Career Record for Featherstone
Appearances			Tries	Goals	Drop Goals	Points
Total	Start	Sub
166	166	0	35	0	0	105

If at first you don’t succeed... Featherstone Rovers were originally interested in Jim Hunt in 1956. As captain of the Yorkshire Under 19 side, he had impressed in trials with the club, but instead he chose to sign for Castleford. Two years later, he was released by Castleford, and the Rovers backed their initial assessment and signed him. They were proved right. He was straight into the senior team at home to York on 5 April 1958 and he retained a permanent place for six years. His debut was impressive enough in that he virtually won the game with a splendid individual effort which gave him a try on his first outing. He scored 4 tries in 5 games and Rovers were more than satisfied.

He had problems with illness at the start of the 1958/59 season and did not resume until November, when he promptly scored again v St Helens (at home). He was not, however, renowned for his try-scoring, although he did score a hat-trick against St Helens in April 1961. Most of his work was not entered on the scoresheet. He impressed as a solid dependable centre whose defensive qualities were outstanding. His partnership with Cyril Woolford was one of the features of the late 1950s and Woolford's try-scoring feats benefited from his service from Jim Hunt. They played together on 73 occasions sharing the euphoria of the Yorkshire Cup final win over Hull in 1959 and the stirring encounters of the RL Cup runs of 1959, 1960 and 1961, when Wembley was so cruelly denied - but some classic matches were left in our memories. The Rovers scored some thrilling victories where every player needed to contribute and Hunt never let the side down.

When Woolford retired in the close season of 1961, Hunt then partnered Ken Greatorex and newcomer Gary Jordan and was again disappointed to suffer defeats in another RL Cup semi-final, a Championship semi-final in 1962 and a Yorkshire Cup final against Halifax in 1963. A year later he played his last game at Wakefield on 3 October 1964 and gave up the game. His strong individualistic play and high tackling count must have taken its toll, but he contributed decisively to the Rovers' success of that period. Tragically, Hunt died in March 1969 after a long illness at the age of just thirty-one.

 

Biography by Ron Bailey