26th November….
Having signed from Morley RU goal kicking centre Mick Parrish made his debut today in 1978 against Whitehaven at home. John Hay was the regular goal- kicker so Mick had a scoreless debut but the following week shared the kicking duty with John as they both kicked two. These were the first of the 142 he would score in 57 appearances. The following season he played and scored in every game, the first to do it since Billy Langton in 1958/59. He kicked goals in every game except Widnes at home when he scored a try. After a nine goal haul against Huyton in September 1980, Mick transferred to Oldham where he repeated his score in every match feat. He gained a cap for Yorkshire in 1979 kicking three goals against Cumbia.
Mick Parrish
Signing on in 1904 from Rothwell White Star was winger Charlie Ward. He played in the 1905 Yorkshire Cup final and was a member of the 1907/08 All Four Cup side playing 21 games including the Yorkshire Cup and Championship finals. In 1905/06 he scored 24 tries which was a new club record. In 1908 he transferred to Dewsbury after playing 93 games and scoring 57 tries. He had signed on with his brother Willie, also a winger who also followed him to Dewsbury.
Charlie Ward
In the new season we will lock horns again with Midland Hurricanes, formally Coventry Bears. Today in 1910 Hunslet made their first visit for a match against the original Coventry club. Against a side including former Hunslet player James Parkinson on a snow covered pitch Hunslet won 10-3.
Representing Hunslet with Yorkshire today were winger Keith Bowman in 1952 in an 11-55 defeat against Australia at Huddersfield and Albert Goldthorpe in 1892 against Lancashire in a 2-2 draw at Fallowfield, Manchester.
In 1995 Hunslet had progressed to the third round of the Regal Trophy and their opponents were Carlisle who had won their previous ten matches and beaten Castleford in the last round so a difficult afternoon was on the cards. A David Brook drop goal put Hunslet in front on six minutes but they were soon 10-1 in arrears. David Close landed a penalty then put Tim Sharp over and converted the try for a 9-10 interval score. In the second half Neil Lee and Des Maea scored tries, Western Samoan Des carrying five defenders over the line to give hopes of a shock but Carlisle rallied in the last quarter to go through 22-17.
27th November….
Having signed from Hunslet Colts in 1980 Chris “Billy” Bowden made his debut today in 1983 at Halifax in a 48-15 win (he had played in a friendly against Hull Kingson Rovers previously). Billy was played at both centre and second-row and made 177 appearances, scoring 23 tries before his last game at home to Barrow in September 1991.
Forward Sam Newbound made his debut today in 1937 against Huddersfield at Parkside. He had signed from Buslingthorpe Vale ARLFC and crowned his first season as a professional with an appearance in the Elland Road Championship final against Leeds. He was supremely fit and entered Physical Fitness competitions, reaching the finals of 1936’s England’s Best Developed Man. As the war came Sam’s appearance opportunities diminished as he served with the Royal Scots where he was an undefeated heavyweight boxer. He made a couple of guest appearances for Leeds and occasional games for Hunslet but was badly wounded in both legs whilst in action. Fortunately he made a full recovery to continue his rugby career and made a total of 247 appearances scoring 15 tries before moving to Bramley. He had represented the Army against a Rugby League XIII during the war and featured in a Tour Trial in 1946. His great-great grandson Nathan carried on the family connection with Hunslet when he played for the club in 2023.
Sam Newbound
The one point drop goal was introduced in 1974 and in a famous victory at Central Park against Wigan Frank Davies became the first New Hunslet player to kick three in a game. Three weeks previously Hunslet had unluckily lost a John Player Trophy match at the same venue and today in 1977 returned to reverse the result as Frank kicked three penalties and his three drops for the 9-7 win. The next player to get three drops in a game was Neil Hague at Keighley in 1988, coincidently also on the 27th November.
28th November….
After the All Four Cups season, Hunslet still seemed unbeatable in knock out football and today faced Halifax in the 1908 Yorkshire Cup final at Belle Vue, Wakefield. History was on Hunslet’s side as they had faced the same opposition in the 1907 competition and saw them off comfortably 17-0 and had beaten them in the first Yorkshire Cup final in 1905. Halifax claimed first blood after a clearing kick by Billy Batten was taken by Little who dropped a “beautiful” goal. Tommy Walsh dropped a Batten pass with the line open and Billy Eagers heavily tackled Riley who left the field for a short time but got his revenge on returning by laying on a try for Hilton. A goal a from mark to Halifax gave them a 7-0 lead. In an end to end second period both sides had chances until Albert Goldthorpe was obstructed and landed the penalty. Albert missed with another penalty attempt but Jack Randall charged a clearing kick and followed his kick to score a soft try. No goal. Batten blew a chance when he broke clear but turned inside when a straight run to the line was the better option. A few minutes from time Little kicked a penalty to give Halifax their first Yorkshire Cup win 9-5.
After the draw and close defeat in the 1971 John Player Trophy against Castleford Hunslet joined the other senior clubs who lost in a one-off try scoring contest. Hunslet travelled to Swinton and were heavily beaten 53-6. Prize money was based on the number of tries scored and Swinton took top place with their 13. Perhaps surprisingly, Hunslet’s 2 tries gave them a joint 4th place in the 14 team competition.
In the one representative game today Walter Goldthorpe was with Yorkshire at Huddersfield against their Red Rose rivals, winning 3-0.
