Michael Martyn (19 January 1936 – 26 November 2017) was an English

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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 ...

, and at club level for

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

, as a .

Background

Martyn 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 81 in

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 ...

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

Club career

Martyn was a one club man spending his entire career at Leigh. After signing for the club in 1952 he made his senior début in 1954 and played 329 for the club becoming the club's all-time leading try scorer with 189 before retiring in 1967. Whilst at the club he played in two Lancashire Cup finals, the first in the 1955–56 Final as Leigh beat

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 ...

26–9 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 ...

, Wigan on 15 October 1955. The second was a 4–15 defeat by St. Helens in the 1963–64 Final at

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 ...

, St. Helens on Saturday 26 October 1963. Martyn topped the try scoring table for Leigh in five seasons; 1957–58, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1962–63 and 1963–64. He was awarded a testimonial match in 1963.

International honours

Martyn was selected for the

1958 Great Britain Lions tour 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 ...

of Australia and New Zealand and while he only played in one test match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on the tour he did score 23 tries in representative games on the tour. A second test appearance against Australia followed during the 1959–60 Kangaroo tour to Britain. With an appearance for the

Rugby League XIII The Rugby League XIII was an invitation team run along the same lines as the Rugby Union Barbarians team. Particularly in the Second World War, when international fixtures were restricted to England V Wales. The Rugby League would play representat ...

against France in 1966 he made 24 representative appearances.

Notable relatives

Mick Martyn was the elder brother of the rugby league footballer

Tommy Martyn Thomas Martyn (born 4 June 1971) is a former Ireland international rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, and coached in the 2000s. He played at representative level for Ireland, and at club level for Oldham ( Herita ...

, and the uncle of the rugby league footballer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martyn, Michael 1936 births 2017 deaths English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Leigh Leopards players Rugby league players from Leigh, Greater Manchester Rugby league second-rows Rugby League XIII players