Len Mason

Leonard Tasman Mason[2] (23 September 1903 – 10 June 1953) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at representative level for New Zealand, Other Nationalities, Dominion XIII, the South Island, South Auckland and Canterbury, and at club level for Wigan, Keighley and Bramley,as a centre, prop, hooker, or second-row.[1]

For the Medal of Honor recipient, see Leonard F. Mason.

Len Mason
Personal information
Full nameLeonard Tasman Mason
Born(1903-09-23)23 September 1903
Huntly, New Zealand
Died10 June 1953(1953-06-10) (aged 49)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Playing information
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight15 st 0 lb (95 kg)
PositionCentre, Prop, Hooker, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
Unknown (WRL)
1924–25 Athletic/Maritime (ARL) 8 2 0 26
1926 Hornby (CRL)
1927–35 Wigan 362 50 5 0 160
1936–37 Keighley 36
1937–39 Bramley 64
1939–40 Keighley 10
Total 472 58 7 0 186
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
South Auckland
1925 Auckland 1 0 0 0 0
1926 Canterbury
1926 South Island 1 1 0 0 3
1936–37 Dominion XIII ≥2
1929–33 Other Nationalities 4 1 0 0 3
1926–27 New Zealand 3 1 0 0 3
Source: [1]

Early life and family

Born in Huntly on 23 September 1903, Mason was the son of Victor Emanuel Mason and Te Ngaehe Elizabeth Mason (née Maki).[3][4][5]

Playing career

Mason represented South Auckland as a teenager before briefly playing for the Athletic club in Auckland (formerly Maritime).[6] Work then took him to Christchurch where he joined the Hornby club in the Canterbury Rugby League competition. He scored for South Island in the 1926 inter-island match.

Mason was selected for the New Zealand national rugby league team and was part of the 1926-27 tour of Great Britain that was marred by player discontent.[7]

Wigan

Mason then moved to England in 1927 to join Wigan.

During the 1928–29 season, Mason was part of Wigan's 1928–29 Lancashire Cup, playing left-second-row, i.e. number 11, in a 5-4 victory over Widnes in the final at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on Saturday 24 November 1928.[8] He played right-second-row, i.e. number 12, in Wigan's 13-2 victory over Dewsbury in the Challenge Cup Final during the at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 4 May 1929.[9]

He won caps for Other Nationalities while at Wigan. He played in the 20-27 defeat by England at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds on Wednesday 20 March 1929, and in the 35-19 victory over England at Thrum Hall, Halifax on Monday 7 April 1930, and in the 18-31 defeat by England at Knowsley Road on Monday 7 April 1930, and in the 27-34 defeat by England in Workington on Thursday 30 March 1933.[1]

Mason played right-centre in Wigan's 15-3 victory over Salford in the Championship final during the 1933–34 season at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on Saturday 28 April 1934.[10]

Mason played left-second-row in Wigan's 30-27 victory over France at Central Park, Wigan, on Saturday 10 March 1934.[11]

Keighley

Mason later joined Keighley and was still a first grade footballer at 39 years of age.[6]

Later years

Mason returned to the Waikato and was a Waikato selector in the later 1940s.[6] He died in Hamilton in 1953, and was buried at Rangiriri Lawn Cemetery.[12]

gollark: Too bad.
gollark: And I have made the axiom of choice.
gollark: I mean, they have, but by us for convenience.
gollark: Perhaps they would have done this if they had ever entered operation. However, as of now they are merely inert hexahedra contained at GTech™ Hyperbolic Site-6906.
gollark: Those were, as I said, neutralized on arrival. We were able to prove that *those* were the empty set, so they obviously can't do anything.

References
  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. MASON, Leonard Tasman 1926 - 27 - Kiwi #186 Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
  3. "The Leeds Loiner - Challenge Cup semi-final - Keighley v. Wakefield Trinity, Saturday 3 April 1937". footballzone.co.uk. 31 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  4. "Birth search: registration number 1903/7432". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  5. "Victor Emanuel Mason + Te Ngaehe Elizabeth Mason". MyHeritage. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  6. Coffey, John. Canterbury XIII, Christchurch, 1987.
  7. Baker, Andrew (20 August 1995). "100 years of rugby league: From the great divide to the Super era". Independent, The. London: independent.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  8. "1928-1929 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  9. "Historic Wigan RL Moments: 1929 Challenge Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  10. "1933-1934 Championship Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  11. "1934 Tour Match: Wigan 30 France 27". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  12. "Cemeteries database". Waikato District Council. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
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