Obituary: Bob Ashby (30 July 1936 – 5 January 2023)
Bob Ashby, a former Chairman and President of Featherstone Rovers and a Chairman of the Rugby Football League, died recently at the age of 86.
Bob lived most of his life in Pontefract and for many years he had a successful company – Ashby Roofing – that was a contractor in the construction industry and earned him a prosperous livelihood.
As a young man he was an enthusiastic Rugby League player, playing for the Ackworth club near Wakefield as a lively hooker, and although never achieving a breakthrough into the professional game, his greatest moment was perhaps in the 1968/9 season when Ackworth won through to the first round of the Challenge Cup and were drawn to play Wakefield Trinity.
On Saturday 25 January 1969, in front of a Belle Vue crowd of 6,380, many of whom had made the short trip from Ackworth, the amateurs were inevitably overwhelmed 50-7 by a Trinity side that had won the Championship the previous season, with winger Keith Slater scoring four tries and his combination with international centre Ian Brooke proving too much for Ackworth, who only trailed 14-4 at half-time.
“Yet Ackworth had the satisfaction of breaking Trinity’s defence once, when Thornton and Ashby put Dunning over by the posts,” said a contemporary report.
“Beaten two-to-one in the set-scrums in the first half, Ashby heeled five against four in the second half and got through a tremendous amount of covering and tackling, as did all the Ackworth forwards.
“Before the start, Ackworth received a telegram from Ackworth Parish Council, which read: ‘Ackworth is proud of you and knows you will do your best.'”
Several years later, as a successful local businessman, he got involved with Featherstone Rovers, becoming Chairman from 1981 to 1987.
At that time, Featherstone signed a pioneering shirt sponsorship deal with LinPac Packaging and in November 1982 Ashby appointed Allan Agar as captain-coach. Agar would lead Rovers to Wembley on 7 May 1983 as the underdogs beat Hull F.C. 14–12 in front of an 84,969 spectators, with Steve Quinn securing their victory with a late penalty goal.
Ashby then had to lead Featherstone through the miners’ strike the following year and in 1986 he oversaw the construction of a new main stand at Post Office Road after the previous stand had been destroyed by fire.
During that period he had been voted onto the RFL Board of Directors and he gave up the Chairmanship of the club when he was made RFL Chairman in 1987, holding that post for six years and overseeing the appointment of Maurice Lindsay as chief executive when he replaced David Oxley in 1992.
Bob Ashby was married to his wife Joan, who survives him, and he had three children – Adrian, Elizabeth and Richard, as well as several grandchildren.
His funeral will take place at the Central Methodist Church in Pontefract on Friday 17th February at 12pm, followed by a private committal service at Pontefract Crematorium.
Following the service at the Methodist Church, all are invited to Pontefract Squash Club to celebrate Bob’s life.
