Wigan Album

Top left, Colin Clark the dad of Sky sports presenter and former Wigan RLFC player Phil Clark.

I remember buying this as a kid.Great post Colin

Picture of Keith Hepworth laying Colin Tyrer out and getting away with it.Disgrace

Remember the incidents well!!! 1963 v Wakefield Trinity Dave Bolton playing fullback if my memory serves me well was flattened (one of our danger men) and Ashton had a try disallowed for a double movement when the score was 0-0 I think by Manchester ref Dennis Davies. We lost 25 - 10 but should have and could have won. Was there subs then?
In 1966 Colin Clarke had been suspended for being sent off for technical offences against Leeds I think it was at Central Park, I ask you. We had sold Bill Sayers to St Helens that season and he told us don't bother turning up. Tom Woosey a prop played hooker and yes you guessed right we lost 21-2. in those days any penalty awarded had to be a kick to touch with a scrum restart unless you kicked at goal. Of course Murphy blatantly played off side when we had the ball and was constantly penalised and warned by the ref whose name was Hunt (or something sililar). Of course he should have bee sent off for persistant offending. IN that match Harry Major got concussed and was taken off. The Colin Tyrer incident in 1972 agains Castleford was an absolute disgrace and Hepworth should have been sent off and banened for a long time. Lindop was from that day on called "Yellow Fred" by the faithfull. We lost 7-2 and what rubbed salt in the wounds was that the year after Murphy got Syd Hynes sent off for an offence which he milked to death. Leigh beat Leeds as a result and guess who came back on to drop a goal? Yes Murphy! We have had some bad refs at wembly over the years but some decent ones as well.

Thanks for the interesting comments JohnAlan. Pity the powers-that-be didn't over-rule the referee's bad mistake that day.

John Allen, Your memory is playing tricks with you in your old age. Alex Murphy may have miked the situation with Sid Hynes but he DID NOT return to the pitch after being carried off.

He must have dropped the goal before the oscar performance then. With all the knocks he was supposed to have suffered it's funny Murphy is still with us. Mick Sullivan did get the better of him when we played him at half back against Saints at Knowlsey Rd. They both got sent off. Great player though.

John, he actually scored 2 drop goals before being carried off. Jimmy Fiddler and Dave Eckersley also scored drop goals for Leigh that day. Leigh where altready 17-2 up when Hynes was sent off mid way through the second half so it wasn't a 'turning point' in the game as your initial post suggested. Don't forget Leigh lost Murphy as well for the remainder of the game. I do admit he did spend a lot of time on the floor being attended to though.

Left page (top left).. Quoted from the Wigan Observer.. Dejected Colin Clarke who was under suspension for the 1966 final...(top right) In 1963 Dave Bolton was Wigan's unluckiest player at Wembley. He was knocked-out in the last move of the first half. (Bottom right) Colin Tyrer was demolished by Castleford half-back Hepworth in 1970. (Bottom left) Harry Major again in the 1966 final, is carried off on a stretch in the closing minutes.
There have been good times and bad times for Wigan at Wembley. Just to make the good times even better, the Wigan Observer re-calls on this page some heartbraking tragedies that have helped rob Wigan of victory. 1966 must have been the worst year for Wigan. The final against St.Helens was lost, as it turned out, even before it began. Colin Clarke was sent off in a RL Championship game against Leeds and nine days before the final was suspended. This robbed Wigan of their recognised hooker. Then, four minutes from the end, forward Harry Major was injured in a tackle by Halsall and couldn't go up for his losers medal from Prime Minister Harold Wilson. For the record, Wigan lost 2-21.

David, are you the Dave who played for Widnes (I think) and Leigh? If so I bow to your first hand knowledge. Not being a supporter of Leigh I watched the game on TV and obviously my memories aren't as vivid of the game, wherehas when Wigan were involved I went to Wembley. First one was Workington Town. If indeed you are the Dave then you were a very good player and didn't you get injured against us in the cup at Hilton Park when tackling Dave Robinson? Robbo was a great player too and had a distinctive way of running with the ball in his arms which probably caused your injury. Wasn't it an head/eye injury? Mate of mine played for Leigh around the late 60s and early 70s - Dennis Brown who was also a full back but got injured and couldn't play at Wembley. Leigh had a very good team in those days.

John, No, I am not the same Eckersley. He did indeed have a very successful carreer at Widnes. The only reason I responded is the I very often hear the bogus story of Murphy getting Hynes sent off and then coming back on to score the winning drop goal. People will believe it if it isn't put right. The story generally implies that the sending off was the turning point in the game which again is far from the truth. Leigh bossed the game from start to finish, even without Murphy. Just wanted to remind people what really happened. There are videos on youtube of the game if you want to refresh your memory. Was your mate Dennis Brown any relation to Dave Brown the Leigh winger in the late 70's

Hi Dave, no I don't think Dennis is his brother. I don't remember Dennis talking about a brother who played for Leigh. Although he did coach Leigh RU I think it was and he did have a son who played RU for local sides. I worked with Dennis at UKAEA Risley in the late sixties and seventies and again at Bechtel and Montgomery Watson Harza for NWW (United Utilities) Risley and Lingley Mere - Warrington, we were both Electrical Design Engineers. You're right about the game and Leigh had a cracking side in the early seventies. I think people tend not to give Murphy the benefit of the doubt due to his dubious tactics. Always a winner though. Except perhaps at Wembley in 1988-89 season when he was coach of Saints. They had a nightmare and we murdered them. They were lucky to get nil that day.