Career Record for Featherstone
Appearances			Tries	Goals	Drop Goals	Points
Total	Start	Sub
368	367	1	162	503	0	1492

One normally envisages a scrum-half of considerably smaller stature than 5ft 9in and 13st 3lb, but those were the physical attributes the Rovers acquired when they signed seventeen-year-old Don Fox in 1953 from their junior side. These were unconventional attributes for this position at the time, and caused some contemporary debate, but Fox answered the sceptics in a compelling and direct manner. He was a brilliant footballer and achieved the most prolific points-scoring feats for the club, the like of which had not been seen since the days of Jim Denton in the 1920s.

He made his senior debut v Leeds (away) in the second leg of a Yorkshire Cup game on 9 September 1953. Tony Allen was the goal-kicker then and it was not until his third match, at Rochdale on 19 September, that Fox kicked his first goals - three which won the match 9-6. In the next match, v Hull, the Post Office crowd was treated to 14 points (2 tries, 4 goals) in a 29-7 win over Hull and he followed this up with all 13 points in a drawn game with Keighley, levelling the scores with a last-minute penalty. The points avalanche had begun, with extraordinary talent and maturity from a seventeen year old. 

The Fox machine then just went on and on. He had his competitors who challenged, but the departure of such talented scrum-halves as Ray Evans, Tommy Smales and Alan Marchant to other clubs was testimony to his unrivalled performances. When yet another talent was unearthed in Carl Dooler (another Sharlston product), it was decided to absorb both of their abilities by switching Fox to loose-forward v Leeds (at home) in the second round of the Yorkshire Cup on 17 September 1963. Such was his talent that he was equally at home in this new position and, after only six appearances, he played for Great Britain against Australia in the number 13 jersey at Leeds on 30 November 1963, scoring a try and playing a prominent part in Great Britain's face-saving 16 -5 victory.

What a season that was for Fox! He shared a joint testimonial with his long-standing half-back partner, Joe Mullaney, was captain, and set up more records. Initially, he had set up a new seasonal points record of 235 points (19 tries, 89 goals) in only his second season (1954/55),but this was then broken by Terry Clawson in 1959/60 with 256. Undeterred, Fox regained the record in this amazing 1963/64 season with his first century of goals (179) - another record - and 794 points in 40 appearances.  He had a personal and club match best of 12 goals and one try (27 points) in the cup game v Stanningley and for good measure broke the all-time club record of most career points when he overtook Jim Denton's 1141 points v Wigan (at home) on 14 December 1963. No wonder he was the Player of the Season.

With such a phenomenal record, it is difficult to single out any of his outstanding performances. His goal-kicking won many matches, but in scoring more tries than any other Rovers player (162), there were many games to choose from. No other scrum-half could have scored the try literally through the scrum against Hull in the Yorkshire Cup final in 1959 which set the Rovers on their way to victory, and while he used his bulk on that ploy many times to score, his talent created others.  Against Halifax in September 1956, he ran 60 yards, beating four defenders, to register an amazing score. Against Hunslet in January 1957, the visitors were leading 9-4 with 12 minutes to go. In a grandsrand finish, he created a try for Fennell, converted the try from the touchline and won the game with a dropped goal three minutes from time – just two more snippets of a magisterial footballer.

He made his full Great Britain debut v France at Bradford on 10 April 1956, scoring two tries in the first of three appearances. His county debut followed his country debut on 19 September 1956, again the first of three appearances for Yorkshire. He toured Australia in 1967, but had to return through injury after only five appearances and missed the New Zealand part of the tour. In September 1965, he was transferred to Wakefield Trinity for £3,000 and there he made up for his previous disappointments of missing out at the semi-final stage of the RL Cup in 1955,1960 and 1962 by playing at Wembley in 1968. Trinity lost to Leeds 11-10 in that dramatic 'water splash final', but Fox justly won the Lance Todd Trophy as Man of the Match.

His natural footballing ability, his powerful short dashes near the line, his accurate kicking and his perfectly executed moves were all sheer delight for those who had the privilege of watching him, and they were all the trademark of a remarkable player. At one stage he held every club record bar one until the equally remarkable Steve Quinn eventually came along to take most of them.  Nevertheless, remarkably fifty-five years after his departure, and despite the greater frequency of try scoring in the modern summer game, he is still the club’s record try scorer with 162.  A record that is unlikely to be beaten in the foreseeable future.  By whatever benchmark you choose Don Fox was truly a great player.  

 

Biography by Ron Bailey