Rugby History Thread

[Lowdesert]

Ive read this thread start to finish.  Really great stuff and thanks for the contributions.  Please keep it up!

[Padge]

1 hour ago, Padge said:

On 3/18/2019 at 12:13 AM, Gram said:

Request for Information-

I feel sure this may well have been previously discussed, but to save hours searching-

when the NRU returned to one division for season 1901/02- together with separate Yorks/Lancs Senior Competitions, following the addition of a Second Division in 1902/03, when were the Senior Competitions re-established – presumably as reserve leagues?

While thumbing through some newspaper archives last year, I became aware of the ‘second competitions’ – which included the short lived NRU Bradford based Bowling club, who appear to have disbanded c1900.

Do any members know which year these second competitions were established- & discontinued, & if any results &/or league tables have been compiled over time? If records exist, it will save much scrolling through newspaper archive. Thanks in advance.

During the early 1900s There was the formation of the Northern Union Rugby League (Super League of its day), when other clubs wanted in on the action a Second Division was formed. These were first team competitions

Along side this there was the Lancashire & Yorkshire Senior Leagues, these were first team competitions.

The Lancashire & Yorkshire Combination Leagues were second team competitions.

Below this were the district leagues which were sort of BARLA of their day.

 

 

[henage]

3 hours ago, Lowdesert said:

I remember him.  He worked alongside Jim Brown as well for the amateur league.  I think he was Alan Kirbys father who became involved coaching Humberside.

we called him killer Kirby at school 

[Padge]

Joe Egan Legend Remembered

[Number 16]

A simply fascinating film from 1950 of XIII Catalan hosting 'England', who were playing in hoops. I know they used to play in that kit but I did wonder if it was Wigan.

 Here.

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, Number 16 said:

A simply fascinating film from 1950 of XIII Catalan hosting 'England', who were playing in hoops. I know they used to play in that kit but I did wonder if it was Wigan.

 Here.

Nice find!

[JonM]

The Gaumont-Pathe archives have a lot of news reel clips of French RL from the 1940s and 1950s, including internationals, world cup games and league finals (e.g Paris Celtic vs Lyon, Roanne winning at the Parc des Princes).

"Great Britain" were billed as "Empire Brittanique" when they played in France at that time, rather than GB or England, which may explain the different colours.

 

[Padge]

5 hours ago, TheConductor said:

So was there a split back then in Rugby League ?

Simple answer is yes, this has been going on for over 100 years.

 

[Padge]

13 minutes ago, TheConductor said:

Explain

Explain what?

 

[Number 16]

2 hours ago, Padge said:

Explain what?

 

Mind reading?

[deluded pom?]

1 hour ago, Number 16 said:

Mind reading?

I knew you were going to say that.

[longboard]

Tony Collins talks about the career of Fred Longstaff:-

RL Throwbacks

[RunItOffAfi]

I'm not sure if this has been referred to already, but I believe Oldham Rugby Heritage Trust has a season ticket from the 1895/96 breakaway season. I've seen a photo of the fixtures page, which details the original fixtures planned before the split on the left hand side and The Northern Union fixtures on the right hand side. If that's not an illustration of the social history of part of this country, then I don't know what is.

Edited July 31, 2019 by RunItOffAfi

[Futtocks]

This may have been posted before, but who cares? Fulham v Wigan - the first match for the home side.

 

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

I was there!

[Padge]

5 minutes ago, Chronicler of Chiswick said:

I was there!

So was I, there was a cracking write up of the game in the Mail. I'll see if I can find my copy sometime. 

[17 stone giant]

Maybe I'm being completely stupid and I'll admit I'm not up on all the rules of rugby league, but from the kick off how is that play on when both sides knock the ball forwards?

Anyway, great to see such a good crowd, but sad that almost 40 years later London Broncos are playing in front of only a few thousand.

[Bulliac]

On 26/02/2017 at 07:55, bobbruce said:

If you accept that clubs are the same after going bust i.e. Same players and fans. Then you can put an argument for either Bradford 1863 or Hull FC 1865. Although there is an argument that the 1863 Bradford went on to be a different club  

I think Swinton wouldn't be far off either, wasn't it 1866?

The Bradford club, formed to play "football, under Rugby school rules" in 1863 was the same Bradford Football Club which has a continuous line through to the current Bulls. Allowing for various changes in owners, grounds etc along the way, of course. The 1907 hiatus, when Bradford Park Avenue soccer club was formed, was a split; the rugby club carried on with most of the same players, kit and equipment, from one season to the next at a new ground and to say it was a new club isn't really true - even though a fairly recent owner pulled the stunt of selling a '100 year anniversary' shirt in 2007.

The other Bradford club was Manningham, the first Northern Union champions, who went on to become Bradford City in 1903 and this club has no connection at all to Bradford FC (other than coming from the same city), but it is probably the other Bradford club you are thinking of. As far as I know the Manningham rugby club completely disappeared when it changed to soccer.

Edited September 16, 2019 by Bulliac

[Trojan]

The Northern Rugby Football Union

The Birth of Rugby League

1895 to 1922.

By Les Hoole

I had this bought for my birthday. I've just finished it. It covers the period of the Northern Union, from its birth in 1895 to its name change to Rugby League in 1922.  Teams, tours, RL Challenge Cups, personalities.  I found if fascinating.  I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested in the history of our sport.

I'd certainly recommend it to anyone from Huddersfield. Perhaps seeing how dominant they were in this period will awaken a new enthusiasm for the sport.

There are a few errors that a railway pedant like me would pick up on - like the LNER sending 5 special trains from Hull to a CC Final at Huddersfield, when the LNER didn't exist until 1922.  But that aside | really enjoyed it.

Edited November 11, 2019 by Trojan

[marklaspalmas]

1 minute ago, Trojan said:

The Northern Rugby Football Union

The History of Rugby League

1895 to 1922.

By Les Hoole

I had this bought for my birthday. I've just finished it. It covers the period of the Northern Union, from its birth in 1895 to its name change to Rugby League in 1922.  Teams, tours, RL Challenge Cups, personalities.  I found if fascinating.  I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested in the history of our sport.

I'd certainly recommend it to anyone from Huddersfield. Perhaps seeing how dominant they were in this period will awaken a new enthusiasm for the sport.

There are a few errors that a railway pendant like me would pick up on - like the LNER sending 5 special trains from Hull to a CC Final at Huddersfield, when the LNER didn't exist until 1922.  But that aside | really enjoyed it.

Nice one, Im interested in that book. I thought it was going to be mainly photographs. Is that not the case?

[Trojan]

2 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

Nice one, Im interested in that book. I thought it was going to be mainly photographs. Is that not the case?

No there's quite a lot of text, including match reports from local papers.  Only one mention of FEV though, Featherston RUFC too.

[Trojan]

4 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

 

 

6 minutes ago, Trojan said:

 

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by Trojan

[marklaspalmas]

Just now, Trojan said:

No there's quite a lot of text, including match reports from local papers.  Only one mention of FEV though, Featherston RUFC too.

Righto. Yes, we were a bit late to the party.

[Bleep1673]

On 15/09/2019 at 01:11, Futtocks said:

This may have been posted before, but who cares? Fulham v Wigan - the first match for the home side.

 

£8000 per week for the football clubs wages! How times have changed

[Hopping Mad]

On 15/09/2019 at 01:11, Futtocks said:

This may have been posted before, but who cares? Fulham v Wigan - the first match for the home side.

 

Thanks for posting. I hadn't seen this before. Some interesting interviews with spectators, the positive, upbeat content of which seemed to take the Beeb's Tony Gubba completely by surprise.

I see the piece is introduced by Bob Wilson. Recalling that historic time, in The Fulham Dream, Rugby League Tackles London (ISBN 0-9526064-9-6), Fulham chairman Harold Genders wrote: "The only sore point of the whole weekend, which annoyed me considerably, was that Bob Wilson, the former Arsenal goalkeeper and self-styled sports expert, was of the opinion that rugby league would never take off in London. I detected a note of concern. Maybe his hallowed game of football felt threatened. In any event, what did he know about rugby league or, for that matter, the Fulham venture? Yet he was prepared to dismiss it in one remark. I have always maintained that football can live together with rugby league, and that London is large enough for both of us. His statement, to me at least, appeared to have a touch of small-mindedness."

Edited November 11, 2019 by Hopping Mad