Karl Fairbank (born 1 June 1963) is a former 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 1980s and 1990s, 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 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. 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 at club level for

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 ...

, as a , or , and has coached at club level for Halifax Under-21s.

Playing career

Bradford Northern/Bradford Bulls

Fairbank signed for

from amateur club Elland in July 1986. He spent his entire professional career at the club, scoring 110 tries in over 300 appearances. Fairbank played , and scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

's 12–12 draw with

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 ...

in the

1987 Yorkshire Cup File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Final during the 1987–88 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

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 17 October 1987, and played in the 11–2 victory in the replay at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

on 31 October 1987. He also played in the 20–14 victory over

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship (rugby league), Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rover ...

in the

1989 Yorkshire Cup File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

Final during the 1989–90 season at

on 5 November 1989. Fairbank played , in

's 15–8 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

1992–93 Regal Trophy The 1992–93 Regal Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the 22nd season that the competition was held, and was the fourth staging of the competition since it was re-named the Regal Trophy. Wigan defeated Bradford Northe ...

Final during the 1992–93 season at

on Saturday 23 January 1993. Fairbank was an substitute in Bradford Bulls's 32–40 defeat by St. Helens in the

1996 Challenge Cup The 1996 Challenge Cup was the 95th staging of the Challenge Cup tournament. Known as the Silk Cut Challenge Cup due to sponsorship from Silk Cut, it was the first Challenge Cup of the summer era. The tournament featured 40 teams playing 42 games ...

Final 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 26 April 1996. Fairbank announced his retirement at the end of the inaugural

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

season in 1996, with the club retiring his squad number, the number 21 shirt, in his honour. Bradford have since re-used the squad number. Fairbank was included in Bradford's, 'Millennium Masters', 'Bull Masters', and in August 2007 he was named in the 'Team Of The Century', one of only six players have been included in all three lists.

International honours

Fairbank won caps for

while at Bradford Northern in the

1985 - 1988 Rugby League World Cup The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

in 1987 against Papua New Guinea (sub), in 1990 against France, Papua New Guinea, and Australia (sub), in 1991 against France, in the

1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup The 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (sometimes shortened to 1992 Rugby League World Cup) was the tenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup, and continued to use the three-year format, stretching across the years 1989 to 1992. As with the ...

in 1991 against Papua New Guinea (sub), in 1992 against France, in the

in 1992 against France, in 1992 against Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand (sub), in 1993 against France (sub), and New Zealand (3 matches), and in 1994 against France. He was selected to go on the

1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand The 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team, nicknamed the 'Lions', of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand which took place between May and July 1992. The tour was the last of ...

Personal life

Karl Fairbank is son of the rugby league footballer for

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 ...

and

; Jack Fairbank, and brother of the rugby league footballer for Leeds,

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 ...

and Swinton; John Fairbank

the rugby league footballer for Halifax; Dick Fairbank

and the rugby league footballer for Oldham 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 ...

; Mark Fairbank

and the uncle to Mark's son, the rugby league

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

; Jacob Fairbank

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Crooks in trouble
*(archived by web.archive.org
When Britain defeated the AussiesPhotograph '1987/88 Team Photo - 1987/88 Team Photo - 27/08/1987' at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph '1989/90 Team Photo - 1989/90 Team Photo - 26/08/1989' at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph 'Return to Odsal - Ex-players lead out the team on the return to Odsal after two seasons at Valley Parade - 09/03/2003' at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph 'Trevor kisses the turf - Trevor Foster kisses the turf on the return to Odsal after two seasons at Valley Parade - 09/03/2003' at rlhp.co.uk
1963 births Living people Bradford Bulls players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Place of birth missing (living people) Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows {{England-rugbyleague-bio-stub