Brian Briggs
Brian Briggs (29 March 1932 – 2 August 1996) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Stanley Rangers, York, Huddersfield, St. Helens (Heritage No. 749) and Wakefield Trinity (Heritage No. 665), as a second-row, i.e. number 11 or 12, during the era of contested scrums.[1]
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| Full name | Brian Briggs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 March 1932 Wakefield, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 August 1996 (aged 64) Canberra, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 13 st 5 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
Brian Briggs was born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, he was the landlord of the Fox and Grapes Inn, 107 Stanley Road, Wakefield c. 1960s and The British Oak, Aberford Road, Stanley, Wakefield, and he died aged 64 in Canberra, Australia.
Playing career
Career at St Helens
Brian Briggs was a stalwart for St. Helens playing over 80 matches mostly in the second-row position. He was signed by St. Helens from Huddersfield on Friday 14 February 1958, and made his St. Helens début against Oldham on Saturday 15 February 1958. He was a hard running and tough tackling second-row who added great steel to the St. Helens pack at the time. In 83 matches for St. Helens Brian Briggs scored 4 tries, kicked 11 goals for a total points aggregate of 34 points. Brian Brigg's first try for St. Helens came at Hunslet as St. Helens cruised to a 33 points to two victory. Brian Briggs also had the pleasure of watching Tom van Vollenhoven notch four tries that particular day. On Tuesday 14 April 1959 Brian Briggs scored a try and kicked two goals as St. Helens thumped Hull F.C. at Knowsley Road in front of 18,500 spectators. Brian Briggs managed to earn two caps for Yorkshire whilst at St. Helens. He partnered Dick Huddart in the second-row in the resounding 1959 Championship Final 44 points to 22 thrashing of Hunslet, and he played his last match for St. Helens against Wigan in the Championship semi-final defeat on Saturday 7 May 1960. He transferred to the emerging great Wakefield Trinity side of the early 1960s for £5,000[4] (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £226,900 in 2013).[5]
International honours
Brian Briggs, won a cap for England while at Huddersfield in 1956 against France,[2] and won a cap for Great Britain while at Huddersfield in 1954 against New Zealand.[3]
Challenge Cup Final appearances
Brian Briggs played left-second-row, i.e. number 11, in Wakefield Trinity's 12–6 victory over Huddersfield in the 1962 Challenge Cup Final during the 1961–62 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 12 May 1962.[6]
County Cup Final appearances
Brian Briggs played left-second-row, i.e. number 11, in Huddersfield's 15–8 victory over York in the 1957 Yorkshire County Cup Final during the 1957–58 season at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds on Saturday 19 October 1957,[7] played left-second-row in St. Helens 2–12 defeat by Oldham in the 1958 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1958–59 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 25 October 1958, played left-second-row in the 4–5 defeat by Warrington in the 1959 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1959–60 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 31 October 1959, Left-Second-row in Wakefield Trinity's 16–10 victory over Huddersfield in the 1960 Yorkshire County Cup Final during the 1960–61 season at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds on Saturday 29 October 1960,[6] and played left-second-row in the 19–9 victory over Leeds in the 1961 Yorkshire County Cup Final during the 1961–62 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on Saturday 11 November 1961.
References
- "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- Briggs, Cyril & Edwards, Barry (12 May 1962). The Rugby League Challenge Cup Competition - Final Tie - Huddersfield v Wakefield Trinity - Match Programme. Wembley Stadium Ltd. ISBN n/a
- "Measuring Worth - Relative Value of UK Pounds". Measuring Worth. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- Hoole, Les (2004). Wakefield Trinity RLFC – FIFTY GREAT GAMES. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-429-9
- "Programme 'Yorkshire County Rugby League - Challenge Cup Final - 1957 - Huddersfield v. York'" (PDF). huddersfieldrlheritage.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.