Bull Masters - Karl Fairbank
Karl Fairbank epitomised the Bradford club probably more than any other of his contemporaries. To a lot of fans he epitomised the fighting spirit so often associated with the great Bradford packs over the years. Karl gave his all for the club for over 10 years after signing for the Northern from Elland ARLFC.
The Fairbank's were a proud rugby family. Karl's brothers all played, John at Leeds and Oldham and Dick at Halifax and Karl's father, Jack was a legend who played in the first Leeds side to win the Championship in 1961. Karl signed for Bradford in August 1996 and quickly established himself in the Northern pack of the time. Originally a second row forward he later played at Prop where he represented his country.
He played for Gt. Britain 16 times after making his debut against Papua New Guinea in 1987 the year after he made his debut for the club. His honours at Bradford were few for a player of his stature and a couple of Yorkshire Cup winner's medals were scant reward for the efforts that he put in over the years.
When Super League, Summer Rugby and the Bulls were born Karl was coming to the end of his career but he still had a lot left in the tank and achieved one of his ambitions by appearing at Wembley in 1996 before retiring at the end of that season to concentrate on his farm.
He has not been forgotten at Odsal and on many occasions when things haven't been going well on the field the words ' what we need is another Karl Fairbank' has echoed around the vast arena. Of course there could never be another Karl Fairbank because when he retired they broke the mould.
The Fairbank Suite in the Touchdown Restaurant was named in Karl's honour but perhaps the ultimate tribute was the decision to 'retire' the number 21 shirt, which Karl wore with such distinction. Karl had the honour of being selected in both the Millennium Masters Team and the Bradford Team of the Century and he was always as proud to wear a Bradford shirt as the club were proud of him. He is a legend at the club and rightly so for he gave everything in every game he played.