Long-gone rugby league teams from Calderdale feature in new book by sports historian

West Yorkshire’s Long Lost Rugby Clubs is look at almost 100 long gone rugby clubs that have been and gone since the early years of the sport in the late 1800s.

Former professional clubs such as Manningham, and the original Bradford and Leeds clubs are featured, alongside many of the lesser-known names from the Halifax, Brighouse and Calder Valley districts: Bailiff Bridge, Brighouse Rangers, Elland, Elland Free Wanderers, Greetland, Hebden Bridge, Luddendenfoot, Salterhebble, Sowerby Bridge, Stainland, Thrum Hall, and Todmorden.

Also explained are the reasons why these clubs did not stand the test of time, particularly those that felt they had no choice but to join the Northern Union (Rugby League) just after the Great Split of 1895.

Furthermore, the old league and cup competitions that existed for clubs in the Halifax district are also featured.

"The long-gone Brighouse Rangers club, along with Halifax, was one of the founder members of the Northern Union, which is now known as Rugby League, in 1895, when Yorkshire's top clubs fell out with Rugby's governing body over the likes of broken time payments, and more importantly, because they wanted to govern themselves rather than being dictated to by the London based Rugby Football Union,” said Rob.

“However, the junior clubs in the district, the likes of Todmorden, Elland, Sowerby Bridge and Luddendenfoot, faced with losing attractive fixtures against the top teams also turned to Rugby League in order not to be left behind, and because they thought it was the only way they would survive in the long run. Virtually all of them were defunct within a few years.

“Due to the popularity of rugby in the district in the late 1800s, it took a lot longer for soccer to take off in the Calderdale district. Once it did however, then the number of rugby clubs, of both codes, dropped off dramatically.”

The book, available via Amazon, also includes every Yorkshire Challenge Cup result (including qualifying rounds) prior to World War One, as well a myriad of other local and regional cup and league competitions up to 1914.