Johnny Wolford (birth registered third ¼ 1945) 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, 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 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain (Under-24s) and

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 ...

, and at club level for Bramley,

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 ...

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, ...

and

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

, initially as a or , and later as a , 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 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

district,

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

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 kick ...

's 17–8 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 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, north-west of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and south-east of Bolton. Histori ...

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

County Cup Final appearances

Johnny Wolford appeared as a substitute (replacing Ian Slater) in

's 18–8 victory over

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

in the 1978–79 Yorkshire 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 Headingley ...

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 ...

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 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 ...

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

s in Bramley's 15–7 victory over

in the 1973 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy 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 status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, 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 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

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 days
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolford, Johnny 1945 births Living people Bradford Bulls players Bramley R.L.F.C. 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 Great Britain under-24 national rugby league team players 20th-century English sportsmen