Who was the firt pro RL player....... go on, knock yourself out...

Andy Goodway

In the UK at least.

That's what I thought, but someone says Edwards and he was signed earlier so that's what's throwing me...

Wasn't fully pro. Didn't he work with Wigan Council for the first few years?
Goodway went fully pro when he came from Oldham to us (1986 IIRC).

How did it work when only 1 player was full time? Did he just train on his own or what?

I believe Goodway lasted about 6 months as a fully pro player before getting bored and asking Wigan for a part-time job.

Still to this day remember walking in the old JJB Sports shop in Leigh (Lord Street) and seeing Goodway flirting with the sales counter girls in the shop whilst pumping the balls up (oo-err)!!

Yes I thought it was Goodway.

As an aside if you have any old videos from not much later in that era you will see a lot of RL players professions from other clubs listed as Professional RL player. The BBC used to put up a little portrait and mini biography of a player when televising matches and long before Wigan went full time plenty of other players classed themselves as professional.

It drove Graham Lowe crazy when he first came to Wigan as he had to wait around all day to train the players at night, he pushed Mo to turn us if not full time then so that we had first call on them and any other job had to take second place. Remember Lowe hanging around Micron Video bored stiff at lunch time waiting for something new to come in.

Ronnie Braithwaite.

The Rocket

Are you sure? I thought Goodway too, at least I'm sure that's what the pen pictures used to say in the programmes.

Wrap around Ronnie ?

According to Eddie Hemmings it was Sir Kevin Sinfield. He was also the first man on the moon.

Keith Fielding was always a school sports teacher as well, rugby player & Superstars contestant. I know because he was my sports teacher !!, strutting around the place in his Gold superstars tracksuit

, anyway he moved schools in the early 80's after an occurrence with a sixth former

Maybe the first was Jim Sullivan then ?

Now then, Now then was there any need for that!