Those of us of a certain age who were around at the end of Parkside and the rise of the new club at the Greyhounds will remember hooker Alan Maskill. The programme for today’s home game with Batley in 1976 informed us that Alan had asked not be considered for selection because of a pair of boots!. The club provided all playing equipment for the players and any player who preferred a different type of boot could wear them and the club would reimburse them £7. Alan told team manager Gordon Murray he wanted his own boots but the amount this was not good enough and he wasn’t prepared to play. The clubs stand was that no player should have different terms than all the others. Neither side would move and Alan didn’t play for the club again, the saga coming to end when he transferred to Bramley on the 5th November. While thanking Alan for his previous service and wishing him well for the future, the programme for the Hull game in November informed us that unfortunately he had received a serious shoulder injury on his Bramley debut. Hooking duties were handed to Ian Payne with occasional appearances from Phil Thurlwell and Phil Martin.
Alan Maskill
The end of two eras today in 1992 with the Yorkshire Cup tie at Headingley against Leeds. This would be the last time Hunslet and Leeds would contest a competitive game and Hunslet’s loss meant this was their last ever Yorkshire Cup match, the competition being ditched after this season. With two Divisions between the sides, at times it was hard to tell who were the lower ranked team as Hunslet played with experience, skill and passion to push the Loiners all the way before going down 20-28.
There were a number of debutants today. Ian Payne, mentioned above, was signed from Leeds on the 9th and made his debut today at home to Batley. He had previously also played for York. He made 47 first team appearances over two season with Hunslet.
Ian Payne
Back in 1896 future “Terrible Six” member Tommy Walsh made his debut at Parkside against Halifax. In his 13 year Hunslet career he played in a Championship, three Yorkshire and two Challenge cup finals. In October 1901 he was suspended by the Northern Union as he had registered with Birkenhead and Hunslet then also registered him. The club were fined 1 guinea and Tommy was reinstated in November. He played in two County Trials but wasn’t selected for a County match. He played 259 matches scoring 16 tries for Hunslet.
Tommy Walsh
In 1925 full-back Johnny Place started his first team career at Hull Kingston Rovers. Johnny certainly had a good pedigree, his father being Herbert who made 442 appearances over 19 seasons as the custodian (the old term for a full-back for some reason). Johnny made 133 appearances over five season before transferring to Swinton.
Johnny Place
1970 saw back Stephen Barron make his first appearance at home to Rochdale Hornets. In difficult times, he contributed 88 games and 13 tries to the old club. He moved to New Hunslet and played in their first game at Keighley. He was a fixture in the first team at the Greyhounds, never playing less than 21 games in a season until finishing at the end of 1979/80. He played 190 games for New Hunslet and scored 28 tries.
Steve Barron
Cup-ties today. 1936’s Yorkshire Cup brought Featherstone Rovers to Parkside. Frank Yates cried off just before kick-off and former Rovers’ player George Johnson stepped up from the seconds. Dominating the scrummages and with pacier backs, Hunslet scored on five minutes and eased to a 19-5 win.
Yorkshire Cup again in 1967 and a quarter final appearance at Headingley against Leeds. 2-10 down after fifteen minutes, Hunslet shook Leeds by leading 11-10 at the interval. Hunslet’s resilience in the first 20 minutes of the second-half seemed to have knocked Leeds off balance but they steadied the ship to take 15-11 lead. Phil Evans scored an unimproved try and Dave Marshall missed two penalty kicks. Gemmell of Leeds made the game safe at the end with a try.
In 1999, Featherstone Rovers again visited South Leeds in the Play-Offs. Hunslet did the job needed to win 17-9 and qualify for the Elimination Final against Widnes.
In 2014’s Play-Offs Oldham visited South Leeds Stadium and pipped the hosts 24-25. Hunslet got another chance to progress in a week’s time against Gateshead Thunder.
A couple of representative games today involved Hunslet players. The 1955 European Championship fixture between England and Other Nationalities at Wigan featured Sam Smith (England) & Arthur Clues. England opened the scoring with a try but eventually fell to a 16-33 defeat.
In 1960 there was a World Cup Trial between Great Britain and a Rest Of The League side featuring Brian Shaw. The national side, although winning 21-16, did not impress and the selectors had some head scratching to do before naming the squad. “Go-ahead loose forward” Brian was said to have given the “broadest hint to the selectors” and, of course, was selected for the tournament.
Two clubs who would share the honour of winning All Four Cups were Hunslet and Huddersfield. Today in 1891 under Union rules they met for the first time. At Parkside, it finished as a 11-11 draw. 7,000 watched “on a broiling hot day”. Both sides scored two tries and a drop goal.
