Former St Helens and Warrington Wolves favourite passes away aged 80

St Helens have announced the death of club legend Frank Wilson, who has passed away at the age of 80.

Wilson spent eight years as a player at Knowsley Road and made 310 appearances for the club in time, scoring 176 tries along the way. He went on to represent Workington Town, Warrington Wolves and Salford Red Devils before returning to his hometown to play for Cardiff City Blue Dragons.

The winger, who started out as a rugby union player with Cardiff before switching codes, played over 430 games in rugby league, while he also collected 14 caps for Wales.

Wilson joined St Helens in 1968 after initially trialling with Wigan, and scored from 90 yards with his first touch of the ball on his debut for the club. He won the Lancashire Cup in 1968, the Challenge Cup and the BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy in 1971-72 and claimed a First Division Championship medal in 1974-75 after missing out on two consecutive Championship finals earlier in his Saints career.

He won the Floodlit Trophy once more in 1975 before leaving the club in 1976 to join Workington before getting his hands on the Players No.6 Trophy in the primrose and blue of Warrington in 1978, too.

He retired in 1982 and he would go on to hold coaching roles at Pilkington Recs, the University of Manchester and New Broughton Rangers. He has also been named in St Helens Players’ Association’s Hall of Fame.