THIS week's latest Hall of Fame inauguration gave us a reminder of one of the previous Saints players to be inducted - Vinty Karalius, who was listed with an equally revered Tom van Vollenhoven back in 2000.

It is almost 16 years since the legendary loose passed away in the Isle of Man, aged 76, but memories of the man dubbed The Wild Bull of the Pampas live on.

The craggy faced, mean machine with hands like shovels earned the adulation of supporters and instilled fear into opponents during a golden career that also took in Widnes, Lancashire and Great Britain.

In a decade spent at Knowsley Road, Karalius’ bone-crunching tackling and skilful handling helped Saints collect the full range of honours.

(Image: Saints Heritage Society)

He was in the Saints side that won the Challenge Cup for the first time in 1956 and five years later he returned to the Twin Towers to skipper the men in the red vee to a famous win over rivals Wigan.

With a surname coming courtesy of Lithuanian grandparents, Karalius was born in Widnes in 1932, to a Scottish father and Irish mother.

After being scouted down at West Bank Juniors, the 18-year-old signed for Saints for the princely sum of £200 and following a year in the reserves the raw-boned loose forward made his first team debut against Warrington.

That baptism of fire, which saw him bashed from pillar to post by big forwards Jim Featherstone and Harry Bath, helped create the player Karalius would become.

In his autobiography Lucky 13, he noted: "Most times I handled the ball or sparked off a move I caught a packet. I seemed to be on the receiving end of the father and mother of all hidings.

"Reports were good, but I knew I had to get bigger than 12-and-half stone."

That is what he did, and by 1955, when he came out of his National Service he was tipping the scales at 14 stone, was even fitter and ready to hold down the regular number 13 jersey.

Later that season he was in the Saints Wembley line up that defeated Halifax to bring the Challenge Cup to Knowsley Road for the first time. Having been reserve at Wembley in 1953, he had no intention of missing out again despite carrying a nasty injury.

“One of my ears had been torn adrift in the cup semi-final against Barrow and had to be stitched back on and I kidded the Saints bosses that it wasn't troubling me much and pleaded with them not to leave me out of the Wembley line-up,” he later remarked.

His club form caught the eye of the Great Britain selectors, touring Australia in 1958 in a landmark Ashes series.

Dubbed the 'Wild Bull of the Pampas' and 'one of the most destructive players that England has ever sent to Australia' by the Aussie press, Karalius helped the Lions to a 2-1 series win, including the now legendary Battle of Brisbane which saw five tourists hospitalised. He went on to earn 12 Great Britain caps between 1958 and 1963.

Karalius left Saints to sign for his home town club Widnes in March 1962 - turning the Chemics into a cup winning side two years later.

His two subsequent stints as Widnes coach also paid dividends guiding them to Wembley wins in 1975 and 1984, although his spell at Wigan between 1976 and 1979 was less fruitful.