Jeff Butterfield

Jeffrey " Jeff" Butterfield ( born August 9, 1929 in Heckmondwike, Yorkshire, England; † April 30, 2004 in Wicken, Northamptonshire, England ) was an English rugby union player and is due to his passing ability as the best English inner three-quarters of his time.

Butterfield grew up in Heckmondwike and went to the Whitcliffe Mount Grammar School in Cleckheaton. There he attended as a young boy the Rugby League games of the resident association and so came the first time with the rugby in contact. Especially the player Willie Davies impressed him and had influence on his own playing style. After finishing school he went to Loughborough College, where he became a sports diploma. He then taught as a sports teacher at Wellingborough Grammar School.

His playing career began Butterfield at the Northampton Saints, for whom he played 227 games. He also played for the regional selection of Yorkshire. In 1953 he ran for the first time on for the English national team against France. In six years he came in 28 consecutive games for use. During this time England won four times the Five Nations, while twice the Triple Crown and Grand Slam.

1955 Butterfield was nominated for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa. In three of the four test matches he laid each attempt. In addition to Cliff Morgan and Tony O'Reilly, he was one of the most outstanding player of the tour. Four years later he was again in the squad of the Lions, but he was injured before the tour to New Zealand.

After his playing career, Butterfield worked in the paint industry, before he opened the Rugby Club in London and operating over 25 years. In 1956 he married Barbara Kirton, they had a son together. On April 30, 2004, he died after a year- long battle with cancer.