Duggie Greenall

Dec 31 2007 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post

Duggie Greenall

THOSE in the know said he was as hard as the cobbles on the street, this grand old player, loved by the wise folk, who knew that a real ball was shaped like an egg.

And his courage and uncompromising spirit will always be felt at Knowsley Road, home of St Helens Rugby League Club.

And perhaps in quiet moments, his friends will hear him again singing Mammy, the old Al Jolson song he made his own.

In fact, some of the fans were suggesting that he would still be singing it up in the sky, though you don’t want to be too sentimental in those Rugby League towns of no-nonsense pies and firm handshakes.

While still at Rivington Road School, St Helens, Duggie Greenall’s promise as a centre-threequarter was evident, but there were some doubts about his comparatively slim physique. But he feared nobody on the field, racing for the touch-line at his favoured weight of 12 stone, often demonstrating his mastery of the cunning pass.

He was thought to be the only RL player in history to play with a size eight right boot and a size nine left boot because of fallen arches.

Greenall joined the Saints in 1946 and left in 1959-60 when they were League Champions. His service to the club was recognised with a specially inscribed watch presented to him by the chairman, Harry Cook.

Greenall captained Saints in their defeat against Huddersfield at Wembley in 1952-53. Later that season, he lifted the coveted League Championship trophy after the defeat of Halifax at Maine Road, Manchester.

In 1952, St Helens became the only club team to beat Australia. During the match, the visiting players heard the crowd shout, “Give ’em Mammy, Duggie.”

In addition to the song, it was the nickname apparently given to his arm bandage.

He toured Australia, where he was feared and respected, with the Great Britain squad in 1954 and was in the St Helens team which brought the Challenge Cup to Knowsley Road for the first time in 1956, completing his career with a second League Championship medal when Hunslet were beaten 44-22 in 1959.

In all, Greenall made 487 appearances for St Helens, scoring 188 tries and 14 drop goals. He was then a publican for a while.

Duggie Greenall, Rugby League player; born June 7, 1926, died December 23, 2007