'IF Muhammad Ali had fought him in a phone box we'd have had a new heavyweight champion of the world!'

Just one of many testaments to the toughness of Widnes legend Vince Karalius by former opponent and current biographer Maurice Bamford.

"I had both the fortune and misfortune to play against him," former GB coach Bamford explains. "Fortunate to be on the same pitch as one of rugby league's all-time greats and unfortunate because he knocked me down a good few times during the game!"

"He was a very special person - both as a player, where his total competitive approach made him a winner and as a man because he was a true gentlemen.

"I don't think enough is done in the modern game to remember players like Vince."

That's why Bamford has written Vince Karalius: A Rugby League Legend to celebrate one of his and many others' all-time heroes of the game.

The book charts Karalius's journey from a childhood in 1930s Ditton, to making a name for himself as the toughest of forwards for St Helens and Great Britain (for whom he scared the Aussies witless as 'the Wild Bull of the Pampas') before returning to captain and coach his hometown club.

But Bamford's book doesn't just chart a glorious career in rugby league. It paints a picture of Karalius's life in a now virtually unrecognisable era, with the author's fondness for the man and the game clearly shining through.

Vince Karalius: A Rugby League Legend is on sale priced £10.99, from WH Smith in Widnes, Curiosity Bookshop in Runcorn and the Widnes Vikings club shop.

And thanks to publishers Vertical Editions, the World has five copies to give away.

All you've got to do is answer this question: From which country did Karalius's grandparents hail?

Send entries, including your name and address to: The Runcorn & Widnes World, The Academy, Bridge Street, Warrington, WA1 2RU or leave them in the World's post box at Asda, Widnes. Closing date: Tuesday, June 20.