Keith Elwell (born 12 February 1950), also known by the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

s of "The Mole" or "Chiefy", is an English former 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 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

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 ...

, and at club level for

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, ...

and on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

to Barrow, as a .

Background

Elwell was born in

, England on 12 February 1950.

Playing career

International honours

Keith Elwell 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 Widnes in 1978 against France, and Wales, and won

s for

while at Widnes in the 1977 Rugby League World Cup against Australia, and in 1980 against New Zealand (2 matches).

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Keith Elwell played in

' 14–7 victory over

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

in the 1974–75 Challenge Cup Final during the 1974–75 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, London on Saturday 10 May 1975, in front of a crowd of 85,998, played , and scored a

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kick ...

in the 5–20 defeat by St. Helens in the 1975–76 Challenge Cup Final during the 1975–76 season at

, London on Saturday 8 May 1976, in front of a crowd of 89,982, played in the 7–16 defeat by

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 ...

in the 1976–77 Challenge Cup Final during the 1976–77 season at

, London on Saturday 7 May 1977, in front of a crowd of 80,871, the 7–16 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

in the 1978–79 Challenge Cup Final during the 1978–79 season at

, London on Saturday 5 May 1979, in front of a crowd of 94,218, played in the 18–9 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

in the 1980–81 Challenge Cup Final during the 1980–81 season at

, London on Saturday 2 May 1981, in front of a crowd of 92,496, played in the 14–14 draw with Hull F.C. in the 1981–82 Challenge Cup Final during the 1981–82 season at

, London on Saturday 1 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 92,147, played in the 9–18 defeat by Hull F.C. in the 1981–82 Challenge Cup Final replay during the 1981–82 season at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

on Wednesday 19 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 41,171, played in the 19–6 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the 1983–84 Challenge Cup Final during the 1983–84 season at

, London on Saturday 5 May 1984, in front of a crowd of 80,116.

County Cup Final appearances

Keith Elwell played in

' 6–2 victory over

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

in the 1974–75 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1974–75 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

on Saturday 2 November 1974, played in the 16–11 victory over

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

in the 1976–77 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1976–77 season at

on Saturday 30 October 1976, played in the 15–13 victory over

in the 1978–79 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1978–79 season at

on Saturday 7 October 1978, played , and scored a

in the 11–0 victory over

in the 1979–80 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1979–80 season at the Willows, Salford on Saturday 8 December 1979, played in the 3–8 defeat by

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 ...

in the 1981–82 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1981–82 season at

on Saturday 26 September 1981, and played in the 8–12 defeat by Barrow in the 1983–84 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1983–84 season at

on Saturday 1 October 1983.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Keith Elwell played in

' 0–5 defeat by

in the 1972 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1972–73 season at

on Tuesday 19 December 1972, played in the 7–15 defeat by Bramley in the 1973 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at Naughton Park,

on Tuesday 18 December 1973, and played in the 13–7 victory over St. Helens in the 1978 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1978–79 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

, St. Helens on Tuesday 12 December 1978.

Player's No.6 Trophy/John Player/John Player Special Trophy Final appearances

Keith Elwell played in

' 2–3 defeat by Bradford Northern in the 1974–75 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1974–75 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year l ...

on Saturday 25 January 1975, played in the 19–13 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1975–76 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1975–76 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 ...

on Saturday 24 January 1976, played in the 4–9 defeat by

in the 1977–78 Players No.6 Trophy Final during the 1977–78 season at

, St. Helens on Saturday 28 January 1978, played , and scored 2-

s in the 16–4 victory over

in the 1978–79 John Player Trophy Final during the 1978–79 season at

, St. Helens on Saturday 28 April 1979, played in the 0–6 defeat by Bradford Northern in the 1979–80 John Player Trophy Final during the 1979–80 season at

on Saturday 5 January 1980, and played in the 10–18 defeat by

in the 1983–84 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1983–84 season at

on Saturday 14 January 1984.

Open Rugby inaugural World XIII

The Open Rugby inaugural World XIII was revealed in June 1978, it was;

Graham Eadie Graham "Wombat" Eadie (born 25 November 1953), is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australia ...

, John Atkinson, Steve Rogers, Jean-Marc Bourret

Green Vigo, Roger Millward,

Steve Nash Stephen John Nash (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, ...

, Jim Mills, Keith Elwell, Steve Pitchford, Terry Randall, George Nicholls and Greg Pierce.

Career records

Keith Elwell holds Widnes' "Most Appearances in a Career" record with 591, he also holds the rugby league world record for consecutive games played with a total of 239 (242?) from the 1976–77 Challenge Cup Final against

on Saturday 7 May 1977, to the match at Hull F.C. on Sunday 26 September 1982, 5-years 4-months and 19-days later.

Honours

Club * RFL Championship: 1977–78 * Challenge Cup: 1974–75, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1983–84 * Premiership: 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83 * League Cup: 1975–76, 1978–79 * Lancashire Cup: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80 * BBC2 Floodlit Trophy: 1978–79 Individual * Open Rugby World XIII, June 1978 *

Hall of Fame inductee

References

External links

Statistics at rugby.widnes.tvHall Of Fame at rugby.widnes.tv
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elwell, Keith 1950 births Living people Barrow Raiders players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Widnes Widnes Vikings players 20th-century English sportsmen