Brian Briggs (29 March 1932 – 2 August 1996) 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

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

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, and at club level for

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

, St. Helens and

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

, as a .

Background

Brian Briggs was born in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England.

Playing career

Career at St Helens

Brian Briggs was a stalwart for St. Helens playing over 80 matches mostly in the position. He was signed by St. Helens from

on Friday 14 February 1958, and made his St. Helens début against

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

on Saturday 15 February 1958. He was a hard running and tough tackling who added great steel to the St. Helens pack at the time. In 83 matches for St. Helens Brian Briggs scored 4 tries, kicked 11 goals for a total points aggregate of 34 points. Brian Brigg's first try for St. Helens came at

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

as St. Helens cruised to a 33 points to two victory. Brian Briggs also had the pleasure of watching

Tom van Vollenhoven Karel Thomas van Vollenhoven (29 April 1935 – 21 October 2017) was a South African rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He enjoyed a prolific rugby league career with English club St. Helens after switchi ...

notch four tries that particular day. On Tuesday 14 April 1959 Brian Briggs scored a try and kicked two goals as St. Helens thumped

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted ...

in front of 18,500 spectators. Brian Briggs managed to earn two caps for

whilst at St. Helens. He partnered Dick Huddart in the in the resounding 1959 Championship Final 44 points to 22 thrashing of

, and he played his last match for St. Helens against

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 ...

in the Championship semi-final defeat on Saturday 7 May 1960. He transferred to the emerging great

side of the early 1960s for £5,000Briggs, Cyril & Edwards, Barry (12 May 1962). ''The Rugby League Challenge Cup Competition - Final Tie - Huddersfield v Wakefield Trinity - Match Programme''. Wembley Stadium Ltd. ISBN n/a (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £226,900 in 2013).

International honours

Brian Briggs, won a cap for

while at Huddersfield in 1956 against France, and won a cap for

while at Huddersfield in 1954 against New Zealand.

County honours

Brian Briggs won cap(s) for

while at Wakefield Trinity.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Brian Briggs played left- in

's 12–6 victory over

in the 1962

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1961–62 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 12 May 1962.Hoole, Les (2004). ''Wakefield Trinity RLFC – FIFTY GREAT GAMES''. Breedon Books.

County Cup Final appearances

Brian Briggs played left- in

's 15–8 victory over

in the 1957 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1957–58 season at Headingley,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

on Saturday 19 October 1957, played left- in St. Helens 2–12 defeat by

in the

1958 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

Final during the 1958–59 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

on Saturday 25 October 1958, played left- in the 4–5 defeat by

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

in the

1959 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

Final during the 1959–60 season at

on Saturday 31 October 1959, left- in

's 16–10 victory over

in the 1960 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1960–61 season at Headingley,

on Saturday 29 October 1960, and played left- in the 19–9 victory over

in the

1961 Yorkshire Cup 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

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

on Saturday 11 November 1961.

References

External links

Profile at saints.org.ukWakefield Win Cup 1962Fender gets the plaudits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Brian 1932 births 1996 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Huddersfield Giants players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Wakefield St Helens R.F.C. players Wakefield Trinity players York Wasps players Yorkshire rugby league team players