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By Philip Clough (abridged from a long article)
Rugby League is their game. Some of the “stars” of the quiz (top row, from the left) Ian Pilkington, Ron Thomas, Peter Scaife, Margaret Barker, Pat Howard, David Clegg, Charlie Maybury. In front: Philip Clough, David Riley and Lee Maybury. Burnley is a football, not a Rugby League town, so why was the Brunshaw Hotel holding a Rugby League quiz night? The Express’s Philip Clough felt he might be the only Rugby League fan present, so had high hopes of winning a prize, but it turned out that the pub was packed out with RL fans from all over the area, many Wigan fans, like himself.
Special guest was Wigan player Martin Dermott, who was unsure what to expect coming to Burnley but was pleasantly surprised by the interest in Rugby League.
Charlie Maybury and son Lee have been supporting Wigan for four years and explained “We were disillusioned with the football we were watching at Burnley, so we decided to go to a Rugby League match. The first game was Wigan against Leigh and after that we were addicted. It’s a much better atmosphere, the aggro is all on the pitch, it reminds me of watching football about 15 years ago.”
It was because of Charlie and Lee that Alban Barker started making the Sunday afternoon trip to Wigan but for Alban it was not a new experience. He said: “I used to play Rugby League and my father was an ardent Wigan supporter even though we lived in Leigh. He has been watching Wigan for 65 years and still goes regularly, even though he’s coming up to 80. Now my wife Margaret comes with me as well.”

Clifford Atherton is the Secretary of Lowerhouse Cricket Club which boasted a strong contingent at the quiz. Along with fellow Lowerhouse stalwart David Riley, Clifford has not missed a Wigan game in five years. “I was born and bred in Wigan and have been watching them for years,” said Clifford. “I was a football referee for a long time and that prevented me from seeing many Wigan games, but when the Rugby League switched to playing on Sundays, I started going regularly again. Now I’ve lost all interest in football and even a little bit in Cricket.” David Riley said of Rugby League “It’s fast, hard and every player on the field gives 100% in every game. There’s also a more civilised atmosphere on the terraces,” he said. But why do most of the Burnley contingent support Wigan rather than nearer clubs? Martin Dermott was clear: “People like to watch a winning team. If Wigan were not as successful as they are, I don’t think many people would travel 30 or 40 miles to watch us every week.” He didn’t think a rugby league club could succeed in a football town like Burnley, although people said that about Sheffield Eagles and now they are in the first division.
Last week Martin even showed a Russian visitor round Central Park and a league may be starting up in the Soviet Union, so who knows, we could be seeing fixtures like Wigan v Leningrad.