Profile

Signed for a club record fee of £4,500 in October, 1953, from Huddersfield, “Dick” Cracknell had already gained international honours during his time at Fartown, winning two caps against the 1951 “Kiwis”.

A winger who stood 5ft 11 in tall and weighing over 13 stones, he represented a formidable presence on the Oldham right flank and with fellow Yorkshire man John Etty, provided the Roughyeds with a “white rose” wing pairing that posed a threat to any defence. While at Watersheddings he was further capped by Yorkshire county and virtually made the Oldham No 2 shirt his own for the best part of six years. A consistent try scorer who played in all the major finals the club appeared in during the 1950’s, he was also a useful goalkicker and once bagged 21 points in the game against Blackpool Borough on November 24th, 1956, from nine goals and a try. Needless to say, Bernard Ganley was absent for this match.

It is, however, for his try scoring that Dick is best remembered. Four times he scored more than 20 in a season and was top of the Oldham list in 1957-58 and 58-59.