Bernard Ganley

Bernard Ganley
	Bernard Ganley holding the League Championship trophy (1956-57 season)
Personal information
Full name	William Bernard Ganley
Born	27 January 1927; Leigh, England
Died	26 June 2009 (aged 82); Knutsford, England
Playing information
Position	Fullback
Club
Representative
	Source:

William Bernard Ganley (27 January 1927 – 26 June 2009), also known by the nickname of "The Maestro", was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s.^[3] He played at representative level for Great Britain and Lancashire, and at club level for Oldham, as a fullback. He was justifiably regarded as one of the greatest goalkickers in the game's history.

Personal life

Bernard Ganley was born in

Leigh, Huddersfield and Leeds; W. Herbert "Bert" Ganley. He signed for Oldham FC in August 1950, and played for the club for 10 years. Following retirement he married Maxine Turner in Macclesfield, Cheshire in 1968. The couple had two sons who survived infancy: Alexander Timothy (b. 1972) and James Bernard (b. 1975). Bernard died aged 82 in Knutsford, Cheshire

, England.

Playing career

During his career at Oldham,^[4] the team would come second in League in the 1954-55 season, and then lose in the Championship Final 3-7 to Warrington. The team would top the League table in both the 1956-57 season and the 1957-58 season, winning the Championship title in the Play-off Final of 1956-57, beating Hull FC at Odsal Stadium by 15 pts. to 14. Oldham would also win the Lancashire County Cup (see below) three times in 1955–56, 1956–57 and 1957–58, and be champions of the Lancashire League twice in 1956–57 and 1957–58. He would play for the Oldham club (Heritage no. 566) for 10 years, appearing in nearly 350 games.

International honours

Bernard Ganley won

goals in the 23–9 victory over France at Stade des Alpes, Grenoble on Sunday 2 March 1958.^[3]

County Cup Final appearances

Ganley played in four Lancashire County Cup Finals for

1958 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1958–59 season at Station Road, Swinton

on Saturday 25 October 1958, in front of a crowd of 38,780.

Career records

Bernard Ganley holds

goals scored against Liverpool City in a match during 1959, and holds Oldham's "Most Points In A Career " record with 2,775 (2,761) points.^[5]

Honoured at Oldham

Bernard Ganley is an Oldham Hall of Fame inductee.^[4]

Genealogical information

References

^ Hadfield, Dave (10 July 2009). "Bernard Ganley: Record-breaking rugby league player for Oldham and Great Britain". The Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ "Rugby legend Bernard Ganley dies aged 82 after suffering stroke". knutsfordguardian.co.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Oldham Hall of Fame". orl-heritagetrust.org.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
^ "Oldham at greyhoundderby.com". greyhoundderby.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

External links

[1] Hadfield, Dave (10 July 2009). "Bernard Ganley: Record-breaking rugby league player for Oldham and Great Britain". The Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2016.

[Rugby_legend_Bernard_Ganley_dies_aged_82_after_suffering_stroke-2] "Rugby legend Bernard Ganley dies aged 82 after suffering stroke". knutsfordguardian.co.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

[Statistics_at_rugbyleagueproject.org-3] "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.

[Oldham_Hall_of_Fame-4] "Oldham Hall of Fame". orl-heritagetrust.org.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

[Oldham_at_greyhoundderby.com-5] "Oldham at greyhoundderby.com". greyhoundderby.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]