In Memoriam: Dave Hill

It is with great sadness that Wigan Warriors learned of the passing of former player david ‘dave’ hill.

Dave Hill was born on 27 June 1946 at St Helens Hospital before being raised in Ashton in Makerfield, Wigan, where he attended the town’s grammar school.

Like his older brother Cliff, Dave played rugby union for Newton–Le–Willows and had a spell at Liverpool before signing for Wigan in October 1967. Dave Hill’s First Team debut came on Monday 9 October 1967 vs Batley at Central Park which Wigan won 35-5, earning him his unique Wigan Heritage Number 657.

This game was pushed back from a Saturday as Central Park hosted the Lancashire Cup Final between St Helens and Warrington. However, the re-arranged fixture allowed Wigan to exhibit their new floodlights – the first-ever floodlit league game to be held at Central Park.

After breaking into the First Team, Dave played primarily at centre before taking over from brother Cliff at stand-off. During his Wigan career, Dave gained four major medals: a Lancashire County Championship in 1969-70, a League Leaders Trophy in 1970-71, and two Lancashire Cups in 1971 and 1973.

Of Dave’s four major honours, perhaps his most cherished memory would be lifting the 1973 Lancashire Cup as captain. Wigan beat Salford 19-9 at Wilderspool, Warrington, which would be the Club’s last piece of silverware until the 1983 win vs Leeds in the John Player Trophy.

Although Dave never realised a Challenge Cup winner’s medal, he did achieve the dream of playing at Wembley in the fateful 1970 final v Castleford.

On Sunday 7 February 1971, Dave won his one and only Great Britain cap v France at the Stade des Minimes, Toulouse, in a 16-8 defeat. Dave also had a single appearance for Lancashire in 1969 where he came on as a substitute for Alex Murphy as Lancashire beat Cumberland, 30-10 at Derwent Park, Workington.

Dave Hill played his last game for Wigan on 23 January 1977 at Central Park, Wigan, against Warrington who defeated the home side by 12 points to 2. Dave in total played 329 games scoring 369 points from 113 tries and 15 goals over a ten-year period at Wigan from 1967-68 to 1976-77.

On leaving Wigan, Dave signed for Oldham which involved a transfer fee of around £2,500. He played 12 matches prior to a move to Barrow for a £4,000 fee, he played six games over a 12-month period where a knee injury forced his retirement from the game.

Just for the record, Cliff and Dave Hill were named together in 65 First Team games for Wigan. The first was on 13 October 1967 vs the Australian tourists where ironically Dave replaced Cliff who came off injured after just 30 minutes. Wigan won the game against the Australians by 12-6 in front of a 23,357 crowd.

Dave Hill was a rare talent who could play centre, or stand-off, and he will be sadly missed by the rugby league community.

Wigan Warriors send their condolences to Dave’s family and friends at this sad time.

Tuesday 04 February 2025