Why are boxing rings square...and why do we sit in stands?

This page features profiles of famous Warrington people connected with sport.

Actors, entertainers, etc are featured in Entertaining People.
Warrington Wolves rugby players are featured on the Warrington Wolves page.
For profiles on other famous people, see the Warrington People page.

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date of birth order within the categories. They are also listed alphabetically by surname in the table below.
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ATHLETICS

Suzanne Rigg was born 29 November, 1963 in Essex, Massachusetts, United States. As a member of Warrington Athletics Club, she was the fastest woman in the 1991 Birchwood 10k race with a time of 35:22. She also won the Admiral Swansea Bay 10k race in 1993 with a time of 33:48. She competed at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, where she finished 4^th in the 10,000 metres. She also competed in the marathon at the Atlanta Olympics In 1996 with a time of 2:52:09 (58^th position). In that race she was up against GB's number one Liz McColgan (2:34:30, 17^th position) and Karen McCloud (2:42:08, 46^th position). Suzanne had letters of support from Buckingham Palace and Doug Hoyle MP (now Lord Hoyle) when she represented her country in Atlanta. In the UK Women’s 10k road race all-time list (as at 2 September 2010), Suzanne is in position 22 with a time of 32:35, achieved at Redditch on 15 August 1992.

CRICKET                            

George Duckworth (born 9 May, 1901 in Warrington, died 5 January 1966) was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and England.

Duckworth, who won his cricketing fame as a wicket-keeper, joined Lancashire in 1922, playing his first game in 1923 and his last in 1938. He went on to become a Lancashire committee member. 1928 saw his best season, when he took 77 catches and made 30 stumpings. This earned him the accolade of being one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1929. He played 24 Test matches for England, but as a wicketkeeper he was in direct competition in his later years with Les Ames, who was a much better batsman. He was awarded a benefit in 1934, which raised £1,257. He was reputed to have the loudest shout of appeal of any cricketer of his time.

Duckworth's total of 925 dismissals for Lancashire is a record for the county. After retirement, Duckworth was a journalist and a broadcaster on both cricket and rugby league. He also acted as a cricket tour organiser and as baggage master and scorer on MCC tours. A dog-bone roundabout in his home town of Warrington has been named after him. Duckworth's Roundabout is at Birchwood Way (A574) and Oakwood Gate.    Read more in Wikipedia

Hugh de Prez (9 November, 1951 – 9 July, 2008), born Peter Hugh de Prez in Warrington. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler who played for Cheshire. De Prez made his debut in the Minor Counties Championship in 1970. His best seasons in the league were 1978 and 1986. He made a single List A appearance, in the 1987 NatWest Trophy. He scored 11 runs and took bowling figures of 0-33 from 9 overs.    Read more in Wikipedia

Neil Harvey Fairbrother (born 9 September, 1963 in Warrington). He was named by his mother after her favourite player, famous Australian cricketer Neil Harvey. He was educated at Lymm High School and played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, Transvaal and England.

Fairbrother made his international debut on 2 April, 1987 in a One Day International against India. Following a match-winning century against a West Indies side including Malcolm Marshall, Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh at Lord's in 1991, he established himself as a regular in the middle-order of the one-day side for several years. Test success, however, proved elusive. Bowled out for a duck on his debut, he made just ten Test appearances for England, with only one half-century from 15 innings.

In 1990, Fairbrother scored 366 for Lancashire against Surrey at The Oval - 311 of his runs came in a single day, and his feat is unique in that he scored at least 100 runs in each of the three sessions that day. Another first came in 1998, when he became the first man to play in ten Lord's finals. He retired in 2002 and became Director of Cricket at International Sports Management, a sports agency that represents several leading English Test cricketers.    Read more in Wikipedia

Stephen Paul Titchard (born 17 December, 1967 in Warrington) was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium bowler for Lancashire and Derbyshire, from 1989 to 2001. Coming through into the Lancashire first team at roughly the same time as contemporaries such as Mike Atherton and Graham Lloyd, he never made the runs his talent suggested he was capable of. He played his junior cricket at Grappenhall Cricket Club. His junior successes were shared with Stephen Bramhall and Rob Cook who both went on to play professional cricket. He was also a capable fielder, at short leg or slip.    Read more in Wikipedia

Richard James Green (born 13 March, 1976 in Warrington) is a former English cricketer who played 31 matches for Lancashire between 1995 and 2000. He won the coveted NBC Denis Compton Award in 1996, which is given to the most promising young player at each of the 18 English first-class counties.    Read more in Wikipedia

Steven John Mullaney (born 19 November, 1986 in Warrington) played in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka. For the 2008-09 Australian season he played for South Caulfield in Melbourne's Victorian Turf Cricket Association competition as that club's visiting professional.

At the age of 17, Steven Mullaney joined Lancashire in 2003 and was part of the first intake of Lancashire's cricket academy. Between 2005 and 2006 Mullaney played two Youth Test matches. He debuted on 2 February 2005, playing for England U-19s against India U-19s. He bowled 8 overs for 42 runs in the match and scored 29 not out in the first innings and 14 in the second. England lost the match by an innings and 137 runs.

His second and final Test was in July 2006, also against India U-19s. He scored 0 and 31, both times batting at seven, and conceded 43 runs from 11 overs. He finished the tournament as England's leading wicket-taker; from 5 matches he took 9 wickets at an average of 15.11.

Also between 2005 and 2006, Mullaney played 15 Youth One Day Internationals. He also took part in the 2006 U-19 World Cup. He made his first-class, list A, and Twenty20 debuts for Lancashire in 2006. His first team cricket with Lancashire in 2006–2009 was limited, and in that time he played 4 first-class matches, 7 list A matches, and three Twenty20 matches.

In April 2007, Mullaney scored his maiden first-class century. Playing against Durham University, his innings of 165 not out came at quicker than a run a ball and allowed Lancashire to win the match. His first hundred runs came off 92 balls and the next 65 from 26 and included 10 sixes. It beat his previous highest score of 44.

In the 2007 cricket season, Mullaney played for Northern Cricket Club, in the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition, averaging 70 with the bat and taking over 30 wickets. After he spent the winter of 2007/08 playing grade cricket for McKinnon in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association, Mullaney signed a professional contract with Atherton Cricket Club in the Bolton Association at the start of the 2008 season.

He set his sights on establishing himself in Lancashire's second team in the 2008 season and then forced his way into the first team. In 2009, Mullaney was a regular in the top order of the Lancashire second team which progressed to the final of the Second XI Championship and the semi-final of the Second XI Trophy. At the end of the season he turned down a two-year contract with the club and signed for Nottinghamshire.    Read more in Wikipedia

FOOTBALL                        

Joseph Bertram Worrall (born 21 October, 1945 in Warrington) is a former football referee, who operated in the Football League and for FIFA. He has the distinction of having refereed both of the major club competition Finals in England.

Worrall took up refereeing in 1964, at the age of 19, officiating in the Warrington and District Football League. He eventually progressed to the Cheshire Association Football League, before gaining promotion to the Football League list in 1973. He was appointed as a FIFA referee in 1981, serving the world body for 11 years until 1992, when he had to step down due to age restrictions.

He was given control of the first of his two major domestic competition Finals on 24 April 1988, when Luton Town defeated Arsenal by three goals to two at Wembley in the League Cup Final of that year. Worrall awarded Arsenal a penalty in the last ten minutes, with the score at 2-1 to the 'Gunners', but Nigel Winterburn failed to convert it. On May 20, 1989, he stepped out again at Wembley to take charge of the FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Everton, with Liverpool winning 3-2 in extra time after the scores were tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes.

His last appointment on the FIFA list, and his highest international honour, was to referee the 1992 UEFA Cup Final first leg at the Stadio Delle Alpi on 29 April 1992 between Torino of Italy and Ajax of Holland. The score from that match was 2-2, but after a 0-0 draw in the second leg in Amsterdam, Ajax were declared winners on away goals.

Joe Worrall retired from refereeing in 1995, having never officiated in the Premier League. However, he continued his involvement in the game by becoming a referees' assessor and match delegate.    Read more in Wikipedia

Harold Keenan (born 20 December, 1893 in Warrington, date of death unknown) spent his entire professional career with Blackpool in the early 1900s, making over 100 Football League appearances for the club. He played as a defender.

Keenan made his debut for Blackpool on 25 January 1913, in a 4–2 defeat at Fulham. It was his only appearance of the 1912–13 season. He also made one league appearance the following season, 1913–14, in a goalless draw against Notts County at Bloomfield Road on 13 April 1914. Keenan didn't make any appearances in 1914–15, but scored three goals in 36 appearances during the 1917-18 season. In the 1918–19 season, the final season of inter-war football, Bill Norman was installed as Blackpool's first full-time manager. He selected Keenan in 33 of the club's 37 games.

The 1919-20 season saw him make 35 out of 42 appearances where the club reached the third round of the FA Cup, being knocked out by local rivals Preston North End. In the 1920–21 season, he scored his first League goals for the club. He made just fifteen appearances in the 1921-22 period. In 1922–23, Keenan's final season with Blackpool, he appeared in just the first seven league games, the final one being a 2–1 defeat at home to Southampton on 23 September, in front of a crowd of 13,500.    Read more in Wikipedia

Stanley "Stan" Woodhouse (10 February, 1899 – 18 March 1977, born in Warrington) played initially as an inside forward and later as a halfback with Bury and Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s.

Woodhouse played as a teenager for Monk's Hall in the Cheshire County League, before joining Bury in May 1921. At Bury he played at inside right making six appearances in each of the 1921–22 and 1922–23 seasons. In 1923–24 he made eleven appearances, contributing three goals as Bury gained second place in the Second Division table, thus gaining promotion to the top flight. Woodhouse moved south and made his debut for Southampton on 30 August 1924.

In 1926–27 he only missed two league matches and appeared in all six FA Cup matches in Saints' run to the FA Cup Semi-final at Stamford Bridge on 26 March 1927, which Southampton lost 1–2 to Arsenal.

He retired at the end of the 1935–36 season after twelve seasons at The Dell, during which he made a total of 366 appearances (with 5 goals). At the time of his retirement, his total of 351 league appearances was only exceeded by Bert Shelley. After retiring from professional football, Woodhouse had a brief spell with Basingstoke Town before returning to Southampton where he became the licensee of the Bricklayers Arms in Warren Avenue, Shirley.

In 1951 he spent a few months as trainer to Southampton's youth teams. He died in Southampton on 18 March 1977, aged 78.    Read more in Wikipedia

Ernest Whitty (7 July, 1907 – 1985, born in Warrington). He played as a winger and made two appearances for Burnley and also played for Darwen and Chorley.    Read more in Wikipedia

Frederick J. "Fred" Worrall (8 September, 1910 – 13 April, 1979, born in Warrington) played as an outside right in the Football League for Oldham Athletic, Portsmouth and Crewe Alexandra. He was capped twice for the England national team. He played in the 1934 FA Cup Final for Portsmouth, and was the only player from the 1934 side to play for the Pompey team that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 in the 1939 FA Cup Final.    Read more in Wikipedia

John Molyneux (born 3 February 3, 1931 in Warrington) began his career with Chester, breaking into the side early in 1949-50 in place of captain Eric Sibley. He went on to play regularly for the club in Football League Division Three North until Liverpool manager Don Welsh paid £4,500 for him on 23 June 1955.

Molyneux made his Liverpool debut on the 3 September 1955 in a 2nd Division game at Ewood Park, as the Reds and Blackburn Rovers shared the points in an exciting 3–3 draw. He scored his first goal for the club on 8 January 1958 in an FA Cup 3rd round replay at Roots Hall after Southend United had earned a draw at Anfield. Liverpool won the match 3-2 after late goals from Dick White (79^th minute) and Tony Rowley (81st).

John spent six seasons at Liverpool and left the club in the August of 1962 after clocking up 249 appearances. Molyneux rejoined former club Chester, where he played for two more years before dropping into non-league football with New Brighton.

John's brother, Geoff, also played in The Football League for Chester (see his profile further down the page).    Read more in Wikipedia

Roger Hunt (born 20 July, 1938 at Golborne near Warrington). His connection with Warrington is that played some of his early football for Stockton Heath Albion, who became Warrington Town FC from 1961. He scored 245 goals in 404 appearances for Liverpool between 1958 and 1969. He played for Bolton Wanders for the next three seasons with 24 goals in 76 appearances. Internationally he played 34 games for England between 1962 and 1969, including England's World Cup win in 1966. He score a total of 18 goals in his England career. He received an MBE in 2000 and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006.    Read more in Wikipedia

John Green (born 22 May, 1939 in Warrington) played seven years at Blackpool from 1959, making over 100 Football League appearances for the club. He also played for Port Vale from 1967 when Stanley Matthews signed him up, making 94 league appearances. He also played with lifelong friend Roger Hunt for Stockton Heath Albion. His first professional club was Tranmere Rovers in 1958. He also played for Vancouver Royals (May to October 1968) and Northwich Victoria as player-manager for the latter part of the 1971-72 season.    Read more in Wikipedia

Gerard Patrick Mannion (21 December, 1939 – 15 June, 1994, born in Warrington) played in the Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Norwich City and Chester City. Mannion joined First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers as a youngster, signing professionally in November 1957. He spent his early professional days in the reserves before finally making his senior debut in the 1958 Charity Shield where Wolves went down 4–1 at Bolton Wanderers.

The 1959–60 season saw his strongest run of games in a Wolves shirt as he made 10 consecutive appearances in the final run-in. Despite scoring six times in this spell, the club lost out on a third successive league title by a single point to Burnley, denying them a domestic double. He was limited to just 21 appearances in total for the Molineux club, largely due to the presence of Norman Deeley on the wing. With playing opportunities limited, he moved to Norwich City in September 1961, for £13,000.

Mannion made 100 league appearances for the Canaries in six and a half years in the Second Division. He scored 17 league goals for the club and played in both legs of their 1962 League Cup triumph. The winger eventually left to join Chester City in January 1968, but spent just five months there before dropping into the non-league with Kidderminster Harriers.

He died on 15 June 1994, aged 54.    Read more in Wikipedia

Geoff Molyneux (born 23 January, 1943, Warrington) who played as a winger.

The younger brother of Liverpool and Chester defender John Molyneux, Geoff joined Chester as an amateur from Rylands Youth Club in Warrington in 1962. He made his only appearance in The Football League in a 3–1 win over Exeter City (with John also in the side) on 22 September 1962, also playing in a Football League Cup tie with Mansfield Town four days later.

He did not make any more first-team appearances for Chester and quickly dropped into the Cheshire County League with New Brighton.    Read more in Wikipedia

Steve Kindon was born in Warrington in 1950. He played mainly on the wing where his speed was an asset, but also played at centre forward. Steve began his career at Burnley where he played over 100 games and scored 28 goals.

“The Tank” moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1972, where his bustling style made him a crowd favourite. He scored 31 goals in over 150 league and cup appearances for Wolves.

In 1977, he returned to Burnley before moving to Huddersfield Town where injury ended his career in 1982. Steve was an England Youth, Under-23 and “B” international. He is now an after-dinner speaker.    Read more in Wikipedia

John Peter Richards (born 9 November, 1950 in Warrington) is most associated with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Richards signed for the Molineux club as a trainee in July 1967 and made his debut on 28 February 1970 in a 3-3 draw at West Bromwich Albion. He scored his first league goal for Wolves the following season against Huddersfield Town on 19 September 1970.

In 1971-72, "King John" came of age, scoring 13 league goals and helping Wolves become runners-up in the UEFA Cup. The following season he was even stronger, scoring 36 goals in total (his highest seasonal tally) and, in 1974, he scored the winning goal as the team beat Manchester City to win the League Cup. Richards was leading scorer for Wolves in six of the next seven seasons, culminating in winning a second League Cup medal in 1980 against Nottingham Forest.

During his time with the club, Richards became Wolves’ all-time leading scorer with 194 goals in total, a record that was subsequently bettered by Steve Bull in 1992. However, he still holds the club record for the most FA Cup goals, with 24. Richards eventually left the club and moved to Portugal in 1983, following a loan spell with Derby County. He played two seasons for C.S. Marítimo, helping the side to promotion.

Richards' goal-scoring prowess was rewarded with a single England cap, against Northern Ireland on 12 May 1973 at Goodison Park. After retiring as a player, Richards went into local government. However he later returned to Wolves as managing director in 1994, a post he held until 2000. He currently works as operations director of Pitchcare, a Wolverhampton-based online service for groundsmen.    Read more in Wikipedia

John Bramhall (born 20 November, 1956 in Warrington) who played as a defender. He made more than 500 Football League appearances for six clubs from 1976 to 1991 and is now assistant chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association.

Bramhall joined Tranmere Rovers in July 1976 from Stockton Heath. He made 170 league appearances for Rovers before joining Fourth Division rivals Bury in March 1982. He has also played for Rochdale, Halifax Town and Scunthorpe United.    Read more in Wikipedia

Gary Bannister (born 22 July, 1960 in Warrington). He played for Coventry City (two spells), Sheffield Wednesday, Queens Park Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Stoke City, Lincoln City and Darlington. He now lives in the west country where he is involved in the holiday accommodation business.    Read more in Wikipedia

Glenn Philip Walker (born 15 March, 1967 in Warrington) played as a midfielder. He made two appearances for Crewe Alexander in 1985, having been part of the Burnley team the season before.    Read more in Wikipedia

Darren Heesom (born 8 May, 1968 in Warrington) played 38 matches in the Football League for Burnley before having spells with a number of non-league clubs, including Altrincham, Macclesfield Town and Southport.    Read more in Wikipedia

Chris Lightfoot (born 1 April, 1970 in Penketh, Warrington). Lightfoot spent much of his career with Chester City, where he came through the youth ranks to make his debut as a 17-year old on 19 September 1987 in a 1-0 win over Grimsby Town. He scored his first goal in his next appearance against Walsall in November 1987 and ended the season with 17 first team appearances to his name.

In the summer of 1995 Lightfoot followed Graham Barrow to Wigan Athletic for a tribunal fee of £87,500. However, by March 1996 he was on the move again when he joined Crewe Alexandra. In May 1997 Lightfoot appeared as a substitute as Crewe beat Brentford in the Division Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium, giving Lightfoot his first chance to play in the second tier in English football.

Lightfoot’s final taste of league football came during a loan spell with Oldham Athletic in the early weeks of the 2000 –01 season. At the end of the campaign he left Crewe and joined Conference side Morecambe, where he played for one season. In 2002 he joined Runcorn, becoming manager in October 2003. He was sacked 12 months later.

After spells with Marine and Leek Town, Lightfoot ended his playing days with two appearances for Welsh club NEWI Cefn Druids near Wrexham.    Read more in Wikipedia

Anthony Brian Bullock (born 18 February, 1972 in Warrington). Bullock started his career with Leek Town before signing for Barnsley in March 1997. He left for Macclesfield Town in 2000 on a free transfer. In March 2001 he signed for Lincoln City, again on a free transfer, before moving to Scotland to sign for Ross County in July. A successful spell with County brought him a move to Dundee United in 2003, where his final game was the 2005 Scottish Cup Final defeat to Celtic, before he returned to England with Gillingham.

After only five months with Gillingham, Bullock signed for St. Mirren in January 2006, but he failed to cement a first-team place and was released in May 2007. He rejoined Ross County in June 2007, along with Stuart Golabek. Bullock was Steven Tweed's first signing for Montrose. He then signed for Dundee on a pre-contract agreement and joined his new teammates for pre-season training ahead of the 2009-10 season on 1^st July 2009.    Read more in Wikipedia

Jon Newby (born 28 November, 1978 in Warrington). He began his career with Liverpool, and was involved in their FA Youth Cup win of 1996. He made 4 appearances for Liverpool, and was loaned out to Carlisle United (December 1999), Crewe Alexander (March 2000), Sheffield United (August 2000) and Bury (February 2001). This final loan move was made permanent, with Bury getting him on a free transfer on 20 March 2001.

In summer 2003 he moved on to Huddersfield, but the move was not a success, and following a loan spell at York City, he returned to Bury a year later. He had a loan spell with Kidderminster Harriers during the 2005-06 season, but has since returned to Gigg Lane.

"Newbs" as he is affectionately known by the Gigg Lane fans, was released in May 2006 after failing to break his way back into the first team. He subsequently joined Wrexham for a short spell before leaving the club in December 2006. He joined Southport the following month but was released in May after the club were relegated from the Conference National. Newby signed for Morecambe after a trial period in August 2007.

His first professional hat-trick came against Rotherham United on 29 March 2008, scoring all three goals in the first half and helped Morecambe to a 5-1 Victory in a surprising good season for the club. After a great season at Morecambe where he finished joint top scorer, he was released by manager Sammy Mclroy to the fans dismay. He currently does not have a club.    Read more in Wikipedia

David Wright (born 1 May, 1980 in Warrington) plays for Ipswich Town. He began his career with Crewe Alexandra in 1997, and became a regular in the 1998/99 season, before lending a hand in Crewe's promotion in 2002/03.

In the following season, he joined Wigan for £500,000 where he managed to achieve promotion as well. He joined Norwich City in 2005, playing 5 games. Wright joined Ipswich for around £200,000 on a 3 year contract in January 2007. He scored his first goal for the club on 22 April 2007 against Norwich in the 1-1 draw. His first home goal for Ipswich came against Bristol City in a 6-0 win (November 2007). David Wright is also a fan of Warrington Wolves rugby league team.    Read more in Wikipedia

Stephen John Foster (born 18 September, 1980 in Warrington). He is the current captain of Barnsley.

Foster signed for local club Crewe Alexandra as a trainee in August 1997 and made his debut on the 22nd of that month in Crewe's 1–0 loss to Bury. He made a second appearance in the same season a month later in Crewe's 1–1 draw with Bristol City. Foster however didn't play any first team games for Crewe during the next season.

A season on and Foster scored his first goal for Crewe in their 2–2 draw with Bury, and was named the captain of Crewe for the 2003–04 season. He signed for Burnley on a free transfer after Crewe were relegated from the Championship in the 2005-6 season. In August 2007 Foster was transferred to Barnsley for the sum of £100,000 where he signed a two-year contract. Foster was named Barnsley's player of the season in his first year at the club, as voted for by the fans.    Read more in Wikipedia 

Matt Doughty (born 2 November, 1981 in Warrington). He signed professional terms with Chester City at the age of 16 and played regularly in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. He was attracting the interest of Football League clubs and he joined Rochdale in July 2001.

Doughty's first game for Rochdale in August 2001 saw him score in a 2-1 win at Oxford United, giving him the honour of scoring the first Football League goal at the Kassam Stadium. Doughty was not offered a contract renewal from Rochdale in the summer of 2004 and was left without a club, despite interest from clubs, most notably Bristol Rovers. He eventually agreed terms with Halifax Town.    Read more in Wikipedia

Stephen Robert Jordan (born 6 March, 1982 in Warrington). Jordan grew up as a Manchester City fan and joined their youth development system as an eight year old. In 2000 he became part of the youth academy, going on to sign for the first team 2 years later. He was loaned out to Football League Two side Cambridge United F.C on 5 October 2002 for 3 months. He remained with Manchester City until 2007 when he signed for Burnley on a three year deal.    Read more in Wikipedia

Mark Richard Carrington (born 4 May, 1987 in Warrington). He operates as a central midfielder for Milton Keynes Dons FC, signing for them on 21 July 2009. Carrington signed his first professional contract with Crewe in 2006 and was soon sent out on loan to non-league Leigh RMI in order to gain first-team experience. He returned to his parent club to make three substitute appearances towards the back end of the 2006-07 campaign. He missed the last few games of the 2008-9 season with an injury before opting to leave the club when his contract expired in June 2009, after which he signed for Mk Dons.    Read more in Wikipedia

Harry Jonathan Worley (born 25 November, 1988 in Lymm, Warrington). Worley was signed by Chelsea from Stockport County in the summer of 2005 and turned professional in November 2005. He joined Doncaster Rovers on loan in March 2007, making his debut in a vital 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest.

Worley was included in the squad for the 2007 FA Community Shield against Manchester United on 5 August 2007, at the new Wembley Stadium. He was an unused substitute as United won 3-0 on penalties. He joined Carlisle United on a month long loan on 31 August 2007, making his debut in a 1-0 victory over Cheltenham Town, the only game he would play for Carlisle.

Worley was given a trial by Leicester City on 6 February 2008 and then joined the club on loan until the end of the season before signing a three-year contract the following summer. Worley made his league debut in a 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United on 5 April 2008. His permanent move to Leicester became official on 5 May 2008.    Read more in Wikipedia

James Grant Chester (born 23 January, 1989 in Warrington). He is the captain of the Manchester United reserve team.

Chester’s began his football career with his local club, Winwick Athletic, where, at the age of five, he was already playing in the club's Under-9s team. At the age of eight, he joined Manchester United, and signed a trainee contract at the age of 16 in July 2005. He went straight into the club's under-18 team, making 17 appearances in the 2005–06 season.

He also got his first taste of reserve team football on 21 February 2006, when he was named as an unused substitute for a 4–1 away win over Everton. He scored his first goal in a Manchester United shirt on 9 December 2006, scoring the opening goal in a 3–1 away defeat by Manchester City. He made his debut for the reserve team on 15 February 2007 and became a regular in the team in 2007-8.

On 2 February 2009, Chester joined League One side Peterborough United – managed by Alex Ferguson's son, Darren – on loan. He made five appearances for the Posh before returning to Manchester United on 2 March.    Read more in Wikipedia

Alex MacDonald (born 14 April, 1990 in Warrington) is a Scottish footballer currently playing for Falkirk, on loan from Burnley.

He was promoted to the senior squad during the 2007-08 season after progressing through the youth ranks at the club and was given the squad number 27 and came on as a substitute, replacing Wade Elliott on 26 April 2008 in the 3–3 draw against Cardiff City. MacDonald joined Falkirk in July 2009.

Although he was born in England, he qualifies to play for Scotland through his father. He has become a regular at Scotland Under 19 level and has a ratio of a goal almost every game. He has recently been called up to the Scotland Under 21 squad for a training camp.    Read more in Wikipedia

Jack Robinson (born 1 September, 1993 in Warrington). He is the youngest-ever player to have played for Liverpool, having made his debut at the age of 16 years and 250 days old on 9 May 2010 against Hull City.

Robinson is also a regular fixture in the England national under-17 football team and has previously represented the Under-16 national team. He was a highly rated member of Liverpool's Under-18 side in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 season, and trained with the first team squad ahead of the Europa League matches with Benfica at Melwood.    Read more in Wikipedia 

GOLF

Phillip Archer (born 17 March, 1972 in Warrington). His father was a founder member of Birchwood Golf club, where he acquired his taste for the game as a nine year old. He turned professional in 1991 and is best known for shooting a score of 60 in the first round at the Celtic Manor Wales Open in 2006. He had a chance of being the first player on the European Tour to shoot a 59, but missed his birdie putt on the 18th green. His best European Tour Order of Merit finish is 29th in 2007.    Read more in Wikipedia    See also his own official website

HORSE RACING

Steve Donoghue (8 November, 1884 – 23 March, 1945, born in Warrington) was a leading English flat-race jockey in the 1910s and 1920s. He was Champion Jockey 10 times between 1914 and 1923 and was one of the most celebrated horse racing sportsmen after Fred Archer, arguably only Sir Gordon Richards eclipsing him.

Steve was apprenticed to John Porter at Chester when he was 14 years old. In 1904 he won his first winner in France, before returning to England to dominate the sport for the next two decades. His greatest triumphs came in the Epsom Derby which he won six times. Three consecutive wins in the early 1920s - on Humorist (1921), Captain Cuttle (1922) and Papyrus (1923) - were the high point. He was also associated with the horse Brown Jack - who he rode to six consecutive wins in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot and The Tetrarch, a 2-year-old that raced in 1913 and was said to be the fastest horse ever ridden in England.

In 1915 and 1917, he rode the horses Pommern and Gay Crusader to the English Triple Crown. Steve Donoghue is the only jockey out of fifteen winners to have won the Triple Crown twice in its more than two hundred year history. Always popular with the public and his fellow professionals, Steve was never called up by the stewards. He retired in 1937, and died in 1945 from a heart attack, aged 60.

Classic Race Victories

Read more in Wikipedia, which includes a photograph of Steve on Epsom Derby Winner Manna (not used in mywarrington due to uncertainty about copyright ownership).

Paul Hanagan (born 8 September 1981 in Latchford, Warrington) is a champion jockey. He attended Sir Thomas Boteler High School. He became involved in horses in 1993 when he took a weekend job at Burley Hayes Stables in Appleton. He was later selected for a nine-week NVQ in horse racing management at the British Racing School at Newmarket. He was named 'top lad' out of the 26 on the course. He completed part two of the qualification at the Malcolm Jefferson Racing Stables in Malton, where his future in flat or jump racing was mapped out. At 5ft 3ins tall and weighing in at just 7 stones, he was the ideal build for a jockey and top trainers in the game had high hopes for him. In 2007 at the age of 16 he won a place as an apprentice jockey at a racing stables in Yorkshire.

To become a fully-fledged professional by the end of the 2001 flat race season he needed to win 36 races to achieve his goal. In 2001 he won 29 winners even though he suffered concussion in a televised race at York, which put him out of action for three weeks.

At the time he said: "I am improving all the time and I believe that 36 wins is a realistic target. Becoming a professional means a lot to me but I know that even if I don't manage to make it this year, it is only a matter of time before I do.”

In 2001 he won the £20,000 Ayrshire Handicap on Great News at the Eyre Western meeting. By 2002 he had 59 wins to his name and competed with the world's elite in one of the sport's glamour capitals, Dubai. He is based at trainer Richard Fahey's stables in Malton, Yorkshire.

In 2002 he was crowned champion apprentice and his trainer Richard Fahey was convinced that he would go on to become the best flat race jockey in the country.

He won 62 races in 2003 and picked up a 'small fortune' in prize money. Highlights of the season included finishing first in the Tote Silver Bowl at Haydock and winning the William Hill Mile at Glorious Goodwood.

Over the coming years he continued to be successful.

In 2004 he knocked up his first century of winning races with a tally of 106 out of 809 runs. He won the John Smith's Northumberland Plate (Heritage Handicap) riding Mirjan. By the end of 2004 he had ridden in the UK and abroad in Dubai, Spain, France and Norway.

In 2005 he rode 817 mounts, winning 79 races. The following year saw him take his winning total above a century again with 107 victories out of 1040 rides, one of which was on Greenwich Meantime in the Chester Cup.

In 2007 he polled the most votes from horse racing fans to receive a trophy at The Lesters ceremony in Birmingham. The honour marks his success riding Fonthill Road in the Paddypower.com Sprint Handicap at York in October. Of 943 races this year he completed 90 winning rides.

In 2008 he achieved success at the John Smiths Ayr Gold Cup meeting when he rode Kyllachy Star to win the opening race of the day. He also won the Lancashire Oaks at Haydock Park for the first time in the same year. In that year he was appointed to the Professional Jockeys Association Council. Total wins for the year were 97 out of 854 races.

In 2009 he produced 163 winners for Fahey. But there were greater achievements still to come.

2010 saw his best ever season so far, resulting in the 30-year-old Warrington jockey prevailed in an epic duel with Richard Hughes on 6 November at Doncaster, the last day of the season, to become only the third northern-based champion jockey in 105 years. His total number of wins was 191, with Hughes achieving 189. The last northern jockey to lift the title was Kevin Darley, then based in Sheriff Hutton, in 2000. And, prior to that, it was Elijah Wheatley back in 1905.

Major wins in 2010 included the DBS Premier Yearling Stakes on 19 August, the Weatherbys Insurance £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes on 9 September and the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (Grand Criterium) (Group 1) (2yo) (Turf) on 3 October, each time riding Wootton Bassett. Prize money for those three races alone amounted to over £500,000. In total he completed 1,109 rides during the season and ran up an estimated 60,000 miles of travelling around the country, for which he gets a brand new car every 10,000 miles from his sponsors, so I am told. His total prize money was around £1.7 million. He donated the last two weeks winnings of the season to charity.

At the start of the 2010 season he didn’t even think about the championship, despite four wins on the first day of the season. “I didn't give it a thought,” he said. “My only target at the start of the season was 100 winners. When things continued to go well, I began to think I might end up in the first three in the championship.

“Being called champion sounds great to me, though it will take a while to sink in,” said Hanagan. “I'm gobsmacked that I've done it. There are so many people to thank, including Richard Fahey, my boss for 14 years, my agent Richard Hale and my wife, Annie. Without her I wouldn't be here.”

Richard Hughes said of him, “I'm delighted for Paul, who is a worthy champion. He led from the start and deserves it.”

In January 2011 he was presented with his trophy by Liverpool football legend Ian Rush in front of the Kop. Paul has been a life-long fan of the club.

In March 2011 Paul was made a patron of the Warrington Wolves Foundation, the registered charity affiliated with the Super League club. He was guest of honour at the home match against Leeds Rhinos on 4 March 2011, in which the Wolves won 40-24.

On 21 April 2011 he won his fifth Lester award in Birmingham and won 10 races in the first week of the 2011 flat season. He won four races in June 2011 before going to Royal Ascot.

POLO

Walter John Henry Jones (4 June, 1866 – 14 April, 1932, born in Warrington). He was born at The Elms, Warrington, the son of William Charles Jones and Lucretia Elizabeth Jones. His father was the owner of Jones Brothers Cotton Mills in Leigh, and extremely wealthy. Jones, a fine sportsman, was educated at Harrow School and Jesus College, Cambridge, and played polo, primarily for the "Rugby" team. He represented Great Britain in polo at the 1908 Summer Olympics, playing for the Hurlingham team, winning the silver medal. He lived at Hurlingham Lodge in Fulham, London. He married Maud, the widow of George Lyttelton Dewhurst (another Lancashire cotton magnate) of Beechwood, Lymm, Cheshire and Aberuchill Castle, Scotland. He died leaving a net estate of £327,406.    Read more in Wikipedia

ROWING

Richard Phillip Egington (born 26 February, 1979 in Warrington) is a British rower. He won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics for Great Britain in the Men’s eight.    Read more in Wikipedia

RUGBY LEAGUE

None of the players listed here played for Warrington. For rugby league players who featured in the Warrington Wolves squad, see the Warrington Wolves page.

Joe Warham (born 1920, Warrington). He is a rugby league administrator and coach, having served Leeds Rugby League Football Club (now Leeds Rhinos) for over forty years. Following a playing career as a winger with Oldham and Swinton, and a spell coaching Rochdale, Joe went to Headingley as coach in 1958. Under his stewardship in 1960/61 Leeds won their first-ever championship, beating Warrington 25-10 in the final at Odsal. Joe later moved to head up Leeds' scouting and recruiting efforts, signing many of the players who formed the backbone of Leeds' very successful late 1960s and 1970s side.

In the seventies Joe served the club in a number of capacities, including scouting, organising players' testimonials and representing the club on various RL committees, before being made General Manager of the Company in 1980. His period of tenure saw a number of significant ground improvements at Headingley - including, on the Test cricket ground, the UK's first electronic cricket scoreboard. After leaving the board he served as president of Leeds' Taverners' Club and as President of Leeds' ex-players' association.    Read more in Wikipedia

Robert "Bob" Fulton (born 1 December, 1947 in Warrington). As a player Fulton won three premierships with the Manly Sea Eagles in the 1970s, the last as captain. He represented the Australian national side on forty-seven occasions, seven times as captain. He had a long coaching career at the first grade level, taking Manly to premiership victory in 1987 and 1996. He coached the Australian national team to forty Tests and World Cup games. He was a New South Wales State selector and a national selector. He is currently a radio commentator with 2GB. In 1985 he was selected as one of the initial four post-war "Immortals" of the Australian game and in 2008 he was named in Australia's team of the century.    Read more in Wikipedia

Ady Spencer (born 3 March, 1973 in Warrington). Retired. He made history at University as the first player to win full Cambridge blues in both Rugby Union and Rugby League. He was regarded as the instrumental Cambridge player in the period of dominance over the Rugby League Dark Blues in the mid 1990s. He also played for Great Britain U-19s in rugby league before going up to Cambridge.

Ady Spencer's position of choice was as a stand-off and he often appeared from the interchange bench.

Ady Spencer became the focus of national controversy when he was banned by the Rugby Football Union in 1994 for his appearance in the 1994 Rugby Union Varsity match having already played Rugby League at a professional level (albeit unpaid) with the London Crusaders. Rugby Union went professional several months later after a high profile campaign by MP's and media to highlight the case.

He made 58 appearances for London Broncos between 1996-1999. He also played for London Crusaders and London Skolars. He is now the London Business Development Manager for the RFL.    Read more in Wikipedia

Andy Coley (born 7 July, 1978 in Warrington). He plays for Wigan Warriors as a prop. Andy signed for Swinton Lions, and in 2001 signed for Salford City Reds as a second row forward prior to the 2001 season, but has since moved up into the front row.

Andy has represented Lancashire and scored a hat trick of tries on his England debut against Russia, during England’s victorious European Nations Cup campaign in 2004. In June 2007 Coley was called up to the Great Britain squad for the Test match against France.

Coley agreed a deal to join Wigan Warriors in September 2007 from Salford City Reds who were relegated in the 2007 Super League season.    Read more in Wikipedia

Mike Bennett (born 9 May, 1980 in Warrington). He played for St Helens, mainly in the second row. He retired at the end of 2008 season due to Injury.    Read more in Wikipedia

Simon Finnigan (born 8 December, 1981 in Warrington). He plays in the second row for Huddersfield Giants. He grew up in Australia, playing for the Penrith Panthers before joining Widnes in 2003. Simon joined Salford in 2005. He played for Bradford Bulls in the 2008 season and played for Ireland at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.    Read more in Wikipedia

Tim Hartley (born 2 January, 1986 in Warrington). He plays for Widnes Vikings in National League One. He played for Salford City Reds between 2004 and 2006, Harlequins RL in 2007 and Halifax 2008.    Read more in Wikipedia

Matthew "Matt" Cook (born 14 November, 1986 in Warrington). Cook signed for Bradford Bulls from Saracens F.C. (RU) in late 2003. He won caps for England while at Bradford Bulls in 2006 against France (sub), and Tonga (sub). Cook was on loan at Castleford Tigers for a month in the 2008 season playing only 3 games. On 1 September 2009 He signed for Hull Kingston Rovers on a 2-year contract, starting with the 2010 season.    Read more in Wikipedia

RUGBY UNION                 

William Mortimer (2 April, 1874 – 31 October, 1916, born in Warrington) was an English rugby union forward who played club rugby for Marlborough Nomads and was capped for England. He was part of the British Isles tour to South Africa in 1896.

Mortimer was born to William Mortimer of Frodsham. He was educated at Marlborough College before moving to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1893. He worked on the London Stock Exchange.    Read more in Wikipedia

Wade Dooley (born 2 October, 1957 in Warrington) is a former England rugby union international who played lock forward. He played for his country 55 times and was known as the "Blackpool Tower", due to him being 6 feet 8 inches tall and a police officer with Lancashire Constabulary in Blackpool.

Dooley played rugby league as a teenager, taking up rugby union at the age of 19. He played most of his career for Preston Grasshoppers, where he was nurtured by former England international and coach Dick Greenwood. He also had a brief spell with Fylde. Dooley made his international debut on 5 January 1985 against Romania. He later established a second row partnership with fellow police officer Paul Ackford.

Dooley went on the 1989 British Lions tour to Australia, playing in the final two test matches. He was also part of the England team that won back-to-back grand slams in 1991 and 1992. Dooley also went on the 1993 British Lions tour to New Zealand, but left the tour to return home for the funeral of his father. He was replaced on the tour by the young Leicester England lock Martin Johnson, and decided to retire.

Though capped on multiple occasions by his country, his career highlight was opening the Wetherby RUFC clubhouse in 1993.    Read more in Wikipedia

Mike Worsley (born 12 December, 1976 in Warrington) is a Rugby Union prop. He started out with West Park St Helens, whilst playing in older age-groups for high-flying rugby school St. Ambrose College in Altrincham. He then played for Orrell and Bristol before joining London Irish in September 1998.

Worsley represented England Schools 18-Group and England U-21s before his form with the exiles propelled him into the England A side. After initially being selected for the England squad to tour New Zealand and Australia in June 2003, Worsley teamed up with the England A squad that won the Churchill Cup in Canada.

He won his first cap as a replacement in the 40-5 victory over Italy in the Six Nations game at Twickenham on 9 March 2003. Mike Worsley joined Harlequin F.C. from London Irish in the summer of 2003 and was part of the Quins side that defeated London Wasps 33-27 on the opening day of the 2003/04 season (13 September 2003). He then won his second cap in England's 51-15 defeat to Australia on 26th June 2004.

Injury forced his retirement at the end of the 2005/06 season. In September 2009, he became a teacher at Cranleigh School, teaching Business Studies as well as being a tutor in one of the houses.    Read more in Wikipedia

SWIMMING

Ethel "Sunny" Lowry (Anderson) MBE (born 2 January, 1911, Longsight, Manchester, died 21 February, 2008 in Warrington) was the first British woman to swim the English Channel.

Lowry, a student at Manchester High School for Girls and a keen swimmer from a young age, joined the Victoria Ladies Swimming Club of Victoria Baths in Longsight, Manchester. At that time (circa 1920) Victoria Baths only allowed single-sex swimming sessions and Sunny could only admire the achievements of the male swimmers, but couldn't compete against them.

She was developing an aptitude for long-distance swimming and used to train with her sister at Levenshulme Baths so that she could attempt distance swimming competitions on Lake Windermere. She also practised distance swimming in the sea at her parent's holiday home in Rhos-on-Sea in North Wales. On one occasion she swam from her home to Colwyn Bay and back again.

Her father, noticing her increasing talent at distance swimming in the sea, suggested that she train for her ambition to swim the Channel. This she did, choosing Westgate on Sea near Margate in Kent as an appropriate venue. Sunny's trainer in Kent was Jabez Woolffe who had put her on a high protein diet (including eating 40 eggs a week in omelettes). She trained for 3 or 4 hours a day in the build up to her first attempt.

Her first attempt was from England to France and took place on 19 August 1932. She got quite close to the French coast but eventually the strong east-west currents from France prevented her from finishing. Wolffe and Captain Courtez, the captain of the support tug "Isobelle", called off the attempt. It still took them 45 minutes before they could find her to help her out of the water. Eventually, searchlights allowed them to see her red swimming cap.

On 27 July 1933, Lowry attempted the swim again only this time choosing to let the current help her instead of hindering her. Accordingly she changed direction and made the swim from France to England. Unfortunately once again she was unsuccessful.

Making her third attempt on 28 August 1933, Sunny, aged 22, successfully swam from Cap Gris Nez, France to St Margarets Bay, Dover, England. The swim took her 15 hours 41 minutes. Once again she was supported by Wolffe and Courtez.

Lowry had a reputation for strong-mindedness which was demonstrated by her eschewing the traditional heavy wool one-piece swimsuit in favour of a lighter two-piece suit, at the time very daring. For this she was berated as being a "harlot" for baring her knees. This swimsuit is now on display at the Dover Museum "Swimming The Channel" exhibition.

For over 20 years she taught swimming and life-saving at the former Legh Street Baths in Warrington with her husband Bill Anderson.

Lowry is one of only five British women to have ever successfully swum the Channel. In 2002 she presented Australian swimming star Ian Thorpe with his gold medal at the Manchester Commonwealth Games. In July 2003, at the age of 92, Sunny was inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Association's Hall of Fame.

At the age of 94 she was awarded an MBE in the 2006 Honours List for services to swimming in the North-West. This was the same year she helped Little Britain star David Walliams prepare for his Channel swim in aid of Sport Relief. She died at the age of 97 on 21 February 2008 at Warrington Hospital, having lived in Fairfield in her later years. Her funeral took place at St Elphin’s Parish Church on 4 March 2008.    Some information from Wikipedia

Helen Mary Slatter was born on 7 June, 1970 in King’s Lynn, Norfolk and moved to Warrington from the southwest after competing for Great Britain at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. She became Warriors of Warrington Swimming Club’s first Olympian in Barcelona, Spain in 1992 and competed in the Atlanta Games in 1996. She also competed in three Commonwealth Games (Auckland, New Zealand 1990, Victoria, Canada 1994 and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1998).

Helen has been swimming since she joined her local swimming club at the age of 11. She progressed from county to National Championships in two years and finally got her first 'GB cap' at 15.  She continued to compete for GB and England until she reached the age of 30. In 2001 she took up a post in Stratford-on-Avon District Council's sports development service. She is also Head Coach at Stratford Sharks, the local swimming club.  

Helen expressed her dismay at Warrington Borough Council's decision to close Legh Street baths in 2003.

TENNIS

Nick Brown (born 3 September, 1961, in Warrington) is a former professional tennis player. After playing on the APT tour in the early 1980s, he left the tour in 1984 to devote his time to coaching young British players, including Tim Henman, before returning to competitive play five years later.

Brown caused a sensation at Wimbledon in 1991. Ranked No. 591 in the world at the time, he faced the 10th seed and previous year's semi-finalist, Goran Ivanisevic, in the second round and beat him in four sets 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, much to the delight of the British crowd. He eventually lost in the third round to France's Thierry Champion 7-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Brown's career-high rankings were World No. 145 in singles and No. 42 in doubles. Since permanently retiring from competitive tennis, Brown has served as coach of Britain's Fed Cup team.    Read more in Wikipedia.