Alvin Ackerley (1927 – 1973) was an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

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

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England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, and at club level for

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

(trialist),

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 and ...

, Halifax (

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

1952–53 to 1955–56), and Hull Kingston Rovers, as a .Gate, Robert (2002). ''100 Greats - Cumberland Rugby League''. Tempus Publishing Limited.

Background

Alvin Ackerley was born in Dearham,

, England, and he died aged 46.

Playing career

Halifax

Ackerley played in his first cup final during the 1948–49 season, playing in Halifax's 0–12 defeat by

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

in the

1948–49 Challenge Cup The 1948–49 Challenge Cup was the 48th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The 29 clubs of the rugby league were joined in the competition by three junior clubs, one each from Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumb ...

Final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

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on Saturday 7 May 1949. Ackerley played in Halifax's 14–24 defeat by St. Helens in the Championship Final during the 1952–53 season. During the 1953–54 season, Ackerley played in the 7–8 defeat by

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

in the Championship Final. He also captained the side in the 4–4 draw with Warrington in the

1954 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The ...

Final at Wembley Stadium, London, on Saturday 24 April 1954, and also played in the

replay Replay may refer to: * Replay (sports), a replayed match between two sport teams Technology * Game replay, a recording of a game session. * Instant replay, in motion pictures and television, a showing again of part of a film * Replay Professional, ...

(which Halifax lost 4–8) at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

on Wednesday 5 May 1954, in front of a record crowd of 102,575 or more. Ackerley played , and was

in Halifax's 22–14 victory over

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

in the 1954 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1954–55 season at Headingley,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

on Saturday 23 October 1954. During the 1955–56 season, he played in the 10–10 draw with Hull in the

1955 Yorkshire Cup Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first Nuclear marine propulsion, nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18� ...

Final at Headingley,

on Saturday 22 October 1955, and the 7-0 victory in the replay at

on Wednesday 2 November 1955. He also played in the 9–10 defeat by Hull in the Championship Final, and played in the 2–13 defeat by St. Helens in the

1955–56 Challenge Cup The 1955–56 Challenge Cup was the 55th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final In the Challenge Cup tournament's final St. Helens faced Halifax ...

Final at

on Saturday 28 April 1956. Ackerley won the Yorkshire League with Halifax on four occasions, during the 1952–53 season, 1953–54 season, 1955–56 season and 1957–58 season.

Representative honours

Ackerley won caps for

while at Halifax in 1952 against

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

(2 matches), and Wales, in 1953 against France (2 matches), and Wales, and won caps for

while at Halifax in 1952 against Australia, and in 1958 against New Zealand. Ackerley also won caps for

while at Halifax.

Personal life

Alvin Ackerley was the older brother of the rugby league who played in the 1960s for

and

; Terry Ackerley (birth registered first ¼ 1940 in Cockermouth district).

Death and legacy

Ackerley is a Halifax RLFC Hall Of Fame Inductee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackerley, Alvin 1927 births 1973 deaths Barrow Raiders players Cumberland rugby league team players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax R.L.F.C. captains Halifax R.L.F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Dearham Workington Town players