By Alan Irving

Published at 11:10, Thursday, 26 July 2012

WHITEHAVEN has lost another of its rugby league legends with the death of Bobby Vincent.

Bobby, 80, died in the West Cumberland Hospital on Sunday within a few hours of his elder brother Frank, 84.

Older fans will remember Bobby as one of the finest – and toughest – prop forwards to wear the chocolate blue and gold.

He was a feared front rower in the Neville Emery’s legendary Whitehaven side which reached the Challenge Cup semi-final against Leeds at Odsal in 1957, playing in all four rounds.

Three years later, Bobby featured in another of the club’s most memorable occasions, and another great team, the Eppie Gibson-led outfit which met Wakefield Trinity in the third round of the Challenge Cup in March 1960. The Colliers, as they were then known, were beaten but the crowd was a record 18,650.

Bobby packed down with some more of Whitehaven’s greatest ever forwards such as Bill McAlone, Dick Huddart, John Tembey and Bill Holliday.

Funeral services for the Vincent brothers will be in St Andrew’s Church, Mirehouse; Bobby today (Thursday) at 11am, and Frank next Monday at 11am.

A full obituary tracing Bobby’s RL career will be in The Whitehaven News next week.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk