Castleford RFC (1896) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Castleford RFC was a professional rugby league club.

The club was based in Castleford

Castleford

Castleford is the largest of the "five towns" district in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is near Pontefract, and has a population of 37,525 according to the 2001 Census, but has seen a rise in recent years and is now around 45-50,000. To the north...

(population approximately 50,000), a large town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

within the metropolitan borough

Metropolitan borough

A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...

of the City of Wakefield

City of Wakefield

The City of Wakefield is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. Wakefield is the district's administrative centre. The district includes the "Five Towns" of Normanton, Pontefract, Featherstone, Castleford and Knottingley. Other...

, in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated on the River Calder

River Calder, West Yorkshire

The River Calder is a river in West Yorkshire, in Northern England.The Calder rises on the green eastern slopes of the Pennines flows through alternating green countryside, former woollen-mill villages, and large and small towns before joining the River Aire near Castleford.The river's valley is...

.

Not much is known about the original Castleford Club, except that they have no connection whatsoever with the present Castleford Tigers

Castleford Tigers

Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club based in Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. They participate in the professional European competition Super League. They are sometimes known as 'Cas', 'Cas Tigers', 'Classy Cas' or the 'Black & Amber'...

RLFC.

They joined the Northern Union

Rugby Football League

The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...

in 1896-97

1896-97 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the second ever season of rugby league football. Following the success of the Northern Union's first season, several more clubs from the established Rugby Football Union joined the rebel competition...

for its second season and remained in the ranks of the (semi) professionals until the end of the 1905-06

1905-06 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1905–06 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the eleventh season of rugby league football.-Season summary:Leigh won the Championship for the first time this season and Bradford their first Challenge Cup....

season.

Early history

The actual date of the founding of the club is uncertain. There is definitely a Castleford Rugby Union Club in existence long before the Great Schism, and they played in the old Yorkshire Cup competition

Yorkshire Cup (rugby union)

The Yorkshire Cup is an English Rugby Football Union competition founded in 1878. It is open to all eligible clubs in the Yorkshire area. It was initially known as the Yorkshire Challenge Cup.-History:...

, winning “T’owd tin pot” once and finishing runners up once before 1900. So, unlike many other RFU clubs, it was not they who changed codes.

Northern Union

As the Northern Union

Rugby Football League

’s second season approached, they decided to split into two regional competitions. This was partly due to the success and increasing number of teams wishing to change codes and join, and partly to cut down on the travelling costs for clubs and spectators alike. For this second season eight new teams joined the League, Bramley

Bramley Buffaloes

Bramley Buffaloes is a rugby league club from the Bramley area of West Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Previously known simply as Bramley RLFC, the club is a famous name in rugby league, having existed prior to the formation of the Northern Union in 1895...

, Castleford, Heckmondwike

Heckmondwike (Rugby League)

Heckmondwike was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Heckmondwike , a small town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, which is located geographically at the centre of West Yorkshire, England....

, Holbeck, Leeds Parish Church

Leeds Parish Church RFC (Rugby League)

Leeds Parish Church RFC was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Leeds , a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England....

, Morecambe

Morecambe (Rugby League)

Morecambe was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Morecambe , a resort town within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. Together with adjoining small port of Heysham the population is approx. 51,000....

, Swinton

Swinton Lions

Swinton Lions is an English professional rugby league club from Swinton, Greater Manchester. The club has won the Championship six times and three Challenge Cups. They currently play in the Championship.-Early years:...

, and Salford

Salford City Reds

Salford City Reds are an English rugby league club based in Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1873, they currently play in the Super League. They have won six Rugby Football League Championships and one Challenge Cup...

.

Castleford joined the ranks of the (semi-professional rugby league clubs when they were admitted to the Yorkshire Senior Competition for season 1896-97

1896-97 Northern Rugby Football Union season

and in this there first season finished in mid-table in 9th position out of 16 clubs.

1897-98

1897-98 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1897–98 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the third season of rugby league football.-Summary:The leading try scorer this season was Hoskins of Salford, who crossed the line 30 times. The leading goal scorer was Goldthorpe of Hunslet who was successful 66 times...

Saw them continue in the same division finishing slightly better in what was to be their highest ever position of 6th out of 16.

The next 2 seasons, 1898-99

1898-99 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1897–98 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the fourth season of rugby league football.-Season summary:The Lancashire Senior Competition was won by Broughton Rangers and the Yorkshire Senior Competition by Batley.-Lancashire Senior Competition:...

and 1899-00

1899-00 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1899–1900 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the fifth season of rugby league football.-Season summary:The Lancashire Senior Competition was won by Runcorn and the Yorkshire Senior Competition by Bradford....

saw them slip to 11th and 12th places respectively (out of 16 clubs).

Their fifth season 1900-01

1900-01 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1900–01 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the sixth season of rugby league football.-Season summary:The Lancashire Senior Competition was won by Oldham and the Yorkshire Senior Competition by Bradford....

and the start of the new millennium saw them slip back to second bottom (of the 16 clubs. But things were different in the end of season Challenge Cup competition, where, on 13 April 1901 on a neutral ground, Castleford reached the semi-final stage where they lost to Warrington by 21-5.

At the end of the season the top seven sides from both the Lancashire and the Yorkshire Senior in the 1900-01

1900-01 Northern Rugby Football Union season

competitions of the NRFU, resigned and merged into a new league for 1901-02. In doing so they formed the Northern Rugby League and with that the phrase "Rugby League" was officially used for the first time. The remaining clubs together with several additions from the lower leagues continued in the Lancashire and Yorkshire Senior Leagues .

The new clubs were Altrincham

Altrincham (Rugby League)

Altrincham was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Altrincham, a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England.The town was originally in the County of Cheshire....

, Birkenhead Wanderers

Birkenhead Wanderers FC (Rugby League)

Birkenhead Wanderers was a professional rugby league club. The club was based in Birkenhead, a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

, Lancaster, Morecambe

Morecambe (Rugby League)

and Radcliffe

Radcliffe (Rugby League)

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

joined the Lancashire ranks, and Dewsbury

Dewsbury Rams

Dewsbury Rams RLFC is a professional rugby league club based in the West Yorkshire town of Dewsbury. They are arguably most famous for becoming Champions in 1972-73 after finishing the regular season in 8th place. In the playoffs they beat Featherstone away, Warrington away, and then Leeds in the...

, Goole

Goole (Rugby League)

Goole was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Goole, a small town and port in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...

, Heckmondwike

Heckmondwike (Rugby League)

, Keighley

Keighley Cougars

Keighley Cougars are a professional rugby league club from Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. As of 2012 they will play in Co-operative Championship having won the Co-operative Championship 1 play off final 32-12 against Workington...

, Normanton

Normanton (Rugby League)

Normanton was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Normanton, a small town within the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England....

, Sowerby Bridge

Sowerby Bridge (Rugby League)

Sowerby Bridge was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Sowerby Bridge, a small market town that lies within the Upper Calder Valley in the district of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, northern England, and approximately 3 miles from Halifax.The club joined the Northern Union in...

and York

York City Knights

York City Knights Rugby League Club is a British professional rugby league club hailing from York. They play at the Huntington Stadium, situated to the north of York city centre...

joined the Yorkshire side (with Leeds Parish Church

Leeds Parish Church RFC (Rugby League)

Leeds Parish Church RFC was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Leeds , a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England....

folding).

This season 1901-02

1901-02 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1901–02 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the seventh season of rugby league football.-Season summary:The top seven sides from both the Lancashire and the Yorkshire Senior 1900-01 competitions of the NRFU, resigned and merged into a new league in 1901-02, that was won by Broughton Rangers...

in what was effectively Division 2 (East), Castleford finished mid-table 9th out of the 14 clubs.

At the end of the 1901-02

1901-02 Northern Rugby Football Union season

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

South Shields (Rugby League)

South Shields was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in South Shields South Shields was a (semi) professional rugby league club.The club was based in South Shields South Shields was a (semi) professional rugby league club.The club was based in South Shields (known locally as just...

) with the existing second competition scrapped. This meant that teams were excluded from the senior competitions leaving them with several options:-

a) Join the new Lancashire League or the Lancashire Combination (reserve grade)

b) Join a new Yorkshire Senior League

c) reverting to amateur status within the Northern Union

d) revert back to rugby union

e) turn to Association Football, which many clubs did

f) fold

Altrincham

Altrincham (Rugby League)

and Radcliffe

Radcliffe (Rugby League)

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

(Lancashire) and Goole

Goole (Rugby League)

Goole was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Goole, a small town and port in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...

, Heckmondwike

Heckmondwike (Rugby League)

, Liversedge and Sowerby Bridge

Sowerby Bridge (Rugby League)

(from Yorkshire) disappeared from the (semi) professional Leagues

In season 1902-03

1902-03 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1902–03 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the eighth season of rugby league football.-Season summary:League Champions: HalifaxChallenge Cup Winners: Halifax 2nd Division Champions: Keighley...

Castleford joined the new 2nd Division, where they would stay for the next three seasons. In the first season in the new second division (1902-03

1902-03 Northern Rugby Football Union season

) Castleford finished 15th out of the 18 clubs.

In the next two seasons 1903-04

1903-04 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1903–04 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the ninth season of rugby league football.-Season summary:The League Champions were Bradford and the Challenge Cup Winners were Halifax....

and 1904-05

1904-05 Northern Rugby Football Union season

The 1904–05 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the tenth season of rugby league football.-Season summary:Oldham won their first Division One Championship whilst Warrington won the Challenge Cup. St...

Castleford improved slightly finishing 7th (out of 19) and 9th (out of 14) respectively.

In 1905-06

1905-06 Northern Rugby Football Union season

the Rugby League combined the divisions to form one united league. In this, Castleford’s final season in the (semi) professional ranks, they finished 28th out of the 31 clubs.

Castleford dropped out of the league at the end of the season.

The end

At this time several of the clubs were struggling financially, Castleford’s near neighbours Normanton

Normanton (Rugby League)

Normanton was a professional rugby league club.The club was based in Normanton, a small town within the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England....

cancelled their final game against Millom, both clubs cited the costs of travel, and both clubs folded at the end of this season.

There are very few mentions of Castleford after their dropping out of the (semi) professional leagues.

One item of note, in the 1913-14 season on Saturday 28 February in the Challenge Cup 1st Round, Wigan travelled to a Castleford team and beat them 27-8.

Successor club

The successor team (who become Castleford Tigers

Castleford Tigers

) joined the league for the 1926-27 season.
Many official records state that they were founded at this time (June 1926) but they had played successfully in the lower Yorkshire County leagues for several years before this date. They actually joined the League “code” around 1920 and played in these early years at the Sandy Desert ground.
They have no connection with this, the earlier team of the same name.

Players of note

Anthony Starks

Anthony Starks was an English dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1890s and 1900s who at representative level played rugby union for England, and Yorkshire, and at club level for , playing as a Forward, and at representative level played rugby...

(born 11 August 1873 — died January 1952 in Hull

Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

) was born in Castleford and played at county and International level while at Castleford RFC. He later played rugby league with Hull Kingston Rovers

Hull Kingston Rovers

Hull Kingston Rovers or Hull KR is an English professional rugby league football club based in Hull, England. The club formed in 1882 and currently competes in Super League, having won promotion from National League One in 2006...

.

William Walton (born 24 September 1874 — died 1 June 1940) played at county and International level while at Castleford RFC. He later played rugby league for, and captained, Wakefield Trinity

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...

.

J. Cole won a Rugby League cap for England while at Castleford in 1906 against Other Nationalities

Club scoring record

In a Season
Details	Season	Competition	Notes	Ref
Highest League Position	6	1897-98	Yorks Sen Comp	out of 16 clubs
Lowest League Position	28	1905-06	RL	out of 31 clubs
Most League Points	33	1897-98	Yorks Sen Comp	out of possible 60 = 55%
Least League Points	8	1905-06	RL	out of possible 40 = 20%
Most Points Scored (PF)	256	1897-98	Yorks Sen Comp	In 30 games = 8.53/game
Most Points Conceded (PA)	331	1900-01	Yorks Sen Comp	In 30 games = 3.07/game
or	325	1905-06	RL	In 20 games = 2.25/game	>-	Least Points Scored (PF)	45	1905-06	RL	In 20 games = 2.25/game	>-	Least Points Conceded (PA)	161	1896-97	Yorks Sen Comp	In 30 games = 5.93/game
Best Points Difference	48	1897-98	Yorks Sen Comp	In 30 games
Worst Points Difference
1905-06	RL	In 20 games

Club league record

Season	Competition	Pos	Team Name	Pl	W	D	L	PW	PA	Diff	Pts	No of teams in league
1896-97	Yorks Sen Comp	9	Castleford	30	11	6	13	178	161	17	28	16
1897-98	Yorks Sen Comp	6	Castleford	30	16	1	13	256	208	48	33	16
1898-99	Yorks Sen Comp	12	Castleford	30	10	4	16	159	214
24		16
1899-00	Yorks Sen Comp	11	Castleford	30	11	3	16	155	199
25		16
1900-01	Yorks Sen Comp	15	Castleford	30	5	4	21	92	331
14		16
1901-02	Yorks Sen Comp	9	Castleford								21
			Only limited County League information is available for this season.
1902-03	2nd Div	15	Castleford	34	9	4	21	105	268
22		18
1903-04	2nd Div	7	Castleford	32	18	3	11	185	194
39		17
1904-05	2nd Div	9	Castleford	26	9	3	14	104	199
21		14
1905-06	RL	28	Castleford	20	3	2	15	45	325
8	20	31

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.

Season	Date	Competition	Opponent	Venue	H/A	Result	Score	Notes
1896-97	Sat 12-12-1896	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	Boulevard The Boulevard (Stadium) The Boulevard was a multi-purpose stadium in Hull, England. The venue was saved from demolition and reopened on 25 October 2007 as the home of greyhound racing in the city. It can also be used as a community stadium hosting amateur rugby league matches...	A	Draw	0-0
1896-97	Sat 13-03-1897	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	H	H	Draw	8-8
1896-97	Sat 27/03/1897	CCR2	St Helens	A	A	Lost	3-17
1897-98	Sat 04-12-1897	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	H	H	Draw	8-8
1897-98	Sat 26-02-1898	CC R1	Wigan Wigan Warriors Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....	H	H	Won	18-2
1897-98	Sat 02-04-1898	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	Boulevard The Boulevard (Stadium) The Boulevard was a multi-purpose stadium in Hull, England. The venue was saved from demolition and reopened on 25 October 2007 as the home of greyhound racing in the city. It can also be used as a community stadium hosting amateur rugby league matches...	A	Lost	0-8
1898-99	Sat 22-10-1898	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	H	H	Lost	8-21
1898-99	Sat 28-01-1899	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	Boulevard The Boulevard (Stadium) The Boulevard was a multi-purpose stadium in Hull, England. The venue was saved from demolition and reopened on 25 October 2007 as the home of greyhound racing in the city. It can also be used as a community stadium hosting amateur rugby league matches...	A	Lost	0-21
1899-00	Sat 11-11-1899	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	Boulevard The Boulevard (Stadium) The Boulevard was a multi-purpose stadium in Hull, England. The venue was saved from demolition and reopened on 25 October 2007 as the home of greyhound racing in the city. It can also be used as a community stadium hosting amateur rugby league matches...	A	Lost	0-20
1899-00	Sat 17-02-1900	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	H	H	Lost	0-8
1900-01	Sat 24-11-1900	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	H	H	Won	6-3
1900-01	Sat 16-03-1901	YSC	Hull Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition...	Boulevard The Boulevard (Stadium) The Boulevard was a multi-purpose stadium in Hull, England. The venue was saved from demolition and reopened on 25 October 2007 as the home of greyhound racing in the city. It can also be used as a community stadium hosting amateur rugby league matches...	A	Lost	4-16
1900-01	Sat 13-04-1901	CC SF	Warrington Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....	unknown	N	Lost	5-21	1
1901-02	Sat 22-03-1902	CC R2	Wigan Wigan Warriors Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....	H	H	Won	16-0
1903-04	Sat 12-12-1903	RL	St Helens	Knowsley Rd Knowsley Road Knowsley Road was a stadium located in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home of St Helens RLFC from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted Liverpool FC Reserves...	A	Won	7-0
1903-04	Sat 09-04-1904	RL	St Helens	A	H	Lost	3-31

Early history

Northern Union

The end

Successor club

Players of note

Club scoring record

Club league record

Several fixtures and results

See also

External links