John J. McKeown (5 February 1926 – 5 September 2006), also known by the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

s of "J.J.", and "Mac", 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 1940s, 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

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, and at club level for

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

, as a left-footed toe-end style (rather than round the corner style)

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

-kicking .

Background

John McKeown's birth was registered in

Flimby Flimby is a coastal village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Maryport, in the Cumberland district, in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It was historically in Cumberland. It is included in the Maryport South county divisio ...

, England, he died aged 80, his funeral service was held at St Nicholas' Church,

, on Tuesday 19 September 2006, followed by cremation at

Distington Distington () is a large village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, south of Workington and north of Whitehaven. Historically a part of Cumberland, the civil parish includes the nearby settlements of Common End, Cumbria, Common End, Gilgar ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

John McKeown represented

while at Whitehaven in 1956 against France (non-

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

match).Edgar, Harry (2007). ''Rugby League Journal Annual 2008 age-110'. Rugby League Journal Publishing. Along with William "Billy" Banks, Edward "Ted" Cahill, Gordon Haynes, Keith Holliday, William "Billy" Ivison, Robert "Bob" Kelly, George Parsons and Edward "Ted" Slevin, John McKeown's only

appearance came against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

prior to 1957, these matches were not considered as

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

by the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Footb ...

, and consequently

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

were not awarded.

Notable tour matches

John McKeown played , and scored 4-

s in

's 14-11 victory over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

1956–57 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France The 1956–57 Kangaroo tour was the ninth Kangaroo tour, in which the Australian national rugby league team travelled to Great Britain and France and played twenty-eight matches, including the Ashes series (rugby league), Ashes series of three Ru ...

match at the

Recreation Ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

on Saturday 20 October 1956, in front of a crowd of 10,917.

Career records

John McKeown holds

's "Most Appearances In Season" record with 42 appearances in the 1956–57 season, "Most Goals In A Season" record with 141 goals scored in the 1956–57 season, "Most Appearances In A Career" record with 417 appearances, "Most Goals In A Career" record with 1,050 goals, and "Most Points In A Career" record with 2133 points.

Honoured at Whitehaven

John McKeown is a Whitehaven Hall Of Fame Inductee, and the clubhouse at the

is named the J.J. McKeown Bar

References

External links

Whitehaven mourn legend McKeown at whitehaven-news.co.ukWhitehaven mourn legend McKeown at news.bbc.co.uk

*(archived by web.archive.org
Club History
*(archived by web.archive.org
When Haven beat the Aussies
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKeown, John 1926 births 2006 deaths Cumberland rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Maryport Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen