Albert Naughton (19 January 1929 – 27 September 2013), 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 ...

of "Ally", was an English

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

winning 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 as a or in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. 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

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 ...

(

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Background

Ally Naughton's birth was registered in

Prescot Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 femal ...

district,

, England. He retired to live in the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, and he died aged 84 in

Onchan Onchan (; ) is a large village in the parish of Onchan (parish), Onchan on the Isle of Man. It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Administratively a district, it has the second largest population of settlements on the island, after Douglas, Isl ...

Playing career

International honours

Naughton 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 Warrington in 1953 against France (2 matches), in 1956 against France, and won

s for

while at Warrington in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup against France (2 matches). Naughton played at in

's 13-13 draw with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup second group match at Stade Municipal,

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

on Sunday 7 November 1954, and

's 16-12 victory over

in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup Final at

Parc des Princes The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...

, Paris on Saturday 13 November 1954.

Mick Sullivan Michael Sullivan (12 January 1934 – 5 April 2016) was an English professional rugby league footballer and coach who played as a . He started his playing career at Huddersfield before joining Wigan for a record transfer fee in 1957. He won t ...

moved from to replace Frank Kitchen on the for

's 13-13 draw with

in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup second group match at Stade Municipal, Toulouse on Sunday 7 November 1954, and

's 16-12 victory over

in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup Final at

, Paris on Saturday 13 November 1954, with Ally Naughton replacing

at . Naughton also represented

while at Warrington between 1952 and 1956 against France (2 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).

Championship final appearances

Naughton played in Warrington's 11-26 defeat by

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

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

Final during the 1950–51 season, the 7-3 victory over

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

Final during the 1954–55 season at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...

on Saturday 14 May 1955, and played in the 10-25 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

Final during the 1960–61 season at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, this was also his last match for Warrington.

Challenge Cup Final appearance

Naughton played at in

's 19-0 victory over

in the 1949–50 Challenge Cup Final during the 1949–50 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 6 May 1950, in front of a crowd of 94,249, but was injured with an aggravated calf injury for both the 4-4 draw with Halifax in the 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final during the 1953–54 season at

on Saturday 1 May 1954, and the 18-4 victory in the 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final replay during the 1953–54 season at

on Wednesday 5 May 1954 in front of a 102,569+ crowd, he was replaced by a young Jim Challinor. Naughton was on the winning side against his older brother John "Johnny" Naughton, the

, in the

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 ...

Final during the 1949–50 season.

County Cup Final appearances

Albert Naughton played at , and scored a try in

's 5-28 defeat by

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 1950–51 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1950–51 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 4 November 1950, and played in the 5-4 victory over St. Helens in the 1959–60 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1954–55 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 31 October 1959.

Club career

Naughton became the most expensive player in rugby league when he left Widnes for Warrington for £4,600 during the 1949–50 season, based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £396,900 in 2016), he made his début for the Warrington in a friendly match in France, before making his competitive début, and scoring a try in the 17-0 victory over

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

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 ...

Honoured at Warrington Wolves

Naughton was inducted into the Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame in 2006 alongside Parry Gordon and George Thomas.

Genealogical information

Naughton's marriage to Deirdre "De" (

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 ...

Farrell) was registered during third ¼ 1956 in

district. Albert Naughton was the younger brother of the rugby league who played in the 1940s and 1950s for

;

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

"Johnny" Naughton (born 5 January 1920 in

district), Teresa "Tess" Naughton (birth registered during fourth ¼ 1921 in

district), and rugby league footballer, Daniel "Danny" Naughton.

Outside of rugby league

Naughton took over from Harry Bath as

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

of the Britannia Inn, Scotland Road, Warrington during February 1957.

References

External links

R.L. Final Replay In England
*(archived by web.archive.org
Lee Briers joins the 100 club
*(archived by web.archive.org
Swinging 60s by Alan DomvilleWarrington's World Cup heroes – Albert NaughtonPhotograph "A new ground record - The 1950 Challenge Cup Semi-final between Warrington and Leeds set a new attendance record for Odsal of 69,898. Warrington defeated Leeds in the game by 16 points to 4. - 01/01/1950" at www.rlhp.co.uk
*(archived by archive.is
RFL celebrates Great Britain's 1954 World Cup successStatistics at rugby.widnes.tvAlbert Naughton, Warrington Wolves' last Championship-winning captain, dies aged 84
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.ukPhotograph of Albert Naughton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naughton, Albert 1929 births 2013 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Prescot Warrington Wolves players Widnes Vikings players 20th-century English sportsmen