{"id":448753,"date":"2026-02-27T16:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/448753\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:18:08","slug":"tributes-paid-to-ex-rugby-league-player-kevin-whittle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/448753\/","title":{"rendered":"Tributes paid to ex-rugby league player Kevin Whittle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Kevin Whittle<\/a>, who played for Pilkington Recs and Swinton Lions during the 1960s and 1970s, has died and has been remembered as a true gentleman.\n<\/p>\n

\n Originally from St Helens, Kevin began his rugby career with the Pilks amateur club before making his professional debut for Swinton Lions on March 15, 1969, in a win over Whitehaven.\n<\/p>\n

\n A statement from Swinton Lions described him as an “iconic Lion” whose presence on and off the field left a lasting mark on the club and its supporters.\n<\/p>\n

\n He made 180 first-team appearances for the Lions, mainly wearing the number 11 shirt, and quickly became a favourite among fans.\n<\/p>\n

\n His final appearance came in August 1977 during a Lancashire Cup tie at Knowsley Road against St Helens.\n<\/p>\n

\n Kevin Whittle in his days as a Swinton player (Image: Swinton Lions)\n<\/p>\n

\n He returned to Pilkington Recs as a player and coach.\n<\/p>\n

\n At that time, the “red, amber and blacks” were regarded as one of the strongest amateur sides in the country and he was part of the club’s BARLA national cup winning teams.\n<\/p>\n

\n Writing in the Star earlier this week, rugby league historian Alex Service reflected how it was truly a golden era at City Road, as Kevin helped his team to three BARLA Cup final triumphs, together with numerous local and regional triumphs.\n<\/p>\n

\n “He had the total respect of everyone at City Road and rated loose-forward Sid Wright as his most talented team-mate,” Alex wrote.\n<\/p>\n

\n Kevin could not resist putting the jersey on one last time, despite advancing years and helped to set up a team in Nutgrove in the mid-1990s, when he was a mere youngster of 54 years!\n<\/p>\n

\n Married to Sheila, who sadly pre-deceased him, the couple are parents to Debbie, Danny [who followed in his footsteps by playing for Swinton and later, Warrington] and Dougie, together with associated grandchildren.\n<\/p>\n

\n The couple were mine hosts at various times at the Fisherman\u2019s Rest [Birkdale] and three watering holes in Rainford, all on Ormskirk Road, the Eagle and Child, Golden Lion and Bridge.\n<\/p>\n

\n Most St Helens supporters will remember their 13-year tenure behind the scenes at the Restaurant and Function Room complex at Knowsley Road.\n<\/p>\n

\n Tributes have poured in from across the rugby league community and beyond, including from former teammates, opponents, supporters, and those who knew him personally.\n<\/p>\n

\n John Green said: “R.I.P Kevin tough as teak loved watching him play at Swinton with are Kenny green Top man Two characters and gentleman”\n<\/p>\n

\n Tony Corbett said: “Lovely Man played against him a couple of times great player when playing for Leigh Miners Kevin will be surly missed god bless condolences to all his family”\n<\/p>\n

\n Many remembered him not just as a player, but as a friend, mentor, and true gentleman.\n<\/p>\n

\n Margaret Leybourne wrote: “Sad news Kevin created a winning ladies team at City Road 30 years ago..we never lost a game. The team consisted of ladies from Pilks hockey teams and nurses….Yorkshire teams never won!”\n<\/p>\n

\n Others praised his contribution off the field.\n<\/p>\n

\n Jackie Greenall said: “Sad news worked for Kev and Sheila when they ran Saints club lovely couple and a joy to work for i have lots of good memories”\n<\/p>\n

\n Alan Greenall remembered Kevin’s impact on younger players.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: “Great player gave me loads of advice back in my days at pilks as a young player & great honour playing in Barla national Cup final in 1982 With him RIP Kev”\n<\/p>\n

\n Ray Hurst said: “R.I.P. Kevin.\n<\/p>\n

\n “You were a respected opponent in Swinton v Town games.”\n<\/p>\n

\n Kevin was also fondly remembered for his time running the bars at Saints\u2019 Knowsley Road ground during the 1980s.\n<\/p>\n

\n Sandra Hesketh said: “Had many a great night in the saints bar when Kevin and Sheila were landlord and lady, RIP Kevin x”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kevin Whittle, who played for Pilkington Recs and Swinton Lions during the 1960s and 1970s, has died and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-448753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}