Cyril Woolford ( – 30 November 2018) was an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and at club level for

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, and

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

(

vice-captain Vice-captain, alternate captain (ice hockey) or vice-skip (curling) may refer to a role in a number of sports immediately below the role of captain. The vice-captain may have a number of different roles, including substituting as captain when the re ...

), as a , or ,David Smart & Andrew Howard (1 July 2000) "Images of Sport - Castleford Rugby League - A Twentieth Century History". The History Press Ltd. Bailey, Ron (1956). ''The Official History Of Featherstone Rovers R.L.F.C.''. Wakefield Express. ASIN: B00O1TLDPC he was a committee member at

for a number of years.

Background

Cyril Woolford's birth was registered in

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, England, he lived in the

Featherstone Featherstone is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, two miles south-west of Pontefract. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2011 ...

area, he was a

domestic appliance A major appliance is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation. Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were trad ...

technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different special ...

Playing career

County honours

Cyril Woolford won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

while at

; he played at in the 25-11 victory over

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

in the 1957–58

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

during the 1957–58 season at Naughton Park,

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

on Monday 23 September 1957, and played on the and scored a try in the 38-28 victory over Lancashire in the 1959–60 County Championship during the 1959–60 season at Hilton Park,

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

on Wednesday 11 November 1959.

County Cup Final appearances

Cyril Woolford played on the scored a try, and was

' 15-14 victory over

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...

in the

1959–60 Yorkshire Cup The 1959–60 Yorkshire Cup was the fifty-second occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition was held. For the first time in fourteen years a new name appeared on the Yorkshire Cup. Featherstone Rovers, who previously won the trophy in the s ...

Final during the 1959–60 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

on Saturday 31 October 1959.

Club career

Cyril Woolford made his début for

on Saturday 7 April 1956,Bailey, Ron (20 September 2001). ''Images of Sport - Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Football Club''. The History Press. he broke

Eric Batten Frederick "Eric" E. Batten (13 June 1914 – 3 September 1993) was an English rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and Coach (sport), coached rugby league in the 1950s. He played club le ...

's "most tries in a season" record for

, by scoring 31- tries during the 1959–60 season, this record was later extended to 48-tries by

Paul Newlove Paul Newlove (born 10 August 1971) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. A Great Britain and England international representative, he competed in the Super League competition, featur ...

during the 1992–93 season (albeit at

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

level), and he played his last match for Featherstone Rovers during the 1960–61 season.

Honoured at Featherstone Rovers

Cyril Woolford is a Featherstone Rovers Hall of Fame inductee.

Personal life

Cyril Woolford's marriage to Elizabeth (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Bradburn)
birth registered
during third in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

district) was registered during second 1954 in

district. They had children; the future rugby league who played in the 1980s for Featherstone Rovers; Neil M. Woolford
birth registered
during first in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

district). Cyril Woolford was the grandfather of the

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

er;

Martyn Woolford Martyn Paul Woolford (born 13 October 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has played in the Football League for Scunthorpe United, Bristol City, Millwall, Sheffield United, Fleetwood Town and Grims ...

References

External links

Cyril Woolford at marklaspalmas.blogspot.co.ukMemory Box Search at archive.castigersheritage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolford, Cyril 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century English sportsmen Castleford Tigers players Doncaster R.L.F.C. players English rugby league players Featherstone Rovers players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from North Yorkshire Rugby league wingers Sportspeople from Tadcaster Yorkshire rugby league team players