Jim Armstrong (wrestler)
Jim Armstrong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 14 July 1917[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 8 July 1981 (aged 63)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Big Jim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sports career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Rugby league career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Rugby League Project | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
James Michael Armstrong (14 July 1917 – 8 July 1981) was an Australian sport wrestler and rugby league player. In wrestling, he won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics, a gold medal at the 1950 British Empire Games and a bronze medal at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. He represented South Sydney, New South Wales and Australia in a nine-year top-level rugby league career. Armstrong served as an officer in the New South Wales Police Force, retiring at the rank of inspector.
Early life[edit]
He was born in Albury, New South Wales, and was educated in Junee and Wagga Wagga. He joined the New South Wales Police Force at the age of 20.[2]
Rugby league career[edit]
Armstrong played for Waratahs in Wagga Wagga before moving to Sydney with the police force. In Sydney, Armstrong joined South Sydney, where he made his first grade debut in 1939.[3][4]
Armstrong was selected to play for Australia against Great Britain as a front row forward in the third and deciding Ashes test in 1946, becoming Kangaroo No. 233.[5]
Wrestling career[edit]
He won a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling, heavyweight class, at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.[1][6]
At the 1950 British Empire Games Armstrong won the heavyweight wrestling gold medal.[7]
At the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Armstrong won the light heavyweight wrestling bronze medal.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Jim Armstrong". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ^ "Junee's Effort to Send Wrestling Champion to Olympic Games". The Daily Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 2 April 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 29 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Waratahs lose Armstrong". The Daily Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 7 July 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 29 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Former Waratah forward – Great success in Sydney". The Daily Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 31 May 1939. p. 8. Retrieved 29 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Australian Kangaroos Player Register" (PDF). 2013 Annual Report. National Rugby League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ^ "Rugby league". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 July 1981. p. 27. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Olympian and father figure". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 July 1981. p. 12. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
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- 1917 births
- 1981 deaths
- Rugby league players from Albury, New South Wales
- Sportspeople from Albury
- Australian police officers
- Australian rugby league players
- South Sydney Rabbitohs players
- City New South Wales rugby league team players
- New South Wales rugby league team players
- Australia national rugby league team players
- Wrestlers at the 1948 Summer Olympics
- Australian male sport wrestlers
- Olympic wrestlers for Australia
- Olympic bronze medalists for Australia
- Olympic medalists in wrestling
- Commonwealth Games medallists in wrestling
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia
- Wrestlers at the 1950 British Empire Games
- Wrestlers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics
- South Sydney Rabbitohs captains
- Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Sportsmen from New South Wales
- Australian rugby league biography, 1910s birth stubs
- Australian sport wrestler stubs