Martin Regan and St Josephs Blackpool

Martin Regan about to referee inter school match between St Josephs and St Edwards 1954

This photo came from J V Ward at St Josephs Blackpool, where is our team photo?

This news from St Anselm's Web pages

Sad news of the death of Martin Regan, simply a stalwart of the College.
Martin was capped by England twelve times between 1953 and 1956 after which he left the Liverpool club to play Rugby League for Warrington. Martin (85) was a most remarkably passionate and inspiring coach and teacher at St. Anselm's College. He had the true patience of a saint and was liked by all, he was instrumental in the remarkable development of College rugby. He oversaw an incredible period of success, producing numerous international players. He will be sadly missed but his legacy as a man and an educator lives on. He truly epitomised the values of St Anselm and Blessed Edmund Rice and his sportsmanship and honesty will never be forgotten. Rest in peace

The Pathe Newsreel below features Martin scoring a try against Ireland in 1954-click the link.

Martin’s funeral is at St Monica's Church, Appleton, on Wednesday 12 November at 12 00 noon, followed by cremation at Walton Crematorium with a reception at Warrington Golf Club.

This information from Warrington Guardian- Tribute to one of Warrington Wolves biggest signings

Martin Regan, who died recently aged 85, was one of the biggest signings in the history of the Warrington Wolves, writes Gary Slater.
Regan, who joined the club in 1956, had already enjoyed a stellar career in rugby union as a fly-half before he switched codes at the age of 26. He had played for Liverpool, Lancashire, England (winning 12 caps) and the Barbarians and turned down a lucrative approach from Bradford Northern. Regan signed a five-year contract worth £3,500, which would be worth at least £75,000 in today’s money. The deal was done on Monday, August 27 and, two days later, he was lining up at stand-off against Halifax at a packed Wilderspool. The game attracted a crowd of 15,451 – more than 10,000 up on the previous home game against Whitehaven. In an interview in 2002, Regan told me: “In those days when a rugby union guy turned pro they threw him in right away to recoup the signing fee by drawing so many thousand on the gate even though you hadn’t got much of a clue what to do.” In the Fifties, rugby union was strictly amateur while rugby league was professional, with winning pay and losing pay. “It was £7 if you lost and £8 if you won,” he told me. “But you never played for £8. Sitting in the dressing room before a game, the manager came in with his last-minute instructions and told you what the bonus was. “If you were playing Wigan it might be £10 or £12 so you would be playing for £20. For someone else it might only be £6, but that was only if you won. If you lost you were down to £7. They never declared the bonus until two minutes before kick-off.” Sadly for Regan, he was joining a Warrington team which was in decline after the glory days of the 1953-54 season when the Wire completed the Championship and Challenge Cup double. He also picked up a number of injuries but, over the next five years, he made 64 appearances for the first team, scoring 14 tries and kicking 15 goals. On six occasions, he played as centre to the great Brian Bevan. Regan’s best season was 1958-59 when he played 30 times. Regan completed his contract in 1961, playing his last match at Blackpool on March 4. Fittingly, Warrington won 8-2 with tries from Bevan and Eric Fraser. “I enjoyed playing for Warrington,” he said. “I wasn’t very successful in rugby league but I played with some excellent players and had some good times.” When his rugby playing days were over, Regan switched to golf and became a member of Warrington Golf Club, getting his handicap down to nine and he was still playing off 21 in his seventies. He was also the games master at St Anselm’s College, Birkenhead for 22 years until his retirement. He remains the only England rugby union international to have signed for Warrington, although union, like league, was a very different game in the Fifties. “The England rugby union team only assembled on the Friday lunchtime for a Saturday international at Twickenham and trained together on the Friday afternoon,” he said. “You just jogged through it because nobody wanted to pull a muscle.” Regan’s funeral was at St Monica’s Church, Appleton on Wednesday, November 12, followed by cremation at Walton Crematorium and a reception at Warrington Golf Club.