Keith Elwell (12 February 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 ...

s of "The Mole", "Chiefy", and "The

Ubiquitous Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being, while the term ubiquity is generally used to describ ...

Elwell", 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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. 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 i ...

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

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 ...

, and at club level for

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

and on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

to Barrow, as a or , i.e. number 1, or 9.

Background

Elwell's birth was registered 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 ...

district,

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Keith Elwell 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 Widnes in 1978 against France, and Wales, and won

s for

while at Widnes 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 Australia, and in 1980 against New Zealand (2 matches).

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Keith Elwell played in

' 14–7 victory over

in the 1974-75 Challenge Cup Final during the 1974–75 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 ...

, London on Saturday 10 May 1975, in front of a crowd of 85,998, played , and 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 ...

in the 5–20 defeat by St. Helens in the 1975–76 Challenge Cup Final during the 1975–76 season at

, London on Saturday 8 May 1976, in front of a crowd of 89,982, played in the 7–16 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 popula ...

in the 1976–77 Challenge Cup Final during the 1976–77 season at

, London on Saturday 7 May 1977, in front of a crowd of 80,871, the 7–16 victory over

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 ...

in the 1978–79 Challenge Cup Final during the 1978–79 season at

, London on Saturday 5 May 1979, in front of a crowd of 94,218, played in the 18–9 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challen ...

in the 1980–81 Challenge Cup Final during the 1980–81 season at

, London on Saturday 2 May 1981, in front of a crowd of 92,496, played in the 14–14 draw with

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 1981–82 Challenge Cup Final during the 1981–82 season at

, London on Saturday 1 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 92,147, played in the 9–18 defeat by

in the 1981–82 Challenge Cup Final replay during the 1981–82 season at Elland Road,

on Wednesday 19 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 41,171, played in the 19–6 victory over

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 ...

in the 1983–84 Challenge Cup Final during the 1983–84 season at

, London on Saturday 5 May 1984, in front of a crowd of 80,116.

County Cup Final appearances

Keith Elwell played in

' 6–2 victory over

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

in the 1974–75

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 during the 1974–75 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

on Saturday 2 November 1974, played in the 16–11 victory over

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 and ...

in the 1976–77

Final during the 1976–77 season at

on Saturday 30 October 1976, played in the 15–13 victory over

in the 1978–79

Final during the 1978–79 season at

on Saturday 7 October 1978, played , and scored a

in the 11–0 victory over

in the 1979–80

Final during the 1979–80 season at

the Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named after the abunda ...

on Saturday 8 December 1979, played in the 3–8 defeat by

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 ...

in the 1981–82

Final during the 1981–82 season at

on Saturday 26 September 1981, and played in the 8–12 defeat by Barrow in the 1983–84

Final during the 1983–84 season at

on Saturday 1 October 1983.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Keith Elwell played in

' 0–5 defeat by

in the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1972–73 season at

on Tuesday 19 December 1972, played in the 7–15 defeat by Bramley in the

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1973–74 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 Tuesday 18 December 1973, and played in the 13–7 victory over St. Helens in the 1978 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1978–79 season 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 hoste ...

, St. Helens on Tuesday 12 December 1978.

Player's No.6 Trophy/John Player/John Player Special Trophy Final appearances

Keith Elwell played in

' 2–3 defeat by

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 pre ...

in the 1974–75 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1974–75 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year lea ...

on Saturday 25 January 1975, played in the 19–13 victory over

in the 1975–76 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1975–76 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 Headingley ...

Rugby Stadium,

on Saturday 24 January 1976, played in the 4–9 defeat by

in the 1977–78 Players No.6 Trophy Final during the 1977–78 season at

, St. Helens on Saturday 28 January 1978, played , and scored 2-

s in the 16–4 victory over

in the 1978–79

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 ...

Final during the 1978–79 season at

, St. Helens on Saturday 28 April 1979, played in the 0–6 defeat by

in the 1979–80

Final during the 1979–80 season at

Rugby Stadium,

on Saturday 5 January 1980, and played in the 10–18 defeat by

in the 1983–84 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1983–84 season at

on Saturday 14 January 1984.

Open Rugby inaugural World XIII

The Open Rugby inaugural World XIII was revealed in June 1978, it was;

Graham Eadie Graham "Wombat" Eadie (born 25 November 1953), is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian ...

, John Atkinson, Steve Rogers, Jean-Marc Bourret

Green Vigo,

Roger Millward Roger Millward (16 September 1947 – 2 May 2016) was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. A goal-kicking , he gained a high level of prominence in the sport in England by p ...

, Steve Nash, Jim Mills, Keith Elwell, Steve Pitchford,

Terry Randall Terry William "Igor" Randall (born 5 February 1951 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played for the Manly-Warringah club in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. He is regularly n ...

, George Nicholls and

Greg Pierce Gregory Stuart Pierce (4 March 1950 – 24 June 2016) was an Australian rugby league player, coach and administrator. He played as a for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League competition and for Australia. He captained hi ...

Career records

Keith Elwell holds Widnes' "Most Appearances in a Career" record with 591, he also holds the rugby league world record for consecutive games played with a total of 239 (242?) from the 1976–77 Challenge Cup Final against

on Saturday 7 May 1977, to the match at

on Sunday 26 September 1982, 5-years 4-months and 19-days later.

Honoured at Widnes

Keith Elwell is a Widnes Hall of Fame Inductee.

References

External links

Statistics at rugby.widnes.tvHall Of Fame at rugby.widnes.tv
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elwell, Keith 1950 births Living people Barrow Raiders players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Warrington Widnes Vikings players