Sol Roper

John Roper (birth registered in the third quarter of 1936^[1] – 14 October 2015), also known by the nickname of "Sol", was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1960s and 1970s.

Sol Roper

Personal information
Full name	John Roper
Born	third ¼ 1936 Whitehaven district, England
Died	14 October 2015 (aged 79)
Playing information
Position	Scrum-half
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P ≤1955–66 Workington Town 397+2 94 1 284 Broughton Moor Whitehaven 82 Total 481 94 1 0 284 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P ≤1958–≥58 Cumberland 21
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% ≤1970–71 Whitehaven 1978–80 Workington Town Total 0 0 0 0

Rugby League clubs

• Captained Hensingham A.R.L.F.C. (in Hensingham Whitehaven),^[2]
• Workington Town,
• Broughton Moor A.R.L.F.C. (in Broughton Moor),
• Whitehaven R.L.F.C., as a scrum-half. After he stopped playing rugby league he coached at the club.^[3][4]

Playing career

County honours

Sol Roper at representative level for the Cumberland rugby league team, whilst at Workington Town.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Sol Roper played scrum-half, sustained a shoulder injury but returned to the field, in Workington Town's 12–21 defeat by Barrow in the 1954–55 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 30 April 1955 in front of a crowd of 66,513, and was, at the age of 21 years, the youngest Wembley captain in Workington Town's 9–13 defeat by Wigan in the 1957–58 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, on Saturday 10 May 1958.^[5]

Genealogical information

Sol Roper was the father of the rugby league footballer Tony Roper , and the grandfather of the rugby league footballer Jon Roper.^[6]