Robert Burdell (1 February 1939 – 15 May 2013) was an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and

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 112 ...

footballer. Born in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

, Burdell began his career as a rugby union player with his hometown club Southport RFC before switching to rugby league in 1960. He went to play as a hooker for Liverpool City, St. Helens,

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 ...

and

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, 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 nor ...

, and also appeared for

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 Lancashi ...

at representative level.

Early life and rugby union career

Burdell was born on 1 February 1939 and grew up with his two brothers in

Birkdale Birkdale is an area of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The area is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from the centre of S ...

. He attended King George V Grammar School, where he was first introduced to

. He went on to play for Southport RFC, becoming the youngest ever player to be picked for the first team.

Rugby league career

In the 1960s, Burdell switched codes to

, and played for several clubs, including Liverpool City, St. Helens,

and

. Burdell played for Wigan in the 1970 Challenge Cup final, which Wigan lost 2–7 against

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

Death

After falling ill earlier in the year, Burdell died on 15 May 2013 in Spain, aged 74.

References

External links

Saints Heritage Society profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burdell, Bob 1939 births 2013 deaths English rugby league players English rugby union players Liverpool City (rugby league) players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Southport Rugby union players from Southport St Helens R.F.C. players Salford Red Devils players Wigan Warriors players