Gordon Hooker Explained

Gordon Hooker
Nickname:Babe
Birth Date:29 May 1887
Birth Place:New Plymouth, New Zealand
Death Place:New Plymouth, New Zealand
Teama:Taranaki
Yearastart:1908
Yearaend:19??
Teamb:New Zealand
Yearbstart:1909
Appearancesb:2
Triesb:0
Goalsb:0
Fieldgoalsb:0
Pointsb:0
Teamc:Queensland
Yearcstart:1910
New:yes

Gordon Hooker (29 May 1887 – 6 December 1967) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand in 1909.

Playing career

Hooker represented Taranaki in 1908 and was selected to tour Australia for New Zealand in 1909, where he played in two Test matches.[1]

He represented Queensland against the 1910 Great Britain Lions before returning to New Zealand and playing for Taranaki against the 1914 Lions. He played until he was 36.[2] He refereed the August 5, 1933 match between Auckland and Taranaki at Western Park.[3]

In the 1930s Hooker helped re-establish rugby league in Taranaki.[2] He died in 1967 and his ashes were buried at Te Henui Cemetery.[4]

Legacy

In 2008 he was named in the Taranaki Rugby League Team of the Century.[5]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.nzleague.co.nz/kiwis/player_profile.php?letter=H&id=33 HOOKER, Gordon - 1909
  2. John Coffey and Bernie Wood, The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League, Hodder Moa, Auckland, 2007, p. 37.
  3. News: Win for Auckland/Taranaki Defeated . 12 . Auckland Star. LXIV. 184 . 1933-08-07 . 2020-08-25.
  4. Web site: Cemetery search. New Plymouth District Council. 11 April 2015.
  5. Web site: Dream team of century is named. 14 October 2008. Taranaki Daily News. 24 September 2011.