The portents for the 66/7 were not particularly auspicious, with 10 defeats in the first 14 games, together with the retirement of the one and only Mick Martyn, who Ifirmly believe would be at one of the top clubs today, as unusual for those days was as fast as some of the backs. But just as one legend disappears, a new one appears. At the end of October 1966, Leigh made one of the most audacious and significant signings in their history. Alex Murphy, one of the most charismatic figures in the game was in dispute with St Helens who wanted him to play at centre instead of scrum half. With St Helens refusing to sell him as a player, the Leigh board led by Tommy Sale tempted him with the offer of a coaching role which he gratefully accepted. So it came to pass that the first Alex Murphy era commenced on 2nd November 1966 ironically in a rearranged league fixture against a weakened St Helens at Hilton Park. A crowd of 6,000 saw a sensational Leigh win of 29-5 with a Gordon Lewis hat trick. After this saw a steady improvement with the team finishing 13th and qualifying for the top 16 play off, where Saints got their revenge by 37-12. The challenge cup proved disappointing again with a First round exit at home to Cas by 10-8 in front of 10,000. One league match I do remember was against Fev. Leigh had been losing all through the match when in the last seconds Tommy Grainey squeezed over in the left hand corner at the Railway end and Colin Tyrer sent the conversion over to earn a barely deserved draw.