Castleford Tigers Heritage
On 17th February 1926 a meeting was held in The Belle Vue Hotel, Bradford, involving representatives from every member club of the Northern Rugby League. An important item on the agenda was the application for membership of the League from the Castleford club, who were, at the time, members of the Yorkshire Senior Competition. This was the third application from the club in three years; the previous year’s application having been narrowly rejected after the vote ended in a tie.
The Belle Vue Hotel, Bradford
Determined to succeed this time, the club undertook extensive preparations to make sure it would be “third time lucky”. They appointed a Promotion Committee to deal with every aspect of the application and, fearing that another rejection could lead to the club folding, adopted the slogan “Distinction or Extinction”. The committee members were Councillor F Scatchard (Chair), CW Penfold, F Smith, J Williams, F Briggs and R Rhodes, and one of the first actions taken was to propose the formation of a limited company should the bid for league membership be successful. The committee felt this would provide financial stability for the club, and by the time of the league meeting pledges totalling £500 had been made. The committee also contacted every member club to present their case and build support for the club’s application, personally engaging representatives of a number of Lancashire clubs when they attended the draw for the First Round of the Rugby League Challenge Cup in Manchester. By the time of the league meeting, 17 clubs - including Wakefield Trinity and Featherstone Rovers who were acting as proposers and seconders for the application – had promised support. While this promised a comfortable majority, the committee remained cautious and committed to securing the vote.
Training session July 1926
Aware that the ground at the Sandy Desert didn’t meet required standards, the committee had also reached an agreement with Castleford Town Football Club to purchase their ground on Wheldon Lane should the application be successful. A loan of £800 had already been agreed with the Northern Rugby League to fund the purchase.
Aerial view from above the River Aire.
The pitch is in the top of the picture.
Having done everything they could off the field, the Challenge Cup draw provided the club with an opportunity to demonstrate what they could deliver on the field. Castleford had been drawn at home to St Helens Recs, who were currently lying 5th in the league table. In anticipation of a large crowd, the club arranged to play the match at the home of the local football club, and so Castleford played their first ever competitive match on the Wheldon Lane pitch.
View of the pitch
St Helens Recs were one of the league’s leading clubs at this time, going on to finish the following season as league leaders before being beaten in the Championship Final by Swinton. The team that faced Castleford included Dolan, Fildes and Wallace, who were all international players, although the local players were determined not to be overawed.
St Helens Recs Programme Front Page & Team Sheet
So, on 13th February 1926, just four days before the meeting that would decide Castleford’s future, a crowd of over 8,000 – a club record at the time - turned up to see how Castleford fared against their senior opponents. As the first half progressed a shock result seemed unlikely and the Recs built a comfortable 11-2 half time lead. However, Castleford were not going to give up without a fight and started the second half strongly. Against the odds, they scored two unanswered tries to take a 12-11 lead midway through the second half. Unfortunately, the match didn’t have a fairy-tale ending as the St Helens team finished strongly. A late converted try and a penalty gave the visitors an 18-12 win. Nevertheless, Castleford had demonstrated that, not only had vast strides been taken off the field, but they also had the playing talent to challenge one of the best teams in the country.
Cas Team 1925
And so the day of the meeting arrived. The Castleford contingent travelled to the meeting at the Belle Vue Hotel in Bradford to present the club’s case. The club were represented by CW Penfold, W Smith, Cllr F Scatchard, P Fell, F Briggs, F Smith and AT Lazenby. At the outset of the meeting, the chairman, JW Wood of Bramley, told the assembled representatives that he had recently visited Castleford and he was confident that this was a place deserving of a first-class club. Mr Penfold was then asked to present the case on behalf of the club. He emphasised the work done to improve the club’s financial standing and facilities, and the town’s enthusiasm for the game, illustrated by the recent formation of the Castleford and District Junior League. He and his colleagues from the club then withdrew from the room whilst the vote took place.
However, within a quarter of an hour they were invited back into the meeting to be informed that they had been unanimously elected to the Northern Rugby League. They were enthusiastically received by the delegates from the other clubs as they realised that, finally, all the years of effort had paid off.
Allan Humphries