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Give it to Bev - 1945 to 1970
1959
On Easter Monday Brian Bevan scored a hattick of tries against Leigh, which was the 100th time that he had performed this feat. Despite Warrington's 'average' season, Bevan still managed to score 54 tries.
Warrington's season finished on a disappointing note with a 6-14 defeat to Bradford Northern before a crowd of only 2,910. Warrington were one of a number of clubs that complained to the RFL over BBC televising rugby league matches live on TV, stating that it was affecting attendances.
After an opening day defeat a run of of eight wins saw Warrington reach the final of the Lancashire Cup. They won 15-13 at Wigan in the semi-final, before a crowd of 30,637. The match saw Bevan break Jack Miller's appearance record of 526 games. Challinor dropped his first ever goal in the last minute to win the match. Terry O'Grady, Denis Karalius and Jackie Edwards scored tries with Fraser kicking 2 goals.
Four days later the 17,112 packed Wilderspool to see the Australians. With Warrington winning 11-2, Australian forward Brian Hambley went off injured, although substitutes were not allowed. Warrington sportingly let Jim Paterson take his place. The Kangaroos eventually won a thrilling match 30-24. Bevan 2, Greenhough, Naughton, Manniex and Edwards scored tries and Fraser kicked 3 goals.
In the Lancashire Cup final Warrington beat St Helens 5-4 at Central Park. A crowd of 39,237 saw two ferocious defences on top in a thrilling match. The winning score came from Brian Bevan who debatably was given the touchdown following a Greenhough kick through to the St Helens line, Fraser kicked the conversion.
Brian Bevan scores the 700th try of his career on 28th November as Warrington beat Blackpool Borough at Wilderspool.
1960
A second half of the season slump in form saw Warrington finally finish 7th in the league. Brian Bevan scored 40 tries. Average attendances had risen to 8,170.
Summer signings included local amateur international forward Henry Delooze and centre Joe Pickavance from St Helens.
There was an Autumn break whilst the World Cup was held in England. Eric Fraser, Jim Challinor and Bobby Greenhough help Great Britain win the Trophy.
The break did Warrington a power of good as they returned to action with 9 consecutive wins to take them from 11th to top by Christmas.
1961
Away victories at Wigan 10-5 and St Helens 8-7 kept Warrington's title hopes alive.
On 17th February, Parry Gordon signs for Warrington for £400, on his sixteenth birthday.
A good finish to the season saw Warrington secure 2nd place in the league, 5 points behind Leeds. In the playoff match at Wilderspool a packed crowd of 24,237 saw Warrington win 13-5. Two scintillating Bevan tries, one from O'Grady and a conversion each from Fraser and Gilfedder saw the Wire through to the final.
Cec Mountford had announced that the final would be his last game as coach, he returned to New Zealand and captain Ally Naughton's was playing his last match. A crowd of 52,177 saw Leeds win their first Championship Final 25-10 at Odsal. The Leeds pack dominate the Wire six as Warrington were well beaten. Challinor scored two tries both of which Gilfedder converted.
Bevan finished the season with 35 tries and Greenhough scored 30. Eric Fraser kicked 104 goals. Attendances at Wilderspool rose to an average of 8,775.
Ernie Ashcroft took over from Cec Mountford as team manager, on a four year contract.
At the RFL's AGM the clubs voted to have two divisions from the beginning of the 1962/3 season.
The new season opened with a good 16-14 win at Hull, a game that marked Bevan's 600th appearance for Warrington.
Wilderspool played host to the Lancashire clash with the New Zealand tourists for a third and final time. A crowd of 9,332 saw Lancashire defeat the Kiwis 15-13.
Ten days later the Kiwis were at Wilderspool again this time they beat Warrington 21-9. Jackie Edwards scored a try and Laurie Gilfedder kicked three goals for Warrington. New Zealand centre Roger Bailey showed his class by scoring four tries. A crowd of 8,959 watched the match which was also shown live on television.
Mervyn Hicks a Welsh teenage second row forward was signed from Doncaster for £5,000. He was badly injured in his debut against Oldham at Watersheddings. Warrington also finally secured Ernie Ashcroft's playing registration from Huddersfield.
1962
On Easter Monday Brian Bevan marks his 620th and farewell appearance for Warrington against Leigh, at Wilderspool before a crowd of 16,478 with his 740th try. Warrington won the match 29-17 as Bevan ended his Warrington career with 2,284 points.
Warrington's season faded as they won 2 of their last 9 games and dropped down to 12th in the league, safely over the cut-off point of 16th for next season's first division.
Laurie Gilfedder and Eric Fraser earned selection for the Great Britain Lions tour of Australia. Gilfedder played in one Test against Australia and both Tests against New Zealand.
Warrington started the season with six wins out of eight in the new Western Division Championship. However that was not good enough to progress to the play-off stages.
1963
The "Great Freeze" of 1963 prevented Warrington from playing at Wilderspool between 15th December 1962 and 2nd March 1963. The season was extended into June.
An early season double over St Helens gave hope of challenging for the Championship. However poor mid-season form saw Warrington finish 6th.
In April Warrington and Workington Town contested the last 0-0 draw at Wilderspool.
Warrington lost in the Challenge Cup semi-final to Wakefield Trinity 5-2, at Swinton. A crowd of 15,566 witnessed Warrington's narrow defeat.
On 14th September saw the last crowd of over 20,000 at Wilderspool. 20,090 witnessed the Australians beat Warrington 28-20, in the opening match of their tour. Warrington came back from a 21-2 half-time deficit to run the Kangaroos close. Holden 2, Caterall and Idwal Fisher scored tries and Fraser kicked 4 goals.
On 26th October, Parry Gordon made his debut in the Western Division 12-25 defeat to Barrow at Wilderspool.
1964
The "'A" team, captained by Johnny Smith, completed the Lancashire Shield and Lancashire Combination "Double" for the first time in the Club's history.
The RFL decided to abandon the experiment of two division after only two seasons and revert back to a divisions single division. The Championship would now go to the winners of an end of the season top 16 play-off.
Substitutes were first permitted, when teams were allowed to replace up to two injured players during the first half. Joe Pickavance became the first substitute for the Club on 22nd August in a 15-11 win at Leeds, when he replaced the injured Fisher in the centre.
1965
Warrington had a much improved season and finished 5th. However three successive defeats at the end of the league season cost Warrington second place. Fifth place earned Warrington a home tie in the first Top 16 play-off, and Leigh were defeated 10-4. Thomas and Melling scored tries and Delooze kicked two goals. In the next round Warrington were defeated 8-17 at Wakefield Trinity.
Warrington won the Silcock Cup by defeating Widnes in the final of the Wigan Sevens summer tournament at Central Park.
The New Zealand tourists won at Wilderspool 14-7 in Warrington's first home match of the season, watched by 8,162. Ashcroft scored a try and Bootle kicked 2 goals.
On 28th September, Wilderspool's first floodlights are 'switched on' by Mr John D Whitley of Greenalls in a friendly match against Wigan.
The fourth game under lights at Wilderspool, on 12th October, marked the opening of BBC2's Floodlit Trophy, which in those days was only televised in the south. Warrington lost 10-20 to Widnes. A crowd of 7,016 saw Glover and Pickavance score tries and Bootle kick two goals.
Victories 12-9 over Widnes and 21-10 over Oldham saw Warrington reach the final of the Lancashire Cup. In the final Warrington beat Rochdale Hornets 16-5 at St Helens. Melling (2), Glover and Fisher scored the tries with Bootle kicking two goals.
1966
A good Challenge Cup run saw Warrington win 15-7 at Castleford and 15-14 over Featherstone at Wilderspool. A third round draw against Leeds 2-2 at Wilderspool was followed by a narrow 8-0 defeat at Headingley.
Poor form in the league saw Warrington just scrape into the play-offs in 16th place. They had to travel to league leaders St Helens where they were heavily beaten 7-35.
Willie Aspinall was a surprise selection for the Great Britain tour of Australia. He played in one of the Tests against New Zealand, scoring a try.
Warrington start the league season with a shock defeat at Blackpool Borough and a one point win at Liverpool City. Then they complete the opening week with a 10-6 win over the star studded St Helens side. Pickavance and Bootle score tries and Affleck kicked 2 goals.
In October the four-tackle rule is introduced for the BBC2 Floodlight Trophy, and then for all matches from December.
1967
Warrington finish in 12th, but lose their first round play-off match at Bradford.
Ernie Ashcroft is replaced as coach by former stand-off, Jackie Fleming in May.
Warrington start the season with five consecutive league wins, as well as three Lancashire Cup victories.
Wilderspool again had the honour of hosting the first match of the Australian's tour. The Kangaroos triumphed 16-7. Stand-off Willie Aspinall scored the Wire try, watched by 11,642 spectators.
Warrington reached the Lancashire Cup Final and drew 2-2 with St Helens at Wigan before a crowd of 16,897. This was only the second ever drawn final. The Wires lost the replay at Swinton 13-10. Aspinall dropped a goal in the first match and in the replay Gordon and Melling scored tries and Allen two goals in front of only 7,577 spectators.
1968
Warrington's league match at the Watersheddings was postponed six times, four times because of frost, once because Oldham were involved in a Challenge Cup replay and once because the pitch was waterlogged. Finally on Monday 8th April, four months after it should have been played, the match went ahead and Warrington won 23-5.
Warrington finish their league campaign with four successive wins, including a 13-6 win over Wigan. This enables Warrington to finish in 5th one point behind Wakefield Trinity who are 2nd. Warrington win the Lancashire League in the process. Two Barry Briggs tries and 3 goals from Keith Affleck see Warrington win their play-off match with Hull 12-9. A 20-0 defeat at St Helens ends Warrington's season.
Wins at Wilderspool over Halifax 30-12 and Huddersfield 18-5 put Warrington into the semi-final of the BBC2 Floodlight trophy for the first time. Their progress is halted by a 6-29 defeat at St Helens.
In December former Wigan and Great Britain hooker, Joe Egan replaced the sacked Jackie Fleming as coach.
1969
On 5th January Warrington play their first Sunday game, away at Blackpool. The match was won 16-7 with tries from Brian Glover and Tommy Conroy and 5 Jeff Bootle goals.
On February 12th Warrington call a meeting of clubs, of which 15 attended, at Manchester, who were against live TV. Nothing came of the meeting.
On 2nd April, Huyton switched their home match to Wilderspool, because the pitch at their new Alt Park ground, was unfit. Warrington won 18-8, with Parry Gordon scoring a hat-trick in front of a paltry 1,690 spectators.
Warrington end the season with 4 successive defeats and finish in 17th place and so fail to make the play-offs.
In October full-back Derek Whitehead was signed from Oldham. He made his debut in a 7-11 defeat at St Helens, kicking the first of his 713 goals.
Warrington born, Australian legend, Bobby Fulton guested for the Wire during the Australian off season. He made a scoring debut in the centre at Wilderspool, in a 10-14 defeat to Salford. A bumper crowd of 9,450 were in attendance. He scored 16 tries and a drop goal in 16 matches.
The first Sunday match at Wilderspool is played on 9th November against Blackpool Borough, before a crowd of 3,535. Warrington won 29-9, with tries from Ayres (3), Fulton (2), Hughes and Pattinson, Aspinall kicked 4 goals.
1970
On 11th March, Blackpool Borough switched their home league match to Wilderspool, as their ground was unfit to use. A crowd of 2,127 saw Warrington win 50-0, with Derek Whitehead kicking 10 goals.
In October former centre and stand-off Peter Harvey succeeds Joe Egan as coach. Egan decides to leave after a disastrous start sees Warrington win only four of fifteen matches.
Referee Fred Lindop failed to turn up for the league match with Hull KR at Wilderspool on 23 October. He had received a hoax call to his Wakefield home, informing him that the stand had been burned down and that the match was off. Warrington referee Eric Lawrenson stepped in at the last minute to ensure that the match went ahead, which the home side won 15-10.
A crowd of only 1,705 witness the 25-17 home defeat of Oldham at Wilderspool. This is the lowest recorded home league attendance at the ground.
