The Houghton Trophy was established by a local Rainford businessman, Dennis Houghton, in 1971

The Houghton Trophy was established by a local Rainford businessman, Dennis Houghton, in 1971 and has been played every year since. June 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of this famous local bowling competition. The Houghton Family generously sponsor the events. Dennis’s sons, Chris and Adrian, always attend the annual competition to present the prizes and the trophy.

Chris Houghton recalls:

“I do remember my dad being a keen bowler and quite often in an afternoon he would head over to The Eagle to practice when he could get away from the shop for an hour or two. He usually took me with him and I would play with toy cars in the sand that surrounded the green - happy days! I remember the old pavilion that stood where the current patio is now. Such a shame that it is now long gone it was a great building with a bar at one end. My dad passed away on the 12 June 1985, hence the trophy being held as close as possible to his anniversary. I was always very proud to see our family name up on the wall from the original “Houghton Challenge Trophy Board" so it was decided to change to the Houghton Memorial Trophy in memory of my dad and to update the board.”

The Houghton Trophy overall winner of 2021 was Mike Cox.

Mike (speaking in the days after this year's Houghton Trophy) recalls:

“I started bowling when I was 16 (1980) at The Eagle during school Holidays. My dad (Alan Cox) played regularly and was captain at one point and he got me involved. My cousins, Paul and Gary Westerside, their dad, Joe Westerside (my uncle) and our grandad also used to play, so it was a real family affair.

I first entered the Houghton Trophy in 1980 and played every year up to 1990 when I finished bowling due other commitments. Over the 10 years I won it 3 times and was runner up twice.

29 Years later (2019), Paul and Gary Westerside persuaded me to start playing at The Eagle again and have enjoyed been back. The picture (below) I posted on Facebook of me when I was young was from when I beat Joe Jackson in 1988. It was lovely to win the 50th trophy at weekend”