Don Fox

For other people named Donald Fox, see Donald Fox (disambiguation).
Don Fox
Personal information
Born (1935-10-15)15 October 1935
Sharlston, West Yorkshire, England
Died 21 August 2008(2008-08-21) (aged 72)
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England
Playing information
Position Scrum-half, Loose forward
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1953–65 Featherstone 368 162 503 1492
1965–70 Wakefield Trinity 117 18 84 222
Total 485 180 587 0 1714
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1956 England 1 0 0 0 0
1963 Great Britain 1 1 2 0 7
Source: RLP

Don Fox (15 October 1935 – 21 August 2008) was an English rugby league footballer of the 1950s and '60s for Featherstone Rovers and Wakefield Trinity.

He was born in Sharlston, near Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire. He was the brother of Peter and Neil Fox, and together they formed one of the legendary rugby league families. Don holds the Featherstone Rovers record for tries scored (162) and is third on their all-time goal-kicking charts with 503 in 369 appearances, itself the 7th most in Featherstone Rovers' history,[1] having enjoyed 13 years at Featherstone Rovers before joining Wakefield Trinity (Heritage #710) in 1965 for £3,000[2] (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £98,750 in 2013).[3] Don Fox earned his début for Featherstone Rovers as a Scrum-half/Halfback in 1953. A gifted player, he broke the Featherstone Rovers' record points scored in a season the next winter and was called up for England's game against France. He was an outstanding kicker, scoring 12 goals in a Challenge Cup victory against Stanningley in 1964. He was understudy to Alex Murphy on the 1962 Lions tour of Australasia and then moved to Loose forward/Lock where he earned his sole Test cap for Great Britain against Australia in 1963. He joined Wakefield in 1965, linking up with his young brother Neil and they enjoyed great success with Trinity. After he retired from playing the game in 1970, he coached Batley before becoming a safety joiner in the South Yorkshire coalfield.

Playing career

International honours

Don Fox won a cap for Great Britain while at Featherstone Rovers in 1963 against Australia (1-try, 2-goals).[4]

Don Fox also represented Great Britain while at Featherstone Rovers between 1952 and 1956 against France (1 non-Test match).[5]

Don Fox was selected for Great Britain while at Featherstone Rovers for the 1962 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand.[6]

Championship final appearances

Don Fox played Loose forward/Lock in Wakefield Trinity's 21-9 victory over St Helens RLFC in the Championship final replay during the 1966–67 season at Station Road, Swinton on Wednesday 10 May 1967, and played Right-Prop, i.e. number 10, and scored a goal in the 17-10 victory over Hull KR in the Championship final during the 1967–68 season at Headingley Stadium on Saturday 4 May 1968.[7]

Challenge Cup final appearances

The 1968 Challenge Cup final between Wakefield and Leeds was played in atrocious conditions at Wembley. The score was 11-7 to Leeds when Ken Hirst scored under the posts for Wakefield with the final play of the game. As tries were only worth three points at that time, the simple conversion was needed to give Wakefield a one-point lead and win the game. Wakefield fans were jubilant as the conversion from in front of the posts is by far the easiest kick in rugby league and Fox was such a prolific kicker that it realistically should have presented no problem. However, the saturated, sodden state of the pitch made this a more difficult proposition, and Fox lost his footing and sliced the ball wide of the posts. The final whistle was blown immediately afterwards, giving Leeds a dramatic one-point victory. Commentator Eddie Waring said of Fox, 'He's a poor lad', a remark which became a widely quoted piece of commentary. Fox had already been chosen to win the Lance Todd Trophy for his performance in the match, but he was disconsolate and trudged off the pitch. Interviewed by David Coleman on television later, he was asked if the trophy was any consolation and replied "not really, no".[8] The boots he was wearing during the game are now on display at Wakefield Museum.

County Cup final appearances

Don Fox played Scrum-half/Halfback in Featherstone Rovers' 0-10 defeat by Halifax in the 1963 Yorkshire Cup final during the 1963–64 season at Belle Vue, Wakefield on Saturday 2 November 1963.

Testimonial match

Don Fox's Testimonial match at Featherstone Rovers took place in 1963.

Death

Don Fox died in a hospital in Wakefield, England on 21 August 2008.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Btinternet.com". Archived from the original on 18 March 2005.
  2. ↑ "Sporting Bygones: Golden days of the Sixties when Wakefield ruled the roost…". yorkshirepost.co.uk. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Measuring Worth – Relative Value of UK Pounds". Measuring Worth. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Edgar, Harry (2007). Rugby League Journal Annual 2008 Page-110. Rugby League Journal Publishing. ISBN 0-9548355-3-0
  6. ↑ "Representative Players". featherstonerovers.net. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Hoole, Les (2004). Wakefield Trinity RLFC – FIFTY GREAT GAMES. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-429-9
  8. ↑ Blogspot.com
  9. ↑ BBC News

External links

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