A book about the history of rugby league in Huddersfield has been launched today.
Produced by members of the town’s RL Heritage Project, it is called Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: A History of Rugby League in Huddersfield and is expected to prove highly popular among fans of the oval-ball game.
Embellished by much original research, the book relates original stories and new perspectives on the way the game has developed since the first Huddersfield rugby club was formed in 1864.
It obviously focuses on the formation of rugby league and its birth at Huddersfield’s George Hotel in August 1895 and the rise of the famous claret and gold club from its historic former Fartown base.
It then goes on to provide a thorough insight into the broad shoulders of Giants on which the modern club and game stand, including a look at the individual heroes who were part of Huddersfield’s ‘Team of all Talents’ who won all four trophies in 1914-15 and those who were part of the ‘League of Nations’ and helped to create Huddersfield’s other golden era in the early 1950s.
Collectively, they inspired a generation of fans who stuck with the club when the collapse of local manufacturing industries was almost mirrored by the demise of the club.
Foremost among these supporters were Keith Burhouse and his family, who led superhuman efforts that sustained the club until better times arrived in the form of the McAlpine Stadium and, shortly afterwards, Ken Davy.
The chairman since 1996, Mr Davy is a modern-day Giant whose input has driven the club’s progress to the top of the game with Huddersfield Giants winning the Super League Leaders Shield in 2013 as the claret and gold finished at the top of the rugby league tree for the first time in 81 years.
But as well as a look at the town’s professional club, the book doesn’t forget the amateur game with the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) also founded in the town in 1973, led by officials from the Huddersfield and District League. BARLA has developed a progressive league structure for amateur clubs, encouraged women’s rugby league, and remains one of the game’s significant developments.
In other words, when it comes to rugby league in Huddersfield, this book leaves no stone unturned.
Priced at £10 the book will be available from June 3rd at the Huddersfield Giants Club Shop, Waterstones and WH Smiths in Huddersfield, the Tolson Museum and Huddersfield Tourist Information Centre.
