View source for Reg Date

{{Short description|Australian soccer player (1921–1995)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Reg Date
| image = 
| full_name = Reginald Date
| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|7|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Wallsend, New South Wales]], Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|1995|8|11|1921|7|26|df=y}}
| height = 
| position = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]]
| youthyears1 = 1930–1938
| youthclubs1 = Plattsburg Public School
| years1 = 1938–1944
| clubs1 = [[Wallsend FC|Wallsend]]
| caps1 = 107
| goals1 = 166
| years2 = 1945–1947 
| clubs2 = [[Canterbury Bankstown FC|Canterbury Bankstown]]
| caps2 = 39
| goals2 = 94
| years3 = 1948–1954
| clubs3 = [[Wallsend FC|Wallsend]]
| caps3 = 93
| goals3 = 154<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=Peter |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x9Db4uReW4dmt1Qr04qbAjGfKEZmo6ZM/view |title=Reg Date – The Don Bradman of Football |publisher=Allen Media Services |year=2011 |isbn=9781875171095 |location=Mosman, New South Wales |pages=270 |chapter=Career Record – Fate plays a hand |access-date=7 May 2021 |archive-date=8 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908095723/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x9Db4uReW4dmt1Qr04qbAjGfKEZmo6ZM/view |url-status=live }}</ref>
| totalcaps = 239
| totalgoals = 414
| nationalyears1 = 1947
| nationalteam1 = [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]]
| nationalcaps1 = 5
| nationalgoals1 = 8
}}

'''Reg Date''' (26 July 1921 – 11 August 1995) was an Australian [[Association football|soccer]] player who plied his trade after the [[Second World War]]. Date played for [[Wallsend Football Club]] and Canterbury-Bankstown. He represented [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]] in five full international matches, captaining three times.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cockerill |first=Michael |date=27 December 1999 |title=A Date with destiny |pages=39 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77062678/the-sydney-morning-herald/ |access-date=5 May 2021 |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810020934/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77062678/the-sydney-morning-herald/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1995-10-19 |title=Goal-scorer with heart of pure gold |pages=49 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77062830/goal-scorer-with-heart-of-pure-gold/ |access-date=2021-05-05 |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809232129/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77062830/goal-scorer-with-heart-of-pure-gold/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=adb>{{cite AuDB |first=Philip|last=Mosely |title=Date, Reginald Thomas (1921–1995)
|year=2019|id2=date-reginald-thomas-21631 |access-date=5 May 2021 }}</ref>

==Early life==
Date was born in Wallsend to Nancy and John "Mick" Date. His father was a fisherman at [[Lemon Tree Passage, New South Wales|Lemon Tree Passage]], where Date lived until the age of eight, when he moved to live in Wallsend with his mother's parents.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=Peter |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x9Db4uReW4dmt1Qr04qbAjGfKEZmo6ZM/view |title=Reg Date – The Don Bradman of Football |publisher=Allen Media Services |year=2011 |isbn=9781875171095 |location=Mosman, New South Wales |pages=41 |chapter=1921–1928 – Fate plays a hand |access-date=7 May 2021 |archive-date=8 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908095723/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x9Db4uReW4dmt1Qr04qbAjGfKEZmo6ZM/view |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Club career==
Date went to Plattsburg Public School in Wallsend, being a prolific goalscorer in their youth matches; he even claimed that he had scored a total of 1,616 career goals including junior football, although there is no evidence of such.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://90soccer.com/the-soccer-players-who-scored-the-most-goals-in-the-history-of-the-sport-since-the-19th-century/ |title=Who scored the most goals in history? |website=90soccer.com |date=31 October 2021 |access-date=30 January 2024 |archive-date=14 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714202906/https://90soccer.com/the-soccer-players-who-scored-the-most-goals-in-the-history-of-the-sport-since-the-19th-century/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He made his debut for [[Wallsend Football Club]] in 1938 as a 16-year-old. He joined [[Canterbury-Bankstown]] in the state league in 1945. Date continued to live in Wallsend, commuting by train every weekend. In 1948, Date returned to Wallsend.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248182487 |title=DATE GETS CLEARANCE |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |volume=IX |issue=22 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=11 April 1948 |access-date=5 May 2021 |page=23 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190058/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/248182487 |url-status=live }}</ref> In time he was coached by the great [[Alf Quill]], [[Wallsend Football Club]]'s legendary goalscorer of the inter-war years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231008513 |title=Soccer record claimed |newspaper=[[The Sun (Sydney)|The Sun]] |issue=13288 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=10 September 1952 |access-date=5 May 2021 |page=35 (LATE FINAL EXTRA) |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190101/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231008513 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Davidson |first=John |date=2 April 2015 |title=The forgotten story of... Reg Date, the Don Bradman of football in Australia |language=en |work=The Guardian |url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/apr/02/the-forgotten-story-of-reg-date |access-date=5 May 2021 |archive-date=11 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111232822/https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/apr/02/the-forgotten-story-of-reg-date |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
At his peak Date was an incredible goal scorer for Canterbury-Bankstown in the [[New South Wales Division 1]], earning state and international recognition and captaining [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]] in three matches against [[South African national football team|South Africa]] in a five-game home series against that nation; Date scoring eight goals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howe |first=Andrew |date=12 October 2006 |title=The Australian National Men's Football Team: Caps and Captains |url=http://www.ozfootball.net/museum/socceroocaps.pdf |access-date=5 May 2021 |publisher=[[Football Federation Australia]] |via=OzFootball |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172715/http://www.ozfootball.net/museum/socceroocaps.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> He scored another three in two warm-up matches for the 'B' side prior to the official tour.

There was consternation when Date, for whatever reason, was not selected on international tours of New Zealand in 1948 and, most surprisingly, South Africa in 1950, but he did score in a representative match on the national side's return from the Cape for New South Wales against Australia on 2 September 1950 and did appear for the 'B' side in the famous 17–0 defeat to an English XI on 30 June 1951.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/australia-v-england-30-june-1951-225979/ |title=Australia v England, 30 June 1951 |website=www.11v11.com |access-date=30 January 2024 |archive-date=4 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804134213/http://www.11v11.com/matches/australia-v-england-30-june-1951-225979/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ozfootball.net/museum/index.php/archive/99-australia-vs-england-1951 |title=Australia Vs England 1951 |date=29 July 2008 |access-date=30 January 2024 |archive-date=15 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715023707/http://www.ozfootball.net/museum/index.php/archive/99-australia-vs-england-1951 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

==Legacy==
In 2000, he was selected as a member of the Australian team of the century by respondents to an [[RSSSF]] vote, beating [[Frank Farina]] into second place for the number 10 shirt.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krüger |first=André |author-link=André Krüger |title=Australia - Team of the Century |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/aus-century.html |access-date=2021-05-05 |website=RSSSF.com |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation |archive-date=31 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131224828/https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/aus-century.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Later life==
Date worked for years running hotels in the Newcastle area. He became the publican of the Queens Arms Hotel in [[Maitland, New South Wales|Maitland]] in 1947, moving to the Ocean View Hotel in [[Dudley, New South Wales|Dudley]] the next year. In 1954, Date took over the Albion Hotel in [[Wickham, New South Wales|Wickham]], where he worked until his retirement in 1980.<ref name=adb/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cronshaw |first=Damon |date=26 July 2017 |title=How Reg Date played peacemaker at Wickham, when Malcolm Fraser met the Queen |work=Newcastle Herald |url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/4814039/a-newcastle-story-of-the-queen-and-free-beer-photos/ |access-date=7 May 2021 |archive-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507024301/https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/4814039/a-newcastle-story-of-the-queen-and-free-beer-photos/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In a 2012 interview with ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', his Australia teammate [[Joe Marston]] rated Date as the best Australian player that he had played with or against, adding, "Great player. Great bloke. But boy he could drink. The selectors, they never liked Reggie. He was too much of a [[larrikin]]. They couldn't handle him."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cockerill |first=Michael |author-link=Mike Cockerill |date=2012-04-05 |title=Tough as old boots and now he's a living legend |language=en |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/tough-as-old-boots-and-now-hes-a-living-legend-20120405-1wfei.html |access-date=2021-05-07 |archive-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507024300/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/tough-as-old-boots-and-now-hes-a-living-legend-20120405-1wfei.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Career statistics==

===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%; text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season, and competition. Only official games are included in this table.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929172912/https://trove.nla.gov.au/|url-status=dead|title=Trove|archivedate=29 September 2022|website=trove.nla.gov.au}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season
!colspan=2|League
!colspan=2|State Premiership
!colspan=2|State League Cup
!colspan=2|Other
!colspan=2|Total
|-
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
|-
|rowspan=7|[[Wallsend FC|Wallsend]]
|1938
|4||8||0||0||3||5||2+||3+||9+||16
|-
|1939
|21||19||0||0||0||0||0||0||21+||19
|-
|1940
|21||21||0||0||1||0||1+||3+||23+||24
|-
|1941
|14+||15||0||0||2||1||3||2||19+||18
|-
|1942
|13+||39||1||3||4||1||6||7||24+||50
|-
|1943
|12+||23||1||2||1||4||4+||10+||18+||39
|-
|1944
|22||41||0||0||4||7||3+||5+||29+||53
|-
|rowspan=3|[[Canterbury Bankstown FC|Canterbury Bankstown]]
|1945
|14||32||3||2||2||6||1||2||20||42
|-
|1946
|12||29||2||5||5||13||2+||2+||21+||49
|-
|1947
|13||33||0||0||7||16||1||0||21||49
|-
|rowspan=8|[[Wallsend FC|Wallsend]]
|1948
|9||13||0||0||3||8||1||1||13||22
|-
|1949
|18||29||2||3||2||4||3||5||25||41
|-
|1950
|18||24||2||4||3||0||3||0||26||28
|-
|1951
|21||38||2||6||2||4||3||6||28||54
|-
|1952
|8||24||6||5||4||7||1||3||19||41
|-
|1953
|11||16||5||3||1||2||5||4||22||25
|-
|1954
|8||10||0||0||0||0||0||0||8||10
|-
!|Total
!206+!!414!!24!!33!!39!!78!!39+!!53+!!346+!!578
|-
|}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2" |National team!! rowspan="2" |Year!! colspan="2" |Competitive
! colspan="2" |Friendly
! colspan="2" |Total
|-
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
|-
|[[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]]
|1947
|0
|0
|5
|8
|5
|8
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Reg Date
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
!scope="col" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
|style="text-align:center"|1
|{{dts|10 May 1947}}
|[[Sydney Cricket Ground]], [[Sydney]], Australia
|{{fb|RSA|1928}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center" {{lost|1–2}}
|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]]
|<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231553884 |title=South African's 2-1 Victory In Soccer Test |newspaper=[[The Sun (Sydney)|The Sun]] |issue=11,635 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=10 May 1947 |accessdate=21 December 2022 |page=6 (FINAL FOOTBALL LASTRACE) |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190000/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231553884 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|2
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|24 May 1947}}
|rowspan="2"|[[The Gabba|Brisbane Cricket Ground]], [[Brisbane]], Australia
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|RSA|1928}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" {{lost|2–4}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]]
|rowspan="2"|<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203127430 |title=DATE'S SHOOT-LADDIES SHACKLED |newspaper=[[Truth (Brisbane newspaper)|Truth]] |issue=2461 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=25 May 1947 |accessdate=21 December 2022 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190000/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203127430 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|3
|style="text-align:center"|2–3
|-
|style="text-align:center"|4
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|31 May 1947}}
|rowspan="2"|Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|RSA|1928}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" {{pending|3–3}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]]
|rowspan="2"|<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203235391 |title=S.AFRICAN STAGE BRILLIANT RECOVERY FOR DRAW |newspaper=[[Truth (Brisbane newspaper)|Truth]] |issue=2462 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=1 June 1947 |accessdate=21 December 2022 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130190100/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203235391 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|5
|style="text-align:center"|3–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|6
|rowspan="3"|{{dts|31 May 1947}}
|rowspan="3"|Newcastle Sports Ground, [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]], Australia
|rowspan="3"|{{fb|RSA|1928}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|rowspan="3" style="text-align:center" {{won|5–1}}
|rowspan="3"|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]]
|rowspan="3"|<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231553281 |title=Australia Wins Soccer 5-1 |newspaper=[[The Sun (Sydney)|The Sun]] |issue=11,659 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=7 June 1947 |accessdate=21 December 2022 |page=7 (FINAL FOOTBALL LAST RACE) |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130185958/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231553281 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|7
|style="text-align:center"|4–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|8
|style="text-align:center"|5–1
|}

==Honours==
'''Wallsend'''
*NSW State League: 1938, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1951, 1953<ref>{{Cite web |title=NSW State League |url=http://www.socceraust.co.uk/NSW/Champions/state.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221161245/http://www.socceraust.co.uk/NSW/Champions/state.htm |archive-date=2022-12-21 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=web.archive.org}}</ref>
*NSW State League Cup: 1942, 1944, 1950, 1952
*NSW Robinson Cup: 1938, 1939 
*NSW Daniels Cup: 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1949, 1950, 1951,

'''Canterbury'''
*NSW  State League: 1945
*NSW  State League Cup: 1946
*NSW Sydney Cup: 1946

'''Individual'''
*NSW Top Scorer: 1942, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1951, 1952, 1953<ref>{{Cite book|title=Jack Pollard's Soccer Records - Sid Grant|date=1974|page=116|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Jack Pollard's Soccer Records - Sid Grant|date=1974|page=117|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Players/D/DA.html Oz Football profile]

{{Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Date, Reg}}
[[Category:Australian men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Australia men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Newcastle, New South Wales]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]