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The players of 85: Jeff Heaton, Billy Benyon, Harry Pinner, Neil Holding, Paul Loughlin, Denis Litherland, Bernard Dwyer, Tommy Frodsham and Barrie.

Prolific try-scorer Barrie Ledger has been inducted into the Saints' Past Players Hall of Fame.

The pacey winger scored 601 points for the Club consisting of 112 tries, 79 goals and 9 drop goals in 214 appearances.

The son of stalwart Eric Ledger, Barrie gained a reputation as a clinical finisher. He possessed great evasive skills and genuine pace. Additionally, he had sound positional play and was a reliable goal-kicker to boot.

Barrie played for the St Helens Colts team in the 1980/81 season and graduated to sign professional forms. He made his first team debut on March 3, 1982 in a home match which the Saints prevailed by 14 points to 4 over Featherstone Rovers. Barrie scored his first points for the Club when scoring a neat try in the 13 points to 10 defeat at Leeds on November 6 1982.

When Barrie joined the Saints were very much in a transitional period with a host of young junior talent and some experienced stalwarts in the twilight of their careers. In his first full season (1982/83) Barrie crossed the line on 14 occasions and kicked 24 goals. This haul included a brace of touchdowns and two goals against Halifax and 8 goals in the defeat of Carlisle. His first hat-trick for the club came in the following season when a brilliant finishing performance against the 'Wire' was augmented with 5 goals for a match total of 22 points out of a 37 points to 25 victory.

Barrie finished the season with a very creditable 17 tries and the supporters could see real improvements in the fortunes of the club on the playing field.

The signing of Mal Meninga and Phil Veivers sent a tsunami of optimism through the town and filled the team with confidence for the 1984/5 campaign. Under the astute direction of coach Billy Benyon, Barrie and the Saints mounted their assault on the game's prizes. Meninga's presence inspired great confidence in the team and Barrie enjoyed his best ever season with the Saints. His first honour with the first team came in the momentous Lancashire Cup Final when a sparkling team performance defeated the old foe in their own backyard.

In a season which saw Saints score 1267 points in all matches, Barrie netted 30 tries with some sizzling finishes which included hat tricks against Keighley, Hunslet and Barrow.

In the match against Workington Town Barrie kicked 9 goals to illustrate his all round talents. Indeed when Clive Griffiths had moved on in the previous campaign Barrie must have relished the opportunity to demonstrate his goalkicking prowess on a more regular basis. Notwithstanding, the signing of Sean 'dead-eyed Dick' Day restricted Barrie's opportunities in this field.

The final game of that famous campaign was the Premiership Final against Hull KR. In that particular game a sensational rampaging Meninga run was curtailed with a suicidal crash tackle by George Fairburn. From the resultant play-the-ball quick hands by Holding, Platt, Pinner and Peters created a perfect overlap for Ledger to round the Rovers' defence with consummate ease.

That classic try typified Saints dazzling play in that era and became a flagship try for Barrie himself. In the last minute of the match Barrie made it a brace following a break by Neil Holding and a timely overhead pass from substitute Shaun Allen to storm in unopposed from thirty yards out. That final touchdown was Barrie's thirtieth of the season and confirmed his position at the top of the Saints tryscoring charts.

The following season was very much an "after the Lord Meninga's Show" affair. Some inconsistent form eventually triggered the departure of the popular Billy Benyon as coach and heralded the arrival of Alex Murphy as the new coach.

Matters did not improve greatly as Saints suffered a six match losing streak in the New Year of 1986 before finishing the campaign with 13 straight league victories. Barrie's return in this turbulent campaign was 17 tries with braces against Dewsbury, Hull KR, Featherstone Rovers and Oldham.

Barrie was a mature winger throughout the 1986/7 season and had developed one of the best body swerves in the game. In the most one-sided game ever to be seen at Knowsley Road Barrie scored an absolute corker as he evaded three Carlisle tacklers and outpaced a few more for a scorching 70 yards try.

He added another three tries as Saints prevailed by 112 points to nil in the Lancashire Cup tie. In that season Barrie missed only one match and unsurprisingly finished top of the club's appearances and tryscoring charts with 23 touchdowns from 44 outings.

The agony of the 1987 Challenge Cup Final against Halifax was deeply felt as the chance of a Wembley success slipped away from the grasp of Barrie and the rest of his contemporaries.

The signing of Les Quirk and emergence of young speedsters in the shape of Kevin McCormack and David Large brought real competition for wingers' jerseys at Knowsley Road. By the end of the campaign though Barrie seemed to be hold of the number two slot having played 16 successive matches starting with a hat trick in the 64 points to 2 demolition of Hull and ending with three tries in four matches.

Thanks to the Saints Historical Society for Barrie’s profile.

Barrie Ledger:

Date of Birth: 19/ 01 /1962

Birthplace: St. Helens

Signed for Saints: 12/02/1981

Signed From: St. Helens Colts

Debut Match: 03/03/1982

Opponents: Featherstone Rovers

Last Match: 15/5/1988

Opponents: Widnes

Left Saints: 28/7/1988

Signed for: Leigh