Part 3 He Remembers His Former Salford Teammates
Having started his time with Salford playing in the ‘A’ team, it is probably unsurprising that the first player who comes to mind for John Knighton was actually an ‘A’ team player of that era, Iain MacCorquodale, who, like John, was a PE teacher.
“Corky was a winger and exceptionally good at maths, which he even put to good use during the game.
“We used to get paid bonuses for the winning margin we had managed to run up, and, being our goal-kicker, he was responsible for a lot of the points we accrued, so he would keep a running total of how much we were each going to be in pocket, at any given point during the game.”
Also, a regular in the team was Ellis Devlin (RLQSG#12).
“Strangely enough, Ellis has been a near neighbour of mine for a good few years, now, and he was a really good hooker, who also never really got a long enough run in the first team to be able to cement the position as his own.
“There is a footage of him playing in the drawn, BBC2 Floodlit Cup Final v Warrington, at The Willows, available to watch on YouTube.
“Another ‘A’ team player who also played in that game was Gordon Graham, with whom I used to travel to training, in those early days. He, similarly to me, had been brought to the club by Les Bettinson, having played union in the same area.
“The two brothers, Mark and John Taylor, were both there. Mark, a scrum half, had been a regular in the first team for a number of years and had later become part of the coaching staff, for a while.
“John (RLQSG#14), on the other hand, was another talented player, who was always knocking on the door for the stand-off position, which he did secure on a number of occasions, over the years.”
Once he had been promoted to the first team, however, John (Knighton) found himself in the company of some of the most talented players to grace a rugby field.
“David Watkins was a really nice player and his speed off the mark was unbelievable – he could be standing still one moment, and then, the next, shooting off like a bullet from a gun.
“He was also a really good kicker, and you could rely on him to land goals from pretty well anywhere within range.”
John was also delighted to be playing alongside fullback, Paul Charlton (RLQSG#8), who occupied that berth for John’s first couple of seasons.
“Paul was just so fast. If any one of us made a break, he would be right up there alongside them ready to take the pass and continue on with the attack, while in defence it was incredibly rare for anyone to get around him.
“Eric Prescott (RLQSG#9), at loose forward, meanwhile, was, I believe, the best uncapped forward in the game. His contribution was so absolutely wholehearted.
“He would get really excited before the match with cries of ‘Let me at ‘em’ and things like that. He really was quite excitable even once he got out onto the pitch and was playing.”
“Stand-off, Kenny Gill (RLQSG#10), was a particularly skilled passer of the ball, and so much of Salford’s play revolved around the timing and accuracy of his passes.
“As time went by, I believe we got to rely on him far too much so that opponents knew that if they could stop him, they would stop the team. That is how reliant I think we had got on him, and not only that, he got equally heavily involved in tackling, making one tackle after another.”
John’s memories of winger, Keith Fielding (RLQSG#6), unsurprisingly, are not confined to his many try-scoring feats on the rugby field.
“Keith also had great success taking part in the BBC television programme, ‘Superstars’, in which sports personalities, from a variety of sports, competed against each other in a range of sports.
“Keith not only participated in this, he won, which then opened the door for his involvement in first the British, then the European, and eventually the World Finals, all of which saw him highly placed in each.
“It proved to be a great advert for the sport of rugby league, with his having such a high profile, nationally. Reactions in the Salford dressing room to all this were extremely positive. Everyone was delighted, firstly, for him, but then also for the reflected success on the club.
“So popular did it all prove to be that it was decided to hold a Superstars competition, at Wilderspool, Warrington, solely for rugby league players.
“Mike Coulman (RLQSG#1) joined Keith in being Salford’s representatives, but they asked me to go along as a reserve. Keith, obviously, did the track events, while Mike took part in the tests of strength.
“Rules were applied in a somewhat casual manner, as could be seen by the fact that John Bevan got away with a two-footed take off, in the high-jump, though to no avail as he was still beaten to first place, by Keith.
“By the time it came to the final event, Keith and Mike were both so exhausted I was called in to take part in a variation of an egg-and-spoon race, with the egg replaced by a rugby ball, and I won. The two hundred and fifty pounds prize money was split between the three of us with my getting the odd fifty for just that one race.”
It was not always events on the field for which players are remembered.
“Ellis Devlin and Gordon Graham lived close by and the three of us always used to travel together to training.
“The fact that our players’ homes were scattered over a very wide area meant that, other than for travelling, there was little opportunity for socialising together, though similarly to us the Yorkshire group including of Terry Ramshaw, John Ward and Bill Kirkbride, would all come over together.”
