Arthur Summons facts for kids
Summons in 2008
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| Birth name | Arthur James Summons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 13 December 1935 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Paddington, New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 16 May 2020 (aged 84) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Homebush High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Pam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, Club Manager | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Arthur James Summons (born December 13, 1935 – died May 16, 2020) was a famous Australian rugby player. He was special because he played both rugby union and rugby league at the highest level. Arthur even captained the Australian national rugby league team, leading them to many wins. He also coached the team later on.
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Early Life and School Rugby
Arthur Summons was born in Paddington, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. He went to Homebush Boys High School, a selective school, where he was the captain of the school's top rugby union team. He also played for Combined High Schools and later led a Sydney Combined Teachers' College team. Before all this, he played junior rugby league with the Mount Pritchard club.
Playing Rugby Union for Australia
Arthur started his senior rugby union career with the Gordon Rugby Union Club. He first played for the Wallabies (Australia's national rugby union team) in 1956. He went on a big tour to the British Isles in 1957-1958. During this tour, he played his first full international match against Wales in Cardiff.
He played in four of the five test matches on that tour. In 1958, he played in four more test matches against the New Zealand Māori rugby union team and the All Blacks. His rugby union career ended in 1959 after playing two more test matches against the British Lions. In total, he played ten test matches for the Wallabies.
Switching to Rugby League
Arthur had a young family and needed a better financial situation. So, in 1960, he decided to switch to rugby league and signed with the Western Suburbs club. He played in three grand finals with Wests between 1961 and 1963, but they sadly lost all of them to the St George team.
Playing Rugby League for Australia
In 1961, Arthur first played for the Australian national rugby league team. He toured New Zealand and played in six matches, including two test matches. His first international rugby league game was on July 1, 1961, against New Zealand. This made him Australia's 26th player to represent the country in both rugby codes.
In 1962, he became captain for the third test against Great Britain. Australia won that game in a very close match. In 1963, Arthur led Australia to wins against New Zealand and South Africa. He was also chosen as captain-coach for the Kangaroo tour of Britain. Even though he missed some games due to injury, he helped Australia win the Rugby League Ashes series. This was the first time Australia had won a series on British soil! He also captained Australia to wins in two tests during the French part of the tour.
After his professional career, Arthur played five seasons with the Wagga Magpies club. He also worked as the Secretary-Manager of the Wagga Wagga Leagues Club. He was made a Life member of the Sydney Cricket Ground.
In 2008, Arthur Summons was named one of Australia's 100 greatest rugby league players from 1908 to 2007. This was part of the sport's centenary celebrations in Australia. The Western Suburbs Magpies also added him to their Hall of Fame in 2008.
The Famous "Gladiators" Photo
Arthur Summons is part of one of Australia's most famous sports photos. It was taken after the 1963 NSW Rugby League Grand Final. The game was played in heavy rain, and the field was very muddy. After the tough match, which St George won, the captains of the two teams hugged each other. These captains were the very tall Norm Provan and the shorter Arthur Summons.
A newspaper photographer named John O'Gready captured this moment. The photo was published the next day and became known as The Gladiators. Arthur later joked that he was actually complaining to Norm about the referee's decision! This iconic photo was the inspiration for the bronze statue on the current NRL premiership trophy.
Later Life and Passing
In 1964, Arthur Summons moved to Wagga Wagga. He continued to work as the secretary-manager of the Wagga Wagga Leagues Club. Arthur passed away on May 16, 2020, at the age of 84.
