Johnno Stuntz

Johnno Stuntz
Stuntz in 1907
Personal information
Full nameJohn Stuntz
Born(1884-06-27)27 June 1884
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died3 May 1917(1917-05-03) (aged 32)
Bullecourt, France
Playing information
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1908–09 Eastern Suburbs 6 7 0 0 21
1909–10 Warrington 19 13 0 0 39
1911 Western Suburbs 6 1 0 0 3
1913 South Sydney 4 1 0 0 3
Total 35 22 0 0 66
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1909 Australia 1 1 0 0 3
1911 New South Wales 5 4 0 0 12
1908–11 Metropolis 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 19 June 2019

John "Johnno" Stuntz (1884–1917) was an Australian pioneer rugby league footballer and soldier who served in World War I and died on the Western Front. A national and state representative winger, his club career was played with Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs and South Sydney in Australia, as well as one season with English club, Warrington.[1] He played for New South Wales in the very first rugby match run by the newly created 'New South Wales Rugby Football League' which had just split away from the established New South Wales Rugby Football Union.

Rugby league career

Stuntz (2nd row left) with NSW '07 Pioneers

One of Australian rugby league's founding players, Stuntz was a member of the 1907 rebel side ("the 1907 Pioneers") that played against the New Zealand 'All Golds' in the series that helped to establish rugby league football in Australia. A fireman by profession, he played 14 matches (all grades) with Easts in the years (1908–10). In Easts' first match – the opening game of club rugby league in Australia, he scored four tries. This tally remains, equally with Jordan Atkins and Charlie Staines, the most tries scored on début in Australian premiership history. In the following season Stuntz was selected to represent Australia against a touring New Zealand Maori side. In 2004 the Australian Rugby League granted Stuntz and his teammates retrospective representative status for the international games played against the Maori.

During the Australian off-season at end of 1909, Stuntz signed with the Warrington Wolves club for 125 pounds and a further 3 pounds 5 shillings a week for the 1909-10 English season,. Stuntz returned to Australia and played for both the South Sydney (1911) and Western Suburbs (1913) clubs. While playing for South Sydney in 1911 Stuntz represented for New South Wales. Stuntz was awarded Life Membership of the New South Wales Rugby League in 1914.[2]

War service

Stuntz enlisted in the first AIF in 1916. He embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A18 Wiltshire in August 1916 as a Private in the 14th reinforcement raised for the 17th Battalion of the 5th Brigade (New South Wales).[3]

In 1917, the 17th Battalion was involved in the attack on German forces after their retreat to the Hindenburg Line. Stuntz was killed by machine-gun fire on 3 May 1917 being the first day of battle of Second Bullecourt.[4][5] He has no known grave but is commemorated at the Commonwealth Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux.

Roll of Honour, AWM at Villers-Bret
Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux where Stuntz and 770 other Australian fallen are honoured

Bibliography

  • Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
  • Lester, Gary The Story of Australian Rugby League
  • Mideleton, David (2005) Big League Annual 2005
  • Warrington Wolves website

Online sources

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". Rugby League Project. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ Referee, Sydney. 13 May 1914. (page 12)
  3. ^ J Stuntz war record Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ In Memoriam: On Active Service: Stuntz, The Sydney Morning Herald, (Friday, 3 May 1918), p.5.
  5. ^ Middleton, David (24 April 2010). "Footy stars taken on battlefield". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 3 January 2012.