Jeffrey Grayshon MBE (4 March 1949 – 21 March 2021) 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 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, 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 ...

ed in the 1990s. 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

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugb ...

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 ...

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 ...

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

and

Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...

, as a , or , and coached at club level for

. Grayshon continued playing until he was 45 for Batley before taking over as coach at Batley. Grayshon's biography ''The Warrior: Jeff Grayshon MBE'' was written by Maurice Bamford. He died in 2021 from COVID-19.

Playing career

International honours

Jeff Grayshon 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 Dewsbury in the

1975 Rugby League World Cup The 1975 Rugby League World Cup (officially known as the 1975 Rugby League World Championship) was the seventh Rugby League World Cup, World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams and ran from 2 March to 12 November. Australia were the w ...

against Wales, France, New Zealand, and Australia, in 1977 against Wales, while at

in 1979 against Wales, and France, in 1980 against Wales (sub), and France, in 1981 against Wales, and won caps for

while at Bradford Northern in 1979 against Australia (2 matches), and New Zealand (3 matches), in 1980 against New Zealand (2 matches), in 1981 against France (2 matches), in 1982 against Australia (2 matches), while at Leeds in 1985 against New Zealand (2 matches).

Championship final appearances

Grayshon played at in

's 22–13 victory over

in the Championship Final during the 1972–73 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 Saturday 19 May 1973.

County Cup Final appearances

Grayshon played at in Dewsbury's 9–36 defeat by Leeds in the

1972–73 Yorkshire Cup The 1972–73 Yorkshire Cup was the sixty-fifth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Leeds winning the trophy by beating Dewsbury by the score of 36–9 in what would be Dewsbury's last appearance in a Yorkshire Cup f ...

Final at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on Saturday 7 October 1972, played at in Bradford Northern's 5–10 defeat by

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

in the

1981–82 Yorkshire Cup The 1981–82 Yorkshire Cup was the 74th occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Castleford won the trophy by beating Bradford Northern by the score of 10–5 The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorks ...

Final at

Headingley Rugby Stadium Headingley Rugby Stadium (known as AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium due to sponsorship) is a rugby league stadium in Headingley, Leeds and shares the same site as Headingley Cricket Ground. It is the home ground of the Leeds Rhinos, and is the ...

on Saturday 3 October 1981, played at in the 7–18 defeat by

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...

in the

1982–83 Yorkshire Cup The 1982–83 Yorkshire Cup was the seventy-fifth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition was held. Hull F.C. won the trophy by beating Bradford Northern by a score of 18-7. The match was played at Elland Road, Leeds, now in West York ...

Final at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

, Leeds on Saturday 2 October 1982, played at (replaced by substitute David Hobbs) in the 12–12 draw with

in the 1987–88 Yorkshire Cup Final at Headingley on Saturday 17 October 1987 (he did not play in the replay), and played at in

' 14–20 defeat by Bradford Northern in the 1989–90 Yorkshire Cup Final Headingley on Sunday 5 November 1989.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Grayshon played in Dewsbury's 2–22 defeat by St. Helens in the

1975 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Final at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

, St. Helens on Tuesday 16 December 1975.

John Player Trophy Final appearances

Grayshon played at in Bradford Northern's 6–0 victory over

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

1979–80 John Player Trophy This was the ninth season for the League Cup, known as the John Player Trophy for sponsorship reasons. Bradford Northern won the trophy, beating Widnes 6–0 in the final. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. The attendance ...

Final at Headingley on Saturday 5 January 1980.

Genealogical information

Grayshon is the father of the

footballer Paul Grayshon who played in the 1980s and 1990s for Featherstone Rovers and

. Jeff played until he was 45, so long that he actually played against his son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grayshon, Jeff 1949 births 2021 deaths Batley Bulldogs coaches Batley Bulldogs players Bradford Bulls players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Dewsbury Rams coaches Dewsbury Rams players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Featherstone Rovers players Great Britain national rugby league team captains Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos players Members of the Order of the British Empire Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Dewsbury Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Yorkshire rugby league team players Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England 20th-century English sportsmen