Derek Hadley - click on photo for details.
Tue, Oct 4th 2016 at 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Derek Hadley signed for Barrow on the same day as Eddie Szymala, and made his début for Barrow against New Hunslet at Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness on Friday 7 September 1973.
He has a remarkable record as a rugby league player having two testimonials for 20 years’ service with the Barrow club.
He recalled his many seasons in the game in an amusing, and slightly irreverent, talk to Barrow Rotary Club.
Derek told how he took the professional ticket in 1973, assisted by his “Uncle Alf” – Rotary Club president Alf Hadley. When offered the customary £250, Uncle Alf said: “That’s not enough” and got Derek to walk away from the deal.
“They will be back” said Uncle Alf – and Derek signed for £500.
The lanky loose forward broke into the first team quite soon afterwards but coach Frank Foster was a hard man and a tough coach. His Maryport accent wasn’t always easy to follow either and Derek had to use Foster’s fellow West Cumbrians as translators!
Derek explained how there were two factions on the board, one led by chairman Bill Pears and the other headed by Bob Brady. He told of one overnight stay when long after the players had gone to bed there were noises in the corridor – “It wasn’t often that you got the opportunity to tell a director to be quiet.”
Derek said he never really considered Bill Pears to be a rugby man because he was a season ticket holder at Manchester City. But he could be approached and he would ask: “What do you want” and if he thought it was right, he would get it done.
He told of physio Maurice Hughes who was reluctant to hand out bandages with the philosophy that “good players don’t need them and bad players are not worth it.”
Derek also talked fondly of club doctor Dr Dave Todd, saying that all those behind the scenes had the club at heart.
He told tales of the likes of popular players such as Eddie Szymala, Graham Lupton, Smiler Allen, John Cunningham and the Hogan brothers, Phil and Steve.
“Barrow had good players and a good team in those days,” Derek recalled. “We competed with the best. In 1982 we were considered good enough to have a game with the touring Australians at Craven Park and we gave them a good game for most of the match.”
Derek explained that starting his career at 19, he made his last appearance as a professional player at the age of 41. He ended his amateur career at 52 and finished refereeing at 58 – but he still plays the Masters game of “tig and pass.”
And what did his wife buy him for his 62nd birthday? Of course, a new pair of rugby boots!
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