Cecil Ralph Mountford (16 June 1919 – 19 July 2009), 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 "The Blackball Bullet", was a New Zealand

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 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 ...

. Mountford was one of ten siblings, he and four of his brothers played rugby league for the South Island whilst Bill Mountford and

Ken Mountford Kenneth Henry James Mountford (27 May 1924 – 19 January 1967) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand. He was the brother of fellow players Ces Mountford and Bill Mountford. Pl ...

played for New Zealand. Mountford also played for West Coast, along with Bill and Ken, in inter-provincial matches.

Early years

Mountford played soccer at school, as he was considered too small to play rugby league. In 1935 at the age of 16 he joined Blackball Rugby League club, where he earned the nickname 'The Blackball Bullet' due to his speed on the field.

Playing career

Wigan

Mountford signed for Wigan Rugby League Club in 1946, he shared in one of Wigan’s finest moments in the 1949/50 campaign when, as captain – in place of usual

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 ...

Joe Egan who was on tour with seven other Wigan stars – he led his side to a sensational 20-2 Championship Final win over Huddersfield 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 ...

. Mountford played 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 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 ...

on two occasions, the first being in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, when they beat the current title holders

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

8–3 in a nail biting final. The second visit, in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, Mountford led the team to a 10-0 victory over Barrow in a rain-soaked Wembley final. He also became the first overseas player to receive the

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 ...

. Cecil Mountford played 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 ...

's 9-3 victory over Belle Vue Rangers in the

1946–47 Lancashire Cup The 1946–47 Lancashire Cup was the thirty-fourth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition had been held. Wigan won the trophy by beating Belle Vue Rangers by the score of 9–3. The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury, (hi ...

Final during the 1946–47 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 26 October 1946, played in the 14-8 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

1948–49 Lancashire Cup The 1948–49 Lancashire Cup was the thirty-sixth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition had been held. Wigan won the trophy by beating Warrington by the score of 14–8. The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury, (historicall ...

Final during the 1948–49 season at

on Saturday 13 November 1948, played in the 20-7 victory over

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 1949–50 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1949–50 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 29 October 1949, and played in the 28-5 victory over

in the 1950–51 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1950–51 season at

on Saturday 4 November 1950.

International career

Internationally he missed out on playing for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, but he did represent Other Nationalities in two European Championships, in a team labelled "The Rest", in 1950, watched by a crowd of 25,000 fans. He requested, and was granted, permission from Wigan to join the 1947-8 New Zealand tour of Great Britain but the Management decided that injuries were not bad enough to bring him in.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' Instead, during the Kiwis tour Cecil played for Wigan against the Kiwis, which included his brother Ken. Mountford was appointed head coach of the New Zealand team in 1979, leading the Kiwis on their 1980 tour of Great Britain and France and the 1982 tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea. New Zealand won 6 games, lost 8 and drew 1 under Mountford's coaching. He was replaced in 1983 by

Graham Lowe Sir Graham Michael Lowe is the owner of the Bradford Bulls together with fellow New Zealander Andrew Chalmers. He is a New Zealand former rugby league football coach and administrator. He previously coached in Australia and England and was the ...

Coaching career

In 1951 Mountford qualified as a first grade coach, being offered a 10-year contract at

, despite Wigan initially refusing to release him as a player. Mountford made his first appearance for Warrington in October 1952 initially as a player coach. Cecil Mountford was the

's 8–7 victory over Halifax 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 1953–54 season at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

on Saturday 8 May 1954, in front of a crowd of 36,519. Cecil Mountford was the

's 8–4 victory over Halifax in the 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final replay during the 1953–54 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 ...

on Wednesday 5 May 1954, in front of a record crowd of 102,575 or more. At the time, this was a world record attendance for a rugby match of either code. After completing his tenure as a coach, he returned to New Zealand in May 1961, before heading back to England as Manager of

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 ...

in 1972, which was short-lived when he resigned in June 1973. Mountford returned to New Zealand in 1974, initially providing coaching courses before being signed as the manager-coach of the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

from 1979 to 1982.

Honours

In the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours, Mountford was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to rugby league and in 1990 he was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the hall ...

. In 2000 he was inducted as one of the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league, rugby league football in New Zealand.#SPARC-2009, SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a 1910 Great Britain Lions tour o ...

Legends of League.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com

Greymouth Star obituaryDominion Post obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mountford, Ces 1919 births 2009 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Blackball players Blackpool Borough coaches Lance Todd Trophy winners New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand national rugby league team coaches New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players Other Nationalities rugby league team players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from the West Coast Region Warrington Wolves coaches Warrington Wolves players West Coast rugby league team players Wigan Warriors captains Wigan Warriors players Rugby articles needing expert attention