Len Casey (born 28 January 1950), 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 "Cast Iron Casey", is an English 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 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, 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 1980s and 1990s. 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 Hull Kingston Rovers (two spells),

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 ...

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 ...

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 or , and coached at club level for

Hull FC 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 wer ...

, Beverley A.R.L.F.C. and the Scarborough Pirates.

Background

Casey was born in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

. He ran the May Cottage bed and breakfast in

Bowness-on-Windermere Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies next to Windermere lake and the town of Windermere to the north east with which it forms the civil parish of Windermere and Bowness. The town was histor ...

until .

Playing career

Hull

Casey started his professional career with

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

joining the club from Beverley Juniors in 1970.

Hull Kingston Rovers

In September 1975, Casey was signed by Hull Kingston Rovers for a fee of £6,000. Casey played in Hull Kingston Rovers' 26–11 victory over St. Helens in the

1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

Final during the 1977–78 season at Craven Park,

on Tuesday 13 December 1977. Casey won the Championship in the 1978-79 season as part of Hull Kingston Rovers squad.

Bradford Northern

In December 1978, Casey was sold to

in exchange for

Paul Harkin Paul Harkin (born 8 March 1958) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Bradford No ...

. Casey played in Bradford Northern' 24–2 defeat by

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 ...

in the 1978–79 Premiership Final during the 1978–79 season at Fartown Ground,

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 ...

on Saturday 27 May 1979. Casey played in Bradford Northern's 6–0 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

1979–80 John Player Trophy This was the ninth season for the League Cup, known as the John Player Trophy for sponsorship reasons. Bradford Northern won the trophy, beating Widnes 6–0 in the final. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. The attendance w ...

Final during the 1979–80 season at Headingley,

on Saturday 5 January 1980, Casey was awarded the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

. Casey won the Championship in the 1979-80 season as part of the

squad.

Return to Hull KR

In January 1980, Casey was re-signed by Hull Kingston Rovers for a record transfer fee of £38,000. Casey played in Hull Kingston Rovers' 10–5 victory over

in the

1979–80 Challenge Cup The 1979–80 Challenge Cup, for sponsorship reasons known as the 1979–80 State Express Challenge Cup was the 79th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was the first Hull Cup final derby, with ...

Final during the 1979–80 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 3 May 1980, in front of a crowd of 95,000. During the 1980–81 season, Casey played and was

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 ...

in Hull Kingston Rovers' 7–8 defeat by

in the

1980–81 Yorkshire Cup The 1980–81 Yorkshire Cup was the seventy-third occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Leeds winning the trophy by beating Hull Kingston Rovers by the score of 8-7 The match was played at Fartown Ground, Huddersfield ...

Final at Fartown Ground,

on Saturday 8 November 1980, played , and was

in the 9–18 defeat by

in the

1980–81 Challenge Cup The 1980–81 Challenge Cup was the 80th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. Known as the Three Fives Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, the final was contested by Widnes and Hull Kingston Rovers at Wembley ...

Final at

, London on Saturday 2 May 1981, and played and was

and

, winning the Harry Sunderland Trophy, in Hull Kingston Rovers' 11–7 victory over

in the 1980–81 Premiership Final at Headingley,

on Saturday 16 May 1981. He played in Hull Kingston Rovers' 4–12 defeat by

in the 1981–82 John Player Trophy Final during the 1981–82 season at Headingley,

on Saturday 23 January 1982. Casey was

of the Hull Kingston Rovers squad that won the 1983-84 season Championship, but his season was soured by incidents towards of the end of the season. He was sent off twice in matches during April 1984, and was banned for six months for pushing a touch judge after his dismissal against Hull. The suspension also cost him a place on the

1984 Great Britain Lions tour The 1984 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 17th tour of Australasia and took place from May to August 1984. A total of 24 matches were played against local club and representative sides during the tour, inc ...

. Casey was a non-playing substitute in Hull Kingston Rovers' 12–0 victory over

in the 1984–85 John Player Trophy Final during the 1984–85 season at Boothferry Park,

on Saturday 26 January 1985. He made his final appearance for the club in February 1985 in a league game against Halifax.

Representative honours

Casey won caps for

while at Hull Kingston Rovers in 1978 against France, and Wales, in 1980 against Wales, in 1981 against France, and Wales, and won caps for

while at Hull Kingston Rovers in the

1977 Rugby League World Cup The 1977 Rugby League World Cup was the eighth Rugby League World Cup tournament and was held in Australasia, with games played during May and June in both Australia and New Zealand. It featured four teams: Great Britain and France in addition t ...

against France (sub), New Zealand (sub), and Australia, in 1978 against Australia, while at Bradford Northern in 1979 against Australia (2 matches), and New Zealand (3 matches), while at Hull Kingston Rovers in 1980 against New Zealand (3 matches, 1 as captain), in 1983 against France (2 matches, both as captain). Len Casey also represented Yorkshire against Cumbria in 1978 & 1982.

Coaching career

Len Casey was the coach of

from 1986 to 1988. He was the coach in

's 24–31 defeat by

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

1986–87 Yorkshire Cup The 1986–87 Yorkshire Cup was the seventy-ninth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition was held. This season there were no junior/amateur clubs taking part, and no "leavers", but another new entrant in the form of Mansfield Marksman a ...

Final during the 1986–87 season at Fartown Ground,

on Saturday 11 October 1986.

Honours

Club * Rugby League Championship Winner - 1978/79, 1979/80, 1983/84 * Rugby League

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 ...

Winner - 1979/80 *

John Player Trophy The John Player Trophy was a golf tournament on the European Tour that was played in England. It was played twice. The first event in 1970 at Notts Golf Club in Nottinghamshire was the 36-hole qualifying event for the John Player Classic. In 19 ...

Winner - 1979/80, 1984/85 * Rugby League Premiership Winner - 1980/81 *

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy The BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy (also known as the BBC 2 Television Trophy) was a competition for British rugby league clubs held between 1965 and 1980. It was designed specifically for television, and the then director of BBC2, broadcaster David Att ...

Trophy Winner - 1977/78 Individual *

Man of The Match 1979/80 * Harry Sunderland Trophy Winner - 1980/81

References

External links

* (archived by web.archive.org
Hull Kingston Rovers ~ CaptainsPhotograph 'Len Casey touches down' at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph 'Len Casey scores in semi' at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph 'Len Casey slips out a good pass' at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph '1980 Great Britain v New Zealand' at rlhp.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Len 1950 births Living people Bradford Bulls players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team captains Great Britain national rugby league team players Hull F.C. coaches Hull F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers captains Hull Kingston Rovers players People from Bowness-on-Windermere Rugby league players from Kingston upon Hull Rugby league locks Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Scarborough Pirates coaches Wakefield Trinity coaches Wakefield Trinity players Yorkshire rugby league team players