#10 – Darren Gough
Born In: Barnsley
Sport: Cricket
Born on 18th September 1970, Darren Gough is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England’s bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England’s second highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals with 234, and took 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him England’s ninth most successful wicket-taker.
Gough was a right arm fast bowler and right-handed batsman. 1.80 m (5′ 11″) and broad in beam, he achieved his pace from a good approach to the wicket and a leaping sideways-on action, achieving what was often described as “skiddy” fast bowling. Capable of swinging the ball late, a large number of his wickets were gained through LBW or bowled, often with the inswinging yorker delivery.
#9 – James Milner
Born In: Leeds
Sport: Football
James Philip Milner was born 4th January 1986, he is a current English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder/winger for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team. He has previously played for Leeds United, Swindon Town, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Manchester City. Playing as a central midfielder with Aston Villa, Milner was named PFA Young Player of the Year and in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2009–10 Premier League season.
Milner’s talent in football, cricket, and long-distance running was recognised at a very young age. He represented his school in these sports and played football for amateur teams from Rawdon and Horsforth. He supported Leeds United from a young age and was a season ticket holder at the club. In 1996, he joined the Leeds United youth academy. He made his debut for the first team in 2002 aged only 16 and gained prominence as the youngest player to score in the Premier League.
#8 – Nicola Adams
Born In: Leeds
Sport: Boxing
Nicola Adams, MBE was born 26th October 1982 and is a British boxer and the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title. The Gold Medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, as of 2015 she is the reigning Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and European Games champion at flyweight. She was the first ever female boxing champion at both the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.
Adams represented Haringey Police Community Club at boxing, As of July 2012 (and before the London Summer Olympic Games), she was rated World Number Two in the Flyweight (51kg) division, behind Chinese world champion Ren Cancan. Adams is openly bisexual, and was named the most influential LGBT person in Britain by The Independent in 2012. She also became the first openly LGBT person to win an Olympic boxing Gold medal, after her win at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
#7 – Leon Pryce
Born In: Bradford
Sport: Rugby League
Leon Pryce was born 9th October 1981 in Bradford, he is an English professional Rugby League player of Jamaican descent. A Great Britain and England international representative backline player, he previously played for St Helens with whom he had Challenge Cup and Super League Championship success.
Pryce comes from a family of rugby league players; he is the older brother of Bradford player Karl Pryce, his father and uncle both played the sport at a high level. His cousin Steve Pryce has coached in Jamaica and he is also the cousin of Featherstone Rovers player Waine Pryce.
#6 – Aaron Lennon
Born In: Leeds
Sport: Football
Aaron Justin Lennon was born on 16 April 1987 and is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Everton and the England national team. He began his career at hometown club Leeds United making his debut in 2003 as the youngest player in the Premier League.
He moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £1 million, where he made over 350 appearances across all competitions, winning the 2008 Football League Cup Final. In September 2015, Lennon joined Everton, after his successful spell with the club on loan. Lennon made his debut for England in 2006 and has been selected by England 21 times and for two World cup campaigns.
#5 – David Seaman
Born In: Rotherham
Sport: Football
David Andrew Seaman MBE was born in 19th September 1963, he is a retired England international football goalkeeper who played for Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City, among others, during a career lasting from 1981 to 2004. Seaman, who was appointed an MBE in 1997 for services to the sport, retired seven years later following a recurring shoulder injury.
The peak of Seaman’s career was during his period as Arsenal and England goalkeeper in the 1990s and early 2000s. During his time at Arsenal he won three league championships (1991, 1998, 2002), four FA Cups (1993, 1998, 2002, 2003), the League Cup in 1993 and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1994. During this time he also played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and Euro 96 and Euro 2000, and is England’s second-most capped goalkeeper with 75 caps, after Peter Shilton.
#4 – Jamie Peacock
Born In: Leeds
Sport: Rugby League
Jamie Peacock MBE was born 14 December 1977, he is a retired English professional Rugby League player who played for Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls in the Super League and captained both Great Britain and England at international level. His position of choice was prop, although he played much of his early career as a Second-row.
He is one of the most successful players in Super League history, having won a total of nine Super League championships, four Challenge Cup winners medals, been named to the Super League Dream Team on eleven occasions and won the Man of Steel award in 2003.
#3 – Sir Leonard Hutton
Born In: Leeds
Sport: Cricket
Sir Leonard Hutton was an English Test cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England before and after the Second World War as an opening batsman. Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack described him as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He set a record in 1938 for the highest individual innings in a Test match in only his sixth Test appearance, scoring 364 runs against Australia, a milestone that stood for nearly 20 years.
In 1952, he became the first professional cricketer of the 20th Century to captain England in Tests; under his captaincy England won the Ashes the following year for the first time in 19 years. Following the war, he was the mainstay of England’s batting, and the team depended greatly on his success. He received a serious injury to his arm while taking part in a commando training course, his arm never fully recovered, but this injury did not end his career as he went on to play for another 10 years, this means Hutton remains statistically among the best batsmen to have ever played test cricket.
#2 – Jessica Ennis-Hill
Born In: Sheffield
Sport: Athletics
Jessica Ennis-Hill was born January 1986, she is a British track and field athlete from England, specialising in multi-eventing disciplines and 100 metres hurdles. A member of the City of Sheffield & Dearne athletic club, she is the current Olympic and world heptathlon champion. She is also the former European heptathlon champion and the former world indoor pentathlon champion.
She is the current British national record holder for the heptathlon. She is a former British record holder in the 100 metres hurdles, the high jump and the indoor pentathlon. An achilles tendon injury kept Ennis-Hill out of the 2016 indoor season. Ennis Hill was voted as Great Britain favourite sporting hero in a poll conducted by Sports Relief.
#1 – Kevin Keegan
Born In: Doncaster
Sport: Football
Joseph Kevin Keegan OBE is an English former footballer player and manager. He played for several clubs including Liverpool and Hamburger SV. He played for several clubs including Liverpool and Hamburger SV. He went on to manage Newcastle United, Fulham and Manchester City, winning promotion as champions in his first full season at all three clubs. He also managed the England national team.
As a player in the 1970s and 1980s, he has been described as “arguably the first superstar English player to attract the modern media spotlight”. In 1971 Keagan joined Liverpool, here he won the First Division title three times and won the UEFA Cup on two occasions and the FA Cup, as well as the European Cup. He moved into management at Newcastle in 1992, winning promotion as First Division champions. Newcastle then finished second in the Premier League in 1995–96, after leading for most of the season.
One Response
David Armlry
I don’t agree. What abt Geoff Boycott? And why include Seaman when he didn’t ply his trade in Yorkshire?