Albert Blan (13 January 1930 in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

, Lancashire – 27 September 2015) was an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed in the 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and at club level for

( A-Team) and Swinton, and coached at club level for Swinton. Blan was the Lions' astute captain during much of his service with the club leading them to their two successive First Division Championships of 1962–63 and 1963–64. Blan was also a skilled place kicker whether a penalty or a conversion. Initially a , until the late 1950s he usually played in the , i.e. number 3 or 4, but as he lost pace he successfully moved to , i.e. number 13, where his leadership and notable quick thinking football brain sparked off many a try scoring movement. Many Swinton fans often referred to him as ''"Brainy Blan"'', and with very good reason.

Playing career

International honours

Blan won a

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for

while at Swinton in 1953 against France.

Championship appearances

Blan played, and was captain in Swinton's victories in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

during the 1962–63 season, and the 1963–64 season. These were also the only two seasons between the 1905–06 season, and the 1972–73 season in which a

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

wasn't used to determine the

winners.

County League appearances

Blan played, and was captain in Swinton's victory in the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

County League during the 1960–61 season. Blan played , and was captain in Swinton's 9–15 defeat by St. Helens in the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1960–61 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

on Saturday 29 October 1960, played , and was captain in the 9–25 defeat by St. Helens in the

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

Final during the 1961–62 season at

on Saturday 11 November 1961, and played , and was captain in the 4–7 defeat by St. Helens in the

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

Final during the 1962–63 season at

on Saturday 27 October 1962.

Coaching career

In the late 1960s/early 1970s Albert Blan coached Swinton, including an 11–2 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in the

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

Final during the 1969–70 season at

on Saturday 1 November 1969, an achievement which alluded him as team captain in the three finals against St. Helens in consecutive seasons, 1960–61, 1961–62 and 1962–63.

Genealogical information

Blan was the younger brother of both

and

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

rugby league ; Jackie Blan

and rugby league footballer; Billy Blan.

Death

Blan died in Chorley Hospital on Sunday, 27 September 2015 aged 85 years.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Championship winning team of 1964 (with the Cup on his head)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blan, Albert 1930 births 2015 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Rugby league players from Wigan Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league locks Rugby league utility players Swinton Lions captains Swinton Lions coaches Swinton Lions players