Seventeen-year old Dennis O'Neill was a precocious talent. Widnes coach Joe Egan put him straight into the first team after he had signed as a professional in the summer of 1966. Not only Egan, but other Rugby League pundits of the day regarded him as "the best teenage prospect since Alex Murphy" In only his second season at the age of 19, he was selected for the Lancashire side to play Yorkshire in January 1968.The game was appropriately played at Naughton Park, Widnes. O'Neill's sensational match winning try was described nearly four decades later as "The Greatest Try" by a local journalist. The description inspired the title of Anthony J. Quinn's book. Not only with a brisk season by season narrative, but with numerous references to contemporary press reports, the book vividly portrays Dennis O'Neill's thrilling performances for Widnes in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It also highlights his constant injury problems and gives the reader an insight into events at Widnes RLFC during that period in its history and is interspersed with pictures and press cuttings.
In addition, the author refers to several letters and articles that were published in the local press, commenting on the poor state of British Rugby League in O'Neill's prime playing days.
Sprache
Verlagsort
Illustrationen
48 black and white photographs
Maße
Höhe: 234 mm
Breite: 156 mm
Dicke: 9 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-909465-19-0 (9781909465190)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Anthony J. Quinn was born in Widnes in 1955. He first watched the "Chemics" as a young boy in 1962 and continued doing so regularly until 1995. He still watches the Widnes Vikings occasionally. In 1997 he made two amateur films, 'Ditton Junction Remembered' and 'The Last Dance'. He is also a musician and songwriter and has released two CDs of his own material, 'In A Foreign Part Of The Town', and 'Old Hat's Return'
