In the first round of the 1958 Yorkshire Cup, the draw paired Hunslet with Wakefield Trinity at Belle Vue and they came home with a creditable 10-10 draw. Tonight was the replay at Parkside and 16,836 turned out for the match. It turned out to be a tough forward dominated game, the difference between the sides being former Parksider Ken Traill, now player-coach at Belle Vue. His passing and breaks led to all three of Trinity’s tries as they won 15-11. Referee Charlie Appleton was praised for his handling of a game which was described as “not for weaklings”. He gave 41 penalties and kept a lid on any potential flashpoints.   

A home tie in 1965 with Doncaster led to an 8-2 win to the hosts. It was a very wet day and the last quarter was played in semi-darkness but Hunslet’s excellent drainage system and turf together with a white ball saw the match played to a conclusion. Only 613 turned out to watch with takings of £80. Tommy Thompson and Geoff Shelton scored the tries and Biil Langton got the goals.  

2017 was another outing in the League One Shield with South Wales Ironmen travelling north to be walloped 64-7.

In 1901 Hunslet arranged a benefit match for their forward Tommy Leach.  He had previously lived in Batley so the Gallant Youths were invited to provide the opposition. The current cup holders sent a representative side but the papers said that some were palpably out of condition. Bedford of Methley, on trial with Batley, was said to have “too much flesh to do himself credit”. Hunslet’s new wingman John Hindwell from Pocklington was singled out as he scored one of Hunslet’s two tries in a 6-5 win.

Tommy Leach

A 1907 pre-season match was played at Parkside tonight against Leeds. There were no details in the papers except that Hunslet won 18-0. It was played for the benefit of Leeds & District Intermediate League and 2,000 were treated to “an excellent game”. A second match was to be played two days later at Headingley.

For the 1892/93 season The Athletic News looked at Hunslet’s prospects. No new players were signed but forward Robert Monks had left for “Yankeeland”. Jim Goldthorpe had joined the “Land of Uz”. Evidently this was a term for getting married!

Whist it was a great honour for a club to provide players for Lions tours Down Under, it could provide problems at the start of a season when the players were on the high seas returning. For tonight’s 1910 opener against York Fred Smith, Bill Jukes, Freddie Farrar and Billy Batten were absent. It didn’t matter on this occasion as Hunslet won 26-0. They would also beat Bramley but lose at Keighley before the quartet would be back in action.

The start of the 1989/90 season saw a change in the boardroom, Jerry Mason standing down as Chairman to become President. His successor was to be Graham Liles.