Clubs > King Cross Park > Origins of Park Amateurs

Origins of Park Amateurs

The club’s origins can be traced back to the early 1940’s  when in 1940 a Schools League was formed with teams playing from Haugh Shaw, Sunnyside, Battinson Road, Holy Trinity, St Joseph’s and, importantly, St Mary’s. Whilst there is direct connection between this school side and later clubs it is certainly no coincidence that in 1943-44 there was a St Mary’s Boys Club Under-17 side which could be counted as the first appearance of the club to later become Park Amateurs and subsequently King Cross Park. It began at the boys’ club in Bedford Street, connected with St Mary’s Catholic Church. St. Mary’s were the Halifax Champions is 1944-45 and won a cup competition at Thrum Hall against Boothtown.

The St. Mary’s Boys Club was a well-known sports club in the area producing footballer Lawrence Ward (Bradford City, Bradford Park Avenue and Halifax Town) together with superfast winger Terry Higgins  (rugby union who was later the owner of Jack Lee Sports shop). Terry’s centre at St Mary’s was Joe Mageen who went on to start at Bradford Northern, Halifax and Hull KR. Halifax great, Ken Dean, also started his Rugby League at St, Mary’s.

After some success, this early iteration of St. Mary’s operated only for a few years. It was disbanded after the 1951-52 season reportedly due to lack of players as men were frequently called up for National Service.