Bob Burdell | |||||||
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OVERALL STATISTICS | |||||||
BIRTH | AGE | SIGNED ON | FROM | ||||
DEBUT | LAST MATCH | LEFT | |||||
CAREER | APPEARANCES (SUBS) | ||||||
TRIES | GOALS | DGOALS | PTS | ||||
Biography of Bob Burdell |
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HERITAGE NO : 814 Bob Burdell by Alex Service From his debut against Keighley, at Knowsley Road, on 25th January 1964, [A 28-3 victory for the Saints] to his last match, against Whitehaven at the Recreation Ground on 4th December 1965 [a 4-2 success], Bob Burdell would always come in a do a good job for the team! He joined the Saints for £1,250 in a deal that saw winger Arthur Johnson go to the Liverpool club. With the likes of Bob Dagnall around, perhaps the general perception was that he would be essentially a back-up player, but he was a good, reliable hooker and lively in the loose. But are we really talking about just a stand-in player? Definitely not! He was certainly a talented footballer and a bit of a character too! Born in Birkdale and one of three brothers, Bob was educated at Farnborough Road school and King George V Grammar School. Inevitably, he played rugby union and went on to become the youngest-ever player to be picked for Southport RFC`s First XV, aged 16. He had just been called up for Lancashire trials when he decided to have a shot at rugby league. He approached Wigan and got no reply! [somewhat ironic, as we shall see later] Yet he was signed up by Liverpool City in 1960 for the sum of fifty pounds. He was an immediate success in the hooking role and was selected for the combined Widnes/Liverpool City team to face the Kiwis in 1961. In 1963 he was a Great Britain `Shadow squad` member for the French test and therefore became close to being the first Liverpool City international. Liverpool City were always a struggling club in the early 1960s and were glad of the fee they got from St. Helens for his services. Bob did manage to play in a major final for his new club, when he partnered John Tembey and Stan Owen in the front row for the Western Division Championship final against Swinton, at Wigan on 16th May 1964 the game where Ray French got the winning try! After three years at Knowsley Road and 24 appearances, Bob joined Salford, where he won three Lancashire caps in the 1967-68 season and was a vital cog in a resurgent team. He was unlucky, also, not to make the Great Britain World Cup squad in 1968. Yet the signing of Johnny Ward from Castleford limited his chances once more and Wigan swooped just before the 1969-70 Challenge Cup deadline to bring him to Central Park. He became first choice, at the expense of Colin Clarke and played in the 1970 Challenge Cup final against Castleford, before hanging up his boots in the early 1970s. A Post Office and later British Telecom engineer, he ended up on the Costa Brava, where he passed away on 15th May 2013, aged 74. The funeral was held at Torrevieja. |
SEASON STATISTICS | ||||
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Season (Official Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
1963~64 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
1964~65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
1965~66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
TOTALS: | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
Season (Other Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
1964~65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
TOTALS: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
ALL MATCHES |
Date | Match | Pos | Opponents | Comp | Venue | FT | FTO | T | G | DG | ||
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25th Jan 1964 | 1 | W |
9 | Keighley | L | H | 28 | 3 | VIEW | |||
1st Feb 1964 | 2 | W |
9 | Hull Kingston Rovers | L | A | 9 | 5 | VIEW | |||
8th Feb 1964 | 3 | L |
9 | Castleford | CC1 | H | 6 | 13 | VIEW | |||
15th Feb 1964 | 4 | W |
9 | Barrow | WDC | A | 14 | 10 | VIEW | |||
22nd Feb 1964 | 5 | L |
9 | Leeds | L | H | 6 | 14 | 1 | VIEW | ||
29th Feb 1964 | 6 | W |
9 | Warrington | L | A | 17 | 10 | VIEW | |||
7th Mar 1964 | 7 | W |
9 | Huddersfield | L | A | 16 | 11 | VIEW | |||
14th Mar 1964 | 8 | W |
9 | Workington Town | L | H | 14 | 8 | VIEW | |||
21st Mar 1964 | 9 | W |
9 | Whitehaven | WDC | H | 50 | 7 | VIEW | |||
27th Mar 1964 | 10 | W |
9 | Wigan | L | H | 11 | 5 | VIEW | |||
30th Mar 1964 | 11 | W |
9 | Swinton | L | A | 10 | 7 | VIEW | |||
4th Apr 1964 | 12 | L |
9 | Widnes | L | H | 6 | 10 | VIEW | |||
8th Apr 1964 | 13 | L |
9 | Featherstone Rovers | L | A | 12 | 19 | VIEW | |||
16th May 1964 | 14 | W |
9 | Swinton | WDCF | N | 10 | 7 | VIEW | |||
27th May 1964 | 15 | L |
9 | Castleford | L | A | 10 | 11 | VIEW | |||
14th Aug 1964 | -- | W |
9 | Swinton* | Fr Gallie Cup | H | 22 | 2 | VIEW | |||
12th Sep 1964 | 16 | W |
9 | Blackpool Borough | L | H | 37 | 5 | VIEW | |||
14th Sep 1964 | 17 | W |
9 | Barrow | LC2 | A | 22 | 11 | VIEW | |||
19th Sep 1964 | --NPS | W |
15 | Rochdale Hornets | L | A | 17 | 6 | VIEW | |||
17th Oct 1964 | 18 | W |
9 | Featherstone Rovers | L | H | 25 | 12 | VIEW | |||
23rd Jan 1965 | 19 | W |
9 | Whitehaven | L | H | 16 | 3 | VIEW | |||
16th Oct 1965 | 20 | W |
9 | Salford | L | A | 15 | 11 | VIEW | |||
30th Oct 1965 | --NPS | W |
15 | Barrow | L | A | 15 | 10 | VIEW | |||
16th Nov 1965 | 21 | W |
9 | Leeds | FT2 | H | 21 | 9 | VIEW | |||
19th Nov 1965 | 22 | W |
9 | Rochdale Hornets | L | H | 19 | 7 | VIEW | |||
27th Nov 1965 | 23 | D |
9 | Wakefield Trinity | L | H | 9 | 9 | VIEW | |||
4th Dec 1965 | 24 | W |
9 | Whitehaven | L | A | 4 | 2 | VIEW |
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub. |
WINS : 21 | LOSSES : 5 | DRAWS : 1 |
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