Let us delve into the archives this week with a section from ‘Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants’.

Seeking winter time sporting thrills, on Saturday 27 January 1866, 20 members of the Huddersfield Athletic Club and ‘a similar number of members of the local Rifle Corps’ played a ‘football match’ on the Rifle Field. The match was drawn, scoreless, and a second was arranged which, after several postponements, was played in late February 1866, this time with 15 players per side.

Future developments at the club strongly suggest that the type of ‘football’ played in these matches would have resembled rugby union. The Football Association (FA) had been formed and had written its first set of rules in 1863, formalising the split between the association football and what would become rugby football. The formation of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in 1871 crystallised the divergence of football into two distinct codes. There is no evidence that the FA’s rules of 1863 had any bearing on the football played by members of the Huddersfield Athletic Club.

At the Huddersfield Athletic Club’s second Annual General Meeting (AGM) in November 1866, Mr A Bradley announced that the club, now comprising 194 members, was to form a football section. Members of the football section began to play amongst themselves at the Rifle Field on December 1, but received little practical support from the committee and, although the club had over £154 in the bank, no financial support.

They briefly moved from the Rifle Field in October 1867 when Mr Edward Brooke, a vice-president of the club, made a field available to them. He also organised an exhibition match between teams representing Manchester and Leeds, which was played at Fieldhouse, off Leeds Road.

A large crowd enjoyed the novel spectacle, some of them closely studying techniques, team formations and tactics that they could aspire to.

Pictured at the Senior Giants launch are (from left): book editors Brian Heywood, Stuart Sheard, David Thorpe, David Smith and Professor Tony Collins

Other exhibition matches were arranged, including two between Liberals and Conservatives.

Inspired by these displays and by the provision of a field on which to practice at the home of one of their players, Percy Learoyd, Huddersfield Athletic Club at last assembled ‘a proper team.’

The football section began to run itself as a semi-independent entity, electing Fred Learoyd as Chairman and Mr HB Dransfield as secretary.

As the HAC still provided no financial assistance, playing members paid a subscription of 2s 6d to cover running costs and rent of the Rifle Field for matches.

Coming right bang up to date, the Huddersfield Cup will take place at the Dram Centre on July 22nd.

There will be a whole host of entertainment with the event being in memory of John Colleta.

John was just 19 when he was killed in a car crash in November, 1997.

The Dalton teenager was a second team player tipped for a bright future in the sport.

Keep up-to-date with HGSA through our website, www.GiantsSupporters.co.uk .