Salford Reds legend, James Lomas will be inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame.
James ‘Jimmy’ Lomas was one of the brightest talents in the years following the birth of the Northern Union in 1895. In a stellar 24-year career at centre or on the wing with Bramley, Salford, Oldham and York, Lomas made 535 senior appearances, scoring 304 tries and kicking exactly 700 goals.
A proud son of Maryport, Cumbria, Lomas twice broke the sport’s transfer record when he joined Salford from Bramley for £100 in 1901 and 10 years later moved to Oldham for a fee of £300.
Making his debut against Leigh in September 1901, Lomas went onto make 304 appearances for Salford in his nine full seasons and eight appearances upon his return in 1922.
He scored an incredible 208 tries and kicked 464 goals during his first stint – the club’s leading try scorer, goalscorer and points scorer at the time.
Lomas broke record after record during his time with the Reds and wrote his name in the history books forever.
He played in the sport’s first-ever international game, Northern Union vs Other Nationalities at Wigan in 1904, and became RL Lion Number 1 when he captained the first tour of the southern hemisphere in 1910. Lomas also captained the Northern Union twice against the 1911-12 Kangaroo tourists.
His 39 points for Salford in a match against Liverpool City in 1907 remains a club record.