24th November….
1962 at Parkside saw the debut of winger Tommy Thompson. Having signed from Hunslet Juniors he was with the club until 1970 making 222 appearances and scoring 90 tries. He played in the 1965 Yorkshire Cup final scoring a try and made a Yorkshire appearance in 1969 against Cumberland again scoring a try. In 1967/68 with the Hunslet team losing its star players, Tommy scored 28 of the teams 88 tries and finished fifth in the league’s top try scorers list. At the start of the 1970/71 season Tommy transferred to Bradford Northern where he would make 18 appearances and score 6 tries.
Tommy Thompson
In 1904 Yorkshire and Cheshire played in the County Championship and the Tykes needed a win to become champions. The match was played at The Boulevard, Hull and Billy Brookes and Harry Wilson were among the Yorkshire forwards and James Davies was on the wing for Cheshire. Fog in Manchester delayed the Cheshire team and they arrived at the ground after a six hour journey at 2.35. They managed a hastily eaten lunch before taking the field at 3.20! After Yorkshire took the lead James Davies fluffed a chance to equalise. The next Cheshire attack should have also realised a try but the slippery ball squirted out as Jones crossed the line. A further Yorkshire try gave them a half-time 6-0 lead. With the late start darkness was closing in so there was no time for the half-time refreshments and it was straight back to the action. Yorkshire lost a half-back to injury but scored their third try and towards the end Harry Wilson released Marsden for another try and Yorkshire were Champions 12-0.
1948 was a tour year for the Australians and they faced Yorkshire at Headingley today. Eddie Bennett and Bill Metcalfe were selected in the Yorkshire forwards. There was one try and a penalty in the first half which came to the home side to make it 5-0 at half-time. Tom McMahon, an Australian referee, had been appointed for the match and was losing patience with Yorkshire hooker Len Marson for striking before the feed and penalised him five times before sending him off. Yorkshire forward Hammond was a passenger with a leg injury and Bennett, Metcalfe and their two other fit colleagues more than held their own as Australia could only manage a penalty goal, losing 2-5. It was Yorkshire’s first victory over a touring side.
Eddies Bennett
Bill Metcalfe
Workington Town visited Elland Road for 1985’s John Player Trophy 1st round. Tries to Kelvin Skerrett, Graham King, Steve Nicholson and Steve Kemble with two Gary Rowse goals saw Hunslet into the second round 20-12.
25th November….
Throughout WW2 Hunslet had not experienced any success in the cup competitions but the 9-0 home win over Dewsbury in the Yorkshire Cup semi-final first leg gave them hope of a cup final appearance in what would be the last of the wartime leagues. It would not be a forgone conclusion as Dewsbury were a number of places above Hunslet in the league but the Hunslet forwards ensured the Dewsbury six made little progress and a Des Clarkson penalty was the only score of the game taking Hunslet through 11-0 to a two leg final against Halifax.
There were four representative games played today in which Hunslet players were involved. The 1893 and 1895 Yorkshire matches against Cheshire and Lancashire featured forward Owen Walsh, the Cheshire game being lost 5-9 at Headingley but the Roses match was won 11-3 at Bradford. In 1903 half-back James Jackson travelled to South Shields to assist Cumberland against Durham and Northumberland but his team fell to a 9-12 defeat. In 1951’s European Championship England played France at Marseilles and Alf Burnell had travelled to play scrum-half. The England team had eight players who had been in the Great Britain team two weeks previously which had beaten New Zealand. The plane from Ringway the previous evening had been badly delayed so the team did not land in France until one in the morning and this may have had an effect as the French forwards totally dominated the English six. Having no ball to work with Alf and partner Fleming could not bring the three-quarters into the game and France won 42-13. It was England’s first defeat in France and the highest total France had posted since starting to compete internationally sixteen years previously.
