Keith Hepworth (1942 – 14 November 2024) 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 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, 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 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 ...

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 Commonwealth XIII, and at club level for

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

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 ...

and

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

, as a , and coached at club level for Bramley and

Playing career

Castleford

Hepworth played in

's victory in the Yorkshire League during the 1964–65 season. Hepworth played , and scored a

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 ...

in Castleford's 7-2 victory over Swinton in the

1966 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

final on Tuesday 20 December 1966, and played in the 8-5 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the

1967 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of the Republic of Vietnam ...

final on Saturday 16 January 1968. Hepworth played , and scored a try in Castleford's 11-6 victory over

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

in the 1969 Challenge Cup final on Saturday 17 May 1969, and played , in the 7-2 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the

1970 Challenge Cup Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday 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 condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

final on Saturday 9 May 1970. Keith Hepworth's collision with

Colin Tyrer Colin Tyrer is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a goal-kicking for Leigh, Wigan, Barrow and Hull Kingston Rovers, and also made three representative appearances for Lancashire. Playing career Leigh Colin T ...

, left Tyrer with a

broken jaw Mandibular fracture, also known as fracture of the jaw, is a break through the mandibular bone. In about 60% of cases the break occurs in two places. It may result in a decreased ability to fully open the mouth. Often the teeth will not feel ...

.Harry Edgar ''Rugby League In The Seventies'', Rugby League Journal Publishing, 29 November 2013. . page-30. Hepworth'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 Castleford took place in 1968. He was named as a Castleford Tigers Hall Of Fame Inductee.

Leeds

In October 1971,

signed Hepworth from Castleford for a fee of £4,000. Hepworth played in Leeds' 13-16 defeat by St. Helens in the

1972 Challenge Cup Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday 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 condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

Final on Saturday 13 May 1972. Hepworth played , and was

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in Leeds' 12-7 victory over Salford in the 1972–73 Player's No.6 Trophy Final at

Fartown Ground The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown, Huddersfield, Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Giants, Huddersfi ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

on Saturday 24 March 1973. Hepworth played in Leeds' 36-9 victory over

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, ...

in the

1972 Yorkshire Cup Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday 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 condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

final on Saturday 7 October 1972, and played , and was man of the match winning the White Rose Trophy in the 7-2 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

1973 Yorkshire Cup 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 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

final on Saturday 20 October 1973. After losing his first team place to

Peter Banner Peter Banner was an English-born architect and builder who designed the Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts, and other buildings in New England in the early 19th century. Life and career Banner trained in London, and moved to America ...

at the start of the 1976–77 season, Hepworth was transfer listed by Leeds, and was eventually sold to

Hull FC

Hepworth played in

's 13-3 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

in the

1979 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Final on Tuesday 18 December 1979.

Representative honours

Hepworth 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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

playing in the 33-10 victory over Lancashire at

's stadium on 23 September 1964, the 3-19 defeat by Cumberland at

' stadium on 8 September 1965, the 15-9 victory over New Zealand at Castleford's stadium on 20 September 1965, the 34-23 victory over Cumberland at Castleford's stadium on 25 October 1967, the 12-14 defeat by Lancashire at Salford's stadium on 3 September 1969, and the 34-8 victory over Lancashire at Castleford's stadium on 24 February 1971. Hepworth represented Commonwealth XIII while at Castleford in 1965 against New Zealand at Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Wednesday 18 August 1965, and won

s for

while at Castleford in 1967 against France (2 matches); in 1970 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches), and in the

1970 Rugby League World Cup 1970 Rugby League World Cup was the fifth World Cup for men's National rugby league teams. Held between 27 October and 7 November and hosted in England. It was won by Australia who defeated Great Britain in the final. After winning the tourna ...

against Australia, France, New Zealand, and Australia.

Coaching career

Hepworth coached Bramley between 1980 and 1982, and occasionally made appearances as a player for the club. At the end of the 1981–82 season, his contract was not renewed and the club appointed Maurice Bamford as his replacement. In 1988 Hepworth was joint team manager of

with Tony Dean (former coach of

Death

On 14 November 2024, it was announced that Hepworth had died at the age of 82.

References

External links

Photograph "Mumby tackled without the ball - Keith Mumby tackled by John Holmes without the ball - Date: 20/08/1978" at rlhp.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hepworth, Keith 1941 births 2024 deaths Bramley R.L.F.C. coaches Castleford Tigers captains Castleford Tigers players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Hull F.C. coaches Hull F.C. players Leeds Rhinos players Rugby league players from Castleford Rugby league halfbacks Yorkshire rugby league team players 20th-century English sportsmen