ARGUMENT has often raged as to the tallest player to wear the Saints' first-team jersey, with 6ft 7in John Harrison the front-runner, but there has also been some support for Walter Rochford, who appeared at Knowsley Road in the late 1940s, writes Denis Whittle.

In in order to clarify the matter, I spoke with 74-year-old Walter at his home in Boardmans Lane, Parr, and he confirmed that he stood 6ft 9ins but played only in 'A' team trials at Saints, and never in the senior team.

A former Corporation bricklayer and Irish Guardsman who served in the North African campaign, Rochford was taken to Saints by former centre Billy Mercer.

Almost inevitably, given his stature, bachelor Walter was a goalkeeper with Blackbrook St Mary's and St Helens Schoolboys and had never played Rugby League before arriving at Knowsley Road.

Said local legend Duggie Greenall: "I remember Rochford's first training session because he took size 16 in boots and Saints had none to fit him. So coach Jim Sullivan quickly hammered a set of studs into Walter's shoes to get him started!"

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