I had the honour of seeing Arthur Clues’ first and last games for Leeds - and most of the others in between- played alongside his good friend Bert Cook.
When he first ran out at Headingley, which thrilled the huge crowd, Arthur looked like a man mountain. He wasn’t the biggest I’d ever seen, that was probably Frank Whitcombe at Bradford who was around at the same time and had some huge tussles with the Leeds pack, but Arthur was terrifically fast for his size.
That was unusual but he also had the magnificent pair of hands and the vision of a half-back. His combination of strength, knowledge and a vicious temper made him an idol to those of us who were impressionable schoolboys at the time.
He immediately became a hero and there were many who would go to matches purely because his name was on the team-sheet. Bert Cook, who was a majestic kicker, wasn’t far behind him in our affections.
In those days Rugby League was much more of a kicking game between the full backs in duels to see who could out-kick who. One of my earliest memories is of Great Britain number one Jim Ledgard of Leigh punting the ball to Bert, who was a New Zealander, and back for maybe ten minutes during a game and the crowd being enraptured.
Most of the Antipodeans who came over, and especially Arthur, played cricket during the summer, often for Arthur Appleyard’s XI at Roundhay Park, so I got the chance to admire them all year round. These guys were always men of the people, they were never too big not to come and have a talk to you and a bit of fun.
Neil Jeffries
Comment added by Ron Needham: Arthur was indeed a real gentleman. I used to buy my boots from him when he had his sports shop near the Merrion Centre in Leeds. I took some students there once from a French rugby union team visiting Leeds to play against the Polytechnic and they were amazed at this giant of a man who spent an afternoon telling them, in their own language, about his battles playing for Other Nationalities against the French. RON NEEDHAM, JANUARY 30 2014
Originally published in 'Headingley Rugby Voices' Recollections of supporters, compiled by Phil Caplan.
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Memory added on November 26, 2012
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