Ken Kelly, Brian Hogan and Kel Earl

Mickey Higham......

Mmm, I remember Ken Kelly also played for wire and [I think Leigh] but I can't remember a Saints connection and Hogan played a few times for Widnes and possibly Oldham[?] but again I don't remember him being at Saints. I do remember Kel Earl being at northern and playing in that ill fated cup final against Featherstone but again not with Saints - mind, my memory isn't what it was....and it wasn't brilliant even then!

Btw, you're not [ithe[/i Jack Marston who played for Northern in the mid[ish] seventies are you? If so, I'll go away forget I even posted!!

Now now, TT!

I think the criterion was 'played' for, not just 'signed' for! I don't think Mickey's signature had time to dry before he 'left' for Wigan so he definitely didn't even have time to lace his boots, never mind get a game in!

That [iwould [/ibe impressive: sadly, I believe THE Jack Marston is dead.

Thank you Ridlerbull, Jack passed away a couple of years ago I believe. My (also departed) dad was a Director at Odsal between 1972-76 and the keen as mustard teenager I was always fished for rugby gossip alongside actual reported news. I can therefore recall a few details about the 3 signings.

Ken Kelly was signed from St Helens for £8000 plus a player (Steve Gobey perhaps) at the start of the 1973/74 second division campaign. He played most of that season but asked Albert Fearnley if he could have his Winners Medal early to show his dad. Albert was too trusting as KK failed to appear at Charnock Richard Services on the way to an end of regular season away game at Workington. He stayed away until well into the next season I believe.

Kel Earl played as sub forward for St Helens in the 1972 Challenge Cup Final in a 16-13 win against Leeds. Signed for Northern for around £2000 in Autumn 1972

Brian Hogan played for Saints in the 1960's then went to Wigan before appearing at Odsal (can't remember the fee but he had a strange hair cut)!

Ha, thanks for that Jack.

It's funny but even reading all that, it didn't jog my memory at all - though I can still picture all three. Funnily enough, I think all three indulged [as did most of us back then] in 'luxuriant' hair - Brian had probably the shortest, but it sort of stuck out strangely, Ken Kelly had long, shoulder length but fairly straight, blond hair and Kel Earl looked most like myself - pretty much the full Dennis Trotter, in my case at least, largely gone!

Leon Pryce

Bryn Hargreaves

Tom Winnard. Probably the single most significant signing from Saints, as he was the first component of the dominant post-war team. And as a 1935 (?) signing, he was at the club way before I was born.

Scrum half - Neil Holding

I can't remember how many games he played for Northern,think it was a season. Pretty sure that we signed him from saints though.

Good one, what a cracking player he was. Like Pinner he had his best years at Saints before he come to us

We drifted a bit on topic for a while so we need to be careful. I've noticed a recurrent theme across several of the threads where, in general, Bulls fans are asking if the answer to our halfback problem might be a giant Tortoise eating a Halloween Pumpkin. Like thishttps://i1.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article4541860.ece/ALTERNATES/s1023/Animal-pictures-of-the-week.jpg" >

Think this is a quantum thread, in as much as the topic seems to vary depending, both on the position of the observer, and which reality they're in at the time.

1.Jamie Foster
2. Paul Loughlin
3. Paul Newlove
4. Tom Winnard
5. Leon Pryce
6. Lee Gaskell
7. Neil Holding
8. Paul Anderson
9. Micky Higham
10. Sonny Nickle
11. Paul Clough
12. Lee Gilmour
13. Bernard Dwyer

Kel Earl
Bryn Hargreaves
Brian Hogan
Ken Kelly
Harry Pinner


Res: Sulcata Tortoise