Warrington Wolves winger Brian Bevan enters Hall of Heroes

BRIAN Eyrl Bevan is one of Rugby League's all-time greats.

The Australian wing king set records that will never be beaten. He was a one-off and those still alive who saw him play feel heartily privileged.

Bev was not your most likely Rugby League superstar. When he first came to England looking for a trial he had to win over prejudices against his physique.

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Warrington offered him an 'A' team trial and it was one of the best decisions made by Wilderspool chiefs. Bevan became a permanent fixture on the Wire wing for 16 years and his skills were hailed throughout the game.

When Warrington played an away game the attendance was guaranteed to be swelled by 5,000. Altogether, he played a club record 620 times for Warrington, scoring a world record 740 tries for one club in the process.

After moving on to finish his career with Blackpool and including his scoring feats for representative sides such as the now defunct Other Nationalities, he stretched his world record to 796 tries between 1946 and 1964.

HALL OF HEROES: Check out fellow Warrington sporting greats to have been inducted

He made his first team Warrington debut at home to Oldham on November 17, 1945, and made a tearful farewell appearance against Leigh on Easter Monday in 1962. With Bevan in their side, Warrington won 12 major trophies. They won the Rugby League Championship, three times; the Challenge Cup, twice; the Lancashire League, six times and the Lancashire Cup, once.

Bevan topped Warrington's try-scoring list every season from 1946/47 to 1960/61 except for 1956/57 when he was hit with injuries. He scored seven tries in a match twice, six tries in a match four times, five tries in a match six times and four tries in a match 20 times. Bevan also scored 66 hat-tricks.

So why was Bevan able to set such high achievement levels? His side-step was a powerful weapon, possibly second only to his outstanding speed. He also had the ability to swerve away from defenders and in many cases make them look like fools.

Bevan was born in Sydney on June 24, 1924. As a boy, he spent hours on the world famous Bondi Beach, surfing and swimming and developing a seemingly frail body into a fighting frame.

When he first played rugby at primary school, he was a stand off but he fractured an elbow in one game and his father, Rick, who had played for top Sydney Rugby League side Eastern Suburbs during the 1920s, advised him to move out to the wing.

As a 12-year-old Bevan was the New South Wales sprint champion,. His father took him to all the big Rugby League games at the Sydney Cricket Ground and, on his way home, young Bev would side-step all the telegraph poles en route. As a youngster, he used to play with 26 marbles, imagining they were 26 Rugby League players and, using his finger as the ball, he would work out different moves.

But he enjoyed, and excelled at most sports. Particular favourites were swimming, athletics and cricket and he once scored 127 not out for his school's first XI. On leaving school, Bevan took up an apprenticeship in the printing trade.

But the world was still at war and, in 1942, he joined the Australian Navy at Cairns. Bevan spent most of his days at sea aboard the HMS Katoomba. In November, 1942, the ship was a little north of Papua New Guinea when Japanese dive-bombers attacked.

Miraculously, the ship suffered little damage and Bevan, who was off watch, was unhurt. Around this time, Bevan was chosen to play rugby for the Navy. He was rushed ashore but only arrived at the ground after the game had started. However, wearing a borrowed pair of torn and baggy shorts, he entered the fray and bewildered the opposition by scoring six tries without a hand being laid on him.

Shortly before the end of the war, Bevan was transferred to the HMAS Australia which had been damaged in action and was heading for England for a refit. Before leaving Australia, Bevan's father gave him a letter of introduction to fellow Australian Bill Shankland, who had played with Bevan senior at Easts in the 1920s.

Shankland, who had played for Warrington in the 1933 and 1936 Challenge Cup finals at Wembley, was then the golf professional at the Temple Newsham Club, near Leeds.

As soon as Bevan got shore leave in England, he travelled to Temple Newsham and introduced himself. Shankland took Bevan, who was now 21, for trials at Leeds and Hunslet, but neither club showed any interest.

Shankland advised the young right winger to try his luck at Wilderspool. Bevan made his Wire debut for Warrington's 'A' team as a trialist against Widnes A at Wilderspool on Saturday, November 10, 1945.

Warrington won 23-8 and Bevan astonished the small crowd with his pace. A minute before the end of the game, he scored a brilliant try from halfway, beating four men on his way to the line. Bevan made his first team debut at home to Oldham seven days later. Warrington won 12-3 in front of 6,000.

Bevan signed for Warrington the following day, November 18, 1945, but had to go back to Australia to be demobbed. He arrived back in Warrington in September 1946.

Bevan's arrival was in time for the first round, second leg of the Lancashire Cup at home to Salford. Bevan scored the first of his 740 tries for the first team - by neatly side-stepping the Salford full back - and added the goal.

That match was the start of an incredible run in which Bevan played in 42 consecutive games until the end of the season and became the club's leading try scorer with 48 and goalkicker with 34. He also became the first Warrington player to top Rugby League's try scorers' list and his 48 tries smashed the club's tries in a season record which stood at 36.

On leaving Wilderspool, Bevan joined Blackpool Borough as a coach in June 1962, before signing as a player for two seasons and scoring 17 tries.

At Halifax in 1964, at age of 40, he played for Other Nationalities in an international sevens competition and won the trophy for 'Player of the Day'.

Bevan continued to thrill crowds at Testimonial games well into the 1970s.

It was no surprise in October 1988 that Bev was among the original nine all-time greats to be featured in Rugby League's Hall of Fame.

Bevan died in a Southport hospital at the age of 66 on Monday, June 3, 1991.