Billy Thompson when he was in the area used to call at a pub in Earlestown called Charlie Owens when Ernie Ashcroft was landlord. I had the dubious pleasure of talking to him many a time. After a couple of scoops he could be very revealing with his conversation. My favourite tale of his was the occasion he refereed the Challenge Cup Final involving Leeds and Leigh in the days of AJ Murphy...He visited both dressing rooms pre-match and said *Now then lads, nobody has ever been sent off in a Challenge Cup Final but Billy Thompson's never refereed here before so behave yourselves* He very often talked about himself in the third person...Obviously he was determined to send somebody off and Syd Hynes was the fall guy. Billy was a narcissist of the first order but you couldn't help liking him
