cup, and to sixth place in the league in1959–60, Whitehaven's highest ever finish in the league.[6] His last match was against Workington on 3 April 1961 after which he retired from playing. The 1961–62 season did not go well for Whitehaven and Gibson stepped down as coach in 1962 to be replaced byJim Brough.[6]
In 1971, Gibson returned to Workington as coach for two seasons.[6]
After leaving the army in 1949 Gibson became a secondary school teacher in the Whitehaven area where he met his wife, Marie. While teaching he was a founder of theEnglish Schools Rugby League, and coached the first English schools team which played France in 1967.[6] He was a member of the board of directors of Whitehaven R.L.F.C in the 1980s, and was named as one of the club's "Immortals" in 1998.[7][4]
Gibson died on 18 January 2018, aged 90, inWorkington.[7]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Coach Workington Town 1971–1973 | Succeeded by Paul Charlton 1975-19?? |
| Preceded by Neville Emery 1951–1956 | Coach Whitehaven RLFC 1956–1962 | Succeeded by Jim Brough 1962-196? |