The biography of Arnold ‘Boxer’ Walker has been completed and will be on sale in May.

Boxer, The Life Of A Rugby Great, which has more than 100,000 words and 105 pictures, tells the story of the Great Britain international scrum-half, who captained Workington Town, Whitehaven and Cumbria and is one of the county’s greatest-ever players.

In 1980, Walker was voted the best scrum-half in the world by the magazine Open Rugby.

The book has been written by award-winning journalist and former News & Star sports editor Mike Gardner, who wrote the critically acclaimed biography of Barrow, England and Great Britain stand-off Willie Horne, 23 years ago.

“This is Mike’s second book about a rugby league player,” says Robert Gate, the historian who has written more than 25 books on the sport.

“His first on Willie Horne was a masterpiece. I have had the pleasure and privilege of proof-reading both books.

“As players Arnie Walker and Willie Horne had plenty in common but as personalities they could not have been more different.

“Mike’s books are completely different from other rugby league books. It’s not the tries or the goals or the matches that matter most for Mike. It’s the honest portrayal of the person – the good, the bad and the plain ugly; the sunshine and the darkness.”

Boxer, who made his debut for Workington as a teenager in 1971, played 198 games for Town before being transferred to Whitehaven for a record fee of £30,000 in January 1980.

After three seasons at the Recre, Boxer broke his neck and never played again.

He played 19 times for Cumbria and was a full England and Great Britain international.

“Boxer has a great tale to tell and Mike Gardner is the perfect person to tell it,” says former Whitehaven News sports editor Martin Morgan.

“Boxer is one of a select band of greats, equally respected at Workington and at rivals Whitehaven. Boxer’s compelling story transports the reader back to the glory days of Cumbrian rugby league. Just like Boxer himself, this book is a knockout.”

The authorised biography is being launched on Sunday, May 14, at Workington Town’s League One game against South Wales Ironmen at Derwent Park, and again the following weekend, when Whitehaven play Hemel at The Recreation Ground.

The book will not be available in any bookshops outside West Cumbria but you can pre-order a copy, which will be signed by Boxer and the author, for £15 including postage and packing through Paypal via mikegardner@hotmail.co.uk

Books will be dispatched on the weekend of the Town book launch.