It was with the utmost sadness that the club received news of the recent passing of one of its most outstanding players of all time, Jackie Brennan.
Born in Wigan, Jackie had been signed by Blackpool Borough, prior to joining Salford during the 1959 close season, for what, at the time, was an exceptionally high sum of five thousand pounds, and he made his debut, in his customary role of stand-off half, in their opening fixture against Whitehaven, on 19th August, at The Willows.
His loyalty to the club was matched only by his talent in rugby league, for the period shortly after he had made the move through the early sixties, was one of some turmoil, as the club dropped to very close to bottom of the one league table, in 1963, and there was some doubt over its continued existence, in the run up to the following season.
In such circumstances, one might have expected that a player of his stature might have sought a move to a more illustrious club, but that never happened, and he remained at The Willows, throughout.
His reward for this was that, when a new Chairman, Brian Snape, took over and started investing substantial sums of money, Jackie became the mainstay around whom the new look team was built over the following years, and, having moved to scrum half, in 1963, he became acknowledged as the brains behind the team as it progressed on a significantly upward trajectory.
He was helped, considerably, in 1966, when the then new four tackle rule was introduced, replacing the previous unlimited possession, which had led to something of a stagnation of the game, and Jackie suddenly had free rein to express himself, much to the benefit of the whole team, and this continued when it changed to become the present-day six tackle rule.
Evidence of the new-found status of the team, in which he was playing, came in early 1967, when after a 5-5 draw in the first round of the Rugby League Challenge Cup, they travelled to, first, Knowsley Rd, St Helens, for the replay, which they overcame all odds to win 3-8, before going to Central Park, Wigan for Round 2, where they won,18-6.
Such incredible victories had been almost unheard of in post war matches.
The pinnacle of his career came on 17th May 1969, when he walked out at Wembley to face Castleford in the Cup Final, almost ten years to the date on which he had transferred to Salford, and although they were defeated, 11-6, it was a fitting reward for everything he had done for Salford.
His final full match appearance came on 20 October 1970, when he played at loose forward, in an away match at Fartown, Huddersfield.
All in all, Jackie made 329 appearance for the Red Devils, 12 of which were from the bench as substitute; he scored 70 tries, 3 goals, totalling 216 points, and was twice selected to represent Lancashire, at stand-off half, in 1958.
Our sincere condolences go out to his family and friends, at this very sad time.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Graham Morris – Club Historian and Author of ‘100 Salford Greats’
