Brian Bevan
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Eyrl Bevan | |
| Date of birth | 1924 | |
| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | |
| Nickname | Wing Wizard | |
| Position | Winger | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 1942 1946-62 |
Eastern Suburbs Warrington |
8 (2) 695 (???) |
|
* Professional club appearances and points |
||
Brian Eyrl Bevan (born 1924 in Bondi, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and died 1991 in Southport, Lancashire, England) is a legendary rugby league winger who scored a world record 796 tries for the Warrington club. His appearance belied his greatness, as he did not look like a rugby league player. He was a frail, gaunt ex-Australian serviceman when he turned up for a trial at Warrington in 1945. He was not expected to make much of an impact but he went on to enjoy a remarkable 16 years with the club.
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[edit] Eastern Suburbs
Brian Bevan began his career playing for Eastern Suburbs in 1942, He made 8 appearances for that club, although somewhat ironically, failed to score a try.
[edit] Warrington
When World War II began, Brian Bevan decided to join the Navy. He arrived on board of the HMAS Australia in England in 1946. He had with him a letter of recommendation which was written by former Eastern Suburbs Test winger Bill Shankland. Bevan requested a trial with Leeds, which was a suggestion from Shankland, but the club decided against signing him partially due to his frail looking appearance. Shankland also recommended he try Hunslet if Leeds refused to sign him, but once again he was turned down. He decided to try his luck with Warrington. Warrington decided to give him an 'A' team trial in November in which he scored a try. The club were impressed with his first performance and decided to play him in the first team a week later. The club then decided to sign him on a permanent basis on a £300 contract. He went home for several months to discharge from military service.
In 1946-47, his first season, he scored 48 tries for the club which was 14 tries more than any other player in the league. Within four years at the club he had surpassed the club try scoring record of 215 set by Jack Fish over thirteen seasons. On five occasions Brian Bevan was the top try scorer in England. His best season for try scoring feats was in 1952-53 when he amassed a total of 72 tries. Only Albert Rosenfeld has scored more tries in a single season in England. Rosenfeld holds the top two most tries in a season with 78 in 1911-12 and 80 in 1913-14. In his career in England he scored a hat-trick of tries or more in a single game 100 times. Twice he scored seven tries in a single game for Warrington, which is still a club record. During his sixteen year career with Warrington he helped the club win the Challenge Cup twice, three RL Championships, a Lancashire Cup and six Lancashire League titles. He played his last game for Warrington on Easter Monday, 1962. He came out of semi-retirement to play for Blackpool Borough between 1962-64. In all he scored an incredible 796 tries in his career in England in all competitive matches (a world record for tries by a rugby player of either code), 740 of which were for Warrington, in 620 appearances (both club records). In 1961 he returned to Australia to play for an Eastern Suburbs seven-a-side competition for Keith Holman's testimonial. The 'wing wizard', as he is commonly referred, died in Southport, Lancashire, England in 1991, aged 66. Thousands turned up for his memorial service a month later which was held on the pitch at Wilderspool Stadium which was at the time the home of Warrington RLFC.
[edit] Recognition
In 1988 Brian Bevan was inducted in to the British Rugby League Hall of Fame. In September, 2005 he was also inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame. A statue of him was erected in the middle of a roundabout close to Warrington's old Wilderspool ground. This was moved to the club's new ground when they relocated to the Halliwell Jones Stadium in 2004.
