James Pevitt Challinor (2 August 1934 – 18 December 1976) was an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

and 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 1950s and 1960s, 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 * Co ...

ed rugby league in the 1960s and 1970s. A

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 ...

international representative

three-quarter back Three-quarter back is the back-line positions of wing or centre in either rugby league or rugby union. See also *Rugby league positions *Rugby union positions *Half back (disambiguation) *Quarter back *Fullback (disambiguation) Fullback or Full bac ...

, he played club level rugby league (RL) for

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 ...

(with whom he won the

1954 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The ...

), and Barrow (who he also captained). Challinor later coached Great Britain as well as Barrow, Liverpool City and St. Helens. Challinor is a Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame inductee, only two men have played in, and coached

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...

winning

sides, they are;

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 c ...

, and Jim Challinor.

Biography

Challinor was born in

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 ...

Playing career

Challinor had been offered a trial at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, but made his début aged-18 for

against St. Helens in October 1952, he initially played on the , but later moved into the s. Challinor played right- and scored the first try in

's 8–4 victory over Halifax in the 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final

replay Replay may refer to: * Replay (sports), a replayed match between two sport teams Technology * Game replay, a recording of a game session. * Instant replay, in motion pictures and television, a showing again of part of a film * Replay Professional, ...

during the 1953–54 season at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the V ...

, Bradford on Wednesday 5 May 1954, in front of a record crowd of 102,575 or more. Challinor played in

's 8–7 victory over Halifax the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final during the 1953–54 season at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup Semi-finals, FA Cup semi-finals, the FA Community Shield, Charity Shield, a 1984 Football League Cup ...

, Manchester on Saturday 8 May 1954, in front of a crowd of 36,519, played in the 7–3 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, w ...

the

Final during the 1954–55 season at

, Manchester on Saturday 14 May 1955. Jim Challinor's marriage to Wendy (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Stringer) (birth registered during fourth ¼ 1935 in

district) was registered during fourth ¼ 1956 in Newton district. They would go on to have children; Neil Challinor (birth registered during second ¼ in Newton district), Yvonne Challinor (birth registered during second ¼ in

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey ...

district), and Nadine Challinor (birth registered during third ¼ in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 202 ...

district). During his period of

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

he served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF), and was based at RAF

Padgate Padgate is a suburb of Warrington, in the civil parish of Poulton-with-Fearnhead, in the Warrington district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. History Overview Historically part of Lancashire, until 1838 Padgate was an area of fa ...

. He also played representative level

for the Royal Air Force. Challinor 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 Great Britain while at Warrington on the

1958 Great Britain Lions tour Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

against Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. He also played for the Lions in the

1960 Rugby League World Cup The 1960 Rugby League World Cup was the third staging of the tournament and the first Rugby League World Cup to be held in Great Britain. The same format as used in 1957 was used, with a group stage leading to a final table. The 1960 World Cup ...

against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, helping Great Britain to victory. Challinor played in the 5–4 victory over St. Helens in the 1959–60 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1959–60 season at

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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 ...

on Saturday 31 October 1959, in front of a crowd of 39,237. Challinor played in the 10–25 defeat by victory over

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 ...

the

Final during the 1960–61 season at

, Bradford on Saturday 20 May 1961. He made 282 appearances for Warrington, scoring 135 tries, kicking 2 goals for 409 points. In 1963 Challinor moved to Barrow. He played right- and was captain-coach in Barrow's 12–17 defeat by

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "small ...

in the 1966–67 Challenge Cup Final during the 1966–67 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, London on Saturday 13 May 1967. Jim Challinor opened Challinor Sports at 146 Padgate Lane,

in 1967.

Coaching career

After retiring from the playing field Challinor took up coaching. He joined St. Helens, and coached them in the 5–9 defeat by

in the

1970 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condi ...

Final at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingl ...

on Tuesday 15 December 1970, in front of a crowd of 7,612. Challinor coached St Helens to the 16–12 victory over

in the 1970–71 season's

Final at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 22 May 1971. He also coached them to the 8–2 victory over

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby club ...

the 1971 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1971–72 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, 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 a period, the venue also hosted ...

, St. Helens on Tuesday 14 December 1971, in front of a crowd of 9,255, the 16–13 victory over

in the

1971–72 Challenge Cup The 1971–72 Challenge Cup was the 71st staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by St. Helens and Leeds at Wembley. First round Second round Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final The ...

Final during the 1971–72 season at

, London on Saturday 13 May 1972, in front of a crowd of 89,495, the 5–9 defeat by

the

Final during the 1971–72 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 20 May 1972. Challinor coached

to victory 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 ...

in France. During the

1973 Kangaroo tour The 1973 Kangaroo Tour was the thirteenth Kangaroo Tour, and saw the Australian national rugby league team travel to Europe and play nineteen matches against British and French club and representative rugby league teams, in addition to three Test ...

he coached Great Britain to an 11–7 victory over Australia at

, St. Helens on Tuesday 13 November 1973. Challinor was also coach on 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 ...

, due to an injury crisis he came out of retirement on the New Zealand leg, he scored a try in the 33–2 victory over

South Island rugby league team The South Island rugby league team is a rugby league team that represents the South Island of New Zealand. They are nicknamed the Scorpions. The side previously represented the Southern Zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. However, they now only ...

Greymouth Greymouth () ( Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

on Tuesday 6 August 1974, however he picked up an injury that resulted in him having a kidney removed.

Death

Challinor died from cancer in 1976, aged 42.

References

External links

When Great Britain won the World CupWarrington's World Cup heroes – Jim ChallinorCoaching Profile at saints.org.ukHALL OF HEROES: Warrington Wolves' Jim Challinor, World Cup winning pläyer and coäch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Challinor, Jim 1934 births 1976 deaths Barrow Raiders coaches Barrow Raiders players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players English rugby union players Great Britain national rugby league team coaches Great Britain national rugby league team players Liverpool City coaches Oldham R.L.F.C. coaches Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force rugby union players Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers Sporting goods retailers Rugby league players from Warrington Rugby union players from Warrington St Helens R.F.C. coaches Warrington Wolves players