(Image: NQ Archives)
IT was a successful debut for Bradford Northern’s Kevin Parker on this day in 1970.
The teenager had huge boots to fill, taking over at centre from the popular Dave Stockwell, who had been ruled out with torn shoulder ligaments.
Northern’s start to the season had been chaotic, with a remarkable 34 players used by the club after just 13 first-team games.
Remarkably, they had used exactly the same number of players across the whole of the previous season.
Despite the upheaval, 19-year-old Parker, who had been signed from Hunslet Intermediates in the off-season, held his nerve at Tattersfield.
Bradford played well in South Yorkshire and came away with an 18-6 win.
But it was something of a sticking plaster, with Northern absolutely hammered in their next three league games against St Helens, Featherstone and Wigan.
Stockwell was always going to be missed, having been integral to Bradford pretty much since their reformation in 1964.
An all-action player with a swift turn of pace and a devastating sidestep, Stockwell made an incredible 321 appearances for the club until his departure in 1977.
Capable of playing in the halves and at centre, it was Stockwell’s pivot partnership with Tommy Smales that was vital to an unsung trophy in Bradford’s history.
The pair guided the club to glory in the 1965 Yorkshire Cup final, Northern’s first silverware since going under.
Bradford’s player of the year twice, Stockwell was also part of the side that reached the 1973 Challenge Cup final at Wembley.