Saints Number: #1152
Saints Career: 1951-1963
Appearances: 227
Position: Centre

Career Statistics

Tries: 67
Drop Goals: 2
Total Points: 207

Representative Honours

Yorkshire
England (28 caps)
Barbarians (10 matches)
British & Irish Lions (1955 South Africa; 1959 Australia & New Zealand)

Hall of Fame

Inducted: 2017

Jeff Butterfield

Jeff Butterfield was one of the finest centres of his generation and a player whose influence extended far beyond the rugby field.

Born in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, on 9 August 1929, Butterfield was educated at Whitcliffe Mount Grammar School before studying Physical Education at Loughborough College. After graduating in 1951, he began teaching in Northamptonshire while embarking on a distinguished rugby career with Northampton Saints.

Butterfield made his Saints debut in 1951 and quickly established himself as one of the leading backs in English rugby. Across 227 appearances for Northampton, he scored 67 tries and became renowned for his intelligence, creativity and attacking flair. His form earned England selection in 1953, beginning a remarkable run of 28 consecutive international appearances. During that period England won four Five Nations Championships, two Triple Crowns and a Grand Slam, while Butterfield captained his country on four occasions in his final season.

His reputation reached its peak on the 1955 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa, where he finished as the tourists’ leading try scorer and emerged as one of the stars of the series. He toured again with the Lions in 1959 to Australia and New Zealand, further cementing his place among the game's elite players. Away from international rugby, he also represented Yorkshire 54 times and captained the county in two County Championship finals.

Butterfield's contribution to rugby was not limited to his performances on the field. Drawing on his background in education, he organised training sessions for both Northampton Saints and the Lions, helping introduce a more structured approach to preparation. At Franklin’s Gardens he also played a central role in developing the Club’s social culture, proposing the creation of a players’ bar beneath the main stand and serving as secretary of a committee established to improve Club life.

Following retirement in 1963, Butterfield continued to shape the sport. He wrote one of the Rugby Football Union’s earliest coaching manuals and helped develop rugby union in the Cayman Islands. He later served as President of Milton Keynes Rugby Club for more than three decades.

Butterfield died in April 2004. Later that year he was inducted onto the Twickenham Wall of Fame, and in 2017 Northampton Saints recognised his outstanding contribution with induction into the Club’s Hall of Fame. He remains one of the most influential backs ever to represent Northampton and England.

Hall of Fame profiles have been researched and compiled, with the Club’s grateful thanks, by the volunteers of Northampton Saints Foundation’s Heritage Department – whose work helps preserve and share the rich history of Northampton Saints.