OLDHAM president Roger Halstead, former coach and manager Graham Starkey and the Roughyeds’ official historian Mike Turner of the Oldham RL Heritage trust were among the large congregation at St James’s Church, Milnrow this week for the funeral service of dual-code international centre Malcolm Price.
There to represent the game of Rugby League in Wales were famous Welsh internationals Mike Nicholas and Jim Mills.
There was as big Welsh flavour to the celebration of the life of 86-year-old Malcolm, who won nine Welsh caps at Rugby Union and also played for the British Lions on tour before turning pro for Oldham in 1962. Settling and living in this area for more than 60 years, he spent most of his illustrious Rugby League career with Rochdale Hornets, who had a strong presence at the church, both parent club and Ex-players organisation, of which Malcolm was an active member.
The entrance music was ‘Land of My Fathers’ and those present were asked to wear a hint of red to symbolise the Welsh heritage of Pontypool-born Malcolm, whose £7,000 signing-on fee for Oldham was a record for a Union convert at that time.
He won Great Britain honours in League when he was picked in two Tests against Australia in 1967 as a Rochdale Hornets player and thus became one of the few to have played for Great Britain at League and the British Lions at Union.
His playing days over, he worked tirelessly for the grass roots game in Rochdale and, for a time, was president of the Littleborough community club which played in the Pennine League.
