Johnny Wolford (birth registered third ¼ 1945) is an English former 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 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, 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 in the 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain (Under-24s) and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, and at club level for Bramley,

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pr ...

( Heritage No.),

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

and

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentary ...

, initially as a or , and later as a , i.e. number 1, 4 or 5, 6, 7 or 13, and coached at club level for

Background

Johnny Wolford's birth was registered during third ¼ 1945 in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population ...

district,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England.

Playing career

Premiership Final appearances

Johnny Wolford played and scored a

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kickin ...

's 17–8 victory over

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form t ...

in the 1977–78 Rugby League Premiership Premiership Final during the 1977–78 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

Pendlebury Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies north-west of Manchester city centre, north-west of Salford and south-east of Bolton. Historically in Lancas ...

on Saturday 20 May 1978, in front of a crowd of 16,813.

County Cup Final appearances

Johnny Wolford played as an

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

/ substitute, i.e. number 14, (replacing Ian Slater) in

's 18–8 victory over

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

in the 1978–79

County Cup Final during the 1978–79 season 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 ...

Rugby Stadium,

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 ...

on Saturday 28 October 1978, in front of a crowd 10,429.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Johnny Wolford played and scored two-

goal A goal 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 a purpose or ...

s/ conversions in Bramley's 15–7 victory over

in the

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy The BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy (also known as the BBC 2 Television Trophy) was a competition for Great Britain, British rugby league clubs held between 1965 and 1980. It was designed specifically for television, and the then director of BBC Two, BBC2 ...

Final during the 1973–74 season at Naughton Park,

on Tuesday 18 December 1973, in fornt of a crowd of 4,542.

Club career

Johnny Wolford made his début for Bramley aged-16, in the 12–18 defeat by

in the Eastern Division Championship match at Barley Mow, Bramley on Saturday 29 September 1962, he scored his first try for Bramley in the 19–2 victory over

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated i ...

, he was Bramley's record try scorer (extended by Jack Austin during the 1976–77 season), he transferred from Bramley to

, he transferred from Bradford Northern to

, he transferred from Dewsbury to

, he appeared in 35 of the 38 matches, 34 of the 38 matches contributed to Hunslet's promotion to the First Division during the 1983–84 season, and he played his last match for Hunslet against

during 1985.

References

External links

Great names gather to reminisce about good old RL daysSearch for "John Wolford" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Johnny Wolford" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolford, Johnny 1945 births Living people Bradford Bulls players Bramley RLFC players Dewsbury Rams players English rugby league players Hunslet R.L.F.C. coaches Hunslet R.L.F.C. players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Wakefield Yorkshire rugby league team players