| Hunslet Hawks |
Article Index for Hunslet |
Website Links For Hunslet Hawks |
Information AboutHunslet Hawks |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HUNSLET HAWKS | |
| sports clubs established in 1883 | |
| british rugby league teams | |
| sport in leeds | |
| sport in west yorkshire | |
Hunslet Hawks are a British Rugby League team. They are based in Leeds , West Yorkshire . The club are sometimes known as 'the Parksiders' after their former stadium. Some famous Hunslet players include Jason Robinson and Cec Thompson . HISTORY In May of 1883 two of the local teams Albion and Excelsior were granted the sum of £30 to form the Hunslet Rugby Club. At the end of that year the Imperial side joined the Hunslet club. Hunslet announced their arrival the following season by beating Leeds St Johns (who later became Leeds Rhinos ) in the 3rd round of the Yorkshire cup. Better fixtures drew larger crowds and as a result the landlord wanted to put up the rent and the search was on for another ground - Parkside. The first game was played in February 1888. Just one season later Hunslet won their first trophy the Yorkshire Cup beating Leeds St Johns. In 1895 Hunslet were one of the 21 clubs that broke away from the Rugby Football Union, and joined the Northern Football Union. In the 1905-06 season Hunslet won the Yorkshire Cup. They were the first club to win All Four Cups , which they did in the 1907-08 season. Many players left Parkside following this success either being transferred to other clubs or going into retirement. In the remaining years up to the 1930s, Hunslet had rather a lean period, until 1932 when they regained the Yorkshire League Trophy and made it to the final of the Yorkshire cup. Hunslet celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1933/34. The club did this in some style as Hunslet beat Widnes at Wembley in the Cup Final. Hunslet tasted success 4 years later at Elland Road by beating Leeds in the Championship Final. This wave of success was only halted by the Second World War. After the war Hunslet tried to keep the success going but never quite got there despite reaching a number of semi-finals and finals. Despite this, Hunslet produced a number of international players as well as a respectable league record. The club always had strength in a seemingly endless supply of local talent blended with both Welsh and Australian imports. In the 1960s the club could be best described as the classic underachievers. Although the players were a group of experienced and talented people they were unable to harness their skills to best effect. This situation changed when the club appointed Fred Ward player coach at the start of the 1962/63 season. Within 3 years of his appointment, Hunslet had won and secured a position in the top division, appeared in two Yorkshire Cup finals and in 1965 took part in one of the best ever Challenge Cup finals losing narrowly to Wigan. Again the side were split up by transfers and retirements. Just 2 years later in 1967 the dream was over. Ward left the club and with that the club entered free fall. Parkside was sold off in 1972 and by July the following year the club folded. Due to the efforts of Geoff Gunney, local businessmen and supporters the club managed to reform and moved to the Leeds Greyhound Stadium. The stay at the Greyhound Stadium was cut short when the owners closed the ground. The next ground to host Hunslet was Batley, before Hunslet moved to Elland Road football stadium then owned by the local council. After leaving Elland Road, Hunslet had a brief spell at Bramley. On 19th November 1995 the club now known as Hunslet Hawks moved to South Leeds Stadium. They narrowly missed out on promotion in 1996. In 1997 the Hawks appeared at Wembley for the first time since 1965 in the first (and last) Challenge Cup Plate Final but were beaten by Hull Kingston Rovers. Also in that year the Hawks were promoted to the 1st division as champions. In 1999 Hunslet won the Northern Ford Premiership Grand final against Dewsbury 12-11 at Headingley. After that game the Hawks were denied entry to Super League by the RFL who cited a document called 'Framing the Future' as justification. This caused a number of players to leave the club and for the average attendance to fall by more than 1,200 to 800. " in 1908]] |
|
|