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| Full name | Joseph Egan[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1919-03-26)26 March 1919[1] Wigan, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 11 November 2012(2012-11-11) (aged 93)[1] Wigan, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Hooker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Joseph Egan (26 March 1919 – 11 November 2012) was an English professionalrugby league footballer who played in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, andcoached in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level forGreat Britain (vice-captain1950 Great Britain Lions tour) andEngland andLancashire, and at club level forWigan from 1938 to 1950,[6]Oldham (World War IIguest)[7] andLeigh,[8][9][10] as ahooker, orsecond-row,[2] and coached at club level forLeigh,Wigan,Widnes,Warrington andBlackpool Borough.[4] Egan is aWigan Hall of Fame inductee, and was a life member at Wigan,[11] Egan later became coach of Wigan, taking them toChampionship success in the1959–60 season.
Joe Egan was born inWigan,Lancashire, England, and he died aged 93 inWigan,Greater Manchester, England.[12]
During the1938–39 season Joe Egan played athooker inWigan's 10–7 victory overSalford in the1938–39 Lancashire Cup Final atStation Road, Swinton on Saturday 22 October 1938.[13]
Egan playedhooker for aRugby League XIII againstNorthern Command XIII atThrum Hall,Halifax on Saturday 21 March 1942.[14] During the1943–44 season Egan playedhooker, and scored adrop goal inWigan's 13–9 victory overDewsbury in theChampionship Final first-leg atCentral Park,Wigan on Saturday 13 May 1944,[15] and playedhooker, and scored atry in the 12–5 victory overDewsbury in theChampionship Final second-leg atCrown Flatt,Dewsbury on Saturday 20 May 1944.[15]
During the1945–46 season Egan played athooker in the 3–7 defeat byWidnes in the1945–46 Lancashire Cup Final atWilderspool Stadium,Warrington on Saturday 27 October 1945. He also won twoChampionships with Wigan in the1945–46 season, and the1946–47 season. During the1946–47 season he playedhooker in the 9–3 victory overBelle Vue Rangers in the1946–47 Lancashire Cup Final atStation Road, Swinton on Saturday 26 October 1946.[16] During the1947–48 season he playedhooker in the 10–7 victory overBelle Vue Rangers in the1947–48 Lancashire Cup Final atWilderspool Stadium,Warrington on Saturday 1 November 1947.[17] During the1947–48 season Egan playedhooker and wascaptain in Wigan's 8–3 victory overBradford Northern in the1947–48 Challenge Cup Final atWembley Stadium,London on Saturday 1 May 1948, in front of a crowd of 91,465.[18] He was the first captain to receive the trophy from a reigning monarch,King George VI. On the same day formerprop with Egan on the indomitables tourFrank Whitcombe ofBradford Northern, was the first man to win theLance Todd trophy on the losing side. During the1948–49 season Egan played athooker in the 14–8 victory overWarrington in the1948–49 Lancashire Cup Final atStation Road, Swinton on Saturday 13 November 1948,[19] and during the1949–50 season he played athooker in the 20–7 victory overLeigh in the1949–50 Lancashire Cup Final atStation Road, Swinton on Saturday 29 October 1949.[20]
Joe Egan played as ahooker as aWorld War IIguest inOldham's 8–11 defeat byBradford Northern in the1942–43 match atOdsal Stadium,Bradford on Saturday 16 January 1943.
During the1951–52 season Egan playedhooker and was thecoach inLeigh's 6–14 defeat byWigan in the1951–52 Lancashire Cup Final atStation Road, Swinton on Saturday 27 October 1951, in front of a crowd of 33,230.[21] During the1952–53 season he playedhooker and was the coach in the 22–5 victory overSt. Helens in the1952–53 Lancashire Cup Final atStation Road, Swinton on Saturday 29 November 1952, in front of a crowd of 34,785.
He accompanied the Great Britain test team as hooker on their tour of Australia in1946[22] and 1948.[23] Joe Egan, Frank Whitcombe &Ken Gee formed a formidable front row in the first two test which the Australians feared on the tour to Australia in 1946. He was the last survivor of the 1946 touring team.[24]
Egan remained with Leigh purely ascoach for the season after he had retired from playing, and finished 11th in his last season with Leigh. During the1955–56 season Egan was thecoach inLeigh's 26–9 victory overWidnes in the1955–56 Lancashire Cup Final atCentral Park,Wigan on Saturday 15 October 1955, in front of a crowd of 26,504.
During the1957–58 season Egan was thecoach inWigan's 13–9 victory overWorkington Town in the1957–58 Challenge Cup Final atWembley Stadium,London on Saturday 10 May 1958, in front of a crowd of 66,109.[25] During the1958–59 season he was the coach in the 30–13 victory overHull F.C. in the1958–59 Challenge Cup Final atWembley Stadium,London on Saturday 9 May 1959, in front of a crowd of 79,811,[26] During the1960–61 season Egan was coach in the 6–12 defeat bySt. Helens in the1960–61 Challenge Cup Final atWembley Stadium,London on Saturday 13 May 1961, in front of a crowd of 94,672.
Egan later coachedWarrington. During the1967–68 season Egan was the coach inWarrington's 2–2 draw withSt. Helens in the1967–68 Lancashire Cup Final atCentral Park,Wigan on Saturday 7 October 1967, and the 10–13 defeat bySt. Helens in the1967–68 Lancashire Cup Finalreplay atStation Road, Swinton on Saturday 2 December 1967. After a disastrous start to the1970–71 season, Joe Egan decided to stand down, and he was replaced byPeter Harvey.
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| Preceded by | Rugby league transfer record Wigan toLeigh 1950–1952 | Succeeded by |
