Long lost amateur clubs

[bowes]

NDLB became Hull Dockers

You're right, makes more sense given the D. West Hull were Cawoods and East Hull were Mysons.

Here's one though: Ideal Standard merged with Newland to form Stelrad.

Stelrad merged with Ace Amateurs to form Ideal ABI.

Ideal ABI merged with Isberg Celtic to form Ideal Isberg.

They have since rebranded as Hull Isberg and despite recent success are now in the Hull division 1 (the lower of the 2 Hull divisions)!

[southstand loiner]

Corpus Christi is quite a common Catholic name for things.

the corpus christi that hanley played for was a youth team attached to the corpus christi catholic mens social club on halton moor avenue leeds. a number of you may have heard of the halton moor estate which at one time was known as the zoo but thankfully has been somewhat transformed by the hard work of tenants in recent times no thanks to the former con/dem council in leeds.

the team no longer functions as most of the kids teams from the area moved to the east leeds workingmens club now known as east leeds rugby league club.

another good name from the past is busvale rangers who i belive played against st helens back in the late 40s. there ground at busvale still exists and was bought by the leeds & district league who use it for semis and finals of local league comps. its also the home ground of queens who have a somwhat fearsome reputation in yorkshire rugby league but are a real good club.

[l'angelo mysterioso]

You're right, makes more sense given the D. West Hull were Cawoods and East Hull were Mysons.

Here's one though: Ideal Standard merged with Newland to form Stelrad.

Stelrad merged with Ace Amateurs to form Ideal ABI.

Ideal ABI merged with Isberg Celtic to form Ideal Isberg.

They have since rebranded as Hull Isberg and despite recent success are now in the Hull division 1 (the lower of the 2 Hull divisions)!

that's right. Didn't Ideal Standard make toilets and sinks?

Another name from that era and that area was BOCM: British Oil and Cake Mills. They had a massive building in Selby I think.

[Ullman]

NDLB became Hull Dockers

Correct, NDLB stood for National Dock Labour Board, the administrative body for the National Dock Labour Scheme. When I played for the club its official name was NDLB but the club was always known simply as 'Dockers'. The club's rules at that time precluded anybody who wasn't a docker from holding an official position within it.

[Ullman]

that's right. Didn't Ideal Standard make toilets and sinks?

Still do. When I'm getting my bike out in a morning I can tell if there's a northerly wind. You can smell the resin from the factory.

Another name from that era and that area was BOCM: British Oil and Cake Mills. They had a massive building in Selby I think.

BOCM became Ace Amateurs, who have had a couple of mentions in this thread.

[bowes]

Show's how important your industry was to your life that even your rugby league club was dictated by your industry, though I don't think it was as strong outside Hull

[deluded pom?]

Didn't Ace become Jesmond.

Edited March 27, 2011 by deluded pom?

[bowes]

Didn't Ace become Jesmond.

No Beecroft & Wightman did

[Blind side johnny]

NDLB became Hull Dockers

National Docks Labour Board I believe, later named Hull Dockers.

[deluded pom?]

No Beecroft & Wightman did

Thanks.

[l'angelo mysterioso]

Reckitts are still Reckitts

[creditwhereitsdews]

When I used to get League Express I would always look out to see how Milnrow Tim Bobbins had got on. Think they were from Rochdale. Good Companions (Yorkshire), Pint and Pot (Hull), Toll Bar (Doncaster) and Ideal Isberg (Hull) were others I had a soft spot for.

[timtum]

What was the pub based team that Kelvin Skerret was involved with?

[deluded pom?]

What was the pub based team that Kelvin Skerret was involved with?

Wasn't he involved with Bisons but weren't they a works team?

[l'angelo mysterioso]

What was the pub based team that Kelvin Skerret was involved with?

he ran a pub in Methley called the United Kingdom. I don't know whether they had a team. I know there is/was a team called Methley Royals, but I think they're from the Royal oak

Edited March 27, 2011 by l'angelo mysterioso

[Lounge Room Lizard]

Played against Pint & Pot a few years ago in Yorkshire Cup-Both teams sweeping the pitch for needles etc in the middle of Orchard Park. We beat them with ease that day but allegedly they had lost 3 or 4 Nutters who were banned from the club due to their violence on the pitch! We then in the next round got Norland who had many ex Pros think Rob Hutchinson and his brother and a few others and got thumped!

[Cliff Spracklen]

I think that if you look back far enough, you can find a team who competed in the Challenge Cup under the magnificent moniker of "Twelve Apostles." I believe they were from the Leigh area, maybe a church/parish team - do any of the Lobbygobblers in here know for certain?

I wrote a piece on long gone amateur clubs in the Bramley Buffaloes v Cas Panthers Challenge Cup tie in 2008, mentioning the Twelve Apostles. I said then that they were from the St Helens, though I cannot confirm my original source.

Bramley played both Saville Green and Buslingthorpe Vale just after the War. Saville Green was in East Leeds between Burton's factory and York Road. They played just opposite the old quarry formed by the workings for the Burmantofts brick works. Indeed Burtons themselves had a team and excellent facilties at their Torre Road site.

Buslingthorpe Vale was a well know name as a team,just off Meanwood Road in Leeds, the name living on in the shape of the Bus Vale ground, home of so many memorable amateur finals.

In Leeds there was also the famous Market District Boys Club. Yes it was in the Leeds city centre near to the market. It had links with Bramley as a provider of "Intermediates" as they were then termed (later Colts, today Academy), but it was like Hunslet Boys Club, a club that concentrated and went up to this age group. Most famous (or is it infamous!) product has to be League Express amateur RL correspondant Phil Hodgson. Only joking Phil!

I am sure that Phil can shed more light.

As to Angelo's recollections of Brassmoulders the spirit of "Brassy" lingers on in the corridors of Hunslet Warriors , along with that of Bisons.

There were of course pub and working men's club teams popping up and disappearing with great regularity. Bramley Social lasted until just a few years ago, playing off Leeds and Bradford Road. In some senses West Leeds ARLFC are probably the successors.One team I had a particular affection for and connection to was the Brookfield team, playing from the Brookfield pub on Hunslet Road. One of the nearest pubs to Tetley's Brewery was the proud boast of landlord Mick Paine, himself part of a strong RL family.

Mick was a sponsor and supporter of the Hunslet Boys Club teams and a regular participant on our trips to France.

He was keen to see his lads get a slice of the French action, so I organised in the 1980's a match between the Brookfield and Toulouse Municipality RL team. They were mainly from the Toulouse Municipal RU club, but in those days there was a tradition of organising local authority RL tiourneys, featuring teams from local authorities and other public bodies.

The Toulouse team also played at Clayton, who happily are still thriving.

[Ullman]

Show's how important your industry was to your life that even your rugby league club was dictated by your industry, though I don't think it was as strong outside Hull

Back in the day, Reckitt's took a very dim of anybody not employed by them playing for the rugby club. Way back in pre-BARLA days there were two separate leagues in Hull, the Hull Works league and the Hull and District league and IIRC they didn't play fixtures against each other.

A lot of the works teams were formed at firms who had been founded by old school philanthropic capitalists such as Reckitt's. They always had superb facilities and immaculate pitches. The pitches at Fenners, Reckitt's and BP pitches were like bowling greens. That sense of responsibility for the well-being of their workforce is long gone. A victim of the drive to eliminate fixed costs.

[Ullman]

Wasn't he involved with Bisons but weren't they a works team?

I remember knocking them out of the Yorkshire Cup at their place. The grimmest ground I've ever played on.

Made Stonebridge on Greatfield look nice.

[bowes]

Back in the day, Reckitt's took a very dim of anybody not employed by them playing for the rugby club. Way back in pre-BARLA days there were two separate leagues in Hull, the Hull Works league and the Hull and District league and IIRC they didn't play fixtures against each other.

Cumberland and 'Manchester' still had works leagues when BARLA was formed. Seems bizarre now but guess things have changed. There wasn't much emphasis on juniors then which I guess is the logical consequence of works and pub teams.

[bowes]

If you're wondering why I suddenly got a load of information: http://www.totalrl.com/forums/index.php/topic/87094-defunct-winners/

Couldn't link it earlier on my Ipod

The Kingston upon Hull league in 1975-76 consisted of

Ace Amateurs

Albion

Bass North

Beecroft & Wightman

Birds Eye

Broady's

Cawoods

City Transport

Concorde

Corporation Telephones

Fenners

Grange

Hellyers

Hull Co-op

Ideal Standard

Metal Box

Mysons

Newlander Caravans

NDLB

Papropack

Reckitts

Sizers

Tetleys

Van Leer

24 teams, guessing that's 2 or 3 divisions

Now there's:

Premier Division:

West Hull Lions

Skirlaugh Bulls

Norland Sharks

Bransholme Dales

Parkers

Hull Dockers 'A'

Hull Wyke

East Hull Dragons

Division 1:

Duke

Embassy

Lambwath Lions

Holderness Vikings

Reckitt's

Bilton Sully's

Haworth Park

Hull Isberg

Cottingham Tigers

Norland Sharks 'A'

Beverley

Myton Warriors 'A'

Fenners

GW Horners

Obviously now West Hull, East Hull, Hull Dockers, Skirlaugh and Myton Warriors play National Conference League. Interestingly half the Premier Division is NCL reserve sides which will be interesting when they have to follow the first teams to summer (Assuming this passes at the NCL)

A few names still here after all that time, though I couldn't tell exactly how many clubs are still here and how many are new as the names have changed so much.

[bowes]

If you want to see how emphatic the BARLA boom was this is probably the best place:

http://www.nwcoaarl.org.uk/

In 1975 when the North Western Counties League was formed it had just 3 divisions (it didn't then cover Barrow, Oldham or Rochdale but still that was all the amateur rugby league from the rest of Lancashire then!)

However, this went up:

4 divisions 1977

5 divisions 1978

6 divisions 1981

7 divisions 1982

8 divisions 1984

9 divisions 1986

10 divisions 1987

Wow!

it is now back down to 7 divisions but bear in mind there's now the National Conference League, Rugby League Conference and North West Merit League

[Ullman]

The Kingston upon Hull league in 1975-76 consisted of

Ace Amateurs

Albion

Bass North

Beecroft & Wightman

Birds Eye

Broady's

Cawoods

City Transport

Concorde

Corporation Telephones

Fenners

Grange

Hellyers

Hull Co-op

Ideal Standard

Metal Box

Mysons

Newlander Caravans

NDLB

Papropack

Reckitts

Sizers

Tetleys

Van Leer

That brings back some memories.

Must have been a hell of a job picking the Hellyers team. Most of their employees were only ashore for three days every three weeks.

[Trojan]

I wrote a piece on long gone amateur clubs in the Bramley Buffaloes v Cas Panthers Challenge Cup tie in 2008, mentioning the Twelve Apostles. I said then that they were from the St Helens, though I cannot confirm my original source.

Bramley played both Saville Green and Buslingthorpe Vale just after the War. Saville Green was in East Leeds between Burton's factory and York Road. They played just opposite the old quarry formed by the workings for the Burmantofts brick works. Indeed Burtons themselves had a team and excellent facilties at their Torre Road site.

Buslingthorpe Vale was a well know name as a team,just off Meanwood Road in Leeds, the name living on in the shape of the Bus Vale ground, home of so many memorable amateur finals.

In Leeds there was also the famous Market District Boys Club. Yes it was in the Leeds city centre near to the market. It had links with Bramley as a provider of "Intermediates" as they were then termed (later Colts, today Academy), but it was like Hunslet Boys Club, a club that concentrated and went up to this age group. Most famous (or is it infamous!) product has to be League Express amateur RL correspondant Phil Hodgson. Only joking Phil!

I am sure that Phil can shed more light.

As to Angelo's recollections of Brassmoulders the spirit of "Brassy" lingers on in the corridors of Hunslet Warriors , along with that of Bisons.

There were of course pub and working men's club teams popping up and disappearing with great regularity. Bramley Social lasted until just a few years ago, playing off Leeds and Bradford Road. In some senses West Leeds ARLFC are probably the successors.One team I had a particular affection for and connection to was the Brookfield team, playing from the Brookfield pub on Hunslet Road. One of the nearest pubs to Tetley's Brewery was the proud boast of landlord Mick Paine, himself part of a strong RL family.

Mick was a sponsor and supporter of the Hunslet Boys Club teams and a regular participant on our trips to France.

He was keen to see his lads get a slice of the French action, so I organised in the 1980's a match between the Brookfield and Toulouse Municipality RL team. They were mainly from the Toulouse Municipal RU club, but in those days there was a tradition of organising local authority RL tiourneys, featuring teams from local authorities and other public bodies.

The Toulouse team also played at Clayton, who happily are still thriving.

In the sixties I played U17 for Ossett Trinity, who seem to have disappeared from the fixture list recently. We played in the Dewsbury and Batley League against teams from Chickenley (now defunct) Thonhill (still thriving) Shaw Cross (who ran five teams 3 U19 2 U17) Staincliffe, and Batley Supporters. The rest of our fixtures were friendlies against teams like Corpus Christi, Market District from Leeds, Glasshoughton, Clayton. We also played a team from York (could have been Heworth) and the pitch was in the centre of York Raceourse. Having read his book I'm sure I must have played against Stevo, but I can't say I remember him.

[D34n0]

http://www.pennineleague.co.uk/team.index.php?team=117

Ossett trinity play in the penine league