Maurice Lindsay (Rugby League)
Encyclopedia
Maurice Lindsay is the current Chairman of Preston North End FC and the former chairman of Wigan Rugby League Football Club
and had two stints at the club after being one of the 'Gang of Four' directors that used to run the club when it domininated the league in the 1980s.
when he came to Wigan in the early '80s to join Jack Robinson, Tom Rathbone & Jack Hilton. This led to an upsurge in the fortunes of the club. Wigan
became one of the first teams to turn professional in the league and from that point on dominated the scene winning an impressive eight League Championships, between 1987–95, as well as a record eight consecutive Challenge Cup
wins between 1988-95 as well as five Lancashire Cup
s and three World Club Championships.
Lindsay was directly responsible for some of the recruitment in that time frame, bringing players to the club who later went on to become legends such as Dean Bell
, Adrian Shelford
, Andy Goodway
, Andy Platt
, Brett Kenny
, Denis Betts
, Ellery Hanley
, Frano Botica
, Gary Connolly
, Jason Robinson
, Martin Offiah
, Mick Cassidy
et al.
During his time at the club, Lindsay became team manager of the Great Britain RL team
. He was manager when the team toured New Zealand
in 1990 and Australia
in 1992. He was also elected as President of the Rugby Football League
in 1991.
Lindsay left the club for a while and became the Chief Executive of the RFL in 1992, proposing the Super League
which eventually replaced the Big League as the sport's main competition from 1996 onwards. In 1996, he also became Chairman of the Rugby League International Board which at the time, was at odds with the Australian Rugby League
. Lindsay left the RFL to become the Chief Executive of the newly formed Super league
(Europe) Ltd. in February 2008. This followed an acrimonious period and in-fighting within the league divisions including an attempt to unseat the Chairman of the RFL, Sir Rodney Walker
. Relations between Lindsay and Sir Rodney had deteriorated but the leading clubs wanted Lindsay to assume control of the newly formed Super League. Lindsay immediately secured a new lucrative TV contract exclusively for Super League. He remained at Super League until he voluntarily retired at the end of 1999.
Lindsay had joined the club after it had moved from Central Park
to the JJB Stadium
after a buy-out from Dave Whelan which led to both the rugby team and the local soccer team, Wigan Athletic moving to the JJB. The club's dominance had come under threat now that the league had gone fully professional and the introduction of the salary cap
and 20/20 ruling (now 20/25) which led meant the club only won one Super League title since 1996.
With the return of Maurice Lindsay the club won one Challenge Cup
, under the stewardship of Stuart Raper
in 2002, reaching the finals of the Super League in 2000, 2001 & 2003 losing on each occasion.
This was seen as unacceptable by the Wigan board, and Maurice in particular who has had in total seven coaches at the club since his return with Andy Goodway
, Frank Endacott
, Stuart Raper
, Denis Betts
& Ian Millward
all losing their jobs due to poor performances. (Mike Gregory
was given leave due to an illness from which he later died.)
The club had a stark fall in its league position in recent years, with 2005 seeing the club fail to reach the top six for the first time ever in Super League and the 2006 season seeing the club rooted to the bottom of the league for most of the season before the acquisition of Brian Noble
from Bradford
saved the club's plight.
A lot of the club's fans were aggrieved with the way Lindsay ran the club in his second stint, believing that he was still "living in the '80s" and that he should leave.
Due to the increasing pressure on Lindsay from the fans for him to step down he offered to resign immediately from the board but later agreed to stay on until the end of the season, he released a statement on the 30 July 2007 which cited a disappointment of missing out on reaching the new Wembley
for the Challenge Cup and ill health as the reasons for stepping down. It was also said that Dave Whelan, the club's owner persuaded Lindsay to remain until the end of the season but may be looking to sell the club himself.
During the weekend on which the Challenge Cup final was scheduled to take place, Lindsay was taken to hospital after the club's doctor told him he needed urgent medical attention due to a perforated gall bladder which needed operating on. Lindsay was ordered by his doctor not to attend his final ever match at the JJB Stadium
as chairman of Wigan, a match which saw Wigan defeat their closest rivals St. Helens 20-12 in order to grab the last available place in the 2007 engage Super League play-offs.
New owner & chairman Ian Lenagan
took official control on 1 December 2007.
When Lindsay returned for his second stint at Wigan in 2000, he was subsequently put on to the Wigan Athletic Football Club board by Dave Whelan. At the same time, Whelan placed 2 Wigan Athletic directors on the Wigan RLFC board. Maurice still remains on the Wigan Athletic board and represents the club on the powerful shareholders committee of the FA Premier League. In 2008 the FA Premier League elected Lindsay onto the FA Council where he still remains.
In February 2009, Lindsay became Chairman of Racecourse Data Technologies Ltd (RDT), where he remains today. RDT have contracts to supply and support computerised betting systems to every racecourse in the UK and Ireland
. The company holds contracts with Satellite Information Services Ltd (SiS) and Turf TV to supply data.
It was announced on 21 June 2010 that Lindsay is to replace Derek Shaw
as chairman of Preston North End F.C.
.
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
and had two stints at the club after being one of the 'Gang of Four' directors that used to run the club when it domininated the league in the 1980s.
Career
Lindsay was a bookmakerBookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
when he came to Wigan in the early '80s to join Jack Robinson, Tom Rathbone & Jack Hilton. This led to an upsurge in the fortunes of the club. Wigan
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
became one of the first teams to turn professional in the league and from that point on dominated the scene winning an impressive eight League Championships, between 1987–95, as well as a record eight consecutive Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
wins between 1988-95 as well as five Lancashire Cup
Rugby league county cups
Historically, British rugby league clubs competed for the Lancashire Cup and the Yorkshire Cup, known collectively as the county cups. The leading rugby clubs in Yorkshire had played in a cup competition for several years prior to the schism of 1895...
s and three World Club Championships.
Lindsay was directly responsible for some of the recruitment in that time frame, bringing players to the club who later went on to become legends such as Dean Bell
Dean Bell
Dean Bell is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer and coach. A New Zealand international representative centre, he played his club football in England, Australia and New Zealand, but most notably with Wigan, with whom he won seven consecutive Challenge Cup finals, a Lance Todd Trophy and a...
, Adrian Shelford
Adrian Shelford
Adrian Tremain Shelford , born in New Zealand, was a rugby league player who represented his country. Shelford played for Wigan and Wakefield Trinity in the Rugby League Premiership as well as the Newcastle Knights and Manly Sea Eagles in the NSWRL Premiership as a prop.-Early years:Shelford played...
, Andy Goodway
Andy Goodway
Andy I. Goodway is an English former rugby league footballer and coach. He played for Oldham , Wigan, and Leeds in the Rugby League Premiership and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NSWRL competition. He played as a , or /...
, Andy Platt
Andy Platt
Andy Platt is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. A Great Britain international representative prop forward, he played for English clubs St Helens, Wigan, Widnes and Salford, as well as in New Zealand for the Auckland Warriors.-Playing career:He started his...
, Brett Kenny
Brett Kenny
Brett Kenny is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. He was a five-eighth for the Australian national team, the New South Wales Blues representative side and the Parramatta Eels. He played in 17 Tests, made 17 State of Origin appearances and won 4...
, Denis Betts
Denis Betts
Denis C. Betts is an English rugby league coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Widnes Vikings in the Engage Super League. He played for Wigan in the Rugby League Premiership and the Australian NRL, for the Auckland Warriors, and also represented England at the 1995 Rugby...
, Ellery Hanley
Ellery Hanley
Ellery Cuthwyn Hanley MBE is a British former rugby league footballer of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and former head coach of Great Britain, St. Helens and Doncaster. As a player he played most of his games at /, or /. Over a period of nineteen years, he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain,...
, Frano Botica
Frano Botica
Frano Michael Botica is a former rugby union and rugby league player who represented his country at both sports and also played for Croatia in a rugby union world cup qualifying match.-Rugby union:...
, Gary Connolly
Gary Connolly
Gary J. Connolly was a rugby league full back who later played at centre for St Helens, Canterbury Bulldogs, Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos and for the Great Britain national side. In the twilight of his career, he played rugby union for Irish side Munster.Connolly was a dependable centre capable of...
, Jason Robinson
Jason Robinson
Jason Thorpe Robinson OBE is an English former international rugby union and rugby league player of the 1990s and 2000s. Playing at wing or fullback, he won fifty-one rugby union international test caps in total for England, and in rugby league he won twelve caps for Great Britain and seven for...
, Martin Offiah
Martin Offiah
Martin Offiah MBE is an English former rugby league and rugby union footballer.He is known as "Chariots" Offiah after the film Chariots of Fire...
, Mick Cassidy
Mick Cassidy
Michael "Mick" D. Cassidy, is an English former rugby league player. Cassidy is currently the fitness coach for the Widnes Vikings after retring from the game in 2008. Cassidy had a wealth experience with the dominant Wigan side of the early to mid-90s. Cassidy is a Great Britain representative...
et al.
During his time at the club, Lindsay became team manager of the Great Britain RL team
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
. He was manager when the team toured New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1990 and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1992. He was also elected as President of the Rugby Football League
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
in 1991.
Lindsay left the club for a while and became the Chief Executive of the RFL in 1992, proposing the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
which eventually replaced the Big League as the sport's main competition from 1996 onwards. In 1996, he also became Chairman of the Rugby League International Board which at the time, was at odds with the Australian Rugby League
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
. Lindsay left the RFL to become the Chief Executive of the newly formed Super league
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
(Europe) Ltd. in February 2008. This followed an acrimonious period and in-fighting within the league divisions including an attempt to unseat the Chairman of the RFL, Sir Rodney Walker
Rodney Walker (rugby league)
Sir Rodney Walker KBE is a British sports administrator.He was Chairman of Wakefield Trinity RLFC between 1986 and 1993; the Rugby Football League between 1993 and 2002; GB Sports Council between 1994 and 1996; Sport England between 1996 and 1998 and UK Sport between 1997 and 2003.In the Birthday...
. Relations between Lindsay and Sir Rodney had deteriorated but the leading clubs wanted Lindsay to assume control of the newly formed Super League. Lindsay immediately secured a new lucrative TV contract exclusively for Super League. He remained at Super League until he voluntarily retired at the end of 1999.
Lindsay had joined the club after it had moved from Central Park
Central Park (Wigan)
Central Park was a rugby league stadium in Wigan, England. It was the home of Wigan RLFC before the club moved to the JJB Stadium in 1999. Its final capacity was 18,000.-History:...
to the JJB Stadium
JJB Stadium
The DW Stadium is a sports stadium in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, that is home to Wigan Athletic football club and Wigan Warriors rugby league club....
after a buy-out from Dave Whelan which led to both the rugby team and the local soccer team, Wigan Athletic moving to the JJB. The club's dominance had come under threat now that the league had gone fully professional and the introduction of the salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
and 20/20 ruling (now 20/25) which led meant the club only won one Super League title since 1996.
With the return of Maurice Lindsay the club won one Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
, under the stewardship of Stuart Raper
Stuart Raper
Stuart Raper is an Australian former professional rugby league player and coach. He has since become a sideline commentator for the NRL with Foxsports...
in 2002, reaching the finals of the Super League in 2000, 2001 & 2003 losing on each occasion.
This was seen as unacceptable by the Wigan board, and Maurice in particular who has had in total seven coaches at the club since his return with Andy Goodway
Andy Goodway
Andy I. Goodway is an English former rugby league footballer and coach. He played for Oldham , Wigan, and Leeds in the Rugby League Premiership and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NSWRL competition. He played as a , or /...
, Frank Endacott
Frank Endacott
Frank Morris Endacott, ONZM is a retired rugby league player and coach from New Zealand. His son, Shane, also played rugby league.-Playing career:Endacott played for Addington and Hornby in the Canterbury Rugby League competition...
, Stuart Raper
Stuart Raper
Stuart Raper is an Australian former professional rugby league player and coach. He has since become a sideline commentator for the NRL with Foxsports...
, Denis Betts
Denis Betts
Denis C. Betts is an English rugby league coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Widnes Vikings in the Engage Super League. He played for Wigan in the Rugby League Premiership and the Australian NRL, for the Auckland Warriors, and also represented England at the 1995 Rugby...
& Ian Millward
Ian Millward
Ian Millward is an Australian rugby league coach and former player. Millward is currently the head coach at Super League side Castleford....
all losing their jobs due to poor performances. (Mike Gregory
Mike Gregory
Michael Keith "Mike" Gregory , was a rugby league player and later coach; the former head coach of Wigan and player for Warrington and Great Britain.-Playing career:...
was given leave due to an illness from which he later died.)
The club had a stark fall in its league position in recent years, with 2005 seeing the club fail to reach the top six for the first time ever in Super League and the 2006 season seeing the club rooted to the bottom of the league for most of the season before the acquisition of Brian Noble
Brian Noble (rugby league)
Brian 'Nobby' D. Noble is an English former rugby league footballer. Noble is also the former coach of the Great Britain National Rugby League team. He was also the captain of the 1984 Great Britain touring team to Australia...
from Bradford
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
saved the club's plight.
A lot of the club's fans were aggrieved with the way Lindsay ran the club in his second stint, believing that he was still "living in the '80s" and that he should leave.
Due to the increasing pressure on Lindsay from the fans for him to step down he offered to resign immediately from the board but later agreed to stay on until the end of the season, he released a statement on the 30 July 2007 which cited a disappointment of missing out on reaching the new Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
for the Challenge Cup and ill health as the reasons for stepping down. It was also said that Dave Whelan, the club's owner persuaded Lindsay to remain until the end of the season but may be looking to sell the club himself.
During the weekend on which the Challenge Cup final was scheduled to take place, Lindsay was taken to hospital after the club's doctor told him he needed urgent medical attention due to a perforated gall bladder which needed operating on. Lindsay was ordered by his doctor not to attend his final ever match at the JJB Stadium
JJB Stadium
The DW Stadium is a sports stadium in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, that is home to Wigan Athletic football club and Wigan Warriors rugby league club....
as chairman of Wigan, a match which saw Wigan defeat their closest rivals St. Helens 20-12 in order to grab the last available place in the 2007 engage Super League play-offs.
New owner & chairman Ian Lenagan
Ian Lenagan
Ian Lenagan is a Business entrepreneur, theatre producer and shareholder of Harlequins RL & Oxford United FC as well as chairman and owner of Wigan Warriors-Early life:...
took official control on 1 December 2007.
When Lindsay returned for his second stint at Wigan in 2000, he was subsequently put on to the Wigan Athletic Football Club board by Dave Whelan. At the same time, Whelan placed 2 Wigan Athletic directors on the Wigan RLFC board. Maurice still remains on the Wigan Athletic board and represents the club on the powerful shareholders committee of the FA Premier League. In 2008 the FA Premier League elected Lindsay onto the FA Council where he still remains.
In February 2009, Lindsay became Chairman of Racecourse Data Technologies Ltd (RDT), where he remains today. RDT have contracts to supply and support computerised betting systems to every racecourse in the UK and Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The company holds contracts with Satellite Information Services Ltd (SiS) and Turf TV to supply data.
It was announced on 21 June 2010 that Lindsay is to replace Derek Shaw
Derek Shaw
Derek Shaw is an English businessman, who is a former chairman of English football club, Preston North End. He is the owner of Ribble Valley Shelving Limited.-Background:...
as chairman of Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
.