Career
Mountford also played for West Coast, along with Bill and Ken, in inter-provincial matches. Mountford married a Wigan-born woman, Edna. Mountford played soccer at school, as he was considered too small to play rugby league.
In 1935 at the age of 16 he joined Blackball Rugby League club, where he earned the nickname ‘The Blackball Bullet’ due to his speed on the field
Mountford played at Wembley Stadium on two occasions, the first being in 1948, when they beat the current title holders Bradford Northern 8-3 in a nail biting final. The second visit, in 1951, Mountford led the team to a 10-0 victory over Barrow in a rain-soaked Wembley final.
He also became the first overseas player to receive the Lance Todd Trophy. County Cup final appearances Cecil Mountford played stand-off/five-eighth in Wigan"s 9-3 victory over Belle Vue Rangers in the 1946 Lancashire Cup final during the 1946-1947 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 26 October 1946, played stand-off/five-eighth in the 14-8 victory over Warrington in the 1948 Lancashire Cup final during the 1948-1949 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 13 November 1948, played stand-off/five-eighth in the 20-7 victory over Leigh in the 1949 Lancashire Cup final during the 1949-1950 season at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on Saturday 29 October 1949, and played stand-off/five-eighth in the 28-5 victory over Warrington in the 1950 Lancashire Cup final during the 1950-1951 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 4 November 1950.
Internationally he missed out on playing for New Zealand, but he did represent Other Nationalities in four European Championships in a team labeled "The Rest" at Central Park in 1950, watched by a crowd of 25,000 fans.
He requested, and was granted, permission from Wigan to join the 1947-1948 New Zealand tour of Great Britain but the Management decided that injuries were not bad enough to bring him in. In 1951 Mountford qualified as a first grade coach, being offered a 10-year contract at Warrington, despite Wigan initially refusing to release him as a player. Mountford made his first appearance for Warrington in October 1952 initially as a player coach.
After completing his tenure as a coach, he returned to New Zealand in May 1961, before heading back to England as Manager of Blackpool Borough in 1972, which was short-lived when he resigned in June 1973.
Mountford returned to New Zealand in 1974, initially providing coaching courses before being signed as the manager-coach of the New Zealand Kiwis from 1979 to 1982.
