Memories
The draw for the Last 16 of the 2024 Jack Burgin (MUGS) Trophy will be online tomorrow and will be contested on Sunday 26 May from 2.00pm at Lockwood Con. The Good Old Days - Continuing the series looking back at the history of local competitions to coincide with the running of the 2024 versions as compiled by Dave Parkin.
Good Old Days: Part 6 - Jack Burgin (MUGS) Trophy
by Dave Parkin
Like the Champion of Champions, the Mugs concept was also started in Huddersfield but this time, not by the Association. In 1977, local comedian and Slawit C & BC member, Ceddie Beaumont started this comp for non-winners & like a year earlier, local pop firm, Ben Shaws backed it.


Â

The first event was won by Ken Auty of Milnsbridge and when I ran this story on Huddersfield bowling, it prompted the 1977 runner up, Andy Whitwam of Denby Dale to contact me. He was also half of the winning Dearne & Don Pairs partnership that year & they won that at Farnley Tyas in August, an event which I was probably at as I spent that summer in Farnley Tyas, what a small world.

This ran at Slawit until 1984 but only in 1986, did it run again before being adopted by the Huddersfield Association in 1989 and run under their umbrella. Details of that standalone 1986 event have been added and was won by Dennis Hartley.
Â
In 2005, the Jack Burgin Trophy began to commemorate the Rawthorpe, Kirkheaton C & BC, Lockwood, Waterloo, & New Mill bowler who had passed away the year before. Jack was held in high regard around the Huddersfield area where he had won the Barker Sports Easter Handicap & the WMC Carling Merit plus many other titles.

The unique part of this competition is of course the winner can’t defend but of course they can use this win as a springboard to win more things. In recent times, this has happened with Danny Beeby in 2009 who went on to win the following year’s Spring Handicap & John Greenhalgh in 2015 who won the CofC the same year. From my investigation, John is the only MUG to do this.
Â
Other than the COVID years, the 2012 event was declared void after the winner, Paul Toon wasn’t a MUG after all.
Â
Find all the winners of the Mugs Handicap from the last century.Â

More information on winners since then can be found below under Web Page then History section. https://bowlsnet.uk/Huddersfield
Â
留言