User:MacRusgail/Thomas Gisborne Gordon

Thomas Gisborne Gordon (15th December, 1851 - 8th July, 1935 ) was an  international rugby player. He gained three caps for Ireland, and has the distinction of being the only one armed/handed man ever to play in international rugby football. Two of his caps were against : he debuted in February, 1877 at The Oval, and his last game just over a year later, in March, 1878, at Landsdowne Road in Dublin. The middle cap was against Scotland in 1877.

There seems to be some dispute as to his position, with some sources listing him as a half-back, and others as a three-quarter.

Biography
Gordon was educated at Rugby College and was capped for Ireland three times in international rugby. He lost his right hand in a shooting accident. He was from Ulster. He married Louise ? in 1890. He died in 1935, at the age of 83. He was a wine merchant by occupation.

Isabel Giberne Sieveking's A turning point in the Indian mutiny is dedicated to Gordon.

Other disabled rugby players
While Thomas Gisborne Gordon is the only amputee to have appeared in international rugby, some others have appeared in club matches over the years. One particularly outstanding and successful example was a Mr Wakeham, who played for Newton Abbot RFC in Devon, England. In a Devon derby against Plymouth RFC on 30th January, 1886, Wakeham kicked thirteen conversions from thirteen attempts, creating what was claimed as record for English club rugby at the time.

There have also been a number of players who have had only one eye, e.g. Jock Wemyss of