Spotlights shine on Roughyeds stalwarts Chris and Roger

Oldham RL Club chairman Chris Hamilton and media manager Roger Halstead were in the limelight at Friday’s 25th anniversary dinner when Mr Hamilton was officially recognised for all his terrific work for the club over a quarter of a century and Mr Halstead accepted an invitation to become the Roughyeds’ first-ever club president.

In his first initiative in his new role, Mr Halstead joined forces with Anne Kearns to present Mr Hamilton with a smart, inscribed and mounted glass bowl on behalf of the club.

“Without this man there would be no club,” said Mr Halstead.

“He has devoted his life to Roughyeds.

"And it’s only those who are close to the club who know exactly what he’s done.

"He’s determined with great strength of character and it’s those qualities that have served him well in a job where you are bound to get criticism once you are brave enough to put your head over the parapet and take responsibility for things.

"In truth, we all owe Chris a great debt of gratitude.”

Anne, who now lives near Derby but who remains a key member of the club’s volunteer admin team, virtually ran the club when Mr Hamilton was on long-term sick leave following major heart surgery (very major) two or three years ago.

Roles were reversed earlier when Mr Hamilton, on behalf of the club, presented 81-year-old Mr Halstead with a smart, fashionable, inscribed wrist watch as a thank-you for what he had done for the club and announced his new role as honorary club president.

He outlined Mr Halstead’s career as full-time rugby league reporter at the Oldham Evening Chronicle for more than 40 years and, since his retirement in 2006, as a Roughyeds volunteer in the media and hospitality sectors.

“No one deserves this more than Roger,” said the club chairman.

“He’s moving himself sideways, shall we say, in his media work, but as club president he will always have his finger on the pulse; always be a part of what’s going on here.”

A classic case of poacher-turned-gamekeeper, Mr Halstead has been working on the rugby league scene in Oldham for the best part of 60 years, mainly for the Chronicle but as a Roughyeds volunteer for the past 16 years.

He said: “I’m humbled and honoured to become president of this great club which has meant such a lot to me for most of my life.

"I’m proud to be a rugby league man and even prouder to be an Oldham rugby league man.”

When Mr Halstead became the Oldham rugby league reporter for the Chronicle in 1964, it sold 50,000 copies a night, there were two editions daily from Monday to Friday (three editions in the summer, all with box lines or to the uninitiated, stop press updates)), four once-a week district papers and, of course, the well-known Saturday night sports paper, the Green Final, which he had the privilege of editing and “seeing off the stone” for the last time in 1976.

By then he was deputy sports editor to Donald Taylor — a post he held for 25 years or more — and when Donald died young from motor-neurone he turned down an offer to become sports editor in order to continue his work as rugby league reporter.

There were no laptops, smart phones or other digital devices in his early days.

It was the days of old-fashioned phones, hot metal on press days, a pencil behind the ear, a notebook in the pocket (or perhaps a fag packet) and the statutory trilby and sheepskin jacket as worn by John Motson.

Those days didn’t last for ever and Mr Halstead was soon jetting off around the world.

He’s travelled the world on rugby trips, taking in France (many times), Australia (several times), New Zealand and Fiji.

He’s seen Great Britain win in Melbourne and in Sydney and he’s covered Oldham games in Townsville (Queensland) and on the famous Adelaide Cricket Ground.

His first game for the Chronicle was the 1964 Challenge Cup semi-final between Oldham and Hull KR at Headingley, which ended in a 5-5 draw.

What a debut!

In all, he has covered Oldham in five Challenge Cup semi-finals, three Second Division premiership finals at Old Trafford, four games (two here, two in Australia) in the World Club Challenge, numerous finals and semi-finals in the Lancashire Cup, pre-season battles in Pia and Carcassonne​, two Super League games in Paris, and, in 1967, Challenge Cup games at Watersheddings against Bradford Northern (a replay) and Leeds that attracted crowds of 17,000 and 19,000 respectively within the space of five days.

He accompanied Oldham schoolboys on a history-making trip to Australia in the late 1980s and in 2001 went to Australia, Fiji and New Zealand with North-West Counties under-16s for five weeks, as media man.

Lots of boys on that trip became household names, none more so than James Roby, then 15 and a half-back who said nowt and was as good as gold.

He’s also an honorary life member of the Rugby League writers and Broadcasters’ Association, having been in it for more than 50 years.

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