CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

Tom Askin

English rugby league footballer (1905–1976)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionDec 8, 2025
Entity authorityQ7814809
Source-derived summary

Thomas C. Askin (24 June 1905 – 14 January 1976) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and Yorkshire, and at club level for Featherstone Rovers, Leeds, Castleford and Newcastle. He usually played as a wing or centre.

Background

Tom Askin was born in Knottingley, Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.

Playing career

Club career

Tom Askin, who came from Knottingley, made his début for Featherstone Rovers on 21 March 1925, after the club had spotted him playing for Knottingley Rovers. He was suspended from playing for three matches in early 1927 following an ill-tempered December game against Wakefield Trinity in which he and three other players were sent off. He played at centre in Featherstone Rovers' 0-5 defeat by Leeds in the 1928 Yorkshire Cup final at Belle Vue, Wakefield, on 24 November 1928.

Soon after this, and hours before the midnight, 1 February 1929 cut-off time for players to be registered for the Rugby League Cup, Askin was transferred to Leeds. This was despite both clubs only days earlier scotching rumours of such a transfer, and despite rumoured interest in him from other clubs such as Oldham, Salford and Halifax. Although he had recovered from a leg injury, the 12-stone, 22-year-old Askin had not played for Featherstone for a few weeks due to a disagreement with the club's board, and they now felt that they had no option but to list him.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Tom Askin” as english rugby league footballer (1905–1976). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Askin, English and rugby.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1905, 1976, 1925, 1927—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1905-06-24. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Askin, English and rugby providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Tom Askin”, the useful work is to connect “english rugby league footballer (1905–1976)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 8, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7814809. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1905, 1976, 1925 and 1927.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Tom Askin”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Tom Askin primary sources, Tom Askin archive and Askin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tom Askin”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Tom Askin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.