Rugby League thread

[meeesh]

When you look at major trophies won: Wire (12 major trophies), Bradford (14 major trophies), Hull (11 major trophies), Huddersfield (13 major trophies), Swinton (9 major trophies), Widnes (10 major trophies)... all big clubs.

When you look at crowd sizes, both now and historically, Wire have (apart from the last decades of Wildespool) always been up there. You don’t get the biggest crowd in all Northern English sporting history going to watch a small club.

Wire are the only club to have never been relegated n’all.

If Wire are small, so are City Spurs Everton Newcastle Sunderland etc. in football.

But again, I only ever have to come up with reasoning around this to Liverpool, United and Saints fans for both City and Wire. In conversations between normal sports fans, this topic of “big club” never crops up.

Without even having won as many trophies as other clubs, you can be considered big and having a “history” through other ways too.

Salford have won 7 major trophies in their time but when they went to the South of France in the 1930s and the French gave them the name Les Diables Rouge, that is something historical that’s remembered as much as any title win. “Classy Cas” is another example, that Cas team of the 60s only won two Challenge Cups but earnt that nickname mainly from their playing style. But the name sticks to this day as much as any name given to any successful team. “Classy Cas” is a more famous name than “The Entertainers” that Saints were given for their 00s team even though that team won a treble one year and a fair few other honours around that time.

Pretty much sums up my sporting supporting life really,I used to go and watch Wigan when they were shit,then they came good and was the best team the British game has ever seen,exactly like City really,because they were shit when I started going in 83,but look what happens these days,so can’t complain about my two sporting loves in my life,problem is they both might go shit again before I leave this world,but not for a long time yet on both counts I hope !!!

Here’s a name for you when I first started watching Wigan -Green Vigo,get him googled or actually you may have heard of him to be fair,he was one of the main men way back then !

 

[lefty goldblatt]

(as an Oldham player) Green Vigo stiff armed a 16 year old Paul Bishop straight across the throat. Bishop swallowed his tongue.

VERY distressing scenes

 

[meeesh]

(as an Oldham player) Green Vigo stiff armed a 16 year old Paul Bishop straight across the throat. Bishop swallowed his tongue.

VERY distressing scenes

Not nice that but there was loads of that shit going on back in the day,by loads of players I may add

 

[Blue and still suffering]

I have barely watched Salford in the last 20 years but went home and away for several years. Mostly shite years it has to be said. Dreamt of getting to a CC cup final. The year we get there, I cannot go. Gutted.

Can remember watching the final against Cas in 69 as a young lad being gutted when they got beat as I was hoping for a double that year with City winning the cup.
Always seemed to reach the semis and never win. Thought it was going to be our year in 2018 but lost against Wigan again.
The noise in the Salford end at the start of that game was the loudest I have ever heard.
Grand final at the Swamp last year but we were beaten by the better side.
Would have been at the Etihad south next Saturday under normal circumstances but will be watching on the tele instead
I see the Salford Reds arising!!

 

[DazWA9]

Maybe.
Maybe not.
But at least we're not plastic scousers. I'll leave that one with you.

Doesn't bother me fella, I always make a point to state my postcode as Lancashire, which it is..

 

[Ancient Citizen]

When you look at major trophies won: Wire (12 major trophies), Bradford (14 major trophies), Hull (11 major trophies), Huddersfield (13 major trophies), Swinton (9 major trophies), Widnes (10 major trophies)... all big clubs.

When you look at crowd sizes, both now and historically, Wire have (apart from the last decades of Wildespool) always been up there. You don’t get the biggest crowd in all Northern English sporting history going to watch a small club.

Wire are the only club to have never been relegated n’all.

If Wire are small, so are City Spurs Everton Newcastle Sunderland etc. in football.

But again, I only ever have to come up with reasoning around this to Liverpool, United and Saints fans for both City and Wire. In conversations between normal sports fans, this topic of “big club” never crops up.

Without even having won as many trophies as other clubs, you can be considered big and having a “history” through other ways too.

Salford have won 7 major trophies in their time but when they went to the South of France in the 1930s and the French gave them the name Les Diables Rouge, that is something historical that’s remembered as much as any title win. “Classy Cas” is another example, that Cas team of the 60s only won two Challenge Cups but earnt that nickname mainly from their playing style. But the name sticks to this day as much as any name given to any successful team. “Classy Cas” is a more famous name than “The Entertainers” that Saints were given for their 00s team even though that team won a treble one year and a fair few other honours around that time.

The game where Wire replayed the Challenge cup, 1954? Not googling but I’m pretty sure that was the year, was played at Bradfords Odsell stadium. My dad was there, and the crowd was 102,000, again, from memory, Apparently, there were multiple thousands outside who could not get in. This was the biggest crowd of any Sport outside London, so I was told.
Rugby League in those days had enormous following, virtually every bloke in the towns where it was, went.

 

[Ancient Citizen]

Sorry been out all day just seen this response

All as I can say is boyhood hero of mine that fella that lives near you

For me, Hanley is the classiest player I’ve ever seen. Jonathan Davies was up there too, but Alex Murphy has to be number 1 IMO, I watched Leigh beat the mighty Leeds at Wembley, and he virtually won it on his own.

 

[meeesh]

For me, Hanley is the classiest player I’ve ever seen. Jonathan Davies was up there too, but Alex Murphy has to be number 1 IMO, I watched Leigh beat the mighty Leeds at Wembley, and he virtually won it on his own.

Ah,another character from days gone by,great player,little bastard mind,even though he did coach Wigan,saying that though Hanley did his fair share of winning games on his own,upper body strength was unreal.

 

[Ancient Citizen]

Ah,another character from days gone by,great player,little bastard mind,even though he did coach Wigan,saying that though Hanley did his fair share of winning games on his own,upper body strength was unreal.

Yes, you couldn’t pull the bloke down, that’s even if anyone managed to catch him in the first place. Explosive power, a jink that fooled everyone and a great Rugby brain. Hanley was class.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

The game where Wire replayed the Challenge cup, 1954? Not googling but I’m pretty sure that was the year, was played at Bradfords Odsell stadium. My dad was there, and the crowd was 102,000, again, from memory, Apparently, there were multiple thousands outside who could not get in. This was the biggest crowd of any Sport outside London, so I was told.
Rugby League in those days had enormous following, virtually every bloke in the towns where it was, went.

I’ve got a pic of the crowd at Odsell that day in my book on the history of RL. Rammed isn’t the word and I bet the crowd weren’t shouting offside every time the opposition passed the ball like the Bulls supporters used to do lol.