Newcastle RLFC

Newcastle was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England.

The club played semi-professional rugby league for a total of 2 seasons, 1936–37 and 1937–38, possibly joining direct from non-league. They left the league at the end of season 1937–38.

History

There had been several rugby league teams based on Tyneside since the great rugby schism that resulted in the formation of rugby league. Wallsend RFC were an early non-league club and South Shields tried their luck, with the semi-professionals in the second division of the Rugby League in 1902-03 and 1903-04, neither club with any great success.[1]

Newcastle Rugby League FC joined the Rugby League for the 1936–37 season. The Pathe news cameras were out when Newcastle Rugby League FC opened their home programme with a great fanfare. The match was attended by many dignitaries including the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, This first match, played against Huddersfield on 7th Sept 1936, resulted in a 12-33 loss. A piece of film, only about a minute and a half duration, exists and the clip is described as, “M/S of the Lord Mayor of Newcastle walking along with other officials to open first rugby league game. M/S as he runs a flag up a pole, it says 'Newcastle Rugby League F. C.' M/S as the Newcastle team run out onto the pitch, various shots of the crowd as Huddersfield run out. Various shots of the match, Huddersfield win by 33 points to 12”[2]

In their first season, 1936–37 Newcastle finished a lowly 29th out of 30 clubs, with only Featherstone Rovers below them.

In their second and last season, 1937–38 they again finished second bottom 28th and last out of 29 clubs, this time with Bramley below them.

Newcastle Rugby Club left the league at the end of season 1937–38.

An interesting, but unconfirmed, comment on the University of Sunderland website states "and in 1938, Newcastle moved South of the Tyne and played a season of matches at the White City Sports Stadium but did not rejoin the league after World War Two[1]". There is no apparent evidence or verification of this from any other source.

Notable players

Notable players for Newcastle included; James Cumberbatch, Norman Foster, and Emlyn Jenkins.

Stadium

Newcastle RLFC played at a stadium also used as a greyhound stadium. This was possibly Brough Park Stadium,[3] which at the time was already home to both greyhound racing and Newcastle Diamonds speedway team.

According to "the Grounds of Rugby League"(Trevor Delaney,1991) Newcastle RLFC played at Brough Park in the 1936/37 season. For 1937/38 the team moved to the new White City Stadium in Gateshead.

Club league record

The league positions for Newcastle for the 2 full years in which they played semi-professional rugby league are given in the following table:[4]

Season	Competition	Pos	Team Name	Pl	W	D	L	PW	PA	Diff	Pts	% Pts	No of teams in league	Notes	Ref
1936–37	RL	29	Newcastle	38	5	1	32	300	890	-590	11		30
1937–38	RL	28	Newcastle	36	2	4	30	206	750	-544	8		29

Heading Abbreviations
RL = Single Division; Pl = Games Played: W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose; PF = Points For; PA = Points Against; Diff = Points Difference (+ or -); Pts = League Points
% Pts = A percentage system was used to determine league positions due to clubs playing varying number of fixtures and against different opponents
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.

Several fixtures & results

The following are just a few of Newcastle fixtures during the two seasons in which they played (semi) professional Rugby League:[5][6][7][8][9]

Season	Date	Competition	Opponent	Venue	H/A	Result	Score	Att	Notes	Ref
1936–37	7 September 1936	RL	Huddersfield	Home	H	Lost	12-33			”[2]
1936–37	Sat 5 December 1936	RL	Hull	Home	H	Won	5-0			[5]
1936–37	Sat 19 December 1936	RL	St. Helens	Home	H	Lost	8-15			[8]
1936–37	Sat 6 February 1937	RL	Hull	The Boulevard	A	Lost	10-38			[5]
1936–37	Sat 24 April 1937	RL	St. Helens	Knowsley Rd	A	Lost	10-41			[8]
1937–38	Sat 2 October 1937	RL	Wigan	Central Park	A	Lost	9-51			[7]
1937–38	Sat 16 October 1937	RL	Hull	Home	H	Lost	6-27			[5]
1937–38	23 October 1937	RL	Widnes	Naughton Park	A	Lost	2-45		2	[9]
1937–38	13 November 1937	RL	Widnes	Home	H	Lost	0-15			[9]
1937–38	Sat 11 December 1937	RL	Wigan	Home	H		p		1	[7]
1937–38	Sat 26 February 1938	RL	Hull	The Boulevard	A	Lost	13-23			[5]
1937–38	Sat 12 March 1938	RL	Wigan	Home	H	Lost	3-19			[7]

Notes and Comments

1 This match was postponed due to frozen pitch. It was eventually replayed on Sat 12 March 1938
2 - Naughton Park was originally known as Lowerhouse Lane. It was renamed Naughton Park in 1932 in honour of club secretary, Tom Naughton - and later renamed Halton Stadium after being completely rebuilt in 1997.

See also

• List of defunct rugby league clubs

References

1. "North East Rugby League Clubs". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
2. Pathe Newsreel (1936). "Newcastle RLFC's opening fixture on film".
3. "Newcastle Geyhound Stadium". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29.
4. Jack Winstanley & Malcolm Ryding (1975). John Player Rugby League Yearbook 1975-76. Queen Anne Press.
5. "Hull&Proud Fixtures & Results". Archived from the original on 2012-03-02.
6. "Warrington Wolves results and archives". Archived from the original on 2011-12-21.
7. 324 "Cherry and White" Check |url= value (help).
8. "Saints Heritage Society".
9. "Widnes Seasons in Review".

External links

• North East Rugby League Clubs
• Pathe Newsreel Newcastle RLFC’s opening fixture on film