Club Historian and 2020 Hull FC Volunteer of the Year Bill Dalton recalls Johnny Whiteley’s debut for the club, which took place on this day 70 years ago.
Coming hard on the heels of John’s 90th Birthday, comes another remarkable milestone in the great man’s life.
As is well known, John signed his first contract with Hull following a couple of impressive trial matches with the “A” team over the first two weekends of December 1950.
Those two reserve team appearances were against Huddersfield and Keighley.
Following two impressive displays, Ernest Hardaker, Chairman of the Club, met John and persuaded him to sign and assured him that in so doing he would be selected in the first team at York the following weekend, scheduled for 23rd December.
It was perhaps fortuitous that Mick Scott had been suspended, owing to being sent off against Keighley a fortnight earlier. Arthur Bedford moved up to the second row and John came in at loose-forward.
So it was that John took the field at Clarence Street on a day when half the scheduled matches were postponed due to frost.
John himself recalls that the contact was fiercer than he had ever realised, but that would be indicative of his ability throughout his subsequent career to create time and space for himself in order to create progress by his team mates – the perfect product creation for a loose-forward.
However, that game did go well for John and he was instrumental in creating one of Hull’s three tries that day as the Black & Whites triumphed by 19-11.
Only two days later, John was pitched into his first Derby encounter and found himself in opposition to England loose-forward Alec Dockar. A rare Derby draw (3-3) was the outcome.
I covered John’s international career at some length in my birthday tribute, but his contribution to Hull FC’s fortunes was truly outstanding for some 15 years.
He donned the irregular Black and White hoops on some 418 occasions. He succeeded to the captaincy at the start of the 1956-57 season and led the team to the RL Championship in May 1958, after having played under Mick Scott’s leadership in the 1956 success. Those appearances produced 156 tries and only the legendary Bob Taylor in the 1920’s scored more among the forwards (164).
Indeed, there have only been three forward centurions – John’s friend and team mate Bill Drake being the other (101).
The Hull pack of forwards during the 1950’s was the most feared such unit of players in the game. It was forged over a period of time stemming from the early 1950’s when coach Roy Francis changed the whole dynamic by encouraging his pack to run like three-quarters and for the backs to tackle like forwards.
Ably led at first by Des Foreman and then Mick Scott, John showed his quality as a leader and soon the Boulevard became a fortress where all opposition feared to tread. With John and co, it was never a case of turning up at the Boulevard and questioning “Will we win?” It was simply one of “By how many?”
One little-known personal record that John holds jointly is that of a forward scoring 4 successive tries in a game at York on 14th February 1959 – a feat never surpassed. Had Bill Drake passed to John, instead a selling a dummy and scoring himself, John would have created a World Record!
During all of his time in the game, it should always be appreciated the sheer number of functions and events he has attended voluntarily in order to present awards and prizes, not just in a Rugby League sphere but across many sports and pastimes.
John finally called a halt to his playing career after a Challenge Cup-tie at Warrington on February 6th 1965 – he never had a bad game before or since!
The club’s 2021 principal jersey pays tribute to Johnny Whiteley, featuring the irregular hoops that he donned many a time.
Plus, there is a fitting photo collage on the back of the collar.
You can order your 2021 principal replica shirt here
STORY SPONSOR
