Stockport RFC

Last updated

Stockport RFC
Club information
Full nameStockport Rugby Football Club
Foundedcirca 1884;140 years ago (1884)
Exitedcirca 1903;121 years ago (1903)
Former details
Ground(s)
Competition Northern Rugby Football Union 1895/96-1902/03

Stockport RFC was a Rugby League club in Stockport, Cheshire, England.

Contents

The club became founder members of the Northern Rugby Football Union (now Rugby Football League) after the English rugby schism, and resultant breakaway meeting at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895.

They played for eight seasons in the seasons 1895–96 to 1902–03, when they finished bottom of the newly instituted Division Two.

Like several other Cheshire clubs, they participated in the Lancashire competitions.

They had a rivalry with fellow Cheshire side Runcorn RFC.

History

Early days

Stockport RFC was founded 1884 by men associated with Stockport Sunday School, the largest such school in the world at the time.

The club first played on a field behind their HQ - The Plough Inn, Shaw Heath and the first gate was 3sh 9d. = 19p.

On 12 January 1889 they played a friendly against the Maori touring team, attracting around 4,000 spectator’s and came away with a 3-3 draw, this was the 42nd game of the 1888/89 Maori tour and a very respectable result as the Maoris beat Ireland, Wigan, St Helens, Salford, Swansea and others quite convincingly.

They managed to attract top Lancs & Yorks clubs to the Plough ground and such was the rise in popularity that they moved in with Stockport Cricket Club at Cale Green in 1890, averaging crowds of 3,000.

Northern Union

Before the break with Rugby Union, Stockport, like many other clubs from Lancashire and Yorkshire, had suffered punishment by the RFU for "broken time" payments. When the 22 clubs met at The George Hotel, Huddersfield, the representative of Stockport had been unable to attend the meeting personally and so had telegraphed the meeting requesting the club's admission to the new organisation. This was duly accepted.

After the Great Schism [1] in 1895, Stockport were one of the founder members of the new league. In the first season 1895–96 the league consisted of 22 clubs and Stockport finished in 17th position.

In the second season 1896–97 the league was divided into Yorkshire and Lancashire, Stockport playing in the latter section, where they would stay for all but one of the remainder of their semi-professional existence. They finished in 5th position out of 14 teams.

In the two following seasons, still in the Lancashire section, season 1897–98 and 1898–99 they finished in 11th position out of 14 teams.

In the fifth season, 1899–1900 they improved slightly finishing 9th out of 14 teams. This was also their most successful season in the Challenge Cup, they defeated Hunslet 2-0, Tyldesley 5-2 and Radcliffe 24-3 before bowing out in the Quarter-Finals losing 0-3 to Widnes.

In 1900–01, still in the Lancashire Senior League, Stockport dropped to 12th place out the 14 teams.

In 1901–02 14 clubs broke away to form the Northern Rugby League. Stockport were not among these, and as a result of this, interest and gates dwindled, so together with the remaining clubs and several additions from the lower county leagues, continued in the Lancashire Senior league, which became in effect division 2 (West). A slightly better season saw a mid-table finish in 6th place out of the 13 clubs.

At the end of the 1901–02 season, the County Leagues elected 18 teams to join the new Division 2 (7 from Lancashire and 10 from Yorkshire and new member South Shields) with the existing second competition scrapped. [2]

In 1902–03 Stockport were elected into the new 2nd Division losing many of their top pro players, In this, their eighth and last season among the semi-professional clubs, Stockport finished 18th out of 18 clubs, bottom of the league with only 11 points, whereas Morecambe, the second bottom, had 20 points.

In May 1903, the town’s rugby and football clubs met and it was suggested that the rugby club should disband. Nothing was decided but the debate lingered and the Yorkshire Post of 16 July 1903 reported: “Certain conditions have been drawn up in connection with the proposed transfer of the ground to the Association club and it is understood they will be in all probability accepted. The opinion prevails that the Rugby Club will shortly disband.”

At a meeting on Saturday 15 August 1903, the end was confirmed and Stockport County F.C took over liabilities that amounted to around £350 owing to a well-known gentleman [Mr Sykes] in the town. The rugby club, it was reported, had been sorely tried by the rapid strides made by the association game in Stockport and had fallen deeper into debt. The last Captain, Yorkshireman William Robinson, took a tobacconist’s shop on Castle street, Edgeley.

"(Stockport) County gained admission to the Second Division of the Football League in 1900, and following this elevation - and consequent requirement for a larger ground - the club moved to its current home of Edgeley Park in 1902, which was then the home of Stockport Rugby League Club. The rugby club folded a few years later, leaving County as sole tenants." [3]

Stadium

Stockport RFC first played on a field behind their Headquarters - The Plough Inn, Shaw Heath. The cost of entry to the first gate was 3sh 9d. = 19p.

In 1890 they moved in with Stockport Cricket Club at Beech road, Cale Green.

In 1891 they moved into the newly built Edgeley Park, the land the stadium was built on was donated to the club by the Sykes Family, Owner’s of Sykes Bleaching Company

Records

Club scoring record

In a Season
DetailsSeasonCompetitionNotesRef
Highest League Position51896–97Lancs Sen CompOut of 14 clubs
Lowest League Position181902–032nd DivOut of 18 clubs
Most League Points321895–96RLOut of possible 84 = 38%
or301896–97Lancs Sen CompOut of possible 52 = 58%
Fewest League Points111902–032nd DivOut of possible 68 = 16%
Most Points Scored (PF)1711895–96RLIn 42 games = 4.07/game
or1571896–97Lancs Sen CompIn 26 games = 6.04/game
Most Points Conceded (PA)3171898–99Lancs Sen CompIn 26 games = 12.2/game
Fewest Points Scored (PF)691902–032nd DivIn 34 games = 2.03/game
Fewest Points Conceded (PA)1361899–1900Lancs Sen CompIn 26 games = 5.23/game
Best Points Difference201896–97Lancs Sen CompIn 26 games
Worst Points Difference-2761902–032nd DivIn 26 games

Club records

Club league record

SeasonCompetitionPosTeam NamePlWDLPFPADiffPts% PtsNo of teams in leagueNotesRef
1895–96Northern Rugby Football Union17Stockport4212822171315-1443222
1896–97NRFU(Lancs Senior)5Stockport2614210157137203014
1897–98NRFU(Lancs Senior)11Stockport268216154253–991814
1898–99NRFU(Lancs Senior)11Stockport265120102317-2151114
1899–1900NRFU(Lancs Senior)9Stockport2610214126136-102214
1900–01NRFU(Lancs Senior)12Stockport266317102184-821514
1901–02NRFU(Lancs Senior)6Stockport241338151106452713
Stockport had 2 points deducted.
Only limited County League information is available for this season.
1902–03NRFU(2nd Division)18Stockport34512869348-2791118

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.

Several fixtures and results

The following are just a few of Stockport's fixtures from the eight seasons in which they played (semi) professional Rugby League :- [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

SeasonDateCompetitionOpponentVenueH/AResultScoreAttendanceNotesRef
1895–96Sat 28 Sep 1895RL St. Helens Knowsley Rd AWon3–0 [6]
1895–9626 Oct 1895RL Warrington Edgeley Park HDraw3–3 [8]
1895–96Sat 9 Nov 1895RL Hull Edgeley Park HWon3–0 [7]
1895–9630 Nov 1895RL Widnes Edgeley Park HLost0–5 [5]
1895–96Wed 25 Dec 1895RL Wigan Folly Fields ALost0–161 [4]
1895–96-1-–0-1896RL Widnes Lowerhouse Lane ALost10–142 [5]
1895–96Sat 18 Jan 1896RL St. Helens Edgeley Park HWon18–3 [6]
1895–96Sat 7 Mar 1896RL Hull Boulevard ALost5–15 [7]
1895–966 Apr 1896RL Warrington Wilderspool ALost3–14 [8]
1895–96Sun 26 Apr 1896RL Wigan Edgeley Park HWon8–3 [4]
1896–97Sat 12 Sep 1896Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Edgeley Park HWon12–0 [4]
1896–9719 Sep 1896Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Edgeley Park HWon15–5 [8]
1896–97Mon 12 Oct 1896Friendly Hull Boulevard AWon5–0 [7]
1896–975 Dec 1896Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Edgeley Park HWon12–3 [5]
1896–97Sat 19 Dec 1896Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Edgeley Park HWon13–6 [6]
1896–979 Jan 1897Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Lowerhouse Lane ALost0–92 [5]
1896–9713 Feb 1897Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Wilderspool ALost5–9 [8]
1896–97Sat 13 Mar 1897Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Knowsley Rd ALost0–9 [6]
1896–97Wed 17 Mar 1897Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Folly Fields ADraw0–01 [4]
1897–9825 Sep 1897Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Wilderspool ALost7–10 [8]
1897–9827 Nov 1897Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Lowerhouse Lane ALost0–6 [5]
1897–98Sat 11 Dec 1897Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Edgeley Park HWon14–7 [6]
1897–98Sat 8 Jan 1898Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Edgeley Park HLost4–6 [4]
1897–9829 Jan 1898Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Edgeley Park HWon13–3 [8]
1897–9812 Feb 1898Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Edgeley Park HLost5–9 [5]
1897–98Sat 19 Feb 1898Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Knowsley Rd ALost0–27 [6]
1897–98Fri 8 Apr 1898Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Folly Fields ADraw5–51 [4]
1898–99Sat 8 Oct 1898Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Folly Fields ALost8–191 [4]
1898–9917 Dec 1898Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Wilderspool ALost6–8 [8]
1898–997 Jan 1899Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Edgeley Park HLost0–10 [5]
1898–9914 Jan 1899Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Lowerhouse Lane ALost10–262 [5]
1898–99Sat 25 Feb 1899Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Edgeley Park HWon3–0 [4]
1898–99Sat 4 Mar 1899Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Edgeley Park HLost3–13 [6]
1898–991 Apr 1899Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Edgeley Park HWon12–2 [8]
1898–99Thu 20 Apr 1899Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Knowsley Rd ALost10–13 [6]
1899–19009 Sep 1899Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Edgeley Park HWon18–5 [4]
1899–190016 Sep 1899Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Wilderspool ALost0–15 [8]
1899–1900Sat 21 Oct 1899Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Knowsley Rd ALost3–17 [6]
1899–19004 Nov 1899Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Edgeley Park HLost0–3 [8]
1899–1900Sat 25 Nov 1899Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Edgeley Park HLost3–6 [6]
1899–190030 Dec 1899Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Edgeley Park HWon21–3 [5]
1899–190024 Feb 1900Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Lowerhouse Lane ALost0–22 [5]
1899–190010 Mar 1900Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Folly Fields ALost0–2 [4]
1899–19007 Apr 1900Challenge Cup QF Widnes Edgeley Park HLost0–3 [5]
1900–0122 Sep 1900Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Edgeley Park HWon8–3 [8]
1900–01Sat 6 Oct 1900Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Knowsley Rd ALost0–3 [6]
1900–0124 Nov 1900Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Lowerhouse Lane ALost0–52 [5]
1900–01Sat 1 Dec 1900Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Edgeley Park HWon5–0 [6]
1900–0123 Feb 1901Lancs Sen Comp Warrington Wilderspool ALost3–10 [8]
1900–01Sat 9 Mar 1901CC R2 St. Helens Knowsley Rd ADraw0–0 [6]
1900–01Wed 13 Mar 1901CC R2 Replay St. Helens Edgeley Park HLost5–11 [6]
1900–0116 Mar 1901Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Edgeley Park HWon13–0 [5]
1900–016 Apr 1901Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Folly Fields ALost2–91 [4]
1900–0113 Apr 1901Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Edgeley Park HWon13–0 [4]
1901–02Sat 12 Oct 1901Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Edgeley Park HWon3–0 [6]
1901–022 Nov 1901Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Edgeley Park HLost0–2 [5]
1901–0225 Dec 1901Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Edgeley Park HWon6–5 [4]
1901–021 Jan 1902Lancs Sen Comp Wigan Springfield Park ALost3–103 [4]
1901–02Sat 18 Jan 1902Lancs Sen Comp St. Helens Knowsley Rd ALost7–13 [6]
1901–0225 Jan 1902Lancs Sen Comp Widnes Lowerhouse Lane ALost0–122 [5]
1902–0314 Feb 1903CC R1 Wigan Springfield Park ALost0–83 [4]

Heading Abbreviations
CC Rx = Challenge Cup Round x; LC Rx = Lancahire Cup Competition; JPT Rx = John Player Trophy; REGAL Rx = Regal Trophy.

Notes and comments

1 - Folly Fields is the stadium used by Wigan at the time until 1901. They then became sub-tenants of Springfield Park See below - Note 3.

2 - Lowerhouse Lane is the original site of the current ground used by Widnes. It was renamed Naughton Park in 1932 in honour of club secretary, Tom Naughton - and later renamed Halton Stadium after being completely rebuilt in 1997.

3 - Wigan became sub-tenants of Springfield Park, which they shared with Wigan United AFC, playing their first game there on 14 September 1901 at which a crowd of 4,000 saw them beat Morecambe 12–0, and the last game on 28 April 1902 when Wigan beat the Rest of Lancashire Senior Competition. A temporary ground was necessary to span the period between moving from Folly Fields and the new ground at Central Park being constructed.

See also

Related Research Articles

Radcliffe was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Radcliffe, a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England.

Tyldesley was a rugby league club in Tyldesley, Lancashire, England.

Birkenhead Wanderers was a semi-professional rugby league club in Birkenhead, England. They became members of the Northern Rugby Football Union and played for three full seasons from 1901–02 to 1903–04

Lancaster RFC was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Lancaster, Lancashire, 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.

Liversedge RFC were a semi-professional rugby league club from Liversedge, Yorkshire, England. They were a founder member of the Northern Rugby Football Union, precursor to the Rugby Football League.

The 1917–18 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the third season of Rugby league's Wartime Emergency League football. Each club played a differing number of fixtures, depending upon the closeness of neighbours, ease of travel etc., with Rochdale Hornets playing only 7 games and St. Helens 18 while Wigan played 35 and several other clubs 31.


Brighouse Rangers was a (semi) professional rugby league club. This club was based in Brighouse, a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Calder and has a population of approx 35,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighouse Rangers RFC</span> Defunct English semi-professional rugby league club

Brighouse Rangers was a rugby league club in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England.

Runcorn FC was a rugby league club. Having formed in 1876 and played rugby union as members of the RFU, they joined the Northern Union in 1895, just several days after it was founded, and played in the league from 1895–96 to 1917–18.

The 1931–32 Lancashire Cup was the twenty-fourth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition had been held. Once again a new name was to be added to the trophy this year as it was the turn of Salford, who won the trophy for the first time by beating neighbours and close rivals Swinton in the final by 10–8.

The 1924–25 Yorkshire Cup was the seventeenth occasion on which the competition was held. This year's final was between two local rivals, Wakefield Trinity, who won the trophy by beating Batley by the score of 9-8. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 25,546 and receipts were £1,912.

The 1926–27 Yorkshire Cup was the nineteenth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition was held. Huddersfield won the trophy for the seventh time in total by beating Wakefield Trinity in the final by the score of 10–3. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 11,300 and receipts were £863.

The 1932–33 Yorkshire Cup was the fifteenth occasion on which Rugby Football League's (RFL) Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.

The 1962–63 Yorkshire Cup was the fifty-fifth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Hunslet won the trophy by beating Hull Kingston Rovers by the score of 12-2. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 22,742 and receipts were £4,514 It is the last time for twenty-two years that the attendance at a Yorkshire Cup final would again exceed 20,000

The 1966–67 Yorkshire Cup was the fifty-ninth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.

The 1972–73 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the eighth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year was another new name on the trophy
Leigh won the trophy by beating Widnes by the score of 5-0
The match was played at Central Park, Wigan,. The attendance was 4,691 and receipts were £1,391
This was Leigh's first victory after being runner-up in two of the previous finals

The 1971–72 Player's No.6 Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the first season that the competition was held.

This was the second season of the League Cup, which was known as the Players No.6 Trophy for sponsorship reasons.

The 1988–89 John Player Special Trophy was the eighteenth season for the competition.

References

  1. ↑ J C Lindley with personal recollections by D W Armitage (1973). 100 Years of Rugby - The History of Wakefield Trinity Football Club. The Wakefield Trinity Centenary Committee. pp. 34 and 35.
  2. ↑ J C Lindley with personal recollections by D W Armitage (1973). 100 Years of Rugby - The History of Wakefield Trinity Football Club. The Wakefield Trinity Centenary Committee. pp. 37 and 38.
  3. ↑ "About Stockport County". Archived from the original on 13 February 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Cherry and White".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Widnes History".
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Saints Heritage Society".
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Hull&Proud".[ permanent dead link ]
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Warington History". Archived from the original on 6 July 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.