THEY have knocked for the last time.
A once-thriving dominoes league in Huddersfield has folded after 60 years.
Leeds Road and Bradford Road Dominoes League has been forced to close after league officials were unable to find another team.
The league, which had 82 teams in 1986, this year dwindled to just five, one too few for a league.
An appeal in the Examiner, and followed up on TV, sparked interest from pubs and clubs in the area, roughly within a three-mile radius of Leeds and Bradford Road.
But none were able to find the 12 players necessary for a team.
The decline of local pubs and clubs, with pub companies shutting many of them and others struggling to meet the challenge of cheap booze in the supermarkets, has delivered the death blow to countless teams.
Since the 1994/5 season 20 pubs and clubs which had teams in the league have closed.
They include the Red Lion, Lockwood, Fartown WMC and Kirkgate Inn, in Huddersfield town centre.
The neighbouring Primrose Hill and Newsome Darts and Dominoes League, which is still hanging on, has lost 20 teams because of pub and club closures.
John Brennan, of Almondbury, had been secretary of the league since 1976, and was captain of St Patrick’s Catholic Club dominoes team, one of the five remaining teams.
But Mr Brennan, who launched the failed appeal, believes the league could reform if another team is found.
He said: “We tried all sorts of different things.
“We could alter the structure of the league and maybe get another league together.
“I’m very disappointed. I came into this tradition in 1976 and we’ve been running it ever since.
“We built it up to a massive league – but times change. We’ve tried our best.
“Now on Tuesdays I stay in and watch TV. It’s a shame really.”
Anyone interested in forming a dominoes team should call John: 01484 302259 or 07983 903878.
