Joe Egan (rugby league)
English rugby league footballer and coach

Joseph Egan (26 March 1919 – 11 November 2012) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and coached in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for Great Britain (vice-captain 1950 Great Britain Lions tour) and England and Lancashire, and at club level for Wigan from 1938 to 1950, Oldham (World War II guest) and Leigh, as a hooker, or second-row, and coached at club level for Leigh, Wigan, Widnes, Warrington and Blackpool Borough. Egan is a Wigan Hall of Fame inductee, and was a life member at Wigan,
Egan later became coach of Wigan, taking them to Championship success in the 1959–60 season.
Background
Joe Egan was born in Wigan, Lancashire, England, and he died aged 93 in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
Playing career
Wigan
During the 1938–39 season Joe Egan played at hooker in Wigan's 10–7 victory over Salford in the 1938–39 Lancashire Cup Final at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 22 October 1938.
Egan played hooker for a Rugby League XIII against Northern Command XIII at Thrum Hall, Halifax on Saturday 21 March 1942. During the 1943–44 season Egan played hooker, and scored a drop goal in Wigan's 13–9 victory over Dewsbury in the Championship Final first-leg at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 13 May 1944, and played hooker, and scored a try in the 12–5 victory over Dewsbury in the Championship Final second-leg at Crown Flatt, Dewsbury on Saturday 20 May 1944.
During the 1945–46 season Egan played at hooker in the 3–7 defeat by Widnes in the 1945–46 Lancashire Cup Final at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on Saturday 27 October 1945. He also won two Championships with Wigan in the 1945–46 season, and the 1946–47 season. During the 1946–47 season he played hooker in the 9–3 victory over Belle Vue Rangers in the 1946–47 Lancashire Cup Final at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 26 October 1946.
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This entry incorporates text from “Joe Egan (rugby league)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.