The claim that Castleford was John Kear's local team is well-supported by multiple sources. John Kear was born in Castleford on 25 November 1954, grew up on Wheldon Road — literally round the corner from Castleford's ground — and played for Castleford from 1978 to 1988, making 133 appearances. Multiple sources describe Castleford as his "hometown club" and "hometown team," and note that he turned down offers from other clubs to play for his local side. Sources: - Wikipedia, "John Kear" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kear (born in Castleford, played for Castleford 1978–88) - BBC Sport, "John Kear: Dave Woods pays tribute to rugby league legend" — https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/articles/c20237xk2z0o ("Born and raised literally round the corner from Castleford's Wheldon Road... he went on to play for his hometown team") - Rugby League Project, "John Kear - Summary" — https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/john-kear/summary.html ("Place Of Birth: Castleford, West Yorkshire, England") - Wakefield Trinity RLFC, "Remembering John Kear" — https://wakefieldtrinity.com/remembering-john-kear/ ("John was born into Rugby League growing up on Wheldon Road in Castleford. He turned down multiple offers from other clubs... to play for his hometown team") - BBC Sport, "John Kear: Rugby league legend and broadcaster dies aged 71" — https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/articles/clyprl5v2yeo ("133 appearances for hometown club Castleford")