First game 5/01/1975, Last game 4/05/1981, Played 219 + 1 Tries 51 Goals 0 Drop Goals 1 Points 154.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

Second-row forward Tommy Martyn was the leader of the Warrington pack for seven seasons, from 1975-81, during which time he also played for Lancashire and England and went on the Great Britain tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1979.

He collected winner’s medals in the John Player Trophy in 1978 and 1981 and the Lancashire Cup in 1980 and was twice shortlisted in the race to be the First Division player of the year.

Martyn joined Warrington from Leigh in January 1975, with Warrington paying £7,000 and transferring Clive Jones as part of the deal. Four months later he was lining up at Wembley against Widnes as the Wire tried in vain to retain the Challenge Cup.

That summer, Martyn toured Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea with Alex Murphy’s England squad.

Martyn was one of the select few players with the ability to dictate and change the course of a game with his clever handling skills. Many young players burst into prominence at Wilderspool during his time at the club, feeding off his well-timed passes and gaining in know-how and confidence.

Team-mate Kevin Ashcroft said: “He revolutionised forward play, he would run at you, bang his shoulder down and he’d be off again. And passing? They used to say Tommy could squeeze the ball out of his backside – he was incredible, a magician.

“At Leigh and Warrington they’d always tell you to follow Tommy if he made a break, that was the golden rule. The tries he used to create were incredible. He was a hard player, really hard, in a tough Warrington pack.

“They might have invented the word ‘uncompromising’ after him. But off the field he was a gentleman, one of the nicest men you could ever meet. He never strutted about but could look after himself. He never started anything but you didn’t mess with Tommy.

“He was at his peak at Warrington. He developed an art of running with the ball, dropping his shoulder, releasing the ball. He was a nightmare to defend against.

“He was like a horse in a long-distance hurdles race, he simply never stopped going, whatever the state of the ground. He had an incredibly economical style, he was like a thoroughbred in a field full of carthorses.”

Martyn, who was 6ft and 14st 8lb, was also a terrific tackler and wonderful finisher near to the line, as shown by his tally of 51 tries for the club.

One of his best performances came against Australia on the memorable Wilderspool night in October 1978 when Warrington beat the Kangaroos 15-12 in front of 10,056 ecstatic supporters.

Martyn made his second tour Down Under the following summer but, sadly, was sent home with a dislocated shoulder after playing in just five matches.

He was back to his best in the 1980-81 season, however, scoring a superb solo try straight from the kick-off in the Lancashire Cup final against Wigan at Knowsley Road when he caught the ball and charged 60 yards along the touchline to touch down in the corner.

Martyn was also the man of the match when Warrington beat Barrow 12-5 in the John Player Trophy final at Central Park.

By then Murphy – who had signed Martyn for Warrington in the first place – was back at Leigh and reclaimed his star forward in the summer of 1981. Again it proved to be an inspired move as Leigh won the Lancashire Cup and First Division title during the 1981-82 season with Martyn making 40 appearances.

Martyn, who worked as a long-distance lorry driver, made the final appearance of his career for Leigh against Warrington at Hilton Park in April 1984 and inspired the home team to a 44-20 victory.

In 2003 Tommy was selected in the Warrington Dream Team of the Wilderspool era by his peers in the Warrington Players Association.

Leigh-born Tommy started his professional career at Batley, though it was not long before he joined Leigh in 1971. After three years with Leigh he moved to Wilderspool, Warrington were very fortunate to see the very best years of Tommy. His son, Tommy Martyn junior, then enjoyed an even more successful club career with Oldham, St Helens and Leigh, winning the Lance Todd Trophy with Saints in 1997.

Tommy senior, died, aged 69 after a short illness, in November 2016.

Hall of Fame: Boardman, Martyn and Duane