Reg Date Explained

Reg Date
Fullname:Reginald Date
Birth Date:26 July 1921
Birth Place:Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia
Position:Striker
Youthyears1:1930–1938
Youthclubs1:Plattsburg Public School
Years1:1938–1944
Clubs1:Wallsend
Caps1:107
Goals1:166
Years2:1945–1947
Clubs2:Canterbury Bankstown
Caps2:39
Goals2:94
Years3:1948–1954
Clubs3:Wallsend
Caps3:93
Goals3:154[1]
Totalcaps:239
Totalgoals:414
Nationalyears1:1947
Nationalteam1:Australia
Nationalcaps1:5
Nationalgoals1:8

Reg Date (26 July 1921 – 11 August 1995) was an Australian soccer player who plied his trade after the Second World War. Date played for Wallsend Football Club and Canterbury-Bankstown. He represented Australia in five full international matches, captaining three times.[2] [3] [4]

Early life

Date was born in Wallsend to Nancy and John "Mick" Date. His father was a fisherman at Lemon Tree Passage, where Date lived until the age of eight, when he moved to live in Wallsend with his mother's parents.[5]

Club career

Date went to Plattsburg Public School in Wallsend, being a prolific goalscorer in their youth matches; he even claimed that he had scored a total of 1,616 career goals including junior football, although there is no evidence of such.[6] He made his debut for Wallsend Football Club in 1938 as a 16-year-old. He joined Canterbury-Bankstown in the state league in 1945. Date continued to live in Wallsend, commuting by train every weekend. In 1948, Date returned to Wallsend.[7] In time he was coached by the great Alf Quill, Wallsend Football Club's legendary goalscorer of the inter-war years.[8] [9] At his peak Date was an incredible goal scorer for Canterbury-Bankstown in the New South Wales Division 1, earning state and international recognition and captaining Australia in three matches against South Africa in a five-game home series against that nation; Date scoring 8 goals.[10] He scored another 3 in two warm-up matches for the 'B' side prior to the official tour.

There was consternation when Date, for whatever reason, was not selected on international tours of New Zealand in 1948 and, most surprisingly, South Africa in 1950, but he did score in a representative match on the national side's return from the Cape for New South Wales against Australia on 2 September 1950 and did appear for the 'B' side in the famous 0–17 defeat to an English XI on 30 June 1951.[11] [12]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season, and competition. Only official games are included in this table.[13]
ClubSeasonLeagueState PremiershipState League CupOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wallsend19384800352+3+9+16
1939211900000021+19
1940212100101+3+23+24
194114+1500213219+18
194213+3913416724+50
194312+2312144+10+18+39
1944224100473+5+29+53
Canterbury Bankstown194514323226122042
19461229255132+2+21+49
1947133300716102149
Wallsend19489130038111322
194918292324352541
195018242430302628
195121382624362854
19528246547131941
195311165312542225
1954810000000810
Total206+4142433397839+53+346+578

International

List of international goals scored by Reg Date
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia1–0Friendly[14]
2Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, Australia1–0Friendly[15]
32–3
4Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia2–1Friendly[16]
53–1
6Newcastle Sports Ground, Newcatle, Australia1–0Friendly[17]
74–1
85–1

Legacy

In 2000, he was selected as a member of the Australian team of the century by respondents to an RSSSF vote, beating Frank Farina into second place for the number 10 shirt.[18]

Later life

Date worked for years running hotels in the Newcastle area. He became the publican of the Queens Arms Hotel in Maitland in 1947, moving to the Ocean View Hotel in Dudley the next year. In 1954, Date took over the Albion Hotel in Wickham, where he worked until his retirement in 1980.[4] [19] In a 2012 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, his Australia teammate Joe Marston rated Date as the best Australian player that he had played with or against, adding, "Great player. Great bloke. But boy he could drink. The selectors, they never liked Reggie. He was too much of a larrikin. They couldn't handle him."[20]

Honours

Wallsend

Canterbury

Individual

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Allen, Peter . Reg Date – The Don Bradman of Football . Allen Media Services . 2011 . 9781875171095 . Mosman, New South Wales . 270 . Career Record – Fate plays a hand . 7 May 2021 . 8 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210908095723/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x9Db4uReW4dmt1Qr04qbAjGfKEZmo6ZM/view . live .
  2. News: Cockerill . Michael . 27 December 1999 . A Date with destiny . 39 . The Sydney Morning Herald . 5 May 2021 . 10 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220810020934/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77062678/the-sydney-morning-herald/ . live .
  3. News: 1995-10-19 . Goal-scorer with heart of pure gold . 49 . The Sydney Morning Herald . 2021-05-05 . 9 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220809232129/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77062830/goal-scorer-with-heart-of-pure-gold/ . live .
  4. Philip. Mosely . Date, Reginald Thomas (1921–1995). 2019. date-reginald-thomas-21631 . 5 May 2021 .
  5. Book: Allen, Peter . Reg Date – The Don Bradman of Football . Allen Media Services . 2011 . 9781875171095 . Mosman, New South Wales . 41 . 1921–1928 – Fate plays a hand . 7 May 2021 . 8 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210908095723/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x9Db4uReW4dmt1Qr04qbAjGfKEZmo6ZM/view . live .
  6. Web site: Who scored the most goals in history? . 90soccer.com . 31 October 2021 . 30 January 2024 . 14 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230714202906/https://90soccer.com/the-soccer-players-who-scored-the-most-goals-in-the-history-of-the-sport-since-the-19th-century/ . live .
  7. News: DATE GETS CLEARANCE . . IX . 22 . New South Wales, Australia . 11 April 1948 . 5 May 2021 . 23 . National Library of Australia . 30 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190058/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/248182487 . live .
  8. News: Soccer record claimed . . 13288 . New South Wales, Australia . 10 September 1952 . 5 May 2021 . 35 (LATE FINAL EXTRA) . National Library of Australia . 30 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190101/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231008513 . live .
  9. News: Davidson . John . 2 April 2015 . The forgotten story of... Reg Date, the Don Bradman of football in Australia . en . The Guardian . 5 May 2021 . 11 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211111232822/https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/apr/02/the-forgotten-story-of-reg-date . live .
  10. Web site: Howe . Andrew . 12 October 2006 . The Australian National Men's Football Team: Caps and Captains . 5 May 2021 . . OzFootball . 3 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172715/http://www.ozfootball.net/museum/socceroocaps.pdf . live .
  11. Web site: Australia v England, 30 June 1951 . www.11v11.com . 30 January 2024 . 4 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160804134213/http://www.11v11.com/matches/australia-v-england-30-june-1951-225979/ . live .
  12. Web site: Australia Vs England 1951 . 29 July 2008 . 30 January 2024 . 15 July 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130715023707/http://www.ozfootball.net/museum/index.php/archive/99-australia-vs-england-1951 . bot: unknown .
  13. Web site: Trove. https://web.archive.org/web/20220929172912/https://trove.nla.gov.au/. dead. 29 September 2022. trove.nla.gov.au.
  14. News: South African's 2-1 Victory In Soccer Test . . 11,635 . New South Wales, Australia . 10 May 1947 . 21 December 2022 . 6 (FINAL FOOTBALL LASTRACE) . National Library of Australia . 30 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190000/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231553884 . live .
  15. News: DATE'S SHOOT-LADDIES SHACKLED . . 2461 . Queensland, Australia . 25 May 1947 . 21 December 2022 . 9 . National Library of Australia . 30 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190000/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203127430 . live .
  16. News: S.AFRICAN STAGE BRILLIANT RECOVERY FOR DRAW . . 2462 . Queensland, Australia . 1 June 1947 . 21 December 2022 . 12 . National Library of Australia . 30 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190100/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203235391 . live .
  17. News: Australia Wins Soccer 5-1 . . 11,659 . New South Wales, Australia . 7 June 1947 . 21 December 2022 . 7 (FINAL FOOTBALL LAST RACE) . National Library of Australia . 30 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240130185958/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231553281 . live .
  18. Web site: Krüger . André . André Krüger . Australia - Team of the Century . 2021-05-05 . RSSSF.com . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . 31 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131224828/https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/aus-century.html . live .
  19. News: Cronshaw . Damon . 26 July 2017 . How Reg Date played peacemaker at Wickham, when Malcolm Fraser met the Queen . Newcastle Herald . 7 May 2021 . 7 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210507024301/https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/4814039/a-newcastle-story-of-the-queen-and-free-beer-photos/ . live .
  20. News: Cockerill . Michael . Mike Cockerill . 2012-04-05 . Tough as old boots and now he's a living legend . en . The Sydney Morning Herald . 2021-05-07 . 7 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210507024300/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/tough-as-old-boots-and-now-hes-a-living-legend-20120405-1wfei.html . live .
  21. https://web.archive.org/web/20221221161245/http://www.socceraust.co.uk/NSW/Champions/state.htm
  22. Book: Jack Pollard's Soccer Records - Sid Grant. 1974. 116. en.
  23. Book: Jack Pollard's Soccer Records - Sid Grant. 1974. 117. en.

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