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| Vic Darlison played for Bradford in the 1948 Challenge Cup final |
As
Rovers’ depressing battle for survival continued throughout the 1930s and 40s, what
kept the club alive was their ability to attract sufficiently talented local
juniors, showcase them by giving them first team rugby at the earliest
opportunity, then selling them to the highest bidder. Of course, the impact on
the first team squad was devastating and Rovers were often bottom or
thereabouts of the whole league. But the money from transfer fees was quite
simply the lifeline that kept the club alive.
From the late twenties Rovers had been well served
by a rough and ready prop forward by the name of Oliver Darlison. After 120 games in the first team he was sold on to
Huddersfield. A few years later Oliver’s younger brother Vic was given his
first run out at loose forward towards the end of another poor season in
1935/36, when Rovers sell-sell-sell policy was really taking its toll on the
playing field. Vic Darlison’s true
position was hooker and though it appeared that Percy Morris had a mortgage on the number nine shirt it wasn’t long
before young Darlison had ousted the old-timer and made it his. His Rovers
career was all too brief spanning just 51 games, before a deal was done at the
beginning of 1938/39. Rovers swopped Darlison for veteran Joe Golby from Wigan.
Although Darlison was a class player to lose, it was
a decent bit of business as Golby gave Featherstone Rovers very good service in
the twilight of his career. Despite having played much of his career at
Dewsbury and then Wigan, Joe was originally from Streethouse and so was ‘coming
home’ at the end of a notable career. He was hooker for Rovers in the 1940
Yorkshire Cup final, and was up against, oddly enough, Vic Darlison! Despite
being a Wigan player, Vic occasionally guested for Wakefield Trinity during the
war. There was obviously no love lost between the rival number nines as both
men were sent off together in the second half, but Golby had the last laugh,
picking up his winner’s medal.
Such was Golby’s form that although Rovers had initially
signed Jim Bowden from York as
Darlison’s replacement, he couldn’t get in the team. Golby’s consistency mirrored
that of the everlasting Percy Morris, playing 118 games in four seasons.
Eventually time caught up with him, and Joe Golby moved to Batley to finish his
career. Bowden now finally got his
chance and he served the club well, playing 88 games in 6 seasons as well as
kicking a creditable 46 goals. Rovers have not had too many goal-kicking
hookers over the years.
Meanwhile, Vic Darlison had left Wigan for Bradford Northern
who reached the war-time Challenge Cup finals of 1944 and 1945 where Vic played
alongside Eric Batten. Vic had time in February 1945 to pop back to
Featherstone to play a cheeky game for Rovers as a war-time guest player. He
brought his mate Eric Batten with him who played on the wing and scored a try
as Rovers beat Huddersfield 14-7. Two months later they were both running out
for Bradford in the Cup final against Huddersfield. So the seeds had been sown
in 1945 for Eric Batten to come back to Featherstone more permanently after the
war. Vic Darlison (and Eric) went to Wembley with Bradford three years running
from 1947 to 1949, giving him a total of five Cup final appearances.
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