Jimmy Doyle
At the time of his retirement Doyle's career tally of 18 goals and 176 points ranked him as Tipperary's all-time top scorer.
It was a hugely successful era for Doyle and Sarsfield's, as he added further championship medals to his collection in 1957, following a 4–14 to 4–4 defeat of southern "combo" Na Piarsaigh, and in 1958 as Toomevara were downed by 4–11 to 3–3.
Doyle won a fourth successive championship medal in 1959 as Kilruane MacDonagh's were defeated by 3–12 to 2–6, in spite of both teams being on level terms with just ten minutes remaining.
It was the beginning of another glorious era for the team, as further defeats of Moycarkey-Borris in 1962, Roscrea in 1963 and Holycross-Ballycahill in 1964 brought Doyle's championship medal tally to eight.
Doyle was just fifteen years old when he made his debut the Tipperary minor hurling team as a goalkeeper on 20 June 1954 in a 6-5 to 0-1 Munster semi-final defeat of Clare.
He made his senior championship debut, while still captain of the minor team, in a 5-2 to 1-11 Munster semi-final defeat by Cork on 30 June 1957.
In 1958 Doyle won his first Munster medal as Tipperary regained the provincial crown following a 4–12 to 1–5 trouncing of reigning champions Waterford.
Liam Devaney, Donie Nealon and Larry Keane all scored goals for Tipperary in the first-half, while Tony Wall sent a seventy-yard free untouched to the Galway net.
Doyle won a second National League medal in 1959 following a 0–15 to 0–7 defeat of Waterford, however, Tipperary subsequently surrendered their provincial and All-Ireland crowns in remarkable fashion to the same opposition.
A certain amount of over-confidence was obvious in the Tipperary camp, particularly in trainer Phil Purcell's comment that no player was capable of marking Jimmy Doyle.
When the crowd were finally moved off the pitch Tipperary continued playing with only twelve men, but Wexford won on a score line of 2–15 to 0–11.
Doyle walked several miles every evening to strengthen the broken bone, however, when the plaster was removed the ankle was still badly discoloured and swollen.
He received two more injections at half time, however, towards the end of the game his ankle did give way but he couldn't be replaced as Tipperary had used all of their substitutes.
[15] Tipperary's nemesis of two years earlier, Wexford, waited in Croke Park to test them once again in the subsequent All-Ireland final on 2 September 1962.
In spite of being denied by Waterford in their quest for a third successive All-Ireland title, Doyle won a third Oireachtas medal in 1963 following a 4-15 to 3-12 defeat of Wexford.
The team subsequently cantered past Cork by fourteen points in the provincial decider, giving Doyle a fifth Munster medal.
John "Mackey" McKenna scored Tipperary's first goal after ten minutes as the Munster champions took a 1–8 to 0–6 interval lead.
He later won a fourth Oireachtas medal as Kilkenny were narrowly defeated by 5-7 to 4-8 in the decider before winning a second Cú Chulainn award.
The win gave Doyle a fifth All-Ireland medal, while he also had the honour of lifting the Liam MacCarthy Cup having been injured on his previous occasion as captain.
After surrendering their provincial crown in 1966, Tipperary bounced back the following year, with Doyle winning a seventh Munster medal following a 4–12 to 2–6 defeat of Clare.
Tipperary retained their status as provincial kingpins once again and a 2–13 to 1–7 trouncing of Cork gave Doyle an eighth Munster medal.
On 5 September 1971, Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final, the first to be broadcast in colour by Telefís Éireann and the only eighty-minute meeting between the two sides.
Broken fingers, ankles, knuckles, collar bones and premature arthritis meant that he was no longer able to command an automatic place on the team.
In the subsequent Leinster Championship, Laois had a convincing win over Westmeath in their opening game before succumbing to All-Ireland champions Offaly on a score line of 1-23 to 4-9 in the provincial semi-final.
Laois made some progress in Division 2 of the league during 1986-87, including a defeat of Doyle's native county Tipperary at Semple Stadium, however, they failed to gain promotion to the top tier.
Doyle's side failed to claim any major victories during the 1987-88 league campaign, while Laois's interest in the championship ended with a 3-10 to 1-8 quarter-final defeat by Wexford.
A decade after his retirement, Doyle received the ultimate honour during the GAA's centenary year in 1984 when he was chosen at right corner-forward on the Hurling Team of the Century.
As a native of the town, Doyle had the honour of carrying the torch into Semple Stadium where it was presented to the chairman of the Munster Council.
His father, Gerry Doyle, a cobbler by trade, had been the substitute goalkeeper on the Tipperary team that won the 1937 and 1945 All-Ireland titles.
His mother would do his homework for him while Doyle practised his hurling skills with his sheepdog Pal in the shadow of the famous Thurles Sportsfield.
