Frank Carlton (21 March 1936 – 19 February 2009) was an English 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 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 ...

and

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 at club level for St. Helens, and

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 ...

, as a or .

Background

Frank Carlton was born in

Blackbrook Blackbrook may refer to several places in the United Kingdom: * Blackbrook, Cheshire, England * Blackbrook, Derbyshire, England * Blackbrook, London, in the London Borough of Bromley, near Southborough, Bromley, Southborough * Blackbrook, St Helens ...

, St. Helens,

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 72 in

Whiston Hospital Whiston Hospital is an acute general hospital in Whiston, Merseyside, though its postal address places it in adjacent Prescot. The hospital is managed by Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. History The original hospital at ...

Whiston, Merseyside Whiston is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. Previously recorded within the historic county of Lancashire, it is located east of Liverpool. The population was 13,629 at the 2001 Census, ...

, England.

Playing career

St Helens

Carlton signed for St Helens in 1952, making his first team debut for the club the following year. He scored a try for St Helens in the 1956 Challenge Cup final against Halifax. Carlton also played on the in St Helens' 3-10 defeat by

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 the

1956 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

Final during the 1956–57 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

on Saturday 20 October 1956, and played on the in the 2-12 defeat by

in the 1958 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1958–59 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 ...

Saturday 25 October 1958.

Wigan

In October 1960, Carlton was transferred to

for a fee of around £5,000. He made his début for

in the 10-3 victory over Hunslet F.C. at Parkside,

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 ...

on Saturday 5 November 1960, he scored his first try (2- tries) for Wigan in the 16-11 victory over

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 ...

on Saturday 19 November 1960, he scored his last try for Wigan in the 12-0 victory over Liverpool City in the Western Division Championship match at

on Saturday 28 March 1964. Carlton announced his retirement in 1965, but did make some appearances during the 1965–66 season after being persuaded to return by Wigan coach

Eric Ashton Eric Ashton MBE (24 January 1935 – 20 March 2008) was an English World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played his whole top flight football ...

International honours

Frank Carlton won a

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 ...

for

while at St. Helens in 1956 against France, and won

s for

while at St. Helens in 1958 against New Zealand, and in 1962 against New Zealand.

Honoured at St Helens

Frank Carlton is a St Helens R.F.C. Hall of Fame Inductee.

References

External links

Profile at saints.org.uk'Flying Frank' dies aged 72
*(archived by web.archive.org
RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL video newsreel film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlton, Frank 1936 births 2009 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside Rugby league wingers St Helens R.F.C. players Wigan Warriors players 20th-century English sportsmen