Maurice Bamford (20 April 1936 – 23 May 2019) was an English 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 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 ...

. He also went on to write several books on rugby league.

Early life

Bamford was born in

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 ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England. He attended Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School in Leeds. He was introduced to rugby league in 1945 when he played for his school immediately after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Playing career

He signed professional forms for

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 1953, but never played in the first team. He was transferred to Dewsbury in 1957. His professional playing career was cut short due to injuries, eventually retiring in 1963.

Coaching career

Club level

After retiring as a player, Bamford moved into coaching. In 1972, he joined Dewsbury as assistant coach to Tommy Smales, and was part of the coaching staff when Dewsbury won the championship in the 1972–73 season. Bamford was appointed as head coach when Smales left the club in 1974, but was only in charge for a few months before being replaced by Alan Hardisty. After spending time at

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 ...

as an assistant to Peter Fox, he joined Halifax in March 1978, who were bottom of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

and hadn't won a game all season. He dramatically turned around the club's fortunes, missing out on promotion by one point in the 1978–79 season. In the following season, Halifax finished second in the league, winning promotion to the First Division. The club also reached the Yorkshire Cup final, but were defeated 15–6 by

. Bamford left Halifax in May 1980 to join

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 ...

for the 1980–81 season, taking them to a 5th place finish in the Second Division. He then coached

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 ...

during the 1981–82 season, who had just returned to the First Division after being relegated two seasons ago. After the club finished in 11th, five points above the relegation places, Bamford was sacked and replaced by Alex Murphy. Bamford was then appointed head coach at Bramley. Between November 1983 and February 1985, he was coach at Leeds, and won the 1983–84 John Player Special Trophy 18–10 against

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 ...

. In 1985, Bamford was the first ever appointed full-time Development Officer for rugby league in the UK when he served for the Leeds City Council Leisure Services for two and a half years. He returned to Leeds for a second coaching spell between December 1986 and April 1988. He reached the final of the John Player Special Trophy again in the 1987–88 season, but were this time beaten finalists, losing 14–15 to St Helens. In his later years, he had additional spells at Dewsbury and Bramley, as well as coaching

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 ...

, Prescot Panthers and Lancashire Lynx.

Great Britain

His career also included a three-year stint as

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 ...

coach between 1984 and 1987 with test series against Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. His term as coach of the national side also included the formation of the Great Britain under-21 team. He was succeeded as Great Britain coach by

Mal Reilly Malcolm John Reilly OBE (born 19 January 1948) is an English former rugby league player and coach. He played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, ...

. During the 1986

Ashes series The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

between Great Britain and Australia on their

1986 Kangaroo tour The 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France was the sixteenth Kangaroo tour in which the Australian national rugby league team (known as the Winfield Kangaroos due to sponsorship) plays a number of tour matches against British and French team ...

, Bamford came in for heavy criticism from a number of former Great Britain and England internationals for his selections of both the first and second test teams. After the Lions lost the first test 38-16 at Old Trafford in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, many expected mass changes to the team for the second test. However, the only change came when centre

Ellery Hanley Cuthwyn Ellery Hanley MBE (born 27 March 1961) is an English former rugby league player and coach. Over a nineteen-year professional career (1978–1997), he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain, Western Suburbs and Leeds. He won 36 ...

was ruled out with injury and was replaced by St. Helens winger

Barry Ledger Barry Ledger (born 19 January 1962), also spelled as Barrie Ledger, is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level ...

. The Lions lost the test and the series as the Kangaroos ran riot, running in six tries to one in a 34-4 hiding at Elland Road in

Garry Schofield Garry Edward Schofield OBE (born 1 July 1965) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and is a member of the British Rugby League Hall of Fame. At the time of his retirement he was the most ...

scored the only try for the home side which came when

Michael O'Connor Michael O'Connor may refer to: Politicians * Michael O'Connor (Australian politician) (1865–1940), Australian politician * Michael O'Connor (Wisconsin politician) (1856–1925), Wisconsin State Assemblyman * Michael J. O'Connor (politici ...

dropped a low pass from fullback

Garry Jack Garry Jack (born 14 March 1961) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative in the Australian national team and star player with the Balmain Tigers. Jack was a for the Tigers during the late 1980s, and ea ...

. At no other time in the game did the Lions look like scoring. Five changes were made to the team for the third test 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 ...

with the result being closer than many predicted, though the Australians completed a clean sweep defeating Great Britain 24-15. Many English fans believed that French referee Julien Rascagneres allowing a contentious try to Kangaroos captain

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...

midway through the second half ended any hope of the Lions snatching an unlikely victory.

Media work

After retiring from coaching, Bamford made regular appearances on radio and television, and wrote a column for the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

''. He also wrote a number of books on rugby league, including biographies of former players Geoff Gunney,

Arthur Clues Arthur Clues (2 May 1924 – 3 October 1998) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative second-row forward, he played his c ...

Jeff Grayshon Jeffrey Grayshon MBE (4 March 1949 – 21 March 2021) was an English 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 England, and a ...

Vince Karalius Vincent "Vince" Peter Patrick Karalius (15 October 1932 – 13 December 2008), also known as "the Wild Bull of the Pampas", was an English rugby league footballer, and coach. He played as a loose forward, and was part of the Great Britain sq ...

, Jim Mills and

Frank Myler Frank Myler (4 December 1938 – 27 March 2020) was an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1970s and 1980s. A Great Britain and England national representative or , he ...

. Bamford died on 23 May 2019, aged 83, after being ill from cancer for some time.

References

External links

Coach statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamford, Maurice 1936 births 2019 deaths Bramley R.L.F.C. coaches Chorley Lynx coaches Dewsbury Rams coaches Dewsbury Rams players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team coaches Halifax R.L.F.C. coaches Huddersfield Giants coaches Hull F.C. players Leeds Rhinos coaches Liverpool City coaches Rugby league players from Leeds Wigan Warriors coaches Workington Town coaches