In December 1953 Leeds had decided to release international Dickie Williams and Hunslet jumped at the chance to sign Ginger Burnell’s Great Britain half-back partner. After the Trial match for the summer tour, Dickie was chosen as captain but later was found to need an operation on a broken cheekbone. His appearance in this today’s international match proved his fitness to tour. The game was at Odsal and Great Britain were playing France with eleven of their tourists on show, They failed to impress and only when France were a man down for the last 25 minutes did GB come through to win 17-8.
Making his debut over at Bramley in 1940 was (future) PC Sid Rookes. He was Hunslet through and through, having watched the great team from the 30’s standing at Mother Benson’s End at Parkside. He was also a ball-boy at Hunslet’s 1934 Wembley final. Through the war he was able to continue his rugby career as he was in reserved occupation for AVRO at Yeadon and completed 10 season at Parkside playing 180 games and scoring 83 tries. He played in tour trial in 1946 and would have toured if Ernest Ward had not been able to secure an early release from military service. He played twice for Yorkshire and was a guest for Leeds in the war, playing in the first leg of their 1942/43 Challenge Cup final.
In 2014 Hunslet qualified for the 5th round of the Challenge Cup and a trip to Wigan. Having a good season in Championship One, Hunslet put up a creditable display against a team two divisions higher. Danny Grimshaw and Lee Mapals got tries as Hunslet went down 8-52.
Hunslet’s tenure as a Rugby Union club came to an end today in 1895 with an ordinary match at Lancaster won 7-3. Billy Hannah scored the last try and Herb Robinson dropped a goal. The club were involved in the movement to create a new governing body for Northern based clubs, largely due to Rugby Union’s strict amateur rules preventing Northern players being paid broken time for a lost shift on match days.
Season 1928/29 ended today with a 40-4 home win over Featherstone Rovers putting a little gloss on an average season. League tables were decided on a percentage basis in those days due to an uneven number games played by Lancashire and Yorkshire teams. Hunslet had 53.95%. George Broughton got 24 tries and James Traill 44 goals and 94 points.
1956/57 was a better effort, 26 out of 38 matches won for a 7th place finish and a Yorkshire Cup final appearance. Alan Snowden’s 34 tries are the club record and Billy Langton, sharing the goal kicking with Arthur Talbot, got 71 goals and 169 points.
