ONE of rugby league's all-time greats, and a former York player, Mick Sullivan has died, aged 82.

Pudsey-born legend Sullivan played 44 times for York between 1963 and 1965, scoring 12 tries, towards the twilight of a record-breaking career.

He remains Great Britain’s most capped player, representing his country 46 times, a record he shares with Garry Schofield, with the last of those appearances coming while he was at Clarence Street. He scored 31 times for the Lions.

Twice a World Cup winner in 1954 and 1960, he also played each Test in the Ashes-winning series of 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1962. During the 1958 tour, he scored a record 38 tries in 19 appearances.

He was inducted into the RFL Hall of Fame in 2013, one of only 25 players to have been granted that honour.

Sullivan started his pro career at Huddersfield as an 18-year-old in 1952 before joining Wigan in 1957 for a then world record transfer fee of £9,500, a record he broke again four years later when he moved to St Helens for £11,000.

A threequarter, he scored 93 tries in 117 games for Fartown, 84 in 125 for Wigan, and 31 in 82 for Saints.

He won the Challenge Cup with Wigan in 1958 and 1959, scoring in both finals, and was also part of their Championship-winning team of 1960.

He left Saints for York, then a Second Division club, and finished his career with spells at home-town club Dewsbury, making 40 appearances, and as captain-coach of Junee, in New South Wales, Australia.

In total, he scored 342 tries, which included a chart-topping 50 for Wigan in the 1957-58 season and 120 in a representative career of 102 games for Yorkshire, England and Great Britain.

Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan said: “I remember Mick Sullivan signing for Wigan. I was at school in St Helens. I remember being at Shaw Street Station when I heard the news he had signed, and I was delighted.

“He played in a famous back line that included Billy Boston and Eric Ashton. I remember watching him at Wembley in 1958, when he scored against Workington.

“He was a terrific player – tough, uncompromising. I don’t know why Wigan ever let him go. It’s a great shame to hear he’s passed away.”

Sullivan died after a long illness after being admitted to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield last week.