Frank Delgrosso

Frank Delgrosso was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand.

Frank Delgrosso
Personal information
Full nameFrank August Delgrosso
BornNovember 3, 1899
New Zealand
Died1981
Auckland
Playing information
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight11 st 7 lb (161 lb; 73 kg)
Rugby union
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1918 Ponsonby RFC 8 0 0 0 0
Rugby league
PositionWing, Stand-off, Halfback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1919–33 Ponsonby 181 55 296 0 761
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1919–29 Auckland 23 13 22 0 83
1921–28 New Zealand 42 10 22 0 74
1924–25 Auckland Province 2 1 4 0 11
1925–29 North Island 3 3 7 0 23
Source: [1]

Playing career

A Ponsonby player in the Auckland Rugby League competition, Delgrosso was first selected for the New Zealand side in 1921. He made his Test debut against Great Britain in 1924 and went on to play in nine Test matches.[2] This included captaining New Zealand in the second and third Test matches in 1924. He also played for the Auckland Provincial team in 1924 and scored a try in a 13-28 loss.[3] He was part of the 1926-1927 tour of Great Britain.

Delgrosso was also an Auckland representative and was part of the side that won the Northern Union Cup in 1919 as well as playing for both Auckland City and Auckland Province against touring sides. In 1925 Delgrosso was selected for the North Island team in an inter-island match as part of the lead up to selecting the New Zealand side. He scored a try in a 27-9 win.[4] In October of that year he also played for the Auckland Provincial team against the touring Queensland side. He kicked a conversion and 3 penalties however Auckland was trounced by 54 points to 14 against an outstanding opponent.[5]

In the 1927 season he scored 43 points for Ponsonby which was the 4th highest in the competition however he did not play in any of the Auckland representative matches. He did however play against Auckland early in the season for the New Zealand Auckland representative team.[6]

Delgrosso captained Ponsonby in 1929 and 1930.[7] At the end of 1930 Delgrosso was sensationally suspended for three seasons by the Auckland Rugby League, which would have effectively ended his career.[8] Delgrosso was accused off failing to get one of his sent off team mates to leave the field, throwing mud at the referee and using foul language. At a management committee meeting in March, 1930 they decided to remit the remainder of his suspension after he apologised for his actions.[9] He began his playing career again at the beginning of the 1931 season and top scored through the first grade championship and Roope Rooster competitions with 70 points from 35 goals.[10] He again top scored in the competition in 1932 with 74 points. The 1933 season was to be his last. He played the first 3 matches of the season before being injured in a Round 3 match with Marist and leaving the field. He decided to retire at this point finishing his club career with a remarkable 181 appearances in a Ponsonby jersey, scoring 761 points, comfortably the most of any player in Auckland club history to this point. The following season he was selected to coach the Auckland representative team.

Personal Life and Death

Frank Delgrosso was born November 3, 1899 and was the son of Maud Alice and Dominic Delgrosso. He had a brother named Victor who was 4 years younger. Frank married Ivy Beatrice King on February 16, 1921. They had a son, Francis, Dominic Delgrosso who served during World War II.

His mother Maud died in 1932 and his father Dominic died in 1948. Franks wife Ivy passed away in 1960, while his brother Victor died in 1961. Frank died in 1981 aged 81. His son Francis passed away on September 24, 2005.

References
  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. DELGROSSO, Frank August - 1921, 1925-28 Archived 2012-04-05 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
  3. "English League Team/Match Against Province/Twenty-Eight to Thirteen/Good Local Forwards/Visitors' Backs Superior". New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18775. 1924-07-31. p. 11. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  4. "The Minor Trial Games/A Win for South Auckland/Play Marred by the Rain". The New Zealand Herald. LXII (19056). 1925-06-29. p. 12. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  5. "Queensland's Easy Win/Provincial Team Outclassed/Margin of Forty Points". The New Zealand Herald. LXII (19146). 1925-10-12. p. 6. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  6. "Victory For Auckland/New Zealand Team Beaten/Close and Exciting Game". The New Zealand Herald. LXIV (19625). 1927-05-02. p. 13. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  7. Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4.
  8. Suspended and Warned Off NZ Truth, Issue 1298, 30 October 1930, P. 17.
  9. "Dufty and Delgrosso". New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20833. 1931-03-27. p. 15. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  10. "Delgrosso In Good Form". New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20869. 1931-05-11. p. 11. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
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