Harry Bath
Second row, Prop
Player Bio
- Inducted:
- 2008
- Date of Birth:
- 28 November 1924
- Birthplace:
- Brisbane, QLD
- Nickname:
- -
- Debut Team:
- Southern Suburbs
- Date:
- 13 June 1942
- Opposition:
- Past Brothers
- Venue:
- Oxenham Park, Nundah
- Representative:
- Brisbane, City, Queensland, New South Wales, Other Nationalities
- Clubs:
- Brisbane Souths, Balmain, Barrow, Warrington, St George
Career
Milestones
- Premierships: 1945-47, 1957-59
- Challenge Cups: 1950, 1954
- Championship Titles: 1948, 1954-55
- Rated No. 30 in Rugby League Week’s Top 100 players: 1992
Playing
- First Class Games
- 541
- Points
- 2617
- Tries
- 137
Biography
If a list was compiled of the best players never to wear the green and gold jersey, Harry Bath's name would invariably feature at or very near the top. Bath spent the best years of his career in England, most of them with the Warrington club in Lancashire, where he enjoyed resounding success.
He played almost 350 games in the top flight, won Challenge Cup titles, Championships and countless other honours.
More significantly, Bath developed into one of the game's most skilled ball-playing second-rowers. He was also a goalkicker of outstanding repute and earned international recognition with Other Nationalities.
Bath left Brisbane for Sydney in 1946, to join Balmain and featured in premiership-winning teams in successive seasons. He played 10 years in England before returning to Australia at the age of 33.
With Bath sharing the knowledge he'd acquired in a decade of British football, St George won the second, third and fourth premierships in their 11-year run.
And his brilliant goalkicking contributed more than 200 points in both 1958 and 1959. He thus had a perfect record of five premierships in five seasons in Sydney football.
Bath turned to coaching after his career wound up in 1959 and he spent the next 20 years inspiring success at both club and representative level. He took St George to premierships in 1977 and 1979 and steered Australia to a World Cup victory at home in 1968.
Club landmarks: Won Brisbane premiership with Souths 1945; Won premierships with Balmain 1946–47; Won Challenge Cup with Warrington 1950; Captained Warrington to Challenge Cup win 1954; Won premierships with St George 1957–59; Holds St George record for most points in a season, 225.
"The greatest forward never to play for Australia”.
Ian Heads A Centenary of Rugby League
40. Harry Bath - Hall of Fame
Career Stats
Club Career
Team Name | Competition | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Southern Suburbs Brisbane | Brisbane Club Competition | 1942 | 1945 | 39 | 11 | 22 | - | 77 |
Southern Suburbs Brisbane | Official Pre-Season | 1943 | 1945 | 8 | 2 | 3 | - | 12 |
Southern Suburbs Brisbane | One-round Competition | 1943 | 1944 | 9 | 3 | 3 | - | 15 |
Balmain | Premiership | 1946 | 1947 | 30 | 11 | - | - | 33 |
Barrow | England First Class Games | 1947 | 1948 | 18 | 3 | 3 | - | 15 |
Warrington | England First Class Games | 1948 | 1957 | 346 | 90 | 812 | - | 1,894 |
St George Dragons | Premiership | 1957 | 1959 | 60 | 10 | 240 | - | 510 |
Representative Career
City - Country
Team Name | Opponent | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
City Firsts | Country Firsts |
1946
1957 |
1946
1957 |
2 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
City Seconds | Country Seconds | 1947 | 1947 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Intercity
Team Name | Competition | Opponent | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brisbane | 1944 | 1945 | 8 | - | 1 | - | 2 |
State
Team Name | Competition | Opponent | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Queensland | Interstate Series | New South Wales | 1945 | 1945 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
Queensland | The Rest | 1945 | 1945 | 1 | - | - | - | - | |
New South Wales | Interstate Series | Queensland | 1946 | 1947 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 9 |
New South Wales | Touring Teams | 1946 | 1946 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Other Representative
Team Name | Opponent | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Other Nationalities | 1949 | 1955 | 12 | 2 | 16 | - | 38 | |
South Queensland | Combined Forces | 1944 | 1944 | 1 | - | 3 | - | 6 |
Hall of Fame Members
National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.