1950-1959, 1960-1969, Articles, Richard Gillham

Frank (Carlo) Carlton – From a Colt to a Saint

Richie Gillham28 October 20250 Comments28112 Mins Read

Richie Gillham

**A young Frank Carlton**
*(courtesy of Joan Griffin, Ancestry.co.uk)*

Frank Carlton was born in Blackbrook, St Helens, in 1936, into a community where sport was at the heart of everyday life. Like many boys of his generation, his first taste of competition came on the school playing fields. At school, he quickly earned a reputation as a fleet-footed winger in the soccer team. He helped guide Blackbrook to the Windle Pilkington Shield final, one of the key competitions in local schoolboy football. When he moved on to Parr Central School, his athletic abilities flourished. In athletics he excelled in the long jump, winning county selection for Lancashire and finishing third in the All-England Schools Championship. By the time he left Parr Central at fifteen, he was one of the brightest all-round sportsmen in the town.

He became a natural leader, taking on captaincy roles across multiple sports: cricket, soccer, and rugby league. A local newspaper, charting his early promise, famously described him as “captain of the school, captain of the soccer team, captain of the rugby team, and captain Cochran of H.M.S. Pinafore.” The last reference was to the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.

For all his versatility, football was Frank Carlton’s first love. It was no small achievement, then, when the Toffees invited him to sign amateur forms and play for their Colts side, the breeding ground for young talent.

At Everton, Carlton’s pace and positional sense were put to good use on the wing. He became a regular for the Colts and earned a Liverpool Minor Cup winners’ medal, a prize that confirmed his promise as a footballer. For the teenage Carlton, it seemed he was on track to make the grade in professional soccer.

But Frank had a sliding doors moment in a way that would change the course of his life. Everton sent word by a telegram asking him to report for training. He set out to attend but found the bus services disrupted by heavy traffic for the Haydock Park horse races. Unable to travel, he missed the appointment. Everton later claimed they had sent a second summons telegram, but Carlton never received it. At the time there were rumours of him signing for Rugby League side Leigh, but this was not true. Instead, opportunity knocked elsewhere. Harry Cook, chairman of St Helens Rugby League Club, had heard of Carlton’s athletic gifts and his recent spell with Everton Colts. Cook approached him directly, inviting him to sign for Saints. Carlton hesitated at first. Rugby was not his main sport, but through not getting the telegram from Everton, he thought their interest had cooled and so accepted Cook’s offer in October 1952.

Years later, Carlton recalled the episode with characteristic modesty: “It was a misunderstanding really. I was supposed to play for Everton, but the timing just didn’t work out. I never regretted changing to Rugby League. I always enjoyed the game and looked forward to playing for many years.”

Although his professional path veered toward rugby league, Carlton never abandoned his passion for Everton. Throughout his playing career, even at the height of his success with St Helens and later with Wigan, he remained a loyal Everton supporter. In later years, when offered moves further afield, he turned them down, preferring to stay close to Merseyside so he could still watch his beloved Blues at Goodison Park.

By the time Carlton committed himself to rugby league, St Helens already knew they had signed a special talent. His early matches in the club’s ‘A’ team confirmed it. Carlton’s speed and natural finishing instincts made him a constant threat out wide, and he quickly collected championship and Lancashire Shield medals at reserve level.

It was not long before he earned his senior debut. On 6 April 1953, Carlton stepped onto the field against Huddersfield in a 10-10 draw. Still a teenager, he showed composure beyond his years. By the mid-1950s, as Saints assembled one of their greatest ever sides, Carlton began to secure a permanent place. His breakthrough season came in 1954–55, when he scored an extraordinary 33 tries, finishing as St Helens’ top scorer and the fifth highest in the league. He seemed to relish matches against certain opposition; against Rochdale Hornets he scored two hat-tricks in league fixtures.

The following season proved even better. In 1955–56, Carlton hit peak form, scoring a career-best 40 tries. He ran in hat-tricks against Barrow, Liverpool City and Swinton, and produced one of the most memorable performances of his career in the Challenge Cup: a four-try demolition of Bradford Northern in the third round. Carlton’s style was described by contemporaries as direct but elusive. Tall, slim, and with long strides, he had the ability to glide past defenders with a deceptive ease. He was not the most physically imposing winger, but his pace, balance, and eye for the try-line gave him an edge that statistics made plain.

**Frank scores against Barrow in a 5-5 semi-final draw on 7 April 1956**

Between 1953 and 1960, Carlton made 156 appearances for St Helens, scoring 129 tries. He sits comfortably within the club’s top 20 all-time scorers, ranked 13th on the list, an astonishing feat given the relatively short span of his Saints career.

It was at Wembley that he truly became a legend. The 1955–56 Challenge Cup campaign was a turning point for both Carlton and St Helens. Having already claimed headlines with four tries against Bradford Northern, he was now preparing for the biggest stage in the game.

Carlton continued his Challenge Cup scoring feats with a try in a fiercely contested semi-final that ended 5-5 on 7 April, before Saints went through to the final with a 10-5 win in the replay.

**Frank Scoring the opening try against Halifax in the 1956 Challenge Cup Final**

Rugby League Cup Final 1956 – St Helens 13 v 2 Halifax (British Pathe News)

The final against Halifax came on 28 April and, before a crowd of 79,341, Frank did not disappoint. The first half ended scoreless, but early in the second half, Carlton struck. Taking a pass from Brian Howard, he accelerated past the Halifax defence and scored near the posts. It was the breakthrough Saints needed. The crowd erupted, and one headline later captured the moment perfectly: ‘When Frank Carlton ran, we knew the R.L. Cup was on its way to St Helens.‘

Saints went on to win 13–2, securing their first Challenge Cup triumph. For Carlton, still in the early years of his career, it was a moment of immortality. Supporters recalled scarves, caps and rattles thrown into the air in celebration of his try, a memory cherished by a town that had long craved Wembley glory.

Frank Carlton’s speed and eye for the try-line soon drew attention beyond St Helens. By the mid-1950s, he had established himself as one of the outstanding wingers in the English game, and international honours followed.

His first came in 1956, when he was selected to represent England against France. Though he did not score in his lone England appearance, the call-up confirmed his growing status. For Carlton, a young man who had narrowly missed a football career with Everton, pulling on the white jersey of his country was a proud moment.

Two years later came the pinnacle of his international career: selection for the Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia in 1958. The tour was gruelling, involving a marathon of test matches, provincial games, and punishing travel schedules. Yet Carlton thrived.

Across 26 appearances, he scored 39 tries, amassing 117 points. His highlights included a dazzling six-try haul against Far North Queensland and a four-try performance against the New Zealand Māori side. In Brisbane and Toowoomba, he scored braces of tries that had Australian newspapers praising his pace and finishing. One report noted: “Carlton is a winger of rare instinct, his stride deceptive, his try-scoring almost inevitable.”

Not everything went smoothly. Carlton pulled a thigh muscle against New Zealand and missed several fixtures. But his ability to return to the side and continue scoring showed resilience as well as class.

Great Britain Tourists 1958
Frank is on the back row, second from the left
(courtesy of *The Rugby League News,* 19 July 1958)

In test matches, Carlton’s opportunities were more limited. He earned two caps for Great Britain, one against Australia and one against New Zealand, but did not score. Still, his contribution in the tour games was immense. For Great Britain sides, depth mattered, and Carlton was among the most reliable scorers available.

His final international recognition came in 1962, when he was again selected for Great Britain, though by then competition for wing places was fierce, with the likes of Tom van Vollenhoven dominating headlines.

**Great Britain Tourists 1962**
**Frank is on the back row fourth from the right**
*(courtesy of www.auctions.tennants.co.uk.)*

Frank Carlton also made his mark in county and representative rugby, which in the 1950s and 1960s remained an important part of the sporting calendar. He represented Lancashire three times, scoring two tries. These fixtures, often played against Yorkshire, carried immense prestige. They were fiercely contested encounters that drew large crowds and provided a platform for players to catch the eye of national selectors. Carlton’s pace on the wing and his knack for seizing half-chances made him a natural choice for these contests.

Carlton also featured in two Lancashire Cup finals against Oldham. Though both ended in defeat, his individual displays stood out. In one match, the Liverpool Echo praised his ‘unrelenting runs from deep positions,’ noting that even in defeat he had been among the best players on the field.

Beyond county rugby, Carlton had a parallel sporting commitment during his national service in the Royal Air Force. Stationed away from St Helens, he played both rugby league and rugby union for the service sides. One report noted, somewhat ruefully, that he sustained a calf injury in an RAF representative match just as he was returning from a cartilage operation.

**RAF Rugby Union team 1959**
**Frank is on the front row, far left**

By 1960, Carlton had achieved much with St Helens: over 120 tries, a Challenge Cup triumph at Wembley, and international recognition. Yet with Tom van Vollenhoven firmly established on one wing, and competition fierce for places, Carlton sought new opportunities. In 1960, St Helens agreed to his transfer to arch-rivals Wigan for a substantial fee of £5,000.

At Central Park, Carlton quickly won over the Wigan faithful. Though already an experienced player, his try-scoring instincts remained as sharp as ever. In his first season, he made 119 appearances for Wigan, scoring 95 tries. That strike rate, almost a try every match and a half, matched his St Helens record and confirmed his consistency. There were flashes of brilliance: hat-tricks in league games, long-range solo efforts that brought Central Park to its feet, and a brace of tries against traditional rivals Warrington that drew praise in the Manchester Evening News.

Frank’s career statistics alone are formidable: 275 senior appearances, 224 tries, and 672 points. His strike rate of over 82 tries per 100 matches places him among the most prolific wingers the sport has seen. This paved the way to greater recognition as one of rugby league’s great players when Carlo, as he was affectionately known by the Knowsley Road faithful, was inducted into both the halls of fame of both of the northern powerhouses, St Helens (Heritage no. 715) and Wigan (Heritage no. 604), thus joining a prestigious list of players to have defined the history of each of these famous clubs. It was a fitting double honour for a man who had given his heart and speed to the game.

By 1965, Carlton decided to retire after the decade of injuries finally caught up with him. He was persuaded to make a short-lived comeback later that year, helping Wigan through an injury crisis, and that willingness to answer the call typified his loyalty to the game and his team. When the time came, retirement from rugby league did not mean stepping away from work or the community for Frank Carlton. A trained gas fitter, he returned to his trade after leaving the professional game.

Frank Carlton passed away in 2009 at the age of 72, leaving behind a legacy not just of tries and victories, but of exceptional character. Team-mates remembered him as “a gentleman off the field, and a deadly winger on it.”

Richie Gillham

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Postscript – ‘It’s a small world’

Dr David France’s recollections: ‘I was in awe of him’

In a recent transatlantic phone call with Dr David France, we were talking about an article I had just completed on fellow Saint and former Everton junior and professional Ted Forshaw, when I mentioned that I was undertaking this article on Frank. To my amazement, David revealed he had worked with Frank as an apprentice gas fitter. Here is what he told me:

“It was 60 years ago but I remember him well. I had just started my six-year gas fitting apprenticeship when I met him at the Northwest Gas Board depot in Pocket Nook, St Helens in 1965 towards the end of his career. He was a local hero – make that a massive local celebrity – in St Helens. Everyone admired him (his good looks, charisma and a bit of a swagger) despite having defected to play for Wigan. Frank was the gas fitter dedicated to responding to emergency calls in the St Helens area. He drove a van whereas most gas fitters back then rode bikes. I was his apprentice for a couple of weeks. Although I had been brought up and went to secondary modern school with boys who went on to play for Widnes at Wembley and represent Great Britain in Australia, I was in awe of him. As he drove to job sites, I remember asking him about winning the Rugby League Cup in front of 80,000 alongside Vince Karalius (my childhood hero) and Alan Prescott (who knew my father). Like all qualified gas fitters, he was meticulous at work. Also, he was very friendly and easy going. We never talked about Everton.

Dr David France

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