Wigan Album

back row third from right George Banks, second from right Ted Ward

The Wigan player back row far left in the centre of the two middle cups is Jack Blan Billy Blan's Brother my Uncles.

Next to Jack Blan Harry Atkinson

No Martin Ryan,Joe Egan or Ken Gee.Was there an international match on that day? The player between Billy Blan and Gordon Ratcliffe could be Watkins a Welshman who went on to play for Belle Vue Rangers

J. Glover,
Thanks for identifying Jack Blan, I got to know him, and his son John quite we'll in the mid fifties, but didn't recognise him in this picture.
A.B.
Jack Hilton and Ernie Ashcroft are also missing. Around that time Wigan had numerous players on international duty as you suggest. If I remember correctly Wigan won the Challenge Cup around that period,with over half
their first team in the Gt. Britain team.

Aubrey, it was the Championship final that Wigan won with 8 players on the way to Australia. They beat Huddersfield I think. no doubt Keith or Ron Hunt will fill in all the details

On Saturday, January 4th 1947, Wigan played Wakefield Trinity away and lost by 7 points to 8. The team that day was Jack Cunliffe, Gordon Ratcliffe, Ted Ward, Johnny Lawrenson, Ces Montford, Ted Toohey, George Woosey, Joe Shovelton, George Banks, Harry Atkinson, Billy Blan and Jack Blan.

Keith,
Thank you, but it seems you have missed out Brian Nordgren.

Keith,
I wonder why the cups were on display, was this a league match at Wakefield, or could it have been Lancs & Yorks champions playing each other at Belle Vue, Manchester?

Well spotted Aubrey, I have indeed missed out Brian Norgren, he appears in between Lawrenson and Mountford on the team sheet, he was of course on the left wing. It was an "ordinary" league match but in 1946 Wigan won the Championship, the Lancashire Cup and finished top of the Lancashire League, Wakefield won the Yorkshire Cup, the Challenge Cup and the Yorkshire League but lost to Bradford in the final of the Yorkshire Cup. No doubt that was why so many trophies were on display.

Thank You Keith, 'Noggy' probably scored all 7 points being a goal kicker as well as a good winger. All the best for Christmas and the New Year

Aubrey, Nordgren scored the try and Ted Ward kicked 2 goals. (See the amazing "Cherry and White" website)

A pedantic point perhaps but interestingly Wakefield had for some reason 14 players on view in this photo.
They were Baddley, Higgins, Exley, Longley, Marson, Booth, Howes, Bratley, Bottom row; Brooks, (Billy) Banks, Perry, Stott, Wilkinson, Teall, I'm assuming the referee spotted the discrepancy before the game started!

Keith,
I did wonder who was standing behind Jackie Blan, but thought he was with the Wigan team.

Hi Aubrey, there is another photo of the same group and the Wakefield player standing just behind Jack Blan is shown more clearly, if the naming is correct he is Bratley.

George Woosey, furthest right, standing. Can anybody name all the Wigan players in order on the photo?

Here goes John, Wigan players back row, left to right, Jack Blan, Harry Atkinson, Ted Toohey, Gordon Ratcliffe, Johnny Lawrenson, George Banks, Ted Ward, George Woosey. At front, left to right, Jack Cunliffe, Ces Mountford, Joe Shovelton, Brian Nordgren.

Yet another typo from me, sorry - I've missed Billy Blan who is between Harry Atkinson and Ted Toohey.

Thanks everyone. Best Wishes for Christmas and New Year

Thanks Keith, it's nice to fit names to faces.

Ted Toohey front row next to mountford

Thanks for pointing that out jack - I may well have mixed up Joe Shovelton who played hooker with Ted Toohey who played scrum half. Joe only played 9 first team games for Wigan and Ted 33, so their faces were not that familiar to me. Ted went to Barrow and won a Challenge Cup medal in 1955 and Barrow also won the Lancashire cup that season - don't know if he played in that final.