Gordon Ratcliffe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Great Britain and England international rugby league footballer

FullnameGordon W. Ratcliffe

Born(1925-08-24)24 August 1925

Died27 August 1981(1981-08-27) (aged 56)^[1]

PositionWing, Centre

Gordon Ratcliffe

Personal information

Full name

Gordon W. Ratcliffe

Born

(1925-08-24)24 August 1925

Died

27 August 1981(1981-08-27) (aged 56)^[1]

Playing information

Position

Wing, Centre

Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1945–53	Wigan	210	184	0	0	552
1954–54	St Helens	22	12	0	0	36
	Total	232	196	0	0	588
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1947–51	England	4	3	0	0	9
1947–50	Great Britain	3	0	0	0	0

Source: ^[2]^[3]

Gordon W. Ratcliffe (24 August 1925 – 27 August 1981) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Wigan and later arch-rivals St Helens, as a wing, or centre.^[2]

International honours

Ratcliffe won caps for England while at Wigan in 1947 against Wales, in 1948 and 1949 against France, and in 1951 against Other Nationalities.

He also played for Great Britain while at Wigan in 1947 against New Zealand, and in 2 matches in 1950 against Australia.

Championship final appearances

Ratcliffe played at centre in Wigan's 13–4 victory over Huddersfield in the Championship Final during the 1945–46 season at Maine Road, Manchester on Saturday 18 May 1946.^[4]

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Ratcliffe played on the wing in Wigan's 8-3 victory over Bradford Northern in the 1947–48 Challenge Cup Final during the 1947–48 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 1 May 1948, in front of a crowd of 91,465.^[5]

County Cup Final appearances

Ratcliffe played on the wing and scored a try in Wigan's 3-7 defeat by Widnes in the 1945–46 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1945–46 season at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on Saturday 27 October 1945, played on the wing in the 9-3 victory over Belle Vue Rangers in the 1946–47 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1946–47 season at Station Road, Swinton, on Saturday 26 October 1946,^[6] played right-wing, and scored a try in the 10-7 victory over Belle Vue Rangers in the 1947–48 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1947–48 season at Wilderspool Stadium, on Saturday 1 November 1947,^[7] played right-wing, and scored a try in the 14-8 victory over Warrington in the 1948–49 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1948–49 season at Station Road, Swinton, on Saturday 13 November 1948,^[8] played right-wing in the 28-5 victory over Warrington in the 1950–51 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1950–51 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 4 November 1950.^[9] and played right-wing in the 14-6 victory over Leigh in the 1951–52 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1951–52 season at Station Road, on Saturday 27 October 1951.^[10]

References

↑ "Tragic riddle of ex-RL star". Manchester Evening News. 28 October 1981. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
↑ "Player Summary: Gordon Ratcliffe". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
↑ "1945–1946 Championship Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
↑ "1947-1948 Challenge Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
↑ "1946–1947 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
↑ "1947–1948 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
↑ "1948–1949 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
↑ "1950-1951 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
↑ "1951-1952 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

External links

Photograph "1948 Challenge Cup Final - Vic Darlison is held by Wigan's Ratcliffe. - Date: 01/05/1948" at rlhp.co.uk Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine
Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
Wigan's Top 10 Most Lethal Try Scorers: No 8 - Gordon Ratcliffe Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
Profile at Saints Heritage Society

v t e Wigan squad – 1945–46 Championship Final winners
1 Jack Cunliffe 2 Brian Nordgren 3 Gordon Ratcliffe 4 Ernie Ashcroft 5 Stan Jolley 6 Reg Lowrey 7 Tommy Bradshaw 8 George Banks 9 Jack Blan 10 Frank Barton 11 Harry Atkinson 12 Eddie Watkins 13 Billy Blan Coach: Jim Sullivan

v t e Wigan squad – 1947–48 Challenge Cup Final winners
1 Martin Ryan 2 Gordon Ratcliffe 3 Ted Ward 4 Ernie Ashcroft 5 Jack Hilton 6 Cecil Mountford 7 Tommy Bradshaw 8 Ken Gee 9 Joe Egan (c) 10 Frank Barton 11 Les White 12 Billy Blan 13 Bill Hudson Coach: Jim Sullivan

Great Britain squad – 1950 Australia & New Zealand tourists

Ernest Ward (c)
Ernie Ashcroft
Tommy Bradshaw
Jack Cunliffe
Tom Danby
Arthur Daniels
Joe Egan
Jim Featherstone
Ken Gee
Elwyn Gwyther
Fred Higgins
Jack Hilton
Willie Horne
Jimmy Ledgard
Harry Murphy
Danny Naughton
Frank Osmond
Albert Pepperell
Doug Phillips
Roy Pollard
Gordon Ratcliffe
Bob Ryan
Martin Ryan
Harry Street
Ken Traill
Dickie Williams

Managers: Tom Spedding and George Oldroyd

Championship final appearances

Challenge Cup Final appearances

County Cup Final appearances

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