Chapter 6. Continued Growth

The league continued to develop. It was still widely referred to as the Intermediate League, or The Inters, not least in the Halifax newspapers, but in reality was now including older players and morphing into the Halifax & District Junior League, which it was to officially become later – in 1911. Catherine Slack were a significant new team to the 1st Division in 1909, their ground given as Fleet Lane in Queensbury and later Cavendish Park, behind the Cavendish Inn; they were to be champions in 1910-11 when they beat Elland Wanderers in the Championship Final at Thrum Hall. Boothtown Vics (sharing with Claremount and others at Shibden) joined the 2nd division alongside a new Thrum Hall Juniors, though neither outlived the one season. Thrum Hall Juniors had no known connection with the earlier Thrum Hall club, and played on a different field at Sally Mattock’s. An artillery team known as 5th Battery RFA also figured for a while from a field at Park Farm on Lister’s Road at Godley, having first used the Pheasant ground.

The original Hebden Bridge club had folded in 1907, but was reformed in 1910, now playing at Nell Carr, Wadsworth, after being unable to reach a deal for Calder Holme. By 1912 they were at Old Chamber, which was said to be difficult to access and affected crowd numbers, but they were always well-placed in the league table.

The Luddenden Foot name was also back in the fixtures for 1910, playing at Ellen Royd Lane, and in 1911 Todmorden returned too, on a field at Rough, near Swineshead in Langfield. Hebden Bridge and Todmorden were both able to move down from the hills to valley-bottom grounds later, Todmorden at Sandholme and Hebden Bridge to share with Mytholmroyd soccer team. Luddenden Foot only lasted until 1912, but the others fared well in the remaining pre-First World War years.

The 1911 Final had repercussions. The match had been locked at 8-8 after 80 minutes, requiring extra time, but had already been rough with a player from each side sent off. Slack scored to lead 13-8 as passions got further out of hand, and at the final whistle more blows were struck and a Slack player badly kicked. Spectators, mostly it was said from Elland, joined in and the cup could not be presented. At the ensuing enquiry Elland Wanderers received much condemnation, a player being accused of ordering his team-mates to “kick their **** heads off” during extra time. The outcome was that Wanderers were thrown out of the league, though they appealed to higher authorities and were later reinstated after their officials promised better behaviour in future.

The move towards open-age players continued though was not universally welcome among officials. The original aim of the league had been to “inculcate in youths the desire to play the game” and with the object of helping Halifax NUFC. “Once past 21, we’re not doing this,” said one member in 1911, while another expressed the view that “a man of 25 years of age was finished as far as Northern Union play was concerned.”

The Yorkshire Intermediate Cup remained for Under 21s, but the only clubs who could now make a team of Under 21s were Campbell’s, Elland Wanderers and Sowerby Bridge. Caddy Field had eight such players and asked permission to borrow five or more from Beacon Hill, but were denied.

New fleeting teams at Hove Edge and one called Celtic United who played from the Pheasant ground where they were co-tenants with Campbell’s, plus the Rastrick side who had been operating in the Huddersfield & District League, took league numbers up to eleven in 1911. South Parade had also joined, but when the only pitch they could find was on The Moor, they soon withdrew. The Huddersfield League officials attended a meeting and suggested the two leagues could arrange joint matches, but Halifax clubs expressed worries about the cost and long journeys, and rejected the suggestion on a vote. Rastrick, with two ex-Halifax players (Albert Howarth and Fred Atkins), were stronger than most and immediately challenged for honours with Beacon Hill, Campbell’s and Elland Wanderers.

Elland Wanderers were now well to the fore. In season 1912-13 they won through to the first round of the Challenge Cup, where they were drawn at home to Wakefield Trinity. They turned down the opportunity to switch the game to Belle Vue, a crowd of 5,000 turning up at Old Earth to witness a plucky display. Wanderers led 2-0 at half-time, but lost in the end by 15-2.

A new club to the League in 1912 were Keighley Zingari. There had been an earlier Keighley Zingari, but this version (The Zigs) were formed in 1908, closely connected to the senior Keighley club who had joined the senior ranks in 1900. Zingari played on their ground at Lawkholme Lane as a feeder club. They were at the time the only open-age club in Keighley and had previously been in the Bradford & District League, with occasional friendly matches against Halifax League teams before they officially joined. They also featured in the Leeds & District League alongside the “A” teams of Halifax, Leeds, Hunslet, Batley and York. They won the Halifax Charity Cup in both 1912 and 1914, as other Keighley sides were to do in later years.

A second out-of-town team were Wyke, who joined in 1913. They emulated Zingari by winning the Halifax Charity Cup, beating Elland Wanderers in the 1915 Final, and also won the league championship that season. Rastrick and Todmorden were the other leading open-age sides at this time, while also playing were Catherine Slack, Elland Wanderers, Hebden Bridge, Mill Bank and Campbell’s. Sowerby Bridge had disbanded, but there was a new team in the area in 1913 when Sowerby Free Wanderers were formed, acquiring a field at White Windows; future international hooker Alf Milnes was one of their products. There was also very briefly a team called Sowerby Bridge Ambulance Band.

But at the same time the open age league was strengthening, the Intermediate division now had falling numbers, rugby having next to no presence in schools. A saving grace was evening schools. With the school leaving age just 13 or 14 for most, youngsters up to the age of 18 often continued their education after work, when evening schools operated in day school buildings. One was at Siddal School, where a rugby team was established, moving on to join the Intermediate League in 1913. Although it was an evening school team to start with, it grew into the Siddal club that plays today – the first of the present-day Halifax-based clubs to be formed. Whilst the line through to the present day is not a straightforward continuous one, with mention in the press of the club being “re-formed” in 1922 to take over Gledhill’s league fixtures for example, there is enough of a link with 1913 to make the connection. So when in 1918 half-back Frank Hopkinson signed for Halifax he became the first ex-Siddaler to turn professional.

Siddal were not then at Chevinedge, the land then being Halifax Zoo which continued to 1916 and only cleared for sports purposes in 1921 by Siddal ex-Servicemen soccer club, its first users. Siddal rugby played on the old Salterhebble pitch until Halifax Town took it over, were on a field at Illingworth for a time, then back in Siddal on land above Morton’s Brickworks known as “North Pole”. Changing accommodation was in local pubs.

The Courier newspaper owners opted to encourage such youngsters and donated a Courier Cup for the furtherance of junior football, intended for Boy Scouts, Boys Brigade and other organisations connected with boy life, age range 13-16. They also gave a “Courier Bowl” for an evening school competition; Siddal became its first winners on Easter Tuesday in 1914, beating Parkinson Lane Evening School at Thrum Hall, the losing semi-finalists being Akroyd Place and Lee Mount.

Ovenden evening school, like Siddal, progressed to the Intermediate League (Under-21s), now operating with fewer members. Those involved in the years leading up to 1914 were Elland Wanderers, Beacon Hill, Mill Bank and resurrected teams at King Cross and South Parade. Elland Wanderers beat Mill Bank in the 1913-14 Intermediate Championship Final, played at White Windows when Thrum Hall was unavailable because of cricket interests; Sowerby Brass Band was on hand to further entertain the crowd.

The King Cross team played on Savile Park, using Haugh Shaw Council School and later The Royal Oak on Haugh Shaw Road as changing rooms, one of their stars being Cyril Stacey who was signed by Halifax and went on to earn a place on Great Britain’s 1920 tour to Australia and New Zealand. Ovenden were reported as playing at Grove Farm and later the nearby Friendly Fields, both subsequently lost to housing, while Elland were still at Old Earth and Beacon Hill still at Southowram, but with dressing facilities having changed from the Cock and Bottle to the Pack Horse Inn.

Meanwhile, Brighouse Rangers had reformed in 1913. They acquired the same ground at Lane Head however, which enabled them to join the Yorkshire Combination rather than the Halifax League. The Combination included the reserve sides of senior clubs and other strong sides, so unsurprisingly they found the going tough there, but did reach the final of the Yorkshire Junior Cup.

Halifax Territorials, from the Drill Hall, were another new team in 1913, playing on the ground at Godley previously used by the defunct 5th Battery artillery team. They made a promising start without challenging the league’s leading sides, but almost won the Charity Cup Final, missing out by just 3 points to 2 against Keighley Zingari.