Kevin Ashcroft (born 5 June 1944) is a 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 and 1970s, and coached in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. 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

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and at club level for the

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

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, ...

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 ...

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

and

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, ...

, as a . and coached at club level for

(two spells) and

. Ashcroft is a

Hall of Fame inductee.

Playing career

Rochdale Hornets

Ashcroft played in

' 5-16 defeat by

in the 1965 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1965–66 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

, St. Helens on Friday 29 October 1965.

Leigh

Ashcroft played in

's 5-8 defeat by

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 ...

in the 1967 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1967–68 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 16 January 1968, played in the 11-6 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 1969 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1969–70 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

on Tuesday 16 December 1969. He played in

's 2-11 defeat by Swinton in the 1969 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1969–70 season at

on Saturday 1 November 1969, and played in the 7-4 victory over St. Helens in the 1970 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1970–71 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 28 November 1970. Ashcroft played in

's 24-7 victory over

in the 1971 Challenge Cup Final during the 1970–71 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

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 Saturday 15 May 1971, in front of a crowd of 85,514.

Warrington

He played in

's 24-9 victory over

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

in the 1974 Challenge Cup Final during the 1973–74 season at

on Saturday 11 May 1974, in front of a crowd of 77,400, and played in the 7-14 defeat by

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 1975 Challenge Cup Final during the 1974–75 season at

on Saturday 10 May 1975, in front of a crowd of 85,998. He played in

's 0-0 draw with by

in the

1974 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom ...

Final during the 1974–75 season at The Willows, Salford on Tuesday 17 December 1974, played in the 5-10 defeat by

in the

Final replay during the 1974–75 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year l ...

on Tuesday 28 January 1975. Ashcroft played , was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, 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 ...

's 27-16 victory over

in the 1973–74 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at

on Saturday 9 February 1974, Ashcroft gave his £25

prize to

groundsman Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...

Billy Mitchell who had managed to get the water-logged pitch into a playable condition,Harry Edgar ''Rugby League In The Seventies'', Rugby League Journal Publishing, 29 November 2013. . page-87. (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £442.70 in 2014). Ashcroft played in

's 4-0 victory over

in the 1973–74 Captain Morgan Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at The Willows,

on Saturday 26 January 1974, in front of a crowd of 5,259.

Return to Leigh

Ashcroft played , was the coach, 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 4-12 defeat by

in the 1976 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1976–77 season at Hilton Park,

on Tuesday 14 December 1976.

International honours

On 3 April 1965, Ashcroft played in the first ever

under-24 international match in a 17–9 win 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 ...

under-24's. Ashcroft 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

while at Leigh in the 1968 Rugby League World Cup against Australia, in 1968 against France, in 1969 against France, in the 1970 Rugby League World Cup against France, and New Zealand, and on the 1974 Great Britain Lions tour against New Zealand ( interchange/ substitute).

Coaching career

County Cup Final appearances

Ashcroft was the coach in

's 16–0 victory over St. Helens in the 1982 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1982–83 season at

on Saturday 23 October 1982, and the coach in

's 17–22 defeat by

in the

1988 Lancashire Cup 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Final during the 1988–89 season at

, St. Helens on Sunday 23 October 1988.

References

External links

Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk

Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk (martini)
* (archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
* (archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk (martini)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashcroft, Kevin 1944 births Living people Blackpool Panthers coaches Dewsbury Rams players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Leigh Leopards captains Leigh Leopards coaches Leigh Leopards players Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside Rugby league props Salford Red Devils coaches Salford Red Devils players Warrington Wolves coaches Warrington Wolves players Great Britain under-24 national rugby league team players 20th-century English sportsmen