History of Rugby LeagueThe history of rugby league began with the schism of 1895 in the sport of Rugby football. There are now two forms of "rugby": rugby league and rugby union. Although similar, they have different laws and governing bodies. The disagreement that led to the split was over the issue of "broken time" payments, and first came to a head in northern England in the late nineteenth century. This article mainly covers the history of the sport of rugby league from this schism. Although many forms of football had been played across the world, it was only during the second half of the nineteenth century that these games began to be codified. It was in 1871 that English clubs playing the version of football associated with Rugby School (which involved much more handling of the ball than Association Football), met to form the Rugby Football Union. Many new clubs were formed, and it was in the northern English counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire that the game really took hold. Here rugby was largely a working man's game, whilst the southern clubs were largely middle-class. Rugby also spread to Australia and New Zealand, especially the cities of Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland. Here too there was a clear divide between the working- and middle-class players. The strength of support for the rugby grew over the following years, and large paying crowds were attracted to major matches, particular in Yorkshire, where matches in the Yorkshire Cup (T'owd Tin Pot) soon became major events. England teams of the era were dominated by Yorkshire and Lancashire players. However these players were forbidden to earn any of the spoils of this newly-rich game. Predominantly working-class teams found it difficult to play to their full potential because in many cases player recreational time was limited by the need to earn a wage. Even if they could take time off to play regularly, training time was often curtailed. A further limit on the playing ability of working class-teams was the fact that rugby is a contact sport, hence working-class players had to be careful how hard they played. If injured, they had to pay their own medical bills and possibly take time off work, which for a man earning a weekly wage could easily lead to financial hardship. In 1892, charges of professionalism were laid against clubs in Bradford and Leeds, both in Yorkshire, after they compensated players for missing work. This was despite the fact that the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was allowing other players to be paid, such as the 1888 England team that toured Australia, or the account of Harry Hamill of his payments to represent New South Wales (NSW) against England in 1904. In 1893, Yorkshire clubs complained that southern clubs were over-represented on the RFU committee and that committee meeting were held in London at times which made it difficult for northern members to attend. By implication they were arguing that this affected the RFU's decisions on the issue of "broken time" payments (as compensation for the loss of income) to the detriment of northern clubs who made up the majority of English rugby clubs. Payment for broken time was a proposal put forward by Yorkshire clubs that would allow players to receive up to six shillings when they missed work due to match commitments. The idea was voted down by the RFU, and widespread suspensions of northern clubs and players began. On August 29, 1895 representatives of the northern clubs met in the George Hotel, Huddersfield to form the "Northern Rugby Football Union" (usually termed Northern Union or NU). The twenty-two clubs and their year of foundation were: Batley 1880, Bradford 1863, Brighouse Rangers 1878, Broughton Rangers 1877, Dewsbury 1875, Halifax 1873, Huddersfield 1864, Hull 1865, Hunslet 1883, Leeds 1890, Leigh 1877, Liversedge 1877, Manningham 1876, Oldham 1876, Rochdale Hornets 1871, St Helens 1874, Tyldesley 1879, Wakefield Trinity 1873, Warrington 1875, Widnes 1873, Wigan 1879. The separate Lancashire and Yorkshire competitions of the NRFU merged in 1901, forming the Northern Rugby League, the first time the phrase rugby league was used officially. The NRFU became the Rugby Football League in 1922. The professional Football League was formed in 1888, comprising 12 football (soccer) clubs from northern England. This may have inspired the northern rugby officials to form their own professional league. The rugby union authorities took drastic action, issuing sanctions against clubs and players and officials involved in the new organisation. This extended even to amateurs who played with or against Northern Union sides. Consequentially, northern clubs that existed purely for social and recreational rugby began to affiliate to the Northern Union, whilst retaining amateur status. By 1904 the new body had more clubs affiliated to it than the RFU. Similar schisms in football (soccer) were threatened with the formations of the British Football Association in 1884 and the Amateur Football Association in 1907, but were averted. Initially the Northern Union continued to play under rugby union laws. The first minor change (awarding a penalty for a deliberate knock-on) was introduced during the first season of the game. Other new laws were gradually introduced until, by the arrival of the All Golds in 1907, the major differences between the games had been introduced. Summarised, these major difference were:
During this period the Northern Union began to develop the British game's major tournaments. The league championship, after initially being played as one competition, was split into two sections, the Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues, with only a limited number of inter-county games. This necessitated a play-off structure to determine the overall champions. A nationwide cup, the Challenge Cup was introduced, and soon became the biggest draw in the sport. Finally, in 1905, the Yorkshire and Lancashire Cups were introduced, thus completing a structure that was to last until the sixties. There were therefore four trophies on offer to any one club, and the "Holy Grail" was to win "All Four Cups". As it became obvious that two codes of rugby were going to co-exist in the near future, those interested in the game needed to be able to distinguish between them. It became customary to describe those teams affiliated to the NU as 'playing in the league' hence "rugby league" while those which remained affiliated to the RFU (who did not play in a league) as playing "rugby union". In 1905, as New Zealand's rugby union team (the All Blacks), toured Britain, they witnessed first-hand the growing popularity of the Northern Union games. In 1906, All Black George William Smith, while on his way home, met an Australian entrepreneur, James J. Giltinan to discuss the potential of professional rugby in Australasia. In the meantime, a less-well known New Zealand rugby union player, Albert Henry Baskerville (or Baskiville), was already about to recruit players for a group of players for a professional tour of Great Britain. It is believed that Baskerville first became aware of the profits to be made from such a venture while he was working at the Wellington Post Office in 1906: a colleague had a coughing fit and dropped a British newspaper. Baskerville picked it up and noticed a report about a Northern Union match that over 40,000 people had attended. Baskerville wrote to the NRFU asking if they would host a New Zealand touring party. George Smith learned of Baskerville's activities and they joined forces to recruit a team. In Australia, especially in the rugby stronghold of Sydney, issues of class and professionalism were beginning to cause friction. Rumours and claims of "shamateurism" in rugby union were circulating. The growing tension was exacerbated by an incident in 1907, when a working class player, Alick Burdon, broke his arm while playing for the New South Wales team, and received no compensation for his time off work. George Smith cabled a friend in Sydney to enquire whether there might be any support for a tour by his New Zealand professional team. Word reached Giltinan, who took great interest. Giltinan announced that he had invited Baskerville's team to play three matches in Sydney. The Australian press responded by dubbing the travelling New Zealand team "All Golds", a sardonic play on the nickname of the New Zealand rugby union team, and the supposedly "mercenary" nature of the new code. The games were a great success; leaving the rugby rebels of Australia with much needed funds which soon proved to be vital for rugby league in Australia. A meeting was held at Bateman's Crystal Hotel in Sydney on August 8, 1907, to organise professional rugby in Australia. Giltinan, Burdon and the Test cricketer Victor Trumper were among those who attended. The meeting resolved that a "New South Wales Rugby League" (NSWRL) should be formed, to play the Northern Union rules. This was the first time that "rugby league" was used in the name of an organising body. Players were soon recruited for the new game; despite the threat of immediate and lifetime expulsion from the rugby union. The NSWRL managed to recruit Herbert "Dally" Messenger, the most famous rugby player in Sydney at the time. The first season of NSWRL competition was played in 1908, and has continued to be played every year since (despite changes in administration, leading to the competition now being known by the name of National Rugby League). |