Carl McCabe (1937-2024)
It was with much sadness that the Club was told of Carl’s death at the age of 86 years on the afternoon of Sunday 7th January 2024 in hospital after a short illness arising from being infected by Covid just before Christmas, which later developed into pneumonia.
Carl was born on 17th August 1937 and lived the whole of his life in Wakefield. He was educated in the St. Johns’ area of the City and upon leaving school he took up employment with the West Riding Registry of Deeds situated in Margaret Street, Wakefield and that was where he met his wife Barbara. With the demise of this facility he was re-employed as a Court Usher with the County Court until his retirement in 1997.
He joined Sandal in1954 and played his first game with the Club in October of that year from when he remained a member for some 69 years, either as a playing member, a Life Member from 1976 and more latterly as a Patron from 2009. He played for all three senior sides mainly as a hooker, with occasional outings as a prop and as a part-time goal kicker particularly with the “A” and “B” XV’s. During his career he missed two years of playing at the Club when he was required to serve his Queen and Country in the armed forces between 1955 and 1957, involving him in two years of National Service, during which time he was stationed for the most part in Cyprus. His playing days came to an end in 1979 at the age of 42 years.
After his playing days Carl was never persuaded to involve himself in the Club’s management by taking part in Committee work. However, he unstintingly supported the 1st XV both home and away. In this respect he was one of the few supporters who followed the side to away games between 2001 and 2006 during which time the Club was relegated three times. Also he always took his meet and greet duties with the Club very seriously in being at the forefront of welcoming visiting officials from clubs playing at Sandal, making them feel very welcome in his own hospitable manner.
In addition to supporting the Club his other sporting love was the game of golf, which he took up during his playing days, when he joined the Wakefield Golf Club, continuing to play up to a few years ago when he found he was unable to cope with the walking involved in the game. Also from his early days at Sandal he enjoyed his many holidays abroad, travelling many times to Cyprus, Tenerife and other islands in the Mediterranean.
It is at this sad and difficult time that our thoughts must be directed to his wife Barbara and his extended family. Since joining Sandal RUFC Carl has embraced the playing of rugby at the Club for 69 years and he must be remembered for this loyal and conscientious support of the game. He will be missed by those who knew him at the Club and beyond and his name will be added to the list of Sandal’s many stalwarts.

Howard Newton
11th January 2024