Keighley Cougars: Difference between revisions
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At the annual meeting of the club in 1878, shortly after the headquarters had been moved to Dalton Lane, a second XV was formed. Keighley Athletic were formed on the 27th of October 1879. There was some rivalry with those who had set up the new club, but a couple of years later these differences had been settled, and on the 24th of March 1881 a merger was agreed between the two clubs. |
At the annual meeting of the club in 1878, shortly after the headquarters had been moved to Dalton Lane, a second XV was formed. Keighley Athletic were formed on the 27th of October 1879. There was some rivalry with those who had set up the new club, but a couple of years later these differences had been settled, and on the 24th of March 1881 a merger was agreed between the two clubs. |
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| ⚫ | In March 1882, the team figured in the Yorkshire Cup for the first time. They met Wakefield Trinity, who were one of the top sides. During that year, a match with Hunslet was played under Association rules which ended in a draw. It was probably the only Association game ever played by the town's club. |
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Keighley officially joined the Rugby Union on Tuesday, the 8th of April 1879, and the following year, in a match at Bingley, there was a peculiar incident. A report of the game states that Bradbury attempted a drop goal, but the ball passed under the crossbar, and Bairstow, following up, touched down. Bingley would not concede the try, alleging that the player who obtained it was offside, and due to their refusal to allow the ball to be brought out, the home players left the field and the game was unfinished. |
Keighley officially joined the Rugby Union on Tuesday, the 8th of April 1879, and the following year, in a match at Bingley, there was a peculiar incident. A report of the game states that Bradbury attempted a drop goal, but the ball passed under the crossbar, and Bairstow, following up, touched down. Bingley would not concede the try, alleging that the player who obtained it was offside, and due to their refusal to allow the ball to be brought out, the home players left the field and the game was unfinished. |
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By the end of season 1880-1881, the membership of the club was 80; ten honorary members and 70 playing members. In 1882-83 "the team had a most successful experience". Gate receipts reached £58 and expenditure was £32. |
By the end of season 1880-1881, the membership of the club was 80; ten honorary members and 70 playing members. In 1882-83 "the team had a most successful experience". Gate receipts reached £58 and expenditure was £32. |
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| ⚫ | In March 1882, the team figured in the Yorkshire Cup for the first time. They met Wakefield Trinity, who were one of the top sides. During that year, a match with Hunslet was played under Association rules which ended in a draw. It was probably the only Association game ever played by the town's club. |
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In April 1885, the club merged with Keighley Cricket and Football Club, and from that time the club played on the Lawkholme Lane ground. Soon membership had risen to 300 and dressing rooms and headquarters were established at the Black Horse Hotel. The first game at Lawkholme took place on October 10th 1885, against Liversedge. The club's fixture list was improved and in 1886-87 played clubs such as Hipperholme and Lightcliffe, Bramley, Otley, York, Shipley, Ossett, Bingley, Pudsey, Halifax Free Wanderers, Morley, Skipton and Hunslet. |
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===Northern Union=== |
===Northern Union=== |
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Revision as of 20:02, 27 April 2007
| Cougar | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Keighley Cougars Rugby League Football Club |
| Colours | Red, green, blue and white |
| Founded | 1876 |
| Website | http://www.keighleycougars.info/ |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) | |
| Competition | Rugby League National League Two |
Keighley Cougars are a semi-professional rugby league team from Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. They currently play in National League 2. Their home ground, Cougar Park (originally known as Lawkholme Lane), has an estimated capacity of 7,800.
History
Early years
The club was formed at a meeting held on 17 October 1876 under the presidency of the Reverend Marriner. A committee was elected and the club were allowed the use of a field in Lawkholme Lane.
The first kick-off took place on Saturday afternoon, October 21st and the committee met again on October the 24th and decided to adopt Association and Rugby football laws. On 18th November 1876, the first game took place at Lawkholme Lane. The visitors were Crosshills and although the game ended in a draw, there are records, which say, "the draw was in the visitors' favour".
The first important match appears to have been played on January 13th 1877 against Bingley. Under the scoring system of the day, the visitors won by two tries and two touchdowns to two touchdowns. Keighley also lost a further two games against Bingley.
One of the earliest games of the following season was a fixture with Kildwick on October 13th 1877 when Keighley won by one goal to five touchdowns. Other teams met during that second season were Bradford Zingari, Manningham, Cleckheaton, Leeds Athletic, Skipton and Bradford Juniors. Up to April 1878, Keighley and Bingley had met seven times with Keighley losing every match.
At the annual meeting of the club in 1878, shortly after the headquarters had been moved to Dalton Lane, a second XV was formed. Keighley Athletic were formed on the 27th of October 1879. There was some rivalry with those who had set up the new club, but a couple of years later these differences had been settled, and on the 24th of March 1881 a merger was agreed between the two clubs.
Keighley officially joined the Rugby Union on Tuesday, the 8th of April 1879, and the following year, in a match at Bingley, there was a peculiar incident. A report of the game states that Bradbury attempted a drop goal, but the ball passed under the crossbar, and Bairstow, following up, touched down. Bingley would not concede the try, alleging that the player who obtained it was offside, and due to their refusal to allow the ball to be brought out, the home players left the field and the game was unfinished.
By the end of season 1880-1881, the membership of the club was 80; ten honorary members and 70 playing members. In 1882-83 "the team had a most successful experience". Gate receipts reached £58 and expenditure was £32.
In March 1882, the team figured in the Yorkshire Cup for the first time. They met Wakefield Trinity, who were one of the top sides. During that year, a match with Hunslet was played under Association rules which ended in a draw. It was probably the only Association game ever played by the town's club.
In April 1885, the club merged with Keighley Cricket and Football Club, and from that time the club played on the Lawkholme Lane ground. Soon membership had risen to 300 and dressing rooms and headquarters were established at the Black Horse Hotel. The first game at Lawkholme took place on October 10th 1885, against Liversedge. The club's fixture list was improved and in 1886-87 played clubs such as Hipperholme and Lightcliffe, Bramley, Otley, York, Shipley, Ossett, Bingley, Pudsey, Halifax Free Wanderers, Morley, Skipton and Hunslet.
Northern Union
In 1902/3, The Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues were combined to form a second division. Keighley was one of the new clubs to join the second division, which they topped with 27 wins out of 34 games.
Keighley had their greatest cup season up to that time. They reached the semi-final of the Challenge Cup for the first time by beating Castleford, Egremont, Hull and Featherstone Rovers before falling to Salford in the semi-final at Warrington.
An old newspaper clipping says that "dissatisfaction among the players with regard to terms of payment was the reason for this defeat, and but for this very discreditable piece of business Keighley would have opposed Bradford in the final".
December 19th 1906, tragedy overtook the club when Harry Myers died as a result of an accident on the field of play.
About that time Keighley were one of the leading teams in the Challange Cup and again in 1907-08 they advanced to the third round by virtue of wins over Brookland Rovers and Whitehaven.
During the years of the First World War the club arranged no fixtures and did not take part in the 1918-9 season. When the game returned to normal there was a hectic period of team rebuilding, and following a really bad season in 1921, six new players were signed from the Furness district.
The 1925-26 season was memorable for a first round Challenge cup-tie with Bradford Northern which had to be replayed twice. The aggregate attendance for those three games was nearly 47,000 and the total gate receipts of £3,043 constituted a record for a first round tie.
The club became a limited company in 1929, but failed to make any immediate improvement. During the 1930s, Keighley began to make progress. Major Norman Harrison, the club secretary/manager, was responsible for signing a side that was to reach great heights.
The big coup in 1932, when Ted Spillane, the New Zealand halfback signed for the side. That season saw hundreds of lost supporters return and gates reached unprecedented heights. The result was that the directors launched a big scheme of ground improvements. The new stand and improvements were opened on September 9th 1933 when Leeds were the visitors to Lawkholme, and though that particular match was lost the season was to be a notable one.
With such fine forwards as Hal Jones and George Dixon from Wigan, and Jimmy Gill from Leeds, already having joined Keighley during their period of revival, there came more important signings in the letter half of the 1930s.
Keighley played in their first and so far only Challenge Cup final in 1937. Having beaten Hunslet, Broughton Rangers, Liverpool Stanley in earlier rounds they played Wakefield in the semi-final. The first semi-final, held in Leeds on the third of April, was a scoreless draw, but four days later at Huddersfield, Keighley beat Wakefield Trinity 5-3. However, Widnes won the final 18-5.
After their Wembley appearence, Keighley again suffered a decline. In November, 1938, they were at the top of the Rugby League table, for the first time ever, for a spell of three weeks, but this form was not maintained and they finished 16th with 17 wins, 17 defeats and two draws.
The main reason for the club's decline was that veterans were not replaced quickly enough, and the one promising young player, Reggie Lloyd, was transferred to Castleford in 1938. In the season after Wembley, Keighley were 13th in the league table. This was to be the last season of competitive peacetime rugby before the Second World war.
Keighley and Bradford Northern became regular cup-tie opponents during the war years. In season 1941-42 Keighley lost both legs in the first round of the Challenge Cup, but got their revenge a year later when they triumphed home and away in the second round of the same competition.
Post war
Guest players who had played for Keighley during the war years returned to their own clubs when regular competition was resumed in 1945. There were also a number of local players who had joined the club during the war years who blossomed into notable members of the senior side. Keighley finished sixth from the bottom of the league table.
On February 14th 1948, Keighley were the victims of one of the biggest Challenge Cup upsets when they were defeated 2-10 by Cumbrian junior club, Risehow and Gillhead. Fortunately for Keighley they had established an 11-0 lead in the first leg of first round at Lawkholme, though they only scraped home on aggregate by a matter of three points.
Cougar-mania
In 1991/1992 Mick O'Neil, Mike Smith and Neil Spencer joined the board at Keighley RLFC and embarked on a rebranding; the first being adding Cougars to their name. O'Neil became Chairman of the club and started the trend for iconic music for each player after they scored, lively PA announcements, involvement of school kids and the community, active on-field mascots. Smith was in charge of the positive marketing and the like; Spencer was in charge of finance and the youth academy. All of which made visits to Cougar Park in the mid-1990s a progressive and eye-opening experience for rugby league supporters. The club attracted the attention of the national press and senior politicians, which remains unique in rugby league.
Investment in good players, and an expansive style helped crowds increase from 350 in 1989 to an average of over 4,000 in 1995, and on-field success followed. The club invested heavily: in new terracing; a new club-house; the Great Britain coach (Phil Larder); and a full-time Premier League standard team.
The club succeeded in its first attempt to win promotion to the Premier Division. However in 1995, the creation of the Super League banned promotion and meant the edifice collapsed as the club were denied entry to the top flight. Everything that the O'Neil, Smith and Spencer ambition had dreamed of, and had suceeded in, was taken from the town at the last minute by internal rugby league and multi-national corporate politics.
The next season the club was taken over in a coup by Carl Metcalfe who promised to invest £3 million into the team and the ground. O'Neil, and loyal directors Neil Spencer and Maurice Barker reluctantly left making way for the new regime. The promised millions didn't materialise, and only months later, Metcalfe sold the senior squad to Leeds on a peppercorn deal and put the club into administration. He was later arrested and convicted of supplying illegal drugs.
After dissolving in liquidation, the club was saved by former directors Neil Spencer and Colin Farrer. It has now returned to its lower league status, watched by a few hundred spectators. However, the large majority of the glam, pizazz, entertainment and community involvement that are now an accepted part of the rugby league scene were introduced to the game in England by the Cougars.
Rumours remain in the town that Mick O'Neil may join the board, rejoining former colleague Neil Spencer. However, O'Neil is now based in Brisbane, Australia and it remains to be seen if there will be a Cougar-mania II.
Records
- Biggest victory: 104-4 vs Highfield 23 April 1995
- Worst defeat: 2-92 at Leigh, 30 April 1996
- Highest attendance: 14,500 vs Halifax, 3 March 1953
Honours
- National League 2 Winners: 2003
- Old Division Two Champions: 1902-03, 1994-95
- Old Division Three Champions: 1992-93
References
Daring to Dream - the Keighley Cougars story