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Long lost amateur clubs


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Posted

From the stuff I've been working through lately there's a few Gt. Manchester based sides that don't seem to exist anymore - they were playing Pennine league.

Tameside, Stockport and also Bolton (who are not Bolton Mets and I think must have been NWC).

In Bury or North Manchester? Interested in Rugby League? Check out the Rugby League in Bury web-site: http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/burybroncos/


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Posted

Tameside Borough became Manchester Knights in summer (forced to change their name for propaganda reasons, they never played in Manchester)

Portico Vine are reforming for the 2012 North West Men's League.

Posted

Salford Juniors (Juniors meaning amateurs, not youth) were formed in 1946 and appeared in 3 Lancashire cup finals in the 50's. They disbanded at open age level about 10 years ago, after a fall out following one of their most successful ever seasons when they just missed out on promotion to the NWCL premier division. I have exact season at home. There youth section eventually joined up with Eccles. Swinton Victoria were formed in 1987 and I played for them and was secretary. They asked me to get them some friendlies as we were too late to join the league in 1986-87. We played around 22 friendlies. The next season we joined the NWCL and got our only win that season against CARR MILL (St. Helens)! Portico Panthers, Later Portico Vine were quite successful at open age and youth level but folded suddenly. I don't know why? Moss Bank Bulldogs were top of their division when they suddenly stopped playing and also folded. It is difficult to start a new team and be a success in places like St. Helens where there are established successful clubs like Blackbrook and Thatto Heath. If a new side don't get youth teams up and running they don't gererally last more than 10 years maximum. I remember Eightland Wells but think they only played one season. Don't have my records at work. International Harvesters were from Bradford. That is going back a bit!

portico panthers became portico vine (new owners/commitee formed) which then folded due to st helens wild boars forming, were mainly the same players, just a different name and venue. think sutton smithy manor/west sutton went the same way due to this new team. too many teams in one small area can have this effect.

Posted

portico panthers became portico vine (new owners/commitee formed) which then folded due to st helens wild boars forming, were mainly the same players, just a different name and venue. think sutton smithy manor/west sutton went the same way due to this new team. too many teams in one small area can have this effect.

Cherry Tree as well I think went at the same time.

Posted

I "played" for Moorside Juniors under 19s in Swinton in the mid 1960s. I was no good.

I "played" for the Swinton Supporters Club team in the same era. Part of the training involved running round the perimeter track at Station Road on a Tuesday evening. I was still no good.

Both these clubs struggled for players, fixtures and success.

The big club in Swinton at that time was Folly Lane

Posted

The Vine Tavern were a famous club in the postwar period.The area Thatto Heath and Portico a real hot bed of the game and so different teams form/reform down the years.in recent years Thatto Heath Crusaders have become the major side in the area with a very impressive club house etc.

Took us long enough to copy the RU model of club house n social side to build more "permenant" amateur clubs.

Posted

From the stuff I've been working through lately there's a few Gt. Manchester based sides that don't seem to exist anymore - they were playing Pennine league.

Tameside, Stockport and also Bolton (who are not Bolton Mets and I think must have been NWC).

I played against Stockport in friendly for a Mayfield 3rd team and I think that they joined the Pennine League when I played for Kirkholt "A" in our first season in Div. 8.

Tameside Borough played at Droylsden Sports centre and went back to Droylsden Cricket Club. I think that they were run by Peter Wilson (??) the RL correspondent of the Daily Star at the time.

Looks like it wer' organised by't Pennine League

Posted

Swinton Supporters joined NWCL division 3 77-78 Farnworth Ring 'o' Bells H L 0-62, Folly Borough (Later Lane) 'A' H L 0-57, General Electric Company (Later Eccles) A L 8-35, Irlam Hornets A L 2-57 and then folded. Tameside Borough had quite a long and farly successfull Pennine league career. They folded, but were resurrected as Manchester Knights a few year later. Peter Wilson was behind the club, but he has lived in his native Barrow a few years now. I speak to him when i'm up there. When Manchester played their first game at home to Wolverhampton it attracted the local tv station and the mascot was a knight (My youngest son). I am pretty certain, without checking my records that Stockport did not play in the Pennine league. They struggled in the NWCL from 1980-81 until folding after the 87-88 season, even though they ran a second team that season. There have been various attempts to run NWCL sides from the Bolton area in the NWCL, including Bolton, Bolton Mets, Breightmet, Westhoughton, Atherton and Daisy Hill.

Posted

Breightmet and Bolton Mets are one in same but it's good to see the Union club running a merit league side this year. I'm hoping (and presuming!) Mets will play in the proper league.

the stuff i have on Bury v Stockport seem to be Sunday games which suggest they were more informal

In Bury or North Manchester? Interested in Rugby League? Check out the Rugby League in Bury web-site: http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/burybroncos/

Posted

Dug out one of my old books to look some of the old clubs up ...

This was the Warrington Amateur RFL from 1968

Cadishead & Irlam (open)

Crosfields Recs (open)

Latchford Albion (open)

Rylands Recs (open)

St Albans (U17)

Thames Board Mills (open)

Warrington "B" (U19)

Warrington Colts (U17)

Woolston Rovers (open)

I'll add the various other leagues and clubs pre BARLA as time goes on.

BTW I take it the Thames Board company has long gone

Posted

The Warrington League got bigger in the 70s as it was the only league for clubs from not just Warrington but also Wigan, Leigh, Widnes and St Helens. BARLA merged it with the Manchester League to create the NWCL in 1975.

Posted

Kirkholt "A" played at Eightland Wells on the hottest day I can ever remember playing rugby. The pub had a plaque on the outside saying that it had been opened (re-opened ??) by Allan Agar. I think you are right about them only playing for one season.

Eightlands actually played for 2 seasons,the 1st in the old west yorkshire sunday morning league,were we took some right hammerings.we played at the old ground in Saville town.The 2nd year we moved into the 7th division of the pennine league and indeed we did play at Ravensthorpe.We started off quite well winning our first 2 or 3 games,until we played Kirkholt who gave us a right kicking.

Posted

PECKHAM who supplied over 40/50 players to the professional game over a 5/6 year period in the 80,s

Before I played for Kirkholt, the club won the Rochdale 7-a-side competition and got invited into a national competition. When the draw was made, it was down to play Peckham with the Londoners winning quite easily I believe.

Didn't a couple of Peckham lads sign for Hull - Andrew Mighty (?)

Looks like it wer' organised by't Pennine League

Posted

Holker Pioneers ARLFC supplied many fine players to the Barrow club,before eventually joining forces with Roose to become Roose Pioneers.

For some reason I think there were teams in Barrow in the 80's called the "Railwaymen" and one based at the Prince of Wales pub. Anybody know what happened to them?

Posted

To Methven Hornet.

Regarding the origin of the name of the St Helens club Uno's Dabs. As far as I know the name was connected with a local book maker. He used to run some sort of a sweep every week. Tickets bought off him may have been called tabs or dabs and his nick name might just have been Uno. Being associated with a local rugby league team could have given him the opportunity to get publicity for and widen his betting business.

However I can't say that I am 100% sure about this explanation. In fact I bet I may be quite wrong.

www.geofflee.net for news of my novels, One Winter, One Spring, One Summer, One Autumn and Two Seasons. All are written against a strong Rugby League background, set in South Lancashire and inspired by the old saying about work: "They could write a book about this place. It would be a best seller".

 

Posted

To Methven Hornet.

Regarding the origin of the name of the St Helens club Uno's Dabs. As far as I know the name was connected with a local book maker. He used to run some sort of a sweep every week. Tickets bought off him may have been called tabs or dabs and his nick name might just have been Uno. Being associated with a local rugby league team could have given him the opportunity to get publicity for and widen his betting business.

However I can't say that I am 100% sure about this explanation. In fact I bet I may be quite wrong.

That sounds a possible explanation.

And it's such a good tale that it darn well should be true!

Posted

Tameside Borough became Manchester Knights in summer (forced to change their name for propaganda reasons, they never played in Manchester)

That's a bit harsh. When they played at Aldwinians their nearest corner flag was about 800 yards from the city boundary, ie closer to Manchester than the illustrious soccer team who play at Old Trafford. I think they also played at Dukinfield (and Droylsden?), which could be considered as 'East Manchester'. Don't forget that Manchester is the name of the county as well as the actual city.

Didn't they also play at the athletics stadium at Man City's stadium complex, or was that just a proposal?

Posted

For some reason I think there were teams in Barrow in the 80's called the "Railwaymen" and one based at the Prince of Wales pub. Anybody know what happened to them?

When I started playing in the early 90s the Barrow league had two divisions and we played against Railway and Prince of Wales later Flookborough had a team but i think they only lasted 2/3 seasons. I know Millom and Walney were running 3 teams at the time. The Barrow league only has 8 teams in it now all A teams.

Posted

Before I played for Kirkholt, the club won the Rochdale 7-a-side competition and got invited into a national competition. When the draw was made, it was down to play Peckham with the Londoners winning quite easily I believe.

Didn't a couple of Peckham lads sign for Hull - Andrew Mighty (?)

Andrew Mighty signed for Fulham from South London, although he may have started with Peckham and he went to Hull at the end of '89/'90. Only played a few game for them and then seems to have disappeared. I'm not sure if any of the London amateur clubs from the 70s and 80s are still around, with the possible exception of South London (unless they're a new club using the locality name).

Posted

Driffield (town 20 miles north of Hull in the East Riding) played in the Hull Saturday and Sunday league for a couple of years around 1991-1992.

I am sure they historically played rugby league many many years ago also but cant find any reference to it on the net.

Posted

Andrew Mighty signed for Fulham from South London, although he may have started with Peckham and he went to Hull at the end of '89/'90. Only played a few game for them and then seems to have disappeared. I'm not sure if any of the London amateur clubs from the 70s and 80s are still around, with the possible exception of South London (unless they're a new club using the locality name).

Hemel date from 1981 and Elmbridge from at least the 80s, not got a start date. South London are no connection.

The RLC wanted artificial regional clubs with names like West London not established clubs like Brent-Ealing and London Colonials. Nor did they want small town clubs like Huntingdon/St Ives (until they wanted numbers) or police teams. Thus when the winter London League collapsed only South London and Kingston were welcome because of their name (they would have preferred to stay winter if possible)

Skolars date to 1995 as the oldest London club but had to change name as well.

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