Description: This colorful commemorative postage stamp was issued by Great Britain's Royal Mail to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the sport's split from rugby union. Designed by artist Christian Birmingham, the main illustration captures Welsh rugby league legend Gus Risman beaming with a broad smile as he proudly lifts the Challenge Cup trophy. The background features a blurred, impressionistic crowd of spectators packed tightly into stadium stands. Tucked into the clean white margin at the base are the capitalized text labels reading "GUS RISMAN" and "RUGBY LEAGUE 1895-1995". The top left corner houses the standard silhouette of Queen Elizabeth II rendered in solid white, positioned directly above a bold "25" indicating its face value in decimal pence.
Circa: 1995
Condition: MNH
Notes:
The historic centenary milestone depicted on this stamp honors August 1895, when twenty-two clubs met at the George Hotel in Huddersfield to officially break away from the Rugby Football Union to form their own northern branch. Gus Risman was selected as one of the definitive faces for this celebration because his astonishing professional playing career spanned nearly thirty years, during which he scored over four thousand points and captained the British team to historic test victories.