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 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 1960s and 1970s. 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 ...

as a , and at club level for

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 ...

and

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, as a , or .

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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

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 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 a ...

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 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 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 at in

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

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 ...

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

in the 1973–74 Lancashire Cup Final at

and played at in the 7–16 defeat by Widnes Vikings">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, ...

in the 1975–76 Lancashire Cup Final at Central Park (Wigan), Central Park,

on Saturday 4 October 1975.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Chris Hesketh played at in Salford's 0–0 draw with

in the

1974 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom ...

final at The Willows, Salford on Tuesday 17 December 1974, and played at 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 at in Salford's 7–12 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 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, Huddersfield, Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Giants, Huddersfi ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees 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 confl ...

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 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 20th-century English sportsmen