BARROW RAIDERS will welcome club Hall of Fame members Derek Hadley, Ralph McConnell and Andy Whittle to help kick off their 150th anniversary celebrations.
The trio will be at the Northern Competitions Stadium, where they shone when it was known as Craven Park, for the league opener against Hunslet on Sunday.
Backrower Hadley had two spells at the club, between 1973 and 1986, winning two second-tier title medals, then from 1988 until 1995.
Versatile back McConnell, a prolific try-scorer for Barrow between 1974 and 1986, also featured in those successes of 1975-76 and 1983-84, when Tommy Dawes’ side also won the Lancashire Cup, beating Widnes 12-8 in the final at Wigan, with him playing stand-off (Hadley missed put through injury).
Centre Whittle was in the centres for the big match at Central Park, with his Craven Park stay lasting from 1981 to 1986.
Barrow, who joined the Northern Union in 1897, two years after the breakaway, are marking their milestone year by wearing a red and black, rather than blue and white, kit which replicated that worn in the early days.
The switch to blue and white came after those colours were worn as a change kit during the run to the Challenge Cup final in 1937-38 (Salford edged a 7-4 Wembley win).
Hadley, McConnell and Whittle will appear at a pre-match VIP event, with the Raiders explaining: “We are going to bring to life memories of the club with interviews with former players, officials and supporters.
“At this event, we also plan to show an archived game from the past featuring Barrow and Hunslet on our big screen.”
Championship rivals and Northern Union founder members Widnes are also 150 years old.
Barrow are aiming to mount a challenge for the play-offs after missing out for two seasons.
“Things have gone well in pre-season and we’re looking forward to the league games starting,” said long-serving fullback Luke Cresswell.
