Jimmy Ledgard
James "Jim"/"Jimmy" Ledgard (9 June 1922 – 26 January 2007) was an English rugby union and World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and coached rugby league in the 1960s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Sandal RUFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Dewsbury (two spells), and Leigh, as a goal-kicking fullback, i.e. number 1, and coached at club level for Bradford Northern.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | James Ledgard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 9 June 1922 Wakefield, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 26 January 2007 (aged 84) Dewsbury, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Fullback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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He was transferred from Dewsbury to Leigh for a record fee of £2,650 during January 1948, (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £218,400 in 2013).
Ledgard made 334 appearances for Leigh after joining the club from Dewsbury in 1948, scoring a record 1,043 goals for the club as well as 36 tries. He played for the club until 1958.
He was part of the Great Britain side that won the 1954 World Cup, winning his 11th and last cap in the 16–12 win over France in the final.