Ted Slevin

Ted Slevin
Ted Slevin
Born	Edward Slevin; 15 July 1927 (age 99); Rossington, Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	7 November 1998 (aged 71)
Other names	Edward "Ted" Slevin
Occupation(s)	Professional rugby league footballer, publican
Years active	1940s–1960s
Known for	Rugby league player for Wigan, Huddersfield, Rochdale Hornets; represented Great Britain, England, Lancashire

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Ted Slevin, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 11 August 2025

Edward "Ted" Slevin (15 July 1927 – 7 November 1998) was a professional English rugby league player whose career spanned from the 1940s through the 1960s. He earned caps representing Great Britain, England, and Lancashire, despite being born in Yorkshire. Throughout his club career, he played mainly as a or , featuring for Wigan, Huddersfield, and Rochdale Hornets.

Background

Born in Rossington, Doncaster, within the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Ted Slevin's family relocated to Lancashire when he was an infant. Later in life, he served as the landlord of The Beech Tree on Beech Hill Lane in Wigan. He passed away at the age of 71.

Wigan

Slevin made his first appearance for Wigan on 8 January 1949, contributing to a narrow 14-12 triumph over Leeds at Headingley. He registered his inaugural try for Wigan during a 19-5 win against St. Helens at Central Park on 15 April 1949. His final two tries for the club came in a 22-13 victory over St. Helens on 23 March 1951. His last outing with Wigan was a commanding 46-0 win against Liverpool City at Central Park on 6 October 1951.

Slevin played an integral role in Wigan’s 20-2 success over Huddersfield during the Championship Final of the 1949–50 season, held at Maine Road, Manchester on 13 May 1950. Additionally, he participated in Wigan's victorious campaign in the Lancashire League that year and appeared as a forward in the 20-7 Lancashire Cup Final win against Leigh at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on 29 October 1949.

In the subsequent season, Slevin played as a forward and scored a try during Wigan’s 28-5 triumph over Warrington in the 1950–51 Lancashire Cup Final at Station Road, Swinton on 4 November 1950. He also featured as a forward in Wigan’s clean-sheet 10–0 victory over Barrow in the prestigious Challenge Cup Final staged at London’s Wembley Stadium on 5 May 1951.

Huddersfield

During the 1951–52 season, Slevin helped secure Huddersfield's triumph in the Yorkshire League. He lined up as a forward in Huddersfield’s narrow 15-10 victory against St. Helens in the 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final of the preceding season, held at Wembley Stadium, London on 25 April 1953 before an audience of 89,588 spectators. He was also part of Huddersfield’s squad that defeated Batley 18-8 in the 1952–53 Yorkshire Cup Final at Headingley, Leeds on 15 November 1952.

Slevin took to the field as a forward during Huddersfield's 15-8 success over York in the 1957–58 Yorkshire Cup Final at Headingley on 19 October 1957, and again featured in their narrow 10–16 loss to Wakefield Trinity in the 1960–61 Yorkshire Cup Final held at Headingley on 29 October 1960. He played as a forward in Huddersfield’s defeat by Wakefield Trinity, losing 6-12 in the 1961–62 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley on 12 May 1962 before a crowd of 81,263. Furthermore, Slevin contributed to Huddersfield’s Championship Final win, where they overcame Wakefield Trinity with a scoreline of 14-5 at Bradford's Odsal Stadium on 19 May 1962.

Testimonial match

Ted Slevin's testimonial game was held at Huddersfield in the year 1962.

All Six Cups

Ted Slevin is among a select group of five rugby league athletes who have secured victories in all six major trophies throughout their careers: the Challenge Cup, Championship, Lancashire Cup, Lancashire League, Yorkshire Cup, and Yorkshire League. He accomplished this feat while representing both Wigan and Huddersfield clubs. The other players who have achieved this distinction include Aubrey Casewell, Alan Edwards, John Etty, and Derek Turner.

In recognition of his achievements, Slevin was inducted into Huddersfield's Hall of Fame in 1999 as one of the 21 players honored.

County honours

Playing as a prop, Slevin scored a try in Lancashire's 12-3 triumph over Yorkshire at Thrum Hall, Halifax, on 3 May 1949.

International honours

Slevin received international caps for England while with Wigan in 1950 against Wales, and later with Huddersfield in 1953 facing France. Additionally, he represented Great Britain in matches versus France during 1953 and 1954 at Huddersfield; however, these games were not officially recognized as Test matches by the Rugby Football League, so no official caps were awarded. Alongside contemporaries such as William "Billy" Banks and Robert "Bob" Kelly, Slevin’s appearances for Great Britain were confined to these non-Test fixtures prior to 1957.

Genealogical information

In 1950, Ted Slevin married Kathleen Moss in Wigan. They had two sons: Bryan E. Slevin (born 1951) and Jeffrey P. Slevin (born 1955). Ted was the son of John Slevin and Edith Lawton and was the younger sibling of John "Jack" Slevin.

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