Doug Laughton, who has died aged 80, was a key player in the Great Britain Ashes-winning team of 1970 and a fine servant to his first two clubs, St Helens and Wigan, where he enjoyed success despite knee problems that threatened to cut short his career. However, it was as a player, and later coach, with his hometown team of Widnes that he will probably be best remembered.
Doug was approaching his 29th birthday when his childhood hero, Chemics coach Vince Karalius, paid a club record fee of £6,000 to bring him to Naughton Park in March 1973.
Given his age and injury record It was a risky move and it did not pay off immediately but, by the time of his playing retirement in 1979, Doug had helped Widnes win every available major honour and become the most successful club side of the era.
During his last full season as a player he had also served as coach and he carried on in the hot seat, collecting yet more trophies, until his shock resignation in 1983.
He took charge again in 1986 after a few relatively unsuccessful years for the club and he soon had the black and whites challenging for honours once more.
A feature of Doug’s first spell in charge had been his ability to not only spot emerging talent – he made a point of personally watching youth rugby from the touchline in all weathers – but also to convince those young stars that their futures lay at Widnes.
Mick Burke, Andy Gregory and Joe Lydon were just three of the all-time greats that he brought to Widnes. He continued with that policy during his second stint and earned a measure of fame in the national media when he used those famous powers of persuasion to recruit Martin Offiah, Alan Tait, Jonathan Davies and other big names from rugby union.
His new team of all-stars won back to back championships as well as knockout honours and, unforgettably, the World Club Challenge against Canberra at Old Trafford.
At the height of his Widnes success, Doug was tempted to try his hand at repeating those triumphs at Leeds and he joined the Headingley outfit in 1991.
Though he took the Loiners (soon to become Rhinos) to Wembley for two seasons in succession after a sixteen-year absence, he found it impossible to keep pace with the relentless march of the Wigan club.
Having left Leeds, he returned to coach Widnes for a third time but not even the abilities of Doug Laughton could overcome the club’s financial difficulties and he stepped aside from the newly-renamed Vikings in 1997 with nothing left to prove in the game and into a well-earned retirement.
Charles Douglas Laughton was only a few pounds over eleven stone when he signed for St Helens in the early 1960s. His new coaches thought that he was built to play in the centres, though his genes might have implied a career in the number six or seven jersey.
His uncle and grand-uncle, John “Jerry” Laughton and Paddy Douglas, respectively, had been the Widnes halfbacks at Wembley in 1930, with Douglas lifting the cup as captain.
Another grand-uncle, Peter Lyons, had a brief career as a halfback before coaching the Chemics for 21 years in their first golden age. And yet-another grand-uncle, Jack O’Garra, was a halfback on the Great Britain tour of Australasia in 1914. But Doug was determined that he would be a loose forward like his idol, Vince Karalius, and he worked hard to develop his physique to achieve that dream.
He won silverware at both Knowsley Road and Central Park (he signed for Wigan in 1967) but missed out on Wembley success, having been injured for Saints’ 1966 win and on the losing side with Wigan in 1970. He finally lifted the Challenge Cup as Widnes skipper in 1975, one of many honours won in that glorious spell.
On the international stage, Doug battled back to test level after his 1970 tour exploits and he was a clear man of the match for Britain in an otherwise disappointing team performance when the Ashes were lost at Warrington in 1973.
Doug was a hot favourite to captain the Lions down under in 1974 but he chose instead to play club football for Canterbury in the Sydney competition, a decision he later came to regret.
He did captain the 1979 Lions but his age (35), and troublesome knee, severely limited his contribution to that tour and he was forced to halt his playing career just months later.
Doug cheerfully confessed to being a “big-head”, but then he had a lot to be proud of. As well as his playing skills – a fierce tackler, he could also scatter a defence with a rapid charge or split the opposing ranks with sublime passes, long or short – he was also a hugely popular coach with his players.
Funny, intelligent and a real visionary within the game, he charmed all who he came into contact with. Doug Laughton was a one-off who will be sorely missed by his family, his many friends and countless admirers amongst the wider rugby league fraternity. RIP.
