Kenneth Rollin
Encyclopedia
Kenneth "Ken" Rollin (born 3 December 1937 (age 74) in Sharlston Common) is an English
former professional rugby league
footballer of the 1950s and '60s, who at club level has played for Wakefield Trinity
, and Leeds
, playing at , or , i.e. number 6, or 7.
Final at Wembley Stadium in the 38-5 victory over Hull in the 1959–60 Challenge Cup
final at Wembley Stadium on 14 May 1960.
's 16-10 victory over Huddersfield
in the 1960–61 Yorkshire Cup
final at Headingley Stadium, Leeds
on 29 October 1960.
's 17-12 victory over Australia in the tour match at Belle Vue
on 10 December 1956.
competition is a testing occasion indeed on which to make a senior debut, but such was Ken Rollin's introduction to Trinity
's first team, against Leeds
at Headingley
on 27 August 1955. The opposition scrum-half was international Jeff Stevenson - but Ken's display was a most satisfactory one and there was a try for him too as some reward. He went on to make twenty-four appearances in that season and has been a regular member ever since, mostly at scrum-half. Ken is one of many players who began their career in the Wakefield Schools R.L. He was a member of the Technical School teams and Wakefield City Boys' team. He joined our own Trinity
Juniors side from which he was signed, at seventeen, by Trinity
in April 1955. Although he was named as a reserve for the 1957 World Cup
party, and has several times been named as Yorkshire County reserve half-back, he still awaits his first representative match. He was named in Yorkshire's side, alongside Keith Holliday
, in 1957, but illness prevented the appearance of this Trinity
partnership. In recent times he has occupied the stand-off half berth and has proved himself to be equally at home in that position. His utility value is therefore a great one and, at still only twenty-two years of age, he has much promise for Trinity
's fortunes in the future. He has, behind him, the experience of 151 games for Trinity
, including appearances at Wembley, in the last N.R.L Final
, and in the 1956 and 1958 Yorkshire Cup
finals."
(Loss of the ability to produce and/or comprehend language
) following a stroke
in 1999 and could say only a few words. This was a cruel blow, as before his stroke
, he had been a well-known public speaker in West Yorkshire
. After working with Speakability and having speech therapy
, Ken's communication skills went from near zero to 70 per cent, in 2002 Ken became Chairman of the new Wakefield Speakability Group, in June 2007 Ken met with the Cherie Blair
to rally support for Speakability and raise awareness of Aphasia
, and in December 2008 Ken was a guest speaker at the UK Stroke Forum Conference 2008.
He was employed in his youth in the mining department at Richard Sutcliffe Ltd near Wakefield and a member of the Association of Engineering & Shipbuilding Draughtsmen Union (now Unite)
Ken lives in Middlestown
, Wakefield
, and is member of the Wakefield Chantry Rotary Club
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
former professional rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer of the 1950s and '60s, who at club level has played for Wakefield Trinity
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
, and Leeds
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
, playing at , or , i.e. number 6, or 7.
Challenge Cup final appearances
Ken Rollin played , i.e. number 6, and scored the fastest try ever in a Challenge CupChallenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
Final at Wembley Stadium in the 38-5 victory over Hull in the 1959–60 Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
final at Wembley Stadium on 14 May 1960.
County Cup Final Appearances
Ken Rollin played , i.e. number 7, in Wakefield TrinityWakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
's 16-10 victory over Huddersfield
Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire who play in the European Super League competition. They play their home games at the Galpharm Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C....
in the 1960–61 Yorkshire Cup
Rugby league county cups
Historically, British rugby league clubs competed for the Lancashire Cup and the Yorkshire Cup, known collectively as the county cups. The leading rugby clubs in Yorkshire had played in a cup competition for several years prior to the schism of 1895...
final at Headingley Stadium, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
on 29 October 1960.
Notable Tour Match Appearances
Ken Rollin played , i.e. number 6, and scored a try in Wakefield TrinityWakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
's 17-12 victory over Australia in the tour match at Belle Vue
Belle Vue (Wakefield)
Belle Vue is a rugby league stadium in Wakefield, England. It is the home stadium of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. It is located beside the A638 Doncaster Road, approximately one mile south of Wakefield City Centre.- Description :Currently, the East stand has a covered stand with seating, with some...
on 10 December 1956.
Contemporaneous Article Extract
"Outlines - Ken Rollin The first round of a Yorkshire CupRugby league county cups
Historically, British rugby league clubs competed for the Lancashire Cup and the Yorkshire Cup, known collectively as the county cups. The leading rugby clubs in Yorkshire had played in a cup competition for several years prior to the schism of 1895...
competition is a testing occasion indeed on which to make a senior debut, but such was Ken Rollin's introduction to Trinity
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
's first team, against Leeds
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
on 27 August 1955. The opposition scrum-half was international Jeff Stevenson - but Ken's display was a most satisfactory one and there was a try for him too as some reward. He went on to make twenty-four appearances in that season and has been a regular member ever since, mostly at scrum-half. Ken is one of many players who began their career in the Wakefield Schools R.L. He was a member of the Technical School teams and Wakefield City Boys' team. He joined our own Trinity
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
Juniors side from which he was signed, at seventeen, by Trinity
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
in April 1955. Although he was named as a reserve for the 1957 World Cup
1957 Rugby League World Cup
The second Rugby League World Cup was held in Australia in 1957. As before a group stage was held first, with matches being held at locations in Sydney and Brisbane....
party, and has several times been named as Yorkshire County reserve half-back, he still awaits his first representative match. He was named in Yorkshire's side, alongside Keith Holliday
Keith Holliday
Keith Holliday is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1950s and '60s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and Yorkshire, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity, and Bramley, playing at , /, or /, i.e...
, in 1957, but illness prevented the appearance of this Trinity
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
partnership. In recent times he has occupied the stand-off half berth and has proved himself to be equally at home in that position. His utility value is therefore a great one and, at still only twenty-two years of age, he has much promise for Trinity
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
's fortunes in the future. He has, behind him, the experience of 151 games for Trinity
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
, including appearances at Wembley, in the last N.R.L Final
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
, and in the 1956 and 1958 Yorkshire Cup
Rugby league county cups
Historically, British rugby league clubs competed for the Lancashire Cup and the Yorkshire Cup, known collectively as the county cups. The leading rugby clubs in Yorkshire had played in a cup competition for several years prior to the schism of 1895...
finals."
Outside Of Rugby League
Ken was left with AphasiaAphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
(Loss of the ability to produce and/or comprehend language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
) following a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 1999 and could say only a few words. This was a cruel blow, as before his stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, he had been a well-known public speaker in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. After working with Speakability and having speech therapy
Speech and language pathology
Speech-Language Pathology specializes in communication disorders.The main components of speech production include: phonation, the process of sound production; resonance, opening and closing of the vocal folds; intonation, the variation of pitch; and voice, including aeromechanical components of...
, Ken's communication skills went from near zero to 70 per cent, in 2002 Ken became Chairman of the new Wakefield Speakability Group, in June 2007 Ken met with the Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
to rally support for Speakability and raise awareness of Aphasia
Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
, and in December 2008 Ken was a guest speaker at the UK Stroke Forum Conference 2008.
He was employed in his youth in the mining department at Richard Sutcliffe Ltd near Wakefield and a member of the Association of Engineering & Shipbuilding Draughtsmen Union (now Unite)
Ken lives in Middlestown
Middlestown
Middlestown is a small village in West Yorkshire, England, in the civil parish of Sitlington. The villages of Middlestown, Netherton, Overton and Midgley are built around and overlook the Coxley Valley....
, Wakefield
City of Wakefield
The City of Wakefield is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. Wakefield is the district's administrative centre. The district includes the "Five Towns" of Normanton, Pontefract, Featherstone, Castleford and Knottingley. Other...
, and is member of the Wakefield Chantry Rotary Club
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
.
External links
- Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
- When Wakefield youngsters beat the Australians – Ken Rollin remembers
- Ray French selects his top 10 Challenge Cup final tries. - No 8: Ken Rollin, Wakefield Trinity v Hull, 1960
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/sport/events2004/rugby_league/rollin_1960.ramA .ram (Real Audio Metadata) file of Ken scoring the fastest try in a Challenge CupChallenge CupThe Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
Final at Wembley Stadium in Wakefield TrinityWakefield Trinity WildcatsWakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
's 35-5 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1960 Challenge CupChallenge CupThe Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
final at Wembley Stadium on 14 May 1960] - Trinity win in South Africa
- This Sporting Life (1963)
- Leeds Rhinos v Wakefield
- Wakefield And Leeds Legends To Be Honoured
- Rugby legend speaks at the UK Stroke Forum
- Speakability Group Talk - Spring 2008 Edition
- Rugby legend gets Cherie on his side
- Club brightens up health centre