1959 saw stand-off Brian Gabbitas making his only Great Britain appearance in a match against France in Albi. He was on the losing side in 15-24 defeat.
In 1902 Hunslet were playing in their second Challenge Cup quarter-final tie, a trip to Heckmondwike who, playing at the level below Hunslet and not having a particularly good season, would have been expected to be seen off by the Parksiders. It may have been Hunslet’s mid-week cup replay against Widnes or incessant rain on a pitch which was described as a swamp but the match was anything but easy for Hunslet. An early drop goal to Heckmondwike was wiped out by a similar effort by Albert Goldthorpe just on half time. Stern defence from the home side in the second half meant no further scoring and it was back to Parkside for a second successive replay.
In 2009 the same competition took Hunslet to Mount Pleasant and an exit from the competition 24-28 in round 4.
In 1996 Hunslet played their first home league game in the summer era against Bramley, an easy 31-0 victory. This being Rugby league, Hunslet had already played their first summer era home match in the 1996 Challenge Cup in January which was before the end of the last Winter season!
A couple of seasons came to an today, The first was 1919/20 with a game at Hull Kingston Rovers. Hunslet would struggle for a few seasons after the Great War as they tried to build a competitive side and this was shown today as they finished 22nd out of 25 with only 9 wins. Three-quarter Harold Buck led the try scorers with 9 and international forward Walter Guerin getting 27 goals.
Things weren’t much different in 1966/67 except that this was a team in decline as the star players were either retiring or leaving. It was a very similar record – 25th out of 30, 9 wins and 2 draws. Tommy Thompson was top with 10 tries and Dave Marshall with 59 goals.
Making his debut today in 1913 against Coventry was three-quarter William Ashall. He signed from amateurs Sherdley Athletic of St Helens. His career was cut short by the Great War and on resumption of competitive football in 1919 he signed for St Helens Recreation. He played 59 games for Hunslet with 17 tries and 3 goals and added a couple more games during the War.
