Career
Unlike most French players of his era, he did not have a professional occupation. He was instead an employee in a business run by his family. Paul Voivenel, who became a prominent rugby administrator and played a major role in keeping Mayssonnié"s memory alive, recalled him as "a slight, unmuscular figure, an honest workman with the air of a teacher or public servant."
Mayssonnié is believed to be the first player to be selected for the France national team while playing for Toulouse.
Although he appeared only three times for France, he was nonetheless involved in two historic matches.
His first appearance, in 1908 against England, was France"s first match at Colombes, which would remain the national team"s primary home until the opening of Parc des Princes in the 1970s. His final match in 1910, against Wales, was the first in the Five Nations era (ie, involving France, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) of the competition now known as the Six Nations Championship.
He had a more successful career at club level, winning four national championships with three lower-level Toulouse teams in six seasons. (In his day, France held championships at several different levels, with major clubs such as Toulouse fielding teams at multiple levels) The crowning moment of his club career came in 1912, when he started as fly-half for the Toulouse first team in the championship final against Racing Club de France due to an injury.
Mayssonnié volunteered for service once World War I broke out, and was appointed a non-commissioned infantry officer
Within three weeks, he was cited for bravery in an action near Verdun. He is honored every 11 November, thanks to a stele bearing his image affixed to the monument to the dead Herakles Archer Toulouse. 3 caps for France, from 1908 to 1910.
The only player in Toulouse in the first match of the French Five Nations team in 1910.