Debut: Vs Hunslet (A) 12th August 1968

Leeds Appearances: 625 (604 starts, 21 subs)

Leeds Tries: 153

Leeds Goals: 559

Leeds Points: 1554

Leeds Honours: Championship (Winner: 1972; 1970, 1973), Challenge Cup (Winner: 1977, 1978; Finalist: 1971, 1972), Yorkshire Cup (Winner: 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980), BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy (Winner: 1970-71), John Player (Winner: 1972-73, 1982-83, Finalist: 1982-83), Premiership (Winner: 1975)

Inducted into Hall of Fame in 2017

Les Dyl, 419 ... Ray Batten, 420 ... Jim Brough, 442 ... David Ward, 442 ... Alan Smith, 468 ... John Atkinson, 512 ... so near, and yet so far! Ever since Fred Webster, the forward from Brotherton, played his last game in Leeds colours, in a Championship Semi-Final at The Boulevard on 17th April 1920, his record of 543 appearances had assumed Everest-like proportions, defying the assaults of successive generations. How fitting, therefore, that local-born John Holmes, a former pupil at Burley C. of E. and Kirkstall County  Secondary Schools, both of them on Headingley's doorstep, should have been the one to scale the peak in 1984 and then go on to set the blue-and-amber bench-mark at 604.

Signed on 23rd March 1968 as a young player of great potential, and given his 1st team debut a mere five months later, John was spared the traumatic experience of his late uncle, scrum-half Johnny Feather, who way back in 1945 had been roped in as a teenager from Thornycroft's in St Michael's Lane, only a matter of hours before turning out with the scratch Leeds side routed by 71 points to nil in a mid-week game at Wakefield's Belle Vue. Butterflies or not, Holmes was at Parkside on 12th August, kicking ten goals out of thirteen attempts and tagging on a try for good measure, as the Loiners romped to a Lazenby Cup victory with 32 points to spare.

In February 1970, stepping into the breach created by Bev Risman's enforced retirement with a knee condition, he made an immediate impact, rounding off the season with a tally of 57 goals, kicking a massive 159 (seven short of Lewis Jones' record) in 1970-71, and a further 88 before relinquishing the responsibility to Terry Clawson midway through 1971-72. What's more, in the space of three remarkable years he featured at full-back in no less than ten Finals with Leeds, and found favour with the Great Britain selectors on six occasions as centre or stand-off.

So much already achieved at 21, he was full-back for the 1975 Premiership, but thereafter directed from stand-off in eight more Finals, only losing once. As for representative honours, despite a severe knee ligament injury that ruled him out of contention for the 1974 Tour, he was subsequently in demand at both centre and stand-off, making seven further appearances with Yorkshire, and seven with England (including four in the European phase of the 1975 World Championship), apart from adding considerably to his Great Britain laurels.

The shock came in 1986-87 when he had second thoughts and a Headingley management, clutching at straws, encouraged him to resume despite a year's lay-off. As it was, some indifferent performances at stand-off were somewhat distressing for countless fans who remembered him in his prime. The hat-trick of tries from full-back in the 1972 Yorkshire Cup Final; the fantastic one-handed pass, basketball fashion, that sent John Atkinson streaking away in the 1973 John Player Final; a couple of precious drop-goals in the '77 Challenge Cup Semi-Final versus St Helens; and then, Widnes at Wembley, the perfectly judged kick to the corner that bobbed up invitingly for John Atkinson, followed in the second half by the inch-perfect pass that opened the way for Les Dyl; Wembley again in '78, and the play-maker par excellence, contriving a crucial equalising try for Phil Cookson, before dropping a left-foot goal, to put the Loiners ahead for the first time in the match, with barely five minutes to go; the 1983 John Player Semi-Final versus Leigh, when the controversial try awarded to Des Drummond persuaded John to lay aside his conductor's baton and lead by example, thereby adding a cutting edge to a sequence of blistering attacks. So many games, so many moments to treasure! 

Loyal as always, during his last two seasons John has been more than content to figure as the old maestro in the highly successful Alliance team, with each match an object lesson for the up-and-coming in the various facets of his art. Not that he was deaf to a 1st Team SOS in April '88, making yet five more appearances in a hectic fortnight, and turning the clock back with a masterly exhibition against St Helens at Knowsley Road. Consummate skill, application.

A joint-beneficiary with Graham Eccles in 1978, John was awarded a Testimonial during 1988-89 and in 2017, was one of the first players to be inducted into the Leeds Rugby Hall of Fame.