Charles Keith Holden (31 July 1937 – 10 September 2006) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Leigh,[3] Wigan (two spells),[4] Oldham RLFC, Warrington and Blackpool Borough, as a centre.[1] [5]

Keith Holden
Personal information
Full nameCharles Keith Holden
Born(1937-07-31)31 July 1937
Wigan, England
Died10 September 2006(2006-09-10) (aged 69)
Wigan, England
Playing information
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight14 st 4 lb (91 kg)
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1954–58 Leigh 142 58 0 0 174
1958–61 Wigan 87 36 0 0 108
1960–63 Oldham 62 31 0 0 93
1963–64 Warrington 49 22 0 0 66
1965–68 Wigan 65 22 0 0 66
1968–70 Blackpool Borough 29 2 0 0 6
Total 434 171 0 0 513
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1959–64 Lancashire 2 1 0 0 3
1963 Great Britain 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]

Background

edit

Keith Holden was born in Wigan, Lancashire, England on 31 July 1937. He was the father of the rugby league scrum-half who played in the 1980s for Wigan and Warrington, Keith Holden Jr.

Keith Holden died in Wigan on 10 September 2006, at the age of 69.[6]

Playing career

edit

Wigan

edit

Holden signed for Wigan from Leigh in 1958 for a transfer fee of £6,660 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £340,000 in 2017).[7][8] He played in Wigan's victory in the Lancashire League during the 1958–59 season,[9] and also played left-centre and scored a try in Wigan's 30-13 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1959 Challenge Cup Final during the 1958–59 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 9 May 1959, in front of a crowd of 79,811 .[10]

Oldham

edit

After nearly two years at Wigan, Holden moved to Oldham for a transfer fee of £7,000 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £337,200 in 2017).[7][8] He made 62 appearances for the club before joining Warrington.[11]

Warrington

edit

Holden made 49 appearances for Warrington, scoring 22 tries.[12]

Return to Wigan

edit

Holden returned to Wigan in 1965,[7] he played left-centre and scored a try in the 20-16 victory over Hunslet in the 1965 Challenge Cup Final during the 1964–65 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 8 May 1965, in front of a crowd of 89,016.[13] Holden played left-centre in Wigan's 16-13 victory over Oldham in the 1966 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1966–67 season at Station Road, Swinton, on Saturday 29 October 1966.[14] He left Wigan in 1968 and joined Blackpool Borough.

International honours

edit

Keith Holden won a cap for Great Britain while at Warrington in 1963 against Australia.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Player Summary: Keith Holden". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Statistics at leighrl.co.uk". leighrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Heritage Numbers - In Debut Order". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. ^ https://www.rugbyleaguerecords.com/ [bare URL]
  6. ^ "Mr Charles Keith Holden". England and Wales, Death Index, 1989–2022. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Holden is back at Wigan". The Guardian. London. 2 February 1965. p. 4. ProQuest 185037784.
  8. ^ a b "Measuring Worth – Relative Value of UK Pounds". Measuring Worth. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  10. ^ "1958-1959 Challenge Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Player Statistics". Oldham Rugby League Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  13. ^ "1964-1965 Challenge Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  14. ^ "1966-1967 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
edit