The Sixth former player to be inducted into the Whitehaven RL Vice Presidents Hall of Fame was welcomed back in 2004..... Tommy Keen signed for Whitehaven RLFC in 1948 from Marsh Hornets Junior RLFC in Barrow. He had started his rugby career at the age of eleven at Risedale School then went on to represent Barrow Boys on several occasions. Tommy went on to occasionally turn out for Barrow ‘A’ team and had trials with Leeds. Tommy made his debut for Whitehaven at scrum half on February 26th 1949 against Keighley at the Recreation Ground. The game ended in a 3-3 draw. His half back partner that day was Jim Whitwell. Three times in his professional career Tommy achieved something unique. He scored the first try the club scored against Wigan. This occurred on November 11th 1950 when Wigan defeated Whitehaven 14-7 at the Recreation Ground. Tommy scored the first try in Great Britain against the 1952-3 Australian Tourists when they defeated Whitehaven 15-5 at the Recreation Ground on September 13th 1952. Tommy was a member of the first Whitehaven team to win a trophy when the ‘A’ team won the Lancashire Shield when Whitehaven defeated Swinton ‘A’ 8-2 in the final at the Recreation Ground on October 15th 1955. Gus Risman described Tommy as the “Cheeky Charlie” of rugby league and someone who had the determination and quick wit to try anything once. He was a loyal clubman to Whitehaven and a great favourite of the fans. His career was tragically cut short on September 22nd 1956 when his neck was dislocated during a match on the Recreation Ground. Whitehaven were playing Halifax when Tommy collided with a Halifax winger, Turnbull, when the accident happened. Whitehaven went on to win the game 24-13. Tommy played 230 times for Whitehaven in a career that stretched from 1948 to 1956. In that career he scored 36 tries and kicked 3 goals for a total of 114 points. Tommy is the sixth player to be inducted into the Vice Presidents Hall of Fame
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 17:02:53 +0000
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