George Alan Prescott (17 June 1927 – 20 September 1998) was an English

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, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

ed in the 1960s. He played initially at , and then later at or . In 404 matches for St Helens. Prescott scored 31 tries for a total of 93 points. He played 14 times for

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 ...

, 12 times for

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 ...

, once for Rugby League XIII, once for

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, and made 31

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 ...

appearances (10 as captain).

Background

Prescott was born in

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, ...

, England, and he died aged 71 in

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 ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England

Playing career

Prescott made his senior rugby league debut aged 15 for Halifax as a . He was transferred from Halifax to St. Helens on 11 January 1949 and he made his first team début four days later against Belle Vue Rangers. Prescott was captain and

Lance Todd Trophy The Lance Todd Trophy is a trophy in rugby league, awarded to man of the match in the annual Challenge Cup Final. Introduced in 1945–46, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was kill ...

winner at Wembley in 1956. His test début against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

was 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 ...

in 1952. When he arrived in Australia as captain of Great Britain in 1956, he had not missed a Test against Australia since making his début. He is best remembered for leading his side to victory over Australia at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in 1958, having broken his arm after just four minutes but continuing to play. The match became known as "Prescott’s Match" or the "Battle of Brisbane". Alan Prescott represented Great Britain & France in the 37–31 victory over New Zealand at

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of around 28,000 in the 19 ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 3 July 1957. His final appearance for St. Helens was against Halifax on 19 March 1960. He took over from Jim Sullivan as St. Helens' coach. Alan coached St. Helens to Lancashire Cup success and a

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

win over

in 1961.

International honours

Alan Prescott also represented

while at St. Helens between 1952 and 1956 against France (3 non-

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

matches).

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Alan Prescott played at in St. Helens' 10-15 defeat by

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

in the

1953 Challenge Cup Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

Final during the 1952-53 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 London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 25 April 1953, in front of a crowd of 89,588,McCorquodale, London S.E (25 April 1953). ''The Rugby League Challenge Cup Competition - Final Tie - Huddersfield v St. Helens - Match Programme''. Wembley Stadium Ltd. ISBN n/a and played at , and was

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

winning the

in the 13–2 victory over Halifax in the 1956 Challenge Cup Final during the 1955–56 season at

on Saturday 28 April 1956, in front of a crowd of 79,341.

County Cup Final appearances

Alan Prescott played at in St. Helens' 5-22 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 1952 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1952–53 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 29 November 1952, played at in the 16–8 victory over

in the 1953 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1953–54 season at

on Saturday 24 October 1953, played at in the 3–10 defeat by

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

in the 1956 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1956–57 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 20 October 1956, and played at in the 5–4 defeat by

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

1959 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

Final during the 1959–60 season at

Saturday 31 October 1959.

Coaching career

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Alan Prescott was the

in St. Helens 12-6 victory over

in the 1961 Challenge Cup Final during the 1960–61 season at

on Saturday 13 May 1961, in front of a crowd of 94,672.

References

External links

Alan Prescott at eraofthebiff.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Profile at saints.org.uk
*(archived by archive.is
U.K. League Hooker in Doubt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prescott, Alan 1927 births 1998 deaths British Empire rugby league team players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain & France rugby league team players Great Britain national rugby league team captains Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax Panthers players Lancashire rugby league team players Lance Todd Trophy winners Leigh Leopards coaches Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Widnes Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league utility players Rugby league wingers St Helens R.F.C. captains St Helens R.F.C. coaches St Helens R.F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen