John Martin (born 1 May 1948) 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 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He signed for his hometown club, Halifax, in 1967 as a nineteen-year-old from Siddal ARLFC, and played a total of 262 games until his transfer to

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

in 1980. Career highlights include winning the Halifax RLFC Player of the Year award in seasons 1974–75 and 1977–78, being awarded of the James Harrison Trophy (fairest and most loyal player in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

) in 1977.

Background

Martin was born in Halifax,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, England.

Playing career

Player's No.6 Trophy Final appearances

Martin played in Halifax's 22-11 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

in the 1971–72 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1971–72 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 22 January 1972.

Testimonial match

Martin'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 Halifax took place in 1978.

Honoured at Halifax RLFC

Martin is a Halifax RLFC Hall Of Fame Inductee, he was admitted to the Halifax R.L.F.C. Hall of Fame, alongside

Karl Harrison Karl Harrison (born 20 February 1964) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for both Great Britain and England, and at ...

in October 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, John 1948 births Living people English rugby league players Halifax Panthers players Keighley Cougars players Rugby league locks Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Halifax, West Yorkshire 20th-century English sportsmen