Career Record for Featherstone
Appearances			Tries	Goals	Drop Goals	Points
Total	Start	Sub
235	232	3	44	5	3	145

Like father like son! John Howard Bridges is the son of Keith Bridges, who made 110 appearances for Castleford between 1957 and 1963 and was a more than average hooker. John Howard followed in his father's footsteps in the hooking position, but joined the Rovers from Featherstone juniors. Despite his given name, he also inherited his father's 'Keith'!

As good as his father was, even he would admit that his son was one of the best in the game.  Without exception, he was regarded as one of the fastest hookers at a time when hookers were the major source of possession. Indeed, he was so fast at striking for the ball in the scrum that team-mates would swear that often referees would penalise him unjustly because they considered he had gained the ball illegally. Having signed for the Rovers in January 1969, he faced initial competition for the number 9 slot from Vince Farrar and Dennis Morgan and he did not make his first senior appearance until August 1970, when he came on as a substitute against Wigan. His full senior debut came five days later on 31 August 1970 at Castleford. It was not until the end of that season that he established himself as the first choice hooker and from then he never looked back.

His reputation grew with his consistency in the early 1970s and the possession he gained for his side undoubtedly helped the Rovers to move up into the top echelons of the league table from 1972. His general play earned him many Man of the Match awards. When the Rovers began their RL Cup trail in 1973, they were drawn against the all-star Salford side in the first round. The Post Office Road crowd witnessed a spectacle as the Rovers had to pull out all the stops to prevent their talented opponents taking command. That they achieved this was partly due to the overwhelming scrum possession - Bridges heeled all twelve scrums in the first half, and although it levelled at 4-4 in the second half the damage had been done and Rovers won 18-11. They progressed to the final to beat Bradford 33-14 in what was to be Keith's only winning Cup medal with the Rovers. He played in the 1974 RL Cup Final and the Captain Morgan Trophy final against Warrington, as well as the Yorkshire Cup final against Leeds in 1976, but lost on each occasion.

Such form brought its due reward in representative recognition when he played for Great Britain in France at Grenoble on 20 January 1974, and was retained for the return fixture at Wigan a month later when he was reported as the best tackler in the match, as well as giving Great Britain the edge in the scrums. Having suitably impressed, he was selected for the 1974 tour of Australasia, but injured his knee in the First Test v Australia at Brisbane, which curtailed his tour to eight appearances. He underwent a cartilage operation in September and was out of action until December, but returned with all his old verve and skill to play in six of England's eight games in the World Championship of 1975. England finished runners-up to Australia in the final table. On the County side, he represented Yorkshire on five occasions between October 1975 and October 1977.

On the home front, the famous front row of Thompson, Bridges and Farrar made their first appearance as a unit for Rovers in 1975 and helped sweep the club from runners-up in 1975/76 to First Division champions in 1976/77. He only missed three games in the championship season, his best ever for the club.  After the euphoria of that magnificent season, the bubble burst with the departure of Thompson and Farrar and a year later Keith severed his ties with the club he had served so well. Injured in the opening game of season 1978/79 at home to Huddersfield in the Yorkshire Cup game on 20 August 1978, the resultant knee ligament operation kept him out for the rest of the season. He had resumed training in the close season of 1979 when Bradford Northern made contact and he was transferred for £23,000. It was reckoned that the only hooker who could compete with him was Ray Hanscombe and when Bridges was injured, the club had signed Hanscombe so considered they could let Bridges go. He later moved from Bradford to Hull in July 1982 and ironically then suffered another Final defeat, playing against his former Rovers in their shock RL Cup Final victory over favourites Hull in 1983.

To be a supreme specialist in the art of hooking would have been sufficient claim, but what made Bridges special was his extraordinary talent in loose play. He had great ball handling skills, was speedy in the loose, a fearless tackler and read the game well particularly from the acting half position. Such talent created many tries for his colleagues and he made a full and significant contribution to one of the finest Rovers sides in the history of the club.

 

Biography by Ron Bailey