Harold Palin (19 August 1916 – 16 September 1990), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "Moggy", 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 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. 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 ...

and

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

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 ...

(two spells) (

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

), Swinton, Halifax and

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...

(

), as a

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

-kicking or , i.e. number 1, or 13, during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

s. Harold Palin's nickname of ' Moggy' was given to him as a child due to cat-like abilities, however he was not particularly fond of the nickname.

Background

Palin was born in

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 ...

, England, and he died aged 74 in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Harold Palin won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

while at Warrington in 1947 against Wales, in 1948 against France, and won

s for

while at Warrington in 1947 against New Zealand (2 matches).

Championship Final appearances

Harold Palin played , and was

's 15–5 victory over

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

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 ...

Final during the 1947–48 season at Maine Road, Manchester.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Harold Palin played , scored a

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kicki ...

, and 4-

s in

's 19–0 victory over

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

in the 1949–50

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 1949–50 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 on Saturday 6 May 1950, in front of a crowd of 94,249.

County Cup Final appearances

Harold Palin played in Swinton's 5–4 victory over

in the 1939–40

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 first-leg during the 1939–40 season at

Naughton Park The DCBL Stadium (historically known as Lowerhouse Lane and Naughton Park) is a rugby league stadium in Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is the home of Rugby League side Widnes Vikings of the Betfred Championship, and American football side Halt ...

on Saturday 20 April 1940, played in the 16–11 victory over

in the 1939–40

Final second-leg during the 1939–40 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 27 April 1940, played , and scored a

's 8–14 defeat by

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 1948–49

Final during the 1948–49 season at

on Saturday 13 November 1948, and played , and scored a

's 5–28 defeat by

in the 1950–51

Final during the 1950–51 season at

on Saturday 4 November 1950.

Playing career

Harold Palin made his début for Keighley, played , and scored 4-

s in the 17–11 victory over

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 ...

Wheldon Road Wheldon Road (known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship purposes) is the home ground of Castleford Tigers Rugby league Club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. It is on Wheldon Road, just outside Castleford town centre. The record att ...

on Saturday 27 September 1952, by the end of 1952–53 season he had beaten Keighley's 46-year-old "most goals in a season" record that was previously set by Bob Walker during the 1906–07 season, after landing his 81st conversion in the last match of the season at

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 ...

, Harold Palin was later sent off by the referee, he played eight matches during the 1953–54 season, and following the arrival of Bert Cook from

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 ...

, Harold Palin retired from playing aged 37.

Honoured at Warrington Wolves

Harold Palin is a Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame inductee.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
The Rock and Roll 50s
*(archived by web.archive.org
The Club's Foundation
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palin, Harold 1916 births 1990 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Keighley Cougars captains Keighley Cougars players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Warrington Swinton Lions players Warrington Wolves captains Warrington Wolves players