Wakefield Museums and Castles

'This Sporting Life' is by Wakefield author, David Storey. It is a classic northern novel about a Wakefield Rugby League player. It charts both his sporting life and his turbulent love life.

The book is set in the 1960s. The decade was a spectacular era for Wakefield Trinity. Under head coach Ken Traill, Trinity won the Championship twice, and the Challenge Cup and Yorkshire Cup three times.

This Sporting Life was Storey's debut novel. He was a former professional rugby player himself. He later won the 1976 Booker prize for his novel 'Saville'.

Storey also wrote the script for the 1963 film adaptation. He earned a BAFTA nomination for Best British Screenplay. Lindsay Anderson directed the movie, which starred Richard Harris. Some of the scenes were filmed at Trinity's Belle Vue stadium. Lots of local people took part as extras.