Cyril Hankey, David Jones.Alec Hurst. Frank Morgan, Geof Hilton. Frank Sutton. Jimmy Johnston, Dex Seabrook, John Hilton. Front: Brian Taberner, Ken Unsworth, Geof Alker, Bill Huxley, Norman Fairclough, Mike Bath, Jim Lloyd.

The Club had spent the 1950s establishing itself at Edge Hall Road and developing its teams, including the Colts section formed in 1952.

Now the Club was beginning to think bigger.

The 1960s would see Orrell become increasingly ambitious both on and off the pitch.

The ground would be transformed.

New ways of raising money would be developed.

The fixture list would grow in quality.

New players would emerge who would go on to become important figures in Orrell's history.

And by the end of the decade, Orrell would have something that would help change the Club's future: floodlights.

The foundations were being laid for the extraordinary years that would follow.

First game under the new floodlights

A REMARKABLE RUN OF FORM

The early 1960s saw Orrell establish itself as a highly competitive side.

Between 1961 and 1966, the Club played 139 matches and suffered just 14 defeats.

It was an impressive record and an indication that something special was developing at Edge Hall Road.

The Club was no longer simply establishing itself within the local rugby community.

Orrell was beginning to make people take notice.

THE ORRELL CARNIVAL

Success on the field was important, but the Club also needed the facilities and finances to support its ambitions.

From the early 1960s, one of Orrell's most important sources of income became the annual Whit Bank Holiday Carnival.

The idea grew from the work of Eric Smith and developed into a major event in the local calendar.

It wasn't simply a carnival.

The weekend included a dance in a marquee on the Friday night, the main carnival on the Monday and the famous Orrell Draw.

It became an important social occasion for the Club and the wider community, while also raising money that could be invested directly into Edge Hall Road.

THE FAMOUS ORRELL DRAW

The Orrell Draw became one of the most imaginative fundraising schemes associated with the Club.

In November 1965, Bob Nicholson, on behalf of Pemberton Caravans, offered the Club a caravan to be used as the first prize.

The challenge was then to sell as many tickets as possible.

One particularly ingenious idea involved a watch.

The watch was wound up and locked away, and entrants had to estimate the time the watch would show when it eventually stopped.

The winning estimate took the prize.

The scheme attracted interest well beyond Orrell.

Sports clubs and organisations across the United Kingdom sold tickets, with those organisations keeping a percentage of the income.

The fundraising was hugely important to the Club.

It demonstrated something that would become a recurring theme throughout Orrell's history:

When the Club needed something, its people found a way to make it happen.

BUILDING A BETTER EDGE HALL ROAD

The money raised through the Carnival and Orrell Draw was invested back into the ground.

The First Team pitch was levelled and a drainage system installed.

These improvements transformed the playing surface and helped establish Edge Hall Road as one of the best rugby pitches in the North of England.

For a Club that had begun its life carrying makeshift goalposts from one field to another, the transformation was remarkable.

Edge Hall Road was becoming a proper rugby ground.

And it was becoming a place where Orrell could entertain some increasingly ambitious opposition.

THE GLENGARTH SEVENS

The 1960s also saw the beginning of another important part of Orrell's rugby story.

The Glengarth Sevens became an important part of the Club's history, with Orrell eventually establishing an impressive record in the competition.

Between 1967 and 1987, Orrell won the Glengarth Sevens on eight occasions.

The success of the Club's Sevens rugby would become particularly significant during the 1970s, when Ken Taberners' famous Sevens side would go on to win tournaments across Britain.

The seeds of that success were already being planted in the 1960s.

1968 — LIGHTS ON AT EDGE HALL ROAD

One of the most significant developments in the Club's history came in September 1968.

Orrell became the first Lancashire club to erect floodlights specifically to enable midweek rugby.

It was a major investment and demonstrated the Club's growing ambition.

Floodlights opened up new possibilities. Saturday fixture lists were often full for established clubs, making it difficult for Orrell to attract some of the teams it wanted to play.

Midweek rugby changed that. Orrell could now invite teams to Edge Hall Road who might otherwise have been unavailable on a Saturday.

The lights didn't just illuminate the pitch. They opened the door to a new era for Orrell RUFC.

THE PLAYERS WHO WERE BEGINNING TO MAKE THEIR MARK

The development of the Club during the 1960s was reflected in the quality of players wearing the amber and black.

Some of the names who would become synonymous with Orrell's success in the 1970s and beyond were already emerging during this decade.

Bill Lyon joined Orrell in 1966.

His playing career would span one of the most important periods in the Club's history. He would go on to represent Lancashire between 1970 and 1978 and become a highly respected figure within the Club.

Des Seabrook was already playing First XV rugby during the 1960s.
His influence would become even greater during the following decade, when he would help lead Orrell towards national recognition.

Frank Littler emerged during the latter part of the decade and would become an outstanding centre, as well as playing an important role in Orrell's hugely successful Sevens rugby.

Frank Anderson also joined Orrell during the late 1960s. His career would eventually take him to international rugby, becoming Orrell's first England international in 1973.

These were players who would help define the next era of Orrell rugby.

But they were not the only people shaping the Club.

ERIC SMITH — BUILDING THE CLUB

As Orrell's ambitions grew during the 1960s, the importance of the people working behind the scenes grew with them.

Eric Smith was one of those people.

His involvement with the Club became particularly significant during this period, and in 1969 he became Chairman.

He would go on to play an important role in developing Orrell's organisation, ambitions and standing within the rugby community.

The work being done off the field was just as important as what was happening on it.

Better facilities, stronger administration, fundraising and an increasingly ambitious fixture list were all helping to establish Orrell as a Club capable of competing at a much higher level.

Eric's contribution would extend well beyond the 1960s.

His long association with Orrell is a reminder that the Club's history has never been built solely by the players on the pitch.

From helping shape the Club during its rise in the 1960s to continuing to represent it today, his association with Orrell spans more than half a century.

THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE FUTURE

The late 1960s saw a generation of players, coaches and administrators come together who would shape the next great chapter of Orrell's history.

Bill Lyon.
Des Seabrook.
Frank Littler.
Frank Anderson.
Eric Smith.

Some would become county players and internationals.
Some would become captains and coaches.
Some would work behind the scenes.

But all would play a part in taking Orrell from a successful local Club to one of the most recognised names in English rugby.

The 1970s were about to begin.

And Orrell was ready.

A GROWING REPUTATION

The combination of an improving ground, an ambitious fixture list, strong fundraising and success on the field meant that Orrell's reputation continued to grow.

Edge Hall Road was becoming a ground that visiting teams knew about. The Club had the facilities to compete. It had players capable of competing. And it had a growing support network behind it. The foundations were now in place for the next major step in Orrell's development.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PROGRESS

None of this happened by accident.

The improvements at Edge Hall Road were the result of people giving their time, energy and imagination to the Club.

Eric Smith and those involved in the Carnival created an important source of income.

Bob Nicholson and Pemberton Caravans provided support that helped make the famous Orrell Draw possible.

Players continued to represent the Club on the pitch.

Volunteers worked behind the scenes.

Supporters bought tickets, attended events and helped raise the money needed to improve the ground.

This was Orrell doing what it had always done.

Building the Club together.

THE LEGACY OF THE 1960s

By the end of the decade, Orrell RUFC was a very different Club from the one that had entered the 1950s.

The Colts section had become established.

Edge Hall Road had been transformed.

The Club had developed a remarkable record on the field.

The Carnival and Orrell Draw had demonstrated the power of the wider Orrell community.

The Glengarth Sevens had begun a period of tournament success.

New players who would become Club legends were emerging.

And in September 1968, floodlights had opened up a whole new world of fixtures.

The Club was ready.

The next decade would see Orrell take another huge step forward.

1968

THE LIGHTS COME ON

The floodlights at Edge Hall Road were more than a facility.

They were a statement of ambition.

Orrell was no longer simply building a rugby ground.

It was building a Club capable of competing against the best.

And the 1970s would show just how far that ambition could take them.

ORRELL RUFC

Keeping the Future Black and Amber.