Why does Kingston upon Hull have two top level teams?

[up the robins]

7 minutes ago, daz39 said:

Both proudly have Hull in their name but one set of fans sing 'We all hate Hull' ....... Weird lot over there.

If your gonna have a dig at least get it right.  No Rovers fan would ever sing we all hate Hull.

It's we all hate ULL

[Gomersall]

2 hours ago, Lowdesert said:

From both websites, this is how both Hull clubs began.
 

The Early Years

Led by a certain Anthony Bradley, a group of ex-public school pupils, mainly from Rugby School but also from St Peter’s, York, Marlborough and Cheltenham, the Hull Football Club was formed late in 1865. Amongst the founders were Beevor Lambert, E.W.Wade, E.Waltham and W.H.H.Hutchinson as well as the five Scott brothers, sons of Rev. John Scott of St Mary’s. Two of them are known to have played in the early days of the Club. F.E. Scott also served as the President of Hull Football Club for a short period during its formative years. 

In a far cry from what became their traditional black and white, the early colours worn by Hull were of a striped cherry and white shirt with white flannels and a white cap, if worn. The first fixture arranged for the fledgling Hull FC was played out at Lincoln in early 1866 and further matches were arranged with clubs in Newark, Louth and St Peter’s School, York. It is clear that most of the very early matches were played as soccer games with 11 players each side, but it is not clear as to what rules actually governed these early contests but, generally, they were played out in accordance with home club rules, of which there was a great disparity. 

However, at the annual meeting in the George Hotel, Land of Green Ginger, on 20th October 1870, the decision was taken to formally adopt the rugby rules. Hull FC, like many clubs in their formative years, led a nomadic existence. Their first ground was at Woodgates Hall, North Ferriby, playing there for a short time from 1866. With the founding of new clubs in the far-off West Riding and in a measure designed to make it somewhat easier for those clubs to come and fulfill fixtures with Hull FC, the club obtained use of a ground at Selby, opposite the Londesborough Arms, to play some fixtures. 

In 1871, Hull moved on to play at the Rifle Barracks field in Anlaby Road, Hull, and it was at this time that they became the first Yorkshire club to attain membership of the fledgling Rugby Football Union. 

1877 saw the introduction of the Challenge Cup. Hull were regarded as favourites to win it but were beaten in the semi-finals by York. They did, however, reach the Final in 1884 but were beaten by Bradford.

Hull Football Club merged with Hull White Star in 1881 and after some years searching for a suitable location for a new, bigger, ground, they moved home in the autumn of 1895 to The Athletic Grounds in The Boulevard. Hull Kingston Rovers had been tenants there since January 1892 but could not afford the rental increase asked of them in 1895.

This is how Hull KR was formed

 

HULL KINGSTON ROVERS WERE FORMED IN 1882 BY A GROUP OF BOILERMAKERS AND STARTED LIFE AS KINGSTON AMATEURS PLAYING IN ALBERT STREET TO THE WEST OF THE CITY IN THE AUTUMN OF 1883.

1882

THE BEGINNING

Hull Kingston Rovers were formed in 1882, as Kingston Amateurs, by a group of young workers in the shipping industry in West Hull. They played their first season in 1883/84, wearing red jerseys with a blue band, on a very primitive rented ground off Albert Street (now Gillett Street) on Hessle Road. The ground was known as ‘Flag Edge Touch’ because on one side of the ground the touchline was denoted by flagstones, upon which spectators stood. In its early years the club played rugby union – there was only one code of rugby in those days.

Early progress was rapid; the team was successful, and it started to attract better players. The fixture list grew, and moves to better grounds meant that the club had six grounds in its first 12 years – all to the west of the River Hull. By the 1893/94 season, the club, by now known as Hull Kingston Rovers, was playing ‘out-of-town’ fixtures, had attracted its first ‘star player’ – England international back Sam Morfitt (pictured) – and was renting a ground at the new sports complex on the Boulevard. The club’s original nickname, ‘the Redbreasts’, because of the red breast area above a blue band on their original jerseys, developed to ‘Robin Redbreasts’ and then simply to ‘the Robins.’

1895 was a pivotal year for the club. Hull FC, the senior club in the city at that time playing in East Hull, had taken a liking to the Boulevard ground, and offered to pay a higher rent than Rovers could afford. This meant that Rovers were faced with a big choice – stay in the west of the city and try to compete with Hull FC, or move to the east of the city. The historic decision was taken to buy the old Southcoates ground on Craven Street, and the club has remained in East Hull ever since.

 

I stand corrected. I thought they only played in the area off Anlaby Road near Bean Street.

[Tommygilf]

Is it KR who didn't join the Northern Union initially too?

[up the robins]

21 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Is it KR who didn't join the Northern Union initially too?

 Think one of the requirements was we gave out our attendance figures so didn't bother.

[Lowdesert]

2 hours ago, Gomersall said:

I stand corrected. I thought they only played in the area off Anlaby Road near Bean Street.

It appears that both clubs used different pitches so it’s a possibility there are unrecorded grounds not mentioned here.

There is a picture of Jack Harrison on the wall, in the entrance to the gym at York St.John University.  I’ve asked about 7/8 people if they knew who it was - none of them did but they walked over and read it.  I think he was a teacher there at some stage.

[Worzel]

Because it's just better than any other town or city with an interest in rugby league?

I'm pretty sure it's that