WARRINGTON Wolves have paid tribute to a local back rower who played for the club in the 1960s after his death yesterday.
Henry Delooze, who appeared on The Wire more than 50 times between 1961 and 1965, died on Monday at the age of 82.
The club’s Neil Dowson wrote the following obituary for the local boy who fulfilled a dream…
Henry Delooze, an 18-year-old Warrington native, joined the club in April 1960. He played for Latchford Albion and was an England under 19 amateur international.
Henry made his Wire debut a few months later, on 21st January 1961, against Featherstone Rovers in a 13-9 loss at Wilderspool.
In October 1961, he made his second appearance in a memorable 11-7 victory over St Helens. According to one journalist, “Warrington have a fine prospect in young Delooze.” With a little more weight and experience, he has the makings of a great forward.”
Unfortunately, an ankle injury suffered the following week against Blackpool Borough kept Henry from breaking into the first team.
Henry was a regular at loose forward for the Wire during the 1962/3 season, appearing in 30 games. He was unable to compete at Wembley due to Warrington’s narrow 5-2 Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Wakefield Trinity.
The following season, Henry returned to the “A” team and was part of a successful side that won the Lancashire County Challenge Cup and the Lancashire Combination Cup.
Henry was unable to establish himself as a regular first-team player, and his opportunities were limited over the next two seasons.
Warrington were having difficulty winning the ball from scrums, so Henry was given a try as a hooker on April 4, 1965, at Workington.
The experiment was a failure; Henry lost the first ten scrums and was relegated to the back row as the Wire were defeated 6-0 in appalling conditions.
On September 18, 1965, he made his final appearance in the Primrose and Blue. He played second row in Wilderspool’s 16-10 loss to Halifax.
In his five years at Wilderspool, he made 53 appearances for The Wire, scoring eight tries and kicking 17 goals for 58 points.
In October 1965, his former teammate Jim Challinor, now player-coach at Barrow, paid a £1,000 transfer fee to sign Henry.
Henry was back at Wilderspool on February 5, 1966, when Barrow defeated Warrington 10-5 for their first league win in 14 years.
At halftime, Henry received a standing ovation from the Warrington crowd after scoring a magnificent 55-yard penalty goal to tie the game at 5-5.
He appeared in 50 games for Barrow in two years, scoring 10 tries and kicking 74 goals for a total of 178 points.
His appearance in the 1967 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium was the pinnacle of his Barrow career. Barrow was defeated 17-12, with Henry scoring two goals, but he did meet the Queen, who presented the medals.
Rochdale Hornets paid Barrow £2,500 to sign Henry in September 1967.
He played for the Hornets for eight years, appearing in the 1971 BBC 2 Floodlight Final and the 1974 Players No.6 Trophy Final. The latter resulted in a 27-16 loss to Warrington.
From November 1975 to November 1976, he was also the coach of Rochdale Hornets.
For many years, Henry was an active member of the Warrington Players Association. He continued to attend matches through The Warrington Wolves Foundation’s “Buddy Up” Scheme until the pandemic of 2020.
