Christopher Hesketh (28 November 1944 – 10 August 2017) 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 concept i ...

winning 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 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

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 ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

as a , and at club level for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

and

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, as a , or , i.e. number 3 or 4, or 6.

Background

Chris Hesketh was born in

, England, and he died aged 72.

Playing career

International honours

Hesketh 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. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

while at Salford in 1968 against Wales, in 1969 against Wales, and France, and won

s for

while at Salford in 1970 against New Zealand, in the

1970 Rugby League World Cup The fifth Rugby League World Cup was held in Great Britain in 1970. Britain, fresh from defeating Australia in the Ashes during their Australasian tour earlier in the year (the last time as of 2017 that they would win The Ashes), were hot favou ...

against France (sub), New Zealand (1- try), and Australia (sub); in 1971 against France, France (sub), and New Zealand (3 matches); in the

1972 Rugby League World Cup The sixth Rugby League World Cup was held in France in October and November 1972. Australia started as the favourites to retain the trophy they had won just two years previously. New Zealand had beaten all three of the other nations in 1971 an ...

against Australia, France, New Zealand (1- try), and Australia; in 1973 against Australia (3 matches); and in 1974 against France (2 matches), Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (3 matches). For the

1974 Great Britain Lions tour The 1974 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 15th tour of Australasia and took place from May to August 1974. A total of 28 matches were played against local club and representative sides during the tour, inc ...

to Australia and New Zealand, Hesketh was named as captain.

Rugby League career

Hesketh started his career at Wigan in 1962, and following the rule change to allow of substitutions, along with

Laurie Gilfedder Lawrence "Laurie"/"Gilly" M. Gilfedder (15 May 1935 – 7 January 2019 ) was an English rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Warrington RUFC (in Walt ...

he jointly became Wigan's first substitute on Saturday 14 November 1964. He moved to Salford in 1967, with whom he remained until retiring in 1979. Hesketh worked as a salesman before retiring in 2006. His death was announced in August 2017.

County Cup Final appearances

Chris Hesketh played left-, i.e. number 4, in

's 25–11 victory over Swinton in the 1972–73

County Cup Final during the 1972–73 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 le ...

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, 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 populati ...

on Saturday 21 October 1972, he played left- in the 9–19 defeat by

in the 1973–74

County Cup Final at

and played left- in the 7–16 defeat by Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form t ...

in the

1975–76

County Cup Final at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

on Saturday 4 October 1975.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Chris Hesketh played right-, i.e. number 3, in Salford's 0–0 draw with Warrington Wolves">Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, 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 populati ...

in the 1974 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy final at The Willows, Salford on Tuesday 17 December 1974, and played right- in the 10–5 victory in the replay at Wilderspool on Tuesday 28 January 1975.

Player's No.6 Trophy Final appearances

Chris Hesketh played left-, i.e. number 4, in Salford's 7–12 defeat by

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, 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 thi ...

in the 1972–73 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1972–73 season at

Fartown Ground The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Rugby League Club from 1878 to 1992. T ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district 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 confluence into t ...

on Saturday 24 March 1973.

Testimonial match

Chris Hesketh'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 ...

at Salford took place in 1977. In the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

Hesketh was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to rugby league.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
World Cup 1970
*(archived by web.archive.org
When Great Britain won the World CupPhotograph "Bill Ramsey forces his way over" at rlhp.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesketh, Christopher 1944 births 2017 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team captains Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Members of the Order of the British Empire Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Wigan Salford Red Devils captains Salford Red Devils players Wigan Warriors players