HUNSLET officials celebrated some new inductions to the club’s Hall of Fame and Roll of Honour at a recent dinner at The Hunslet Club.
The club added three new inductees to its Hall of Fame and one to its Roll of Honour.
The first inductee was the club’s founder William Gilston, whose descendants were there in force to witness the occasion.
On 21st May 1883 Gilston attended a meeting at the Cemetery Tavern, where the decision to include a football section was passed and the club name was amended to Hunslet Cricket and Football Club.
A talented threequarter he made his debut on 6th October 1883 and played 232 games, scoring 17 tries and 20 goals. He scored Hunslet’s first ever goal in 1883 v Hull A and the first goal at Parkside in 1888. He was the club’s first captain and led them to a 21-0 victory over Leeds in the 1892 Yorkshire Cup Final.
The second inductee, Roy Sampson, played for the club and later coached it. Signed from Stanley Rangers in 1983 he made his debut against York on 19th April 1983 and made 203 first-team appearances, scoring 40 tries while playing for 12 seasons, six of them as captain.
He was part of the coaching team that saw Hunslet play in the first ever Wembley Plate Final in 1997 against Hull KR and emerge victorious in the 1999 Championship Grand Final against Dewsbury. He became head coach in 2000 and was nominated for Coach of the Year in 2005.
The third inductee was David Brook (above), a product of Middleton Amateurs who signed for the club in 1990, making his debut against Trafford Borough on 14th October that year. He went on play 178 games, just short of his grandfather Charlie Sage’s 195, scoring 72 tries.
Both Brook and Sampson gave emotional speeches on the night, reflecting their pride at having worn the famous myrtle, white and flame jersey and their pride at being inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame, which now has 22 members.
The club also inducted Peter Todd, a former club administrator, into its Roll of Honour, becoming only the third member of that group after former Chairman Grahame Liles and former director Peter Jarvis.
Jarvis, now club president, said: “It is a real privilege to be able to bestow this very special honour on them.”