GOULD, ARTHUR JOSEPH (1864-1919), Rugby footballer;
b. at Newport, Mon., 10 Oct. 1864. One of a family of athletes and footballers, he was in first class football from 1882 till 1898, playing his first game for Newport, as a fullback, at the age of sixteen. He played in the Newport XV for three seasons as a full-back, and it was in that position he got his first ‘cap’ for Wales. But it was as a centre three-quarter that he became famous. Between 1885 and 1897 he represented Wales on twenty-seven occasions.
Gould was gifted with tremendous speed and was always a prolific scorer and, for some time, held the record with forty-four tries in one season against the principal Welsh clubs. He played for Newport during the greatest part of his career, but he had also played for Richmond (1886-7) and Middlesex (1887-8). In his day Gould was also one of the greatest runners in Wales. He d. 2 Jan. 1919; to perpetuate his memory a memorial bed was endowed at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport.
Bibliography:
- W. J. T. Collins, Rugby Recollections, 9-10;
- The Times, 3 Jan. 1919;
- West. Mail, 3 Jan. 1919.
He had an elder brother ROBERT GOULD (1864?-1932), a Rugby forward who played for Newport from 1879 to 1889, and represented Wales on eleven occasions between 1882 and 1887; he d. 29 Dec. 1932.
Bibliography:
- Rugby Football Annual, 1932-3, 12;
- The Times, 1 Jan. 1932;
- West. Mail, 2 Jan. 1932.
Author:
Dr Moelwyn Idwal Williams, M.A., Aberystwyth
