Fred Higgins is an English former 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 1940s and 1950s. 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

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, ...

, as a . He also appeared 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 ...

as a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

guest A guest is person who is given hospitality. Guest or The Guest may refer to: * Guest (surname), people with the surname ''Guest'' * USS ''Guest'' (DD-472), U.S. Navy ''Fletcher''-class destroyer 1942–1946 * Guest appearance, guest actor, guest ...

player.

Playing career

International honours

Fred Higgins 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 Widnes in 1945 against Wales, in 1949 against France, in 1950 against Wales (2 matches), and won

s for

while at Widnes in 1950 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches), and in 1951 against New Zealand.

County Cup Final appearances

Fred Higgins played right-, in

' 7-3 victory over

in the 1945 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1945–46 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 27 October 1945.

Honoured at Widnes

Fred Higgins is a Widnes Hall Of Fame Inductee.

Genealogical information

Fred Higgins is the younger brother of the rugby league footballers

Jack Higgins Henry Patterson (27 July 1929 – 9 April 2022), commonly known by his pen name Jack Higgins, was a British author. He was a best-selling author of popular thrillers and espionage novels. His novel '' The Eagle Has Landed'' (1975) sold more t ...

, and Alec Higgins.

References

External links

Statistics at rugby.widnes.tvHall Of Fame at rugby.widnes.tvStatistics at wigan.rlfans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Frederick 1920 births 1995 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Place of birth missing Rugby league players from Widnes Rugby league second-rows Widnes Vikings players Wigan Warriors wartime guest players 20th-century English sportsmen