Chris Hesketh funeral details

The funeral details of Chris Hesketh have been announced.

Chris’s funeral will take place on Tuesday 22nd August 2017 at 11am at St. Joseph’s RC Church, Anderton, Chorley PR6 9NA, how to find us : http://www.stjosephs-anderton.com/FIND-US.html. The mass will be followed by burial at the Church and the family would welcome you to join them afterwards at Adlington Community Centre, Railway Road, Adlington to share your memories.

Donations to Cancer Research.

Tribute:

It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Chris Hesketh MBE. Chris started his career with Wigan in 1962 playing 85 games. In 1967 he moved to Salford and remained there until 1979, playing 452 games and scoring 128 tries for the club in an illustrious career of which he spent twelve years with the Red Devils. Salford signed Hesketh for a fee of £4000 from his hometown club of Wigan in June 1967 and he excelled in the Red Devils jersey. Hesketh was part of the last Salford side to play at Wembley in the Challenge Cup final back in 1969. Despite losing the Challenge Cup final Hesketh helped the Red Devils win two Championship titles, a Lancashire Cup and a Floodlit Trophy. The iconic Red Devil didn’t just impress for Salford but on the international stage, also. He was a member of the Great Britain side that won the World Cup in France in 1972. However, his career highlight came in 1974 as he was named as captain of the 1974 Touring Side alongside a handful of fellow Salford players. His final match for Salford was on May 13th 1979 at St Helens.

Hesketh was awarded with an M.B.E in the 1976 New Years Honours as a tribute to his tremendous service and dedication to Rugby League. Hesketh defied the odds in his search to become a professional Rugby League player battling polio at the age of seven however by the age of 11 he was playing at Central Park, Wigan in the Schools Cup Final.