Earlier Teams

Evie Godfrey

colour photo of Wyke Challenge Cup- a silver metal cup trophy with a player figure on top, against a white wall, sitting atop a varnished wood surface

Clubs > Siddal > Earlier Teams

Earlier Teams

The first mention of rugby in the Siddal area is for a team called Siddal Hornets who were around in the 1870’s and 1880’s. Then came the Exley based Siddal Victoria club which was formed out of the ashes of Salterhebble Athletic in 1894. Siddal Victoria played each season through to 1901. They had started in the days of Rugby Union, but after moving over  to Northern Union they had spells in both the Huddersfield and Halifax Northern Union local leagues. They had no connection with the Siddal team of today, indeed they changed their name to Salterhebble after 1901. Under that name they were to reach the local cup final in 1905 but had to move from their ground at Exley to Bank Top in 1906.

Also playing in the 1890’s was Shaw Lodge who played at Clipstone Hall in Siddal. They were winners of the Wyke Challenge Cup in 1894-95.

colour photo of Wyke Challenge Cup- a silver metal cup trophy with a player figure on top, against a white wall, sitting atop a varnished wood surfaceTheir captain in the final was Samuel Holland, who was later to become chairman and president of the Siddal club.

Another team which sometimes played in Siddal was Caddy Field who acquired a former ground of Bank Top Free Wanderers known as The Pump Field in Southowram and took over from Salterhebble as the prominent team in the area. In 1908 they became the first winners of the Intermediate League championship trophy, presented by league official Joe Nichol, a former Halifax player and joint owner of Nichol & Brown Sports shop in town. They also won the same trophy again in 1908-09 and in 1909-10, Caddy Field went on to beat Hull Old Boys in the Yorkshire Intermediate Cup Final at Parkside, Hunslet.