Holbeck Rugby Club, also known as the Holbeck Imps, was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club were the original owners of Elland Road football stadium, now the home of Leeds United.
The exact date Holbeck were formed is unknown, but they joined the Northern Union in time for its second season in 1896–97. They played for eight seasons, from 1896–97 to 1903–04. As semi-professionals, Holbeck played at the Recreation Ground on Elland Road.
The city of Leeds had an abundance of rugby football clubs and although members of the Yorkshire RFU, [1] which was in turn part of the RFU, it was decided to form a more local association. It was for this reason that the Leeds & District organization was formalised when a meeting took place at the Green Dragon Hotel, Leeds, on 27 September 1888. The founding clubs were Bramley, Holbeck, Hunslet, Kirkstall, Leeds Parish Church, Leeds St John’s and Wortley. [2]
In the 1896–97 season, the league was divided into Yorkshire and Lancashire Senior Competitions, Holbeck entering the former. They finished 15th (second bottom) with 18 points from 30 games. In 1897, when the lease was not renewed on Holbeck Recreation Ground, they bought the Old Peacock Ground from Bentley's Brewery for £1,100, with a stipulation that it remained a football ground for at least seven years, [3] and that all the catering rights should be held for that period by the brewery. The site of the Old Peacock Ground, an open grass field, was at the foot of Beeston Hill on the Leeds to Elland Road. The land was known locally as the Old Peacock Ground due to the close proximity to the pub of the same name which it faced.
The club erected a new stand in the close season in readiness for the forthcoming 1898–99 season. The ground eventually became known simply as Elland Road.
Over the next four seasons Holbeck struggled, finishing 14th in 1897–98, 13th in 1898–99, 13th in 1899–1900 and 14th again in 1900–01, in each case out of 16 clubs.
At the end of this season the top seven clubs in both the Lancashire Senior Competition and the Yorkshire Senior Competition split and formed the "new" Rugby League. The remaining clubs, which included Holbeck and several new additions, continued in the Lancashire and Yorkshire Senior Competitions, which became in effect two regional second divisions.
Only limited County League information is available for (1901–02). Holbeck finished in fifth position, but unfortunately for them there was no promotion and relegation. At the end of this season, several more clubs withdrew and the league was again re-organised into two divisions of 16 clubs.
In 1902–03, Holbeck again finished 5th out of the 16 clubs. For the 1902–03 season football team Leeds Woodville ground shared as tenants of Holbeck Rugby Club.
In 1903–04, in what was to be Holbeck’s last season, Wakefield Trinity were champions with 55 points from 32 games, with St Helens and Holbeck in joint second place, both on 39 points. A promotion play-off took place on a neutral ground on Saturday 14 May 1904 and St. Helens were promoted after beating Holbeck 7–0. As a result, the club decided that it would be financially unable to continue in the second division and folded. [3]
At a meeting at the Griffin Hotel in Boar Lane in August 1904, a new Association football club, Leeds City Association Football Club, was formed and it was agreed that the Elland Road ground would be rented for the upcoming season. It has been suggested that Holbeck Rugby Club reformed as Leeds City but there does not appear to be any hard evidence to support this claim. [3]
Leeds City were expelled from the Football League in 1919 but Leeds United took their place five years later and have played at Elland Road ever since.
Several articles suggest that Holbeck RFC played in blue and yellow (or gold), which are the sporting colours of Leeds.
| In a Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | Season | Competition | Notes | Ref | ||
| Highest League Position | 3 | 1903–04 | 2nd Div | out of 17 clubs | ||
| Lowest League Position | 15 | 1896–97 | Yorks Sen | out of 16 clubs | ||
| Most League Points | 49 | 1903–04 | 2nd Div | out of possible 64 = 77% | ||
| Fewest League Points | 15 | 1900–01 | Yorks Sen | out of possible 60 = 25% | ||
| Most Points Scored (PF) | 256 | 1903–04 | 2nd Div | In 32 games = 8/game | ||
| Most Points Conceded (PA) | 310 | 1897–98 | Yorks Sen | In 30 games = 5.7/game | ||
| Fewest Points Scored (PF) | 86 | 1896–97 | Yorks Sen | In 30 games = 2.87/game | ||
| Fewest Points Conceded (PA) | 83 | 1902–03 | 2nd Div | In 34 games = 6.26/game | ||
| Best Points Difference | 136 | 1903–04 | 2nd Div | In 32 games | ||
| Worst Points Difference | −153 | 1900–01 | Yorks Sen | In 30 games | ||
Source: [4]
| Season | Competition | Pos | Team Name | Pl | W | D | L | PW | PA | Diff | Pts | % | No of teams in league | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896–97 | Yorks Sen | 15 | Holbeck | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 86 | 223 | −137 | 18 | 0.3 | 16 | ||
| 1897–98 | Yorks Sen | 14 | Holbeck | 30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 171 | 310 | −139 | 22 | 0.37 | 16 | ||
| 1898–99 | Yorks Sen | 13 | Holbeck | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 134 | 220 | −86 | 24 | 0.4 | 16 | ||
| 1899–1900 | Yorks Sen | 13 | Holbeck | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 138 | 236 | −98 | 18 | 0.3 | 16 | ||
| Holbeck had 2 points deducted for a breach of the professional rules. | |||||||||||||||
| 1900–01 | Yorks Sen | 14 | Holbeck | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 110 | 263 | −153 | 15 | 0.25 | 16 | ||
| Holbeck had 2 points deducted. | |||||||||||||||
| 1901–02 | Yorks Sen | 5 | Holbeck | 30 | 14 | ||||||||||
| Holbeck had 2 points deducted. | |||||||||||||||
| Only limited County League information is available for this season. | |||||||||||||||
| 1902–03 | 2nd Div | 5 | Holbeck | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 213 | 83 | 130 | 45 | 0.66 | 18 | ||
| 1903–04 | 2nd Div | 3 | Holbeck | 32 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 256 | 120 | 136 | 49 | 0.77 | 17 | - | |
Heading Abbreviations
Pl = Games played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose; PF = Points for; PA = Points against; Diff = Points difference (+ or -); Pts = League Points League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
The following are a selection of Holbeck's fixtures from the eight seasons in which they played semi-professional rugby league :- [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
| Season | Date | Competition | Opponent | Venue | H/A | Result | Score | Att | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896–97 | Sat 28 November 1896 | YSC | Hull | Boulevard | A | Lost | 0–3 | [8] | ||
| 1896–97 | Tue 2 March 1897 | YSC | Hull | Holbeck Rec | H | Draw | 0–0 | 1 | [8] | |
| 1896–97 | Sat 27 March 1897 | CC R2 | Warrington | Wilderspool | A | Lost | 0–24 | [9] | ||
| 1897–98 | Sat 20 November 1897 | YSC | Hull | Old Peacock | H | Won | 12–5 | 2 | [8] | |
| 1897–98 | Tue 22 February 1898 | YSC | Hull | Boulevard | A | Lost | 0–8 | [8] | ||
| 1898–99 | Sat 1 October 1898 | YSC | Hull | Elland Road | H | Won | 8–5 | [8] | ||
| 1898–99 | Sat 7 January 1899 | YSC | Hull | Boulevard | A | Lost | 0–35 | [8] | ||
| 1899–1900 | Sat 4 November 1899 | YSC | Hull | Elland Road | H | Won | 8–6 | [8] | ||
| 1899–1900 | Thu 22 February 1900 | YSC | Hull | Boulevard | A | Lost | 0–6 | [8] | ||
| 1900–01 | Sat 17 November 1900 | YSC | Hull | Elland Road | H | Lost | 5–14 | [8] | ||
| 1900–01 | Sat 23 February 1901 | YSC | Hull | Boulevard | A | Lost | 7–14 | [8] | ||
| 1903–04 | Fri 25 December 1903 | Friendly | Hull | Boulevard | A | Lost | 3–11 | [8] | ||
| 1903–04 | Sat 26 September 1903 | D2 | St. Helens | Elland Road | H | Won | 19–3 | [7] | ||
| 1903–04 | Sat 23 January 1904 | D2 | St. Helens | Knowsley Road | A | Lost | 0–10 | [7] | ||
| 1903–04 | Sat 14 May 1904 | D2 PO | St. Helens | neutral ground | N | Lost | 0–7 | [7] |
Competition Abbreviations
YSC = Yorkshire Senior Competition; D2 = 2nd Division
D2 PO = 2nd Division Promotion Play-Off
CC R2 = Challenge Cup, round 2
Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Championship club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 13th largest football stadium in England.
The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league.
Leeds Tykes is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 2 North.
Tony Marchant is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and Yorkshire, and at club level for Castleford, Wynnum Manly Seagulls, Bradford Northern and Dewsbury, as a wing, or centre.
The 1900–01 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the sixth season of rugby league football.
Goole was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Goole, Yorkshire, England. Originally a rugby union club, the club joined the ranks of the Northern Union in 1898.
Leeds Parish Church RFC was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club played semi-professional rugby league for a total of five seasons from 1896–97 to 1900–01. Each of the five seasons was spent in the Yorkshire Senior Competition. At the end of season 1900–01 the club withdrew from the league.
Heckmondwike was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Heckmondwike in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England.
Stockport RFC was a Rugby League club in Stockport, Cheshire, England.
Castleford RFC was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Castleford in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. They joined the Northern Union in 1896–97 for its second season and remained in the ranks of the (semi) professionals until the end of the 1905–06 season.
Brighouse Rangers was a rugby league club in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England.
Bramley RLFC was a rugby league club from the Bramley area of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, that folded following the 1999 season. The club is a famous name in rugby league, having existed before the formation of the Northern Union in 1895. The traditional nickname for the club was 'the Villagers'.
The 1922–23 Yorkshire Cup was the fifteen occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. For the third year in succession, the name of yet another new club appeared on the trophy. This year, York won the trophy by beating Batley by the score of 5–0 in the final. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 33,719 and receipts were £2,414.
The 1923–24 Yorkshire Cup was the sixteenth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. This year, for the fourth consecutive year, produced another new name was inscribed on the trophy. Hull F.C. won the trophy by beating Huddersfield by the score of 10-4 in the final. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 23,300 and receipts were £1,728.
The 1983–84 Yorkshire Cup was the seventy-sixth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. This season there were no junior/amateur clubs taking part, no new entrants and no "leavers" and so the total of entries remained the same at sixteen. This in turn resulted in no byes in the first round.
The 1981–82 Yorkshire Cup was the 74th occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.
The 1982–83 Yorkshire Cup was the seventy-fifth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.
The 1990–91 Yorkshire Cup was the eighty-third occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.
The 1991–92 Yorkshire Cup was the 84th occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.
The 1992 Yorkshire Cup was the eighty-fifth and last occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Wakefield Trinity won the trophy by beating Sheffield Eagles by the score of 29-16
