Ken Eyre

For the English speedway rider, see Ken Eyre (speedway rider).

Ken Eyre (11 November 1941 – 5 September 2018)^[3][4] was a professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Hunslet, Leeds and Keighley as a prop.^[1] As a child Ken represented Bewerly Street school, Hunslet Schools' R.L. and Yorkshire Schools R.L.

Kenneth Eyre

Personal information
Full name	Kenneth Eyre
Born	(1941-11-11)11 November 1941
Died	5 September 2018(2018-09-05) (aged 76)
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1958–66 Hunslet 228 18 0 0 54 1966–70 Leeds 122 10 0 0 30 1970 Keighley Total 350 28 0 0 84 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1965 Great Britain 1 0 0 0 0 1965 Yorkshire 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]

Playing career

Club career

Eyre made his début for Hunslet in the season 1958-59, he was transferred from Hunslet to Leeds in September 1966 for a fee of £5,950 He broke his arm 4 times in his opening season at Leeds.^{[citation needed]}

Eyre played at prop in Hunslet's 16–20 defeat by Wigan in the 1965 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 8 May 1965, in front of a crowd of 89,016,^[5] and played at prop in Leeds' 11–10 victory over Wakefield Trinity in the 1968 Challenge Cup "Watersplash" Final Wembley on Saturday 11 May 1968, in front of a crowd of 87,100.

Eyre played in Hunslet's 22–44 defeat by St. Helens in the Rugby Football League Championship Final during the 1958–59 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, and played in Leeds' 16–14 victory over Castleford in the Rugby Football League Championship Final during the 1968–69 season at Odsal Stadium on Saturday 24 May 1969.

Eyre played at prop in Hunslet's 12–2 victory over Hull Kingston Rovers in the 1962 Yorkshire Cup Final at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds on Saturday 27 October 1962, and in the 8–17 defeat by Bradford Northern in the 1965 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1965–66 season at Headingley on Saturday 16 October 1965, and played at prop, in Leeds' 11–10 victory over Castleford in the 1968 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1968–69 season at Belle Vue, Wakefield on Saturday 19 October 1968.

Representative honours

Eyre won a cap for Great Britain while at Hunslet in 1965 against New Zealand.^[1]

Eyre represented Yorkshire while at Hunslet against New Zealand at Castleford in 1965, against Lancashire at Swinton in 1965, and against Cumberland at Headingley, Leeds in 1965.

Personal life

Ken Eyre was the older brother of the rugby league second-row who played in the 1960s for Leeds and Keighley; Albert Eyre (born c. second ¼ 1943).^[6]