Charles Keith Holden (31 July 1937-Oct 2006) 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 11 ...

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

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, and at club level for Leigh ( Heritage № 637),

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 ...

(two spells), Oldham RLFC,

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 ...

and Blackpool Borough, as a .

Background

Keith Holden's birth was registered in

district,

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 ...

, England.

Playing career

Wigan

Holden signed for

from Leigh in 1958 for a transfer fee of £6,660 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £340,000 in 2017). He played in

's victory in the Lancashire League during the 1958–59 season, and also played left- 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 30-13 victory over

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 ...

in the 1959 Challenge Cup Final during the 1958–59 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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

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on Saturday 9 May 1959, in front of a crowd of 79,811 .

Oldham

After nearly two years at Wigan, Holden moved to

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 ...

for a transfer fee of £7,000 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £337,200 in 2017). He made 62 appearances for the club before joining

Warrington

Holden made 49 appearances for Warrington, scoring 22 tries.

Return to Wigan

Holden returned to Wigan in 1965, he played left- and scored a

in the 20-16 victory over

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

in the

1965 Challenge Cup Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

Final during the 1964–65 season at

on Saturday 8 May 1965, in front of a crowd of 89,016. Holden played left- in

's 16-13 victory over

in the 1966 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1966–67 season at Station Road, Swinton, on Saturday 29 October 1966. He left Wigan in 1968 and joined Blackpool Borough.

International honours

Keith Holden won a

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 ...

for

while at Warrington in 1963 against Australia.

Genealogical information

Keith Holden is the father of the rugby league who played in the 1980s for Wigan, and Warrington; Keith Holden Jr.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Keith 1937 births Living people Blackpool Borough players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Leigh Leopards players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league players from Wigan Rugby league centres Warrington Wolves players Wigan Warriors players