Brian McTigue (3 August 1930 – 9 December 1981), 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 ...

"The Wizard", 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 in the 1950s and 1960s. He is a Wigan RL Hall of Fame member and is considered to be one of the greatest forwards in Great Britain's history.

Background

Brian McTigue's birth was registered 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 ...

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 ...

, England, and he died aged 51.

Playing career

‘Sheer Wizardry' often described the distribution skills and sleight of hand of Brian McTigue. He started his Wigan career as a , but took his handling skills into the pack where he won many club and international honours. The sport however, nearly missed the talents of Brian McTigue because boxing was his first love at one time. He was so highly rated that former world champion

Joey Maxim Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli (March 28, 1922 – June 2, 2001) was an American professional boxer. He was the World Light Heavyweight Champion from 1950 to 1952. He took the ring-name Joey Maxim from the Maxim gun, the world's first self-acti ...

invited him to the United States after McTigue had figured in some exhibitions with the American. McTigue decided to stick with rugby and, after only five games as a hooker for the Giants Hall Colliery team, Wigan signed him and converted him into a three quarter. Although he made his début at

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 April 1951, he spent the next three years languishing in the 'A' Team. Wigan were prepared to sell him to

but he refused. His patience paid off and, just as it looked as though he was not going to make it, he suddenly shot to prominence. The rest of his career was nothing but one success after another. He went on to become one the all-time great prop forwards being capped 21 times by Great Britain. He made his Great Britain début against Australia in 1958 and toured twice. Brian McTigue played right- and scored a try in

's 8–13 defeat by

in the 1957–58 Lancashire CupFinal during the 1957–58 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 19 October 1957. Brian McTigue's

Testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

took place in 1960. McTigue also appeared at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

that year and score on try in the 13–9 win 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 ...

. He scored another try a year later as Wigan beat Hull F.C., and enjoyed one of his own personal great moments as he strode like a colossus through the Hull defence and collected the Lance Todd Trophy. He was in all four Wigan sides that went to Wembley in the 1960s, and collected a third winner's medal when they beat

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

in 1965. After more than 400 matches, his long association with the club ended in 1966–67. He moved to

Blackpool Borough Blackpool Borough was a rugby league club based in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, that played in the Rugby Football League from 1954 until 1993. The club moved to Wigan in 1987 and was renamed Springfield Borough; to Chorley in 1988 and wa ...

but played only one more game before going to Australia to coach Bathurst St Patricks. He later returned to Wigan to work.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Brian McTigue played right- and scored a try in

's 13–9 victory over

in the 1957–58 Challenge Cup Final during the 1957–58 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 1958, in front of a crowd of 66,109 played left- and scored a try in the 30–13 victory over Hull F.C. in the

1958–59 Challenge Cup The 1958–59 Challenge Cup was the 58th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Wigan and Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium in London. The final was played on Saturday 9 May 1959, where ...

Final during the 1958–59 season at

, London on Saturday 9 May 1959, in front of a crowd of 79,811, and played right- in the 20–16 victory over

in the

1964–65 Challenge Cup The 1964–65 Challenge Cup was the 64th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Wigan Warriors, Wigan and Hunslet F.C. (1883), Hunslet at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium. Wig ...

Final during the 1964–65 season at

, London on Saturday 8 May 1965, in front of a crowd of 89,016.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Brian McTigue at wiganwarriors.com
*(archived by web.archive.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:McTigue, Brian 1930 births 1981 deaths Blackpool Borough players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Lance Todd Trophy winners Place of death missing Rugby league centres Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league utility players Rugby league players from Wigan Wigan Warriors players 20th-century English sportsmen