Oldham RLFC Heritage Trust

Norman Pugh

Career: 1933-34/1947-48

Heritage No. 303

Player profile

Norman Pugh was a tall, rangy, second row or loose forward, who came to the club from Swansea Rugby Union where he won county honours with Glamorgan. He made his first team debut in the 8 – 0 home victory over Wakefield on March 5th, 1934.

A most reliable performer in the back row, Norman, whose tall and lean stature, allied to his rallying call of “Get cracking lads”, saw him nicknamed “The Whip”, would become a cornerstone of the Oldham pack for fourteen years. His consistent displays for the “Roughyeds” earned him eight Welsh caps in Rugby League and on all but one of these occasions he finished on the winning side.

When Rugby League resumed after the Second World War for the 1945-46 season, Oldham, like many other clubs, had its players scattered far and wide, but luckily for the club Norman was available to play in 38 of the 40 matches and when made captain towards the season’s end, provided a steadying influence as the club won seven of its last eight games to climb to a respectable mid table position, after looking destined to finish in the lower reaches.

A benefit match was played for Norman between Oldham and an “International and County Xlll”, selected by Welsh full back legend, Jim Sullivan on April 22nd, 1947. After his retirement at the end of the 1947-48 season, he maintained a keen interest in the club, helping to form the ex-players association. One of the great servants of Oldham RLFC.

Photos 3

See all 3 photos with dates and captions →

Games played 389

Includes 24 games that don't count towards the career statistics above (friendlies and similar).

Date	Opposition	Result	Score
5 March 1934	Wakefield Trinity	Won	8-0
17 March 1934	St Helens Recs	Lost	0-28
19 March 1934	Halifax	Lost	2-5
30 March 1934	Swinton	Lost	5-7
31 March 1934	Halifax	Lost	3-30
2 April 1934	St Helens Recs	Lost	3-30
3 April 1934	Leeds	Lost	11-24
7 April 1934	Rochdale Hornets	Won	19-5
10 April 1934	Wigan	Lost	7-12
21 April 1934	Broughton Rangers	Lost	7-34
12 May 1934	Halifax	Lost	16-36
18 August 1934	Rochdale Hornets Infirmary Cup	Won	20-7
25 August 1934	Wigan	Lost	2-54
1 September 1934	Bramley	Won	23-8
8 September 1934	Widnes	Won	8-7
15 September 1934	Warrington	Draw	7-7
17 September 1934	Villeneuve Friendly	Won	26-25
22 September 1934	Salford	Lost	2-25
29 September 1934	Rochdale Hornets	Lost	5-8
6 October 1934	Keighley	Lost	4-16
13 October 1934	Salford	Lost	4-10
20 October 1934	St Helens Recs	Lost	9-28
27 October 1934	Broughton Rangers	Lost	5-6
3 November 1934	Broughton Rangers	Lost	2-5
10 November 1934	Barrow	Lost	11-18
17 November 1934	Wigan	Lost	5-20
24 November 1934	Widnes	Lost	5-29
1 December 1934	Barrow	Won	17-12
15 December 1934	Keighley	Lost	10-17
22 December 1934	Rochdale Hornets	Lost	9-13
25 December 1934	Swinton	Lost	2-10
26 December 1934	Hull Kingston Rovers	Won	19-10
29 December 1934	York	Won	9-5
1 January 1935	Widnes	Won	11-0
5 January 1935	Huddersfield	Won	6-5
2 February 1935	St Helens	Draw	5-5
9 February 1935	St Helens	Won	3-0
16 February 1935	Hull Kingston Rovers	Won	14-7
23 February 1935	Huddersfield	Lost	0-6
2 March 1935	Batley	Won	16-12
6 March 1935	Warrington	Lost	0-3
9 March 1935	Leigh	Won	8-5
16 March 1935	Liverpool Stanley	Draw	4-4
23 March 1935	York	Lost	11-18
6 April 1935	Leigh	Won	23-8
9 April 1935	Huddersfield	Draw	11-11
13 April 1935	Bramley	Won	23-9
19 April 1935	Swinton	Won	5-4
20 April 1935	Halifax	Won	16-3
22 April 1935	St Helens	Lost	5-15
24 August 1935	Rochdale Hornets Infirmary Cup	Won	15-14
31 August 1935	Hull Kingston Rovers	Won	22-11
7 September 1935	Streatham & Mitcham	Won	10-5
14 September 1935	Rochdale Hornets	Won	7-5
16 September 1935	Broughton Rangers	Won	6-5
21 September 1935	Warrington	Lost	5-7
28 September 1935	St Helens Recs	Won	5-3
2 October 1935	Wigan	Lost	4-9
5 October 1935	Wigan	Won	15-7
12 October 1935	Hull Kingston Rovers	Lost	9-18
19 October 1935	Leigh	Won	17-5
26 October 1935	Rochdale Hornets	Lost	2-3
2 November 1935	Dewsbury	Won	31-10
9 November 1935	Salford	Lost	7-23
16 November 1935	Barrow	Won	11-10
30 November 1935	Widnes	Lost	0-6
7 December 1935	St Helens	Lost	4-12
14 December 1935	Rochdale Hornets	Won	17-2
25 December 1935	Broughton Rangers	Won	8-7
26 December 1935	Swinton	Lost	0-6
28 December 1935	Leigh	Lost	5-12
1 January 1936	Wakefield Trinity	Won	8-3
4 January 1936	St Helens	Won	10-2
11 January 1936	Halifax	Lost	2-10
25 January 1936	Liverpool Stanley	Lost	2-10
8 February 1936	Higginshaw	Won	38-2
22 February 1936	Wigan	Lost	4-15
26 February 1936	Liverpool Stanley	Lost	10-20
29 February 1936	Hunslet	Won	14-5
7 March 1936	Dewsbury	Draw	2-2
10 March 1936	Keighley	Won	17-5
14 March 1936	Barrow	Lost	11-26
21 March 1936	Streatham & Mitcham	Won	20-7
24 March 1936	Warrington	Won	10-3
28 March 1936	Keighley	Won	7-0
13 April 1936	Halifax	Won	12-3
22 August 1936	Rochdale Hornets Infirmary Cup	Won	12-4
29 August 1936	Wigan	Lost	11-17
5 September 1936	St Helens Recs	Won	19-0
12 September 1936	Salford	Lost	4-8
17 September 1936	Barrow	Lost	6-24
19 September 1936	Widnes	Won	17-5
26 September 1936	Warrington	Lost	7-15
28 September 1936	Liverpool Stanley	Lost	4-14
3 October 1936	Salford	Lost	13-17
10 October 1936	Widnes	Lost	0-10
17 October 1936	Keighley	Won	20-2
24 October 1936	Broughton Rangers	Draw	14-14
31 October 1936	Halifax	Won	17-2
14 November 1936	St Helens	Won	20-2
21 November 1936	Hunslet	Aban	7-5
28 November 1936	Barrow	Won	17-6
12 December 1936	Broughton Rangers	Aban	0-3
14 December 1936	Hunslet	Won	20-5
19 December 1936	Liverpool Stanley	Lost	9-15
25 December 1936	Swinton	Won	10-2
26 December 1936	Rochdale Hornets	Won	12-4
1 January 1937	Wakefield Trinity	Won	15-0
2 January 1937	Salford	Lost	2-5
9 January 1937	Streatham & Mitcham	Won	28-15
16 January 1937	Batley	Won	26-5
23 January 1937	Wakefield Trinity	Lost	7-17
6 February 1937	Keighley	Lost	7-13
13 February 1937	Wigan	Lost	4-15
20 February 1937	Leigh	Won	16-3
6 March 1937	Bradford Northern	Lost	10-27
20 March 1937	St Helens Recs	Lost	7-10
26 March 1937	Swinton	Lost	2-10
27 March 1937	Rochdale Hornets	Won	24-9
29 March 1937	Batley	Lost	3-19
3 April 1937	Bradford Northern	Won	18-15
5 April 1937	Warrington	Lost	5-13
10 April 1937	Leigh	Won	11-3
12 April 1937	Wigan	Won	11-3
24 April 1937	Broughton Rangers	Lost	7-9
21 August 1937	Rochdale Hornets Infirmary Cup	Won	9-4
28 August 1937	Warrington	Lost	5-25
4 September 1937	Halifax	Won	11-7
11 September 1937	Warrington	Lost	2-4
15 September 1937	Dewsbury	Won	29-8
18 September 1937	York	Won	33-12
20 September 1937	Wigan	Lost	0-5
25 September 1937	Barrow	Lost	10-18
2 October 1937	Broughton Rangers	Won	12-3
16 October 1937	Leigh	Won	12-0
23 October 1937	St Helens Recs	Won	22-0
30 October 1937	Halifax	Won	10-3
6 November 1937	Australia	Lost	6-10
13 November 1937	York	Draw	2-2
20 November 1937	Hull Kingston Rovers	Won	9-2
27 November 1937	Broughton Rangers	Won	21-10
4 December 1937	St Helens	Won	18-5
11 December 1937	Hunslet	Lost	3-13
18 December 1937	Widnes	Lost	4-5
25 December 1937	Swinton	Won	6-3
1 January 1938	Barrow	Won	6-2
8 January 1938	St Helens Recs	Lost	0-2
15 January 1938	Salford	Won	16-5
22 January 1938	Hunslet	Lost	5-11
29 January 1938	Liverpool Stanley	Lost	0-4
5 February 1938	Huddersfield	Won	13-8
12 February 1938	Huddersfield	Won	12-6
19 February 1938	Batley	Lost	7-8
26 February 1938	Salford	Lost	5-19
5 March 1938	Widnes	Lost	11-15
12 March 1938	Dewsbury	Won	18-7
26 March 1938	Warrington	Won	11-5
5 April 1938	Rochdale Hornets	Won	10-3
9 April 1938	Wigan	Lost	10-25
11 April 1938	Liverpool Stanley	Won	15-2
15 April 1938	Swinton	Lost	3-15
16 April 1938	Hull Kingston Rovers	Won	20-10
18 April 1938	Rochdale Hornets	Won	22-7
30 April 1938	Gf Hutchins International Team Benefit Match	Lost	31-41
20 August 1938	Rochdale Hornets Infirmary Cup	Won	18-8
17 September 1938	St Helens Recs	Lost	4-9
21 September 1938	Wigan	Lost	4-13
24 September 1938	Hunslet	Won	20-3
19 November 1938	Broughton Rangers	Won	10-7
2 January 1939	Batley	Won	9-4
7 January 1939	Castleford	Lost	5-16
14 January 1939	Keighley	Won	10-6
21 January 1939	Leigh	Won	35-2
20 February 1939	Swinton	Lost	0-7
4 March 1939	Bradford Northern	Won	21-2
18 March 1939	Halifax	Won	12-4
25 March 1939	St Helens	Won	2-0
7 April 1939	Swinton	Lost	5-14
8 April 1939	Barrow	Lost	2-5
15 April 1939	St Helens	Won	15-10
18 April 1939	Halifax	Won	14-2
16 September 1939	Rochdale Hornets Friendly	Won	23-5
30 September 1939	Salford	Lost	13-16
7 October 1939	Barrow	Lost	14-22
14 October 1939	Wigan	Lost	2-5
2 December 1939	Leigh	Draw	2-2
9 December 1939	Barrow	Won	7-2
16 December 1939	Broughton Rangers	Won	18-0
25 December 1939	Swinton	Lost	7-8
26 December 1939	Liverpool Stanley	Draw	5-5
24 February 1940	Wigan	Lost	5-16
2 March 1940	Rochdale Hornets	Lost	5-15
16 March 1940	Warrington	Won	18-2
22 March 1940	Swinton	Lost	5-9
23 March 1940	Rochdale Hornets	Won	15-11
25 March 1940	Warrington	Lost	11-46
30 March 1940	Halifax Friendly	Lost	9-30
6 April 1940	Wigan Friendly	Won	29-24
13 April 1940	Hunslet Friendly	Won	26-7
20 April 1940	Warrington Friendly	Lost	11-14
27 April 1940	Salford Friendly	Won	7-4
4 May 1940	St Helens	Lost	5-12
11 May 1940	Widnes	Won	19-3
18 May 1940	Leeds Friendly	Won	37-11
25 May 1940	Halifax Friendly	Won	16-9
1 June 1940	Huddersfield Friendly	Lost	16-20
14 September 1940	Liverpool Stanley	Draw	8-8
21 September 1940	Wigan	Lost	0-21
28 September 1940	St Helens	Lost	5-16
5 October 1940	Broughton Rangers	Won	22-10
12 October 1940	Warrington	Lost	3-31
19 October 1940	Leigh	Won	15-3
26 October 1940	Broughton Rangers	Won	13-10
16 November 1940	Swinton	Won	17-3
14 December 1940	St Helens	Lost	2-19
21 December 1940	Leigh	Won	37-24
25 December 1940	Swinton	Lost	5-16
28 December 1940	Warrington	Lost	2-19
25 January 1941	Wigan	Lost	6-8
15 February 1941	Wigan Friendly	Lost	11-15
8 March 1941	Leigh Friendly	Won	30-0
15 March 1941	Wakefield Trinity	Lost	5-17
5 April 1941	Halifax Friendly	Lost	8-13
12 April 1941	Dewsbury	Lost	9-13
23 August 1941	Huddersfield Friendly	Lost	17-24
6 September 1941	Halifax	Lost	13-18
13 September 1941	Wakefield Trinity	Lost	0-21
3 January 1942	Dewsbury	Lost	7-8
10 January 1942	Castleford	Won	31-16
28 March 1942	Huddersfield	Won	19-5
4 April 1942	Wigan	Won	16-3
6 April 1942	Leeds	Lost	3-12
11 April 1942	Wigan	Lost	2-26
18 April 1942	Leeds	Won	16-10
25 April 1942	Castleford	Won	14-3
2 May 1942	Castleford	Won	10-0
9 May 1942	Hunslet	Won	29-0
16 May 1942	Hunslet	Lost	17-18
23 May 1942	Leeds	Lost	2-5
30 May 1942	Leeds	Lost	3-12
4 September 1943	Huddersfield	Lost	5-32
18 September 1943	Hunslet	Won	22-16
25 September 1943	Wigan	Lost	10-15
2 October 1943	Wakefield Trinity	Lost	0-13
9 October 1943	St Helens	Won	11-2
16 October 1943	Barrow	Lost	8-15
23 October 1943	Barrow	Won	11-10
30 October 1943	St Helens	Won	10-8
6 November 1943	Dewsbury	Lost	4-10
13 November 1943	Halifax	Lost	10-27
27 November 1943	Dewsbury	Lost	3-16
4 December 1943	Wakefield Trinity	Lost	0-19
11 December 1943	Featherstone Rovers	Won	3-0
8 January 1944	Wigan	Lost	2-17
29 January 1944	Barrow	Won	12-10
5 February 1944	Featherstone Rovers	Lost	5-35
12 February 1944	Halifax	Won	5-3
19 February 1944	Huddersfield	Lost	11-24
26 February 1944	Hunslet	Lost	9-25
11 March 1944	Wigan	Lost	5-8
18 March 1944	Wigan	Lost	3-25
8 April 1944	Barrow	Lost	0-49
29 April 1944	Bradford Northern	Won	6-5
20 May 1944	Bradford Northern Friendly	Lost	0-1
9 September 1944	Bradford Northern	Lost	0-36
16 September 1944	Wigan	Lost	5-12
23 September 1944	St Helens	Lost	6-27
7 October 1944	Barrow	Won	9-5
14 October 1944	Bradford Northern	Lost	5-8
21 October 1944	Wigan	Lost	5-18
28 October 1944	Wigan	Lost	2-39
18 November 1944	Huddersfield	Won	14-12
25 November 1944	Featherstone Rovers	Lost	7-12
2 December 1944	Huddersfield	Draw	3-3
9 December 1944	Castleford	Lost	0-15
16 December 1944	Featherstone Rovers	Lost	3-8
23 December 1944	Castleford	Won	13-5
26 December 1944	Wakefield Trinity	Lost	13-37
30 December 1944	Wigan	Won	5-3
3 February 1945	Keighley	Lost	0-6
10 February 1945	Hunslet	Won	31-10
17 February 1945	Batley	Won	16-0
3 March 1945	Hunslet	Won	19-12
10 March 1945	St Helens	Won	21-10
17 March 1945	Featherstone Rovers	Won	18-4
24 March 1945	Featherstone Rovers	Won	8-7
31 March 1945	Keighley	Lost	0-11
2 April 1945	Keighley	Lost	8-9
7 April 1945	Halifax	Lost	5-9
21 April 1945	Barrow	Lost	2-5
28 April 1945	Halifax	Lost	0-18
5 May 1945	Wakefield Trinity	Lost	9-22
1 September 1945	Bradford Northern	Lost	0-22
8 September 1945	St Helens	Lost	15-23
11 September 1945	Bramley	Won	12-0
15 September 1945	Keighley	Lost	2-6
22 September 1945	Wigan	Won	7-5
29 September 1945	Wigan	Lost	0-19
6 October 1945	Salford	Won	10-7
20 October 1945	Widnes	Lost	12-13
27 October 1945	Warrington	Won	11-5
3 November 1945	Rochdale Hornets	Won	12-7
10 November 1945	Hull FC	Lost	6-35
17 November 1945	Warrington	Lost	3-12
24 November 1945	Hull Kingston Rovers	Won	7-2
1 December 1945	Workington Town	Won	6-3
8 December 1945	Halifax	Lost	2-10
15 December 1945	Huddersfield	Lost	6-11
22 December 1945	Rochdale Hornets	Won	13-2
25 December 1945	Swinton	Lost	10-13
26 December 1945	Broughton Rangers	Lost	13-27
1 January 1946	Wigan	Lost	8-9
5 January 1946	Barrow	Lost	2-37
12 January 1946	Liverpool Stanley	Won	7-4
26 January 1946	Huddersfield	Lost	0-20
2 February 1946	Wigan	Lost	0-13
9 February 1946	Salford	Lost	3-8
16 February 1946	Salford	Lost	2-3
23 February 1946	Workington Town	Lost	0-11
9 March 1946	Hull FC	Won	11-5
16 March 1946	Hull Kingston Rovers	Lost	2-7
23 March 1946	Bradford Northern	Lost	8-13
9 April 1946	Broughton Rangers	Won	29-3
13 April 1946	St Helens	Won	14-9
19 April 1946	Swinton	Won	23-6
20 April 1946	Halifax	Won	19-10
22 April 1946	Keighley	Lost	13-23
27 April 1946	Liverpool Stanley	Won	11-8
7 May 1946	Widnes	Won	16-0
11 May 1946	Salford	Won	25-8
7 September 1946	Workington Town	Won	8-2
14 September 1946	Workington Town	Won	19-10
21 September 1946	Warrington	Won	16-2
24 September 1946	Leigh	Won	20-8
28 September 1946	Dewsbury	Won	15-5
2 October 1946	Leigh	Won	11-6
5 October 1946	Castleford	Lost	6-22
15 October 1946	Wigan	Lost	7-21
19 October 1946	Dewsbury	Lost	3-8
2 November 1946	St Helens	Lost	3-7
16 November 1946	Castleford	Won	8-5
7 December 1946	Hull FC	Won	3-2
14 December 1946	Keighley	Won	16-0
25 December 1946	Swinton	Won	14-0
26 December 1946	Salford	Won	14-5
28 December 1946	Featherstone Rovers	Won	23-0
4 January 1947	Halifax	Won	10-3
11 January 1947	Widnes	Lost	0-3
18 January 1947	Workington Town	Won	19-5
8 March 1947	Belle Vue Rangers	Draw	0-0
15 March 1947	Warrington	Lost	3-23
22 March 1947	Salford	Won	16-6
29 March 1947	Hull FC	Won	8-2
4 April 1947	Swinton	Lost	3-9
5 April 1947	Keighley	Lost	0-5
7 April 1947	Barrow	Won	22-15
12 April 1947	St Helens	Won	18-7
19 April 1947	Featherstone Rovers	Won	13-12
22 April 1947	Jim Sullivans Team Benefit Match	Lost	16-24
26 April 1947	Halifax	Won	26-3
10 May 1947	Rochdale Hornets	Won	5-2
24 May 1947	Belle Vue Rangers	Draw	13-13
5 June 1947	Oldham Athletic Afc Friendly	Won	16-3
23 August 1947	Warrington	Won	14-3
30 August 1947	Liverpool Stanley	Won	26-3
2 September 1947	Liverpool Stanley	Won	16-3
20 September 1947	Widnes	Won	13-5
4 October 1947	Wigan	Lost	10-18
18 October 1947	Castleford	Lost	5-7
15 November 1947	Workington Town	Won	17-5
22 November 1947	Castleford	Won	7-3
6 December 1947	Workington Town	Draw	5-5
20 December 1947	Wakefield Trinity	Lost	15-28
25 December 1947	Swinton	Won	12-6
26 December 1947	Salford	Lost	0-9
1 January 1948	Rochdale Hornets	Won	6-2
3 January 1948	Liverpool Stanley	Won	11-6
10 January 1948	Wigan	Lost	5-6
17 January 1948	Barrow	Lost	2-5
24 January 1948	Leeds	Lost	5-26
31 January 1948	Wakefield Trinity	Lost	5-24
7 February 1948	Hull Kingston Rovers	Lost	5-12
14 February 1948	Hull Kingston Rovers	Won	22-4
6 March 1948	Leigh	Won	18-15
13 March 1948	Bradford Northern	Lost	0-30
17 April 1948	Warrington	Lost	3-45
19 April 1948	Halifax	Lost	4-14
27 April 1948	Empire XIII Benefit Match	Lost	24-33
15 May 1948	Salford	Won	27-10

Norman Pugh

Player profile

Career statistics

Photos 3

Games played 389