FORMER Wire winger Brian Glover was good enough to play for Great Britain but never did, says his ex-teammate Alastair Brindle.
Glover, who made 333 appearances for the club, was inducted into the Warrington Wolves Past Players Hall of Fame at the association's annual dinner staged in the refurbished Legends Lounge at The Halliwell Jones Stadium yesterday.
With Glover not in attendance due to poorly health, former teammate Alf Arnold received the induction certificate on his behalf and Brindle led the tributes after chairman George Thornton announced the new addition to the prestige list of Wire stars.
Fellow Hall of Famer Brindle, a Warrington-born prop who made 281 appearances, said his career ran in parallel to Glover's and in fact made his first-team debut two weeks after the winger did.
"There's all sorts of different types of wingers," said Brindle.
"There's the Bevan type, who was very elusive, and there was the Vollenhoven type. He played for Saints and was an all-rounder, who could sidestep and swerve.
"Brian went in one direction to the try line - route one!
"He didn't cut inside or try to sidestep, he would run over opposing wingers because he was a powerful lad.
"Whether he was 20, 30, 40 or 50 yards away, it was route one to the line.
"I can see him now. He used to call it 'glid in', as in gliding horizontally. He went horizontal like a missile going in for a try.
"He was a fantastic winger and I've only got admiration for him."
Brindle has a theory as to why Glover never gained international caps to go with his 10 Lancashire appearances.
He said: "Brian wasn't a good trainer. He was GB standard without the training, but because of his come-day-go-day attitude he didn't get picked."
Glover was from St Helens and had a spell with his hometown club at the back end of a career that was concluded at Rochdale Hornets.
Glover started his career as a hooker with Pilkington Recs and in a match at home was moved to centre to cover for an absentee and showed his pace, impressing former Wire winger Albert Johnson.
He made his debut on the left wing on September 14, 1957, in unusual circumstances.
Glover had been on his way to play for the A team at Wilderspool when a committee man picked him up in his Jag and sped him off to Oldham instead as he was needed by Ces Mountford for the first team.
When they got to Watersheddings the first-team players were already on the pitch!
After only 16 first-team appearances, Glover was called into the Army to do his national service and so he missed the next two seasons.
For most of the time he was stationed at Rhyl and kept fit by playing rugby union for Western Command.
At 5ft 9 ins and 12st 7lbs the robust winger went on to be the club's top try scorer in seasons 1962-63, 1964-65 and 1965-66.
His tally of 130 tries put him 13th in the club's all-time listing.
He was a Lancashire Cup winner with Warrington in 1965, scoring a try in the final as Rochdale Hornets were defeated 16-5, and gained a medal for Warrington topping the Lancashire League in 1968.
He had to accept a runners-up medal in the replayed Lancashire Cup Final of 1967 against Saints.
Glover earned a Testimonial, but got a free transfer in the process!
His last game in primrose and blue was at Barrow on April 3, 1970, losing by the identical score to that on his debut, 15-17.
St Helens snapped him up and then in 1971 he moved to Rochdale until he retired.
Glover reflected on his career in an interview with Warrington Guardian when marking the 100th anniversary of Wilderspool Stadium.
He said: "Looking back at my time with the club, the camaraderie is what sticks in my mind the most.
"It wasn't the money at all, it was all about winning a place in the first team and playing well. There was no fighting among the players. We got on with the job and enjoyed playing together."
His memories of home matches centred around the problems he and the players experienced getting to the ground before a game without getting collared by the crowd!
He said: "The atmosphere in the ground was always good and the excitement when we ran on the pitch before a game was unforgettable.
"But the big problem was getting to the ground before the crowds started arriving. I didn't have a car so I was on public transport and getting over Bridge Foot when the crowds were in full flow wasn't the easiest thing in the world.
"We'd have to get to the ground two hours before kick-off for the big matches.
"Later on I started getting a lift and I remember us taking the back route over Runcorn Bridge so we could get in away from the traffic."
He shared more memories of his playing days.
"Brian Bevan was there in the early days and being a winger, I obviously learnt a lot from him," he said.
"Jim Challinor and Laurie Gilfedder were big influences and good friends too.
"It was tough breaking into the first team because some of the older blokes would try to keep you out of it, but once you were in there and proved yourself then you made some great friends."
Despite going on to play for his home-town team, he did not find the experience as memorable as his times at Wilderspool.
He said: "It wasn't the same as Warrington. We even had to wash our own kit!
"I went on to Rochdale for a couple of seasons after that and had a good time there though."
After retiring from the game, Brian worked as a maintenance fitter before being forced to take early retirement due to problems with his back and neck.
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