MEN'S LEAGUE	32	53	59	66	70	71	75	96	99	00	02	06	14	19	20	21	22	MEN'S WORLD CLUB	01	07	23
MEN'S CHALLENGE CUPS	56	61	66	72	76	96	97	01	04	06	07	08	21					WOMEN'S MATCHES	21	22	23	24	21

MEN 1873-1895
MEN 1895-2024
WOMEN 2018-2024

Frank Beesley
OVERALL STATISTICS
BIRTH	AGE	SIGNED ON	FROM
16-07-1924	N/A	Date unknown.	St.Helens RUFC
DEBUT		LAST MATCH	LEFT
25-10-1947 v Hull K.R.		Warrington	1950-
CAREER			APPEARANCES (SUBS)
1947-1949			46 (0)
TRIES	GOALS	DGOALS	PTS
3	0	0	9

Biography of Frank Beesley

HERITAGE NO : 665

Frank Beesley by SHS

A former pupil at Cowley Grammar School, Frank Beesley was signed by the Saints from St. Helens RUFC, or the Old Boys, as they were known, in 1947. He had played for Lancashire whilst at Moss Lane. Somebody who remembered him well was former St. Helens Star journalist Denis Whittle: “He was quicksilver around the scrum and unlike scrum-halves from rugby union, he would actually run with the ball rather than pass it out to the stand-off. It might be a cliche, but he was pencil slim and not a very big man, but a good player nonetheless, who shared the half-back duties with the likes of Eric Hesketh, Jimmy Honey and Welshman Steve Morris.”

Frank made his debut at home to Hull KR on 27th October 1947, when Saints won 14-9. He was 22 years of age and was partnered at stand-off by another local lad, Jimmy Myers. Frank went on to play 26 matches during the campaign. He was a member of the team that famously beat Wigan 13-6 at Knowsley Road on Boxing Day 1947, when there was a packed crowd to witness one of the great games of the early post-war era.

His final game for the club was against Carcassonne at Knowsley Road at the start of the 1950-51 campaign, during one of their popular tours to the UK. Jimmy Honey was his stand-off. He made over 40 appearances for the First Team and was highly regarded by the fans. Frank worked in the office at Greenalls Brewery in Hall Street, before taking up a post as an Area Manager with John Smiths for the Wirrall area.

A long-time resident of O’Sullivan Crescent in Blackbrook, he met his wife Irene soon after leaving school and volunteered to join the RAF during the war. Frank went to train as a pilot in Texas, but fortunately, before he could finish his training, hostilities had ceased. He declined to further his flying career in civil aviation.

Irene, who once taught Commerce at Grange Park Technical School, recalled that the Saints at one stage wanted to transfer him to Leigh, but the company could not guarantee him time off with training and matches for his prospective new club and so he retired after about five seasons as a professional.

Frank passed away on 3rd December 2014 at the age of 90. He had been retired for thirty years and his great-grandchildren Ben and Alex Yoxall went on to play for Blackbrook ARLFC.

PLAYER HONOURS

SEASON STATISTICS
Season (Official Matches)	Tries	Goals	DGoals	Matches
1947~48	0	0	0	26
1948~49	3	0	0	13
1949~50	0	0	0	7
TOTALS:	3	0	0	46
Season (Other Matches)	Tries	Goals	DGoals	Matches
1947~48	0	0	0	1
1948~49	1	0	0	3
1949~50	0	0	0	1
1950~51	0	0	0	1
TOTALS:	1	0	0	6

ALL MATCHES

Date	Match		Pos	Opponents	Comp	Venue	FT	FTO	T
25th Oct 1947	1	W	7	Hull Kingston Rovers	L	H	14	9		VIEW
8th Nov 1947	2	L	7	Belle Vue Rangers	L	H	0	9		VIEW
15th Nov 1947	3	W	7	Liverpool Stanley	L	H	23	8		VIEW
22nd Nov 1947	4	L	7	Liverpool Stanley	L	A	7	10		VIEW
29th Nov 1947	5	W	7	Salford	L	H	31	10		VIEW
25th Dec 1947	6	W	7	Leigh	L	H	22	3		VIEW
26th Dec 1947	7	W	7	Wigan	L	H	13	6		VIEW
27th Dec 1947	8	D	7	Wakefield Trinity	L	H	5	5		VIEW
1st Jan 1948	9	L	7	Leigh	L	A	3	8		VIEW
3rd Jan 1948	10	W	7	Swinton	L	A	6	3		VIEW
17th Jan 1948	11	L	7	Hull Kingston Rovers	L	A	10	17		VIEW
24th Jan 1948	12	L	7	Rochdale Hornets	L	H	8	9		VIEW
31st Jan 1948	13	L	7	Workington Town	L	A	0	20		VIEW
7th Feb 1948	14	W	7	Bustlingthorpe Vale	CC1(1)	H	48	0		VIEW
14th Feb 1948	15	W	7	Bustlingthorpe Vale	CC1(2)	A	13	2		VIEW
28th Feb 1948	16	L	7	Oldham	CC2	A	0	5		VIEW
6th Mar 1948	17	L	7	Warrington	L	A	3	21		VIEW
13th Mar 1948	18	W	7	Bramley	L	H	13	7		VIEW
26th Mar 1948	19	L	7	Wigan	L	A	11	22		VIEW
27th Mar 1948	20	W	7	York	L	H	44	10		VIEW
28th Mar 1948	21	L	7	Barrow	L	A	8	12		VIEW
6th Apr 1948	22	W	7	Rochdale Hornets	L	A	15	10		VIEW
8th Apr 1948	23	L	7	Widnes	L	H	8	9		VIEW
17th Apr 1948	24	W	7	Halifax	L	H	20	7		VIEW
22nd Apr 1948	25	W	7	Belle Vue Rangers	L	A	21	2		VIEW
24th Apr 1948	26	W	7	Bramley	L	A	19	11		VIEW
15th May 1948	--	W	7	Roanne*	Fr	H	36	19		VIEW
14th Aug 1948	--	W	7	Barrow*	Fr Ward Cup	A	38	2		VIEW
21st Aug 1948	27	W	7	Widnes	L	H	6	2		VIEW
23rd Aug 1948	28	L	7	Workington Town	L	A	11	15	1	VIEW
28th Aug 1948	29	L	7	Oldham	L	A	11	15		VIEW
18th Sep 1948	30	W	7	Workington Town	L	H	8	2		VIEW
12th Mar 1949	31	W	7	Belle Vue Rangers	L	H	18	0		VIEW
19th Mar 1949	32	L	7	Salford	L	A	6	7	2	VIEW
26th Mar 1949	--	L	7	Batley*	Fr	H	10	12		VIEW
31st Mar 1949	33	L	7	Wigan	L	H	8	13		VIEW
9th Apr 1949	34	W	7	Halifax	L	A	8	3		VIEW
15th Apr 1949	35	L	7	Wigan	L	A	5	19		VIEW
16th Apr 1949	36	L	7	Huddersfield	L	A	0	34		VIEW
18th Apr 1949	37	L	7	Keighley	L	H	2	4		VIEW
23rd Apr 1949	38	L	6	Swinton	L	A	3	16		VIEW
25th Apr 1949	39	W	7	Barrow	L	H	16	5		VIEW
21st May 1949	--	L	7	Huddersfield*	Fr Tour	A	16	25	1	VIEW
13th Aug 1949	--	W	7	Barrow*	Fr Ward Cup	H	34	22		VIEW
20th Aug 1949	40	L	7	Widnes	L	A	2	15		VIEW
25th Aug 1949	41	W	7	Wakefield Trinity	L	H	22	12		VIEW
15th Oct 1949	42	W	7	Belle Vue Rangers	L	H	28	5		VIEW
24th Dec 1949	43	W	7	Whitehaven	L	A	14	7		VIEW
26th Dec 1949	44	W	7	Wigan	L	H	15	8		VIEW
27th Dec 1949	45	W	7	Swinton	L	H	10	5		VIEW
4th Mar 1950	46	W	7	Warrington	L	H	12	3		VIEW
5th Oct 1950	--	W	7	Carcassonne *	Fr	H	24	22		VIEW