History of Rugby League in Castleford

All things related to the Castleford Tigers.
User avatar
lurcher
Verified
Super League Player
Super League Player
Posts: 10676
Joined: 19 Aug 2010, 23:25
Location: bridlington
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by lurcher » 17 Dec 2019, 22:15

gateman wrote: 17 Dec 2019, 16:35 looking forward to what you have to say about the late Fifties early sixties when i started watching CAS if i remember rightly we were bumping along at the bottom of the league
usually just donny below us.
jo brand is eddie warings love child

gateman
Championship Player
Championship Player
Posts: 6692
Joined: 31 Mar 2016, 12:40
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by gateman » 18 Dec 2019, 10:16

lurcher wrote: 17 Dec 2019, 22:15
gateman wrote: 17 Dec 2019, 16:35 looking forward to what you have to say about the late Fifties early sixties when i started watching CAS if i remember rightly we were bumping along at the bottom of the league
usually just donny below us.
am i right in thinking that there were a lot more teams in the league 32 comes to mind another flash back i have is them real rugby jerseys with the yellow and black hoops hence the name the tigers

Mysterio
League One Player
League One Player
Posts: 4497
Joined: 29 Jan 2008, 22:32
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Mysterio » 18 Dec 2019, 11:29

old cas lass wrote: 14 Jul 2019, 10:15
flow wrote:Be interesting to compare attedances back in day
Back in the day in the 60’s and 70’s we were getting around 2000. Now and again it would rise.
I can remember standing in the WRE with a ton of space around me. I think we started building fan base after the challenge cup wins. If my memory serves me right.
Only 2000 fans to watch the great team of 60s. That's depressed me !!!
Audacter Et Sincere

tigerfeat
Super League Player
Super League Player
Posts: 14602
Joined: 23 Jun 2014, 12:07
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by tigerfeat » 18 Dec 2019, 12:22

In 1967 there was at least 30,000 people in the ground for the cup match against HULL KR cant remember official attendance but a fence was damaged and people were cramed in like sardines by kick off
The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have
Vince Lombardi

tigerfeat
Super League Player
Super League Player
Posts: 14602
Joined: 23 Jun 2014, 12:07
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by tigerfeat » 18 Dec 2019, 12:27

All i could see was a small bit of turf from the 25 to the sticks at the weldon road end ...
The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have
Vince Lombardi

gateman
Championship Player
Championship Player
Posts: 6692
Joined: 31 Mar 2016, 12:40
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by gateman » 18 Dec 2019, 12:51

tigerfeat wrote: 18 Dec 2019, 12:22 In 1967 there was at least 30,000 people in the ground for the cup match against HULL KR cant remember official attendance but a fence was damaged and people were cramed in like sardines by kick off
as it was a replay it was a midweek game played in the afternoon if i remember rightly , as you say the ground was packed

User avatar
43s flyer
League One Player
League One Player
Posts: 2413
Joined: 04 Apr 2014, 15:46
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by 43s flyer » 18 Dec 2019, 13:19

I was at Cas boys modern at the time and we were given free tickets and the afternoon off to go to the match all in the railway end, great atmosphere that day.

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 18 Dec 2019, 19:06

The number of clubs in the Rugby League after the Second World War went like this:-
1945/46 27 clubs
1946/47 and 1947/48 28 clubs after Leigh admitted
1948/49 to 1950/51 29 clubs after Whitehaven admitted
1951/52 31 clubs after Cardiff and Doncaster admitted
1952/53 and 1953/54 30 clubs after Cardiff resigned
1954/55 31 clubs after Blackpool admitted
1955/56 to 1967/68 30 clubs after Belle Vue Rangers resigned
1968/69 to 1972/73 30 clubs after Liverpool City moved to Huyton
1973/74 thereafter adoption of 2 Divisions

tigerfeat
Super League Player
Super League Player
Posts: 14602
Joined: 23 Jun 2014, 12:07
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by tigerfeat » 18 Dec 2019, 19:30

Must have been a different breed of player back in them days Ken 30 teams in league challange cup with replays floodlight trophy in mid-week Yorkshire cup as well
The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have
Vince Lombardi

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 18 Dec 2019, 20:00

Castleford’s bleak seasons started in the 1948/49 season when they finished 19th out of 29 clubs gaining 32 points from their 36 matches, 9 of those wins coming from 12 matches against clubs finishing below them. They did beat 17th placed Hull KR home and away but beat Wakefield at home and Featherstone away.
However their were some bright moments when losing only 8-10 to the Australian tourists, and reaching the Yorkshire Cup Final for the first time. Having beaten Bramley 49-16 over 2 legs, Cas beat Hull at home 11-0 and Wakefield at home 6-5, but then lost 9-18 at Headingley to Bradford Northern, who also knocked Cas out of the Challenge Cup 11-5 at Odsal.
The 1949/50 season was considerably better as Cas finished 12th with 40 points from 36 matches. They did the double over over Featherstone 23-15 at home and 11-4 away, beat Leeds 7-2 at home, but lost twice to Wakefield.
Cas started the 1950/51 season quite well losing only 3 of their first 10 matches and even reached the Final of the Yorkshire Cup again with a 16-13 aggregate win over 2 legs against Keighley, beating Bradford 4-0 away and Batley 13-9 after a replay, but again lost in the Final at Headingley, this time 3-16 to Huddersfield.
However they only won 6 more matches from their remaining 19 League matches and finished a dismal 25th in the table with only 25 points from 36 matches.
The following season was even worse as Cas finished 28th with only 17 points from 36 matches. They won only once in their first 12 matches, one of which was 9-10 against the New Zealand tourists.

gateman
Championship Player
Championship Player
Posts: 6692
Joined: 31 Mar 2016, 12:40
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by gateman » 18 Dec 2019, 21:10

keep the info coming Ken nearly up to the time i started watching our beloved team ,glad to say i have reached the ripe old age of 80 and am fortunate to be able to stand through a match I have got my season ticket and I am looking forward once again to watching the Tigers

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 18 Dec 2019, 22:02

Tigerfeat
Indeed. In the 1920s and 1930s all clubs would often play 3 matches in 4 days at Christmas and Easter.

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 19 Dec 2019, 17:19

The 1949/50 season saw Cas at least being a little more more competitive although not in the Cup competitions. After beating Hull 25-21 over two legs in the Yorkshire Cup, Bradford Northern won the Second round contest 13-6 at Odsal, and more humiliation in the Challenge Cup where lowly Batley won over two legs 15-16 in the first round. In the League Cas started the season rather well with 6 wins from the first 8 matches. Their away form wasn’t too bad with a 12-9 win at York, 29-5 at Batley, 11-4 at Featherstone, 10-2 at Hunslet, 19-0 at Bradford, 9-5 at Bramley and 10-6 at Hull KR. However their home form let them down losing to Batley 9-20 the week having won the away match. However they did beat Leeds 7-2 on Easter Monday to finish 12th with 40 points from 36 matches.
However the next 9 years were disastrous as Cas finished no higher than 21st in any of them. They finished 25th in 1950/51 with a mere 25 points from 36 matches, but surprisingly reached the Yorkshire Cup Final for the second time in 3 years. After disposing of Keighley 16-13 over two legs, they won 4-0 at Bradford and beat Batley 13-9 in a replayed Semifinal. The Final was again played at Headingley but this time Huddersfield won it 16-3. But in the League they twice lost to both Wakefield and Leeds, but did win 13-7 at Featherstone.

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 19 Dec 2019, 17:38

Season 1951/52 was a disaster as Cas finished 28th out of 31 clubs wth only Keighley, Cardiff and Liverpool City finishing below them. Cas won only one away game and that was 26-5 at Cardiff. They lost 11 of their first 12 matches and that was at home to Keighley 14-11 in the Yorkshire Cup, but that proved futile as they lost the second leg 0-9. Their home wins amounted to only 7 wins and a 8-8 draw with York, the wins coming against Belle Vue Rangers 12-2, Doncaster 13-7, Cardiff 16-8, Dewsbury 12-0, Hull KR 13-3, Bramley 17-11 and Keighley 19-12 as they finished with only 17 points from 36 matches.

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 19 Dec 2019, 17:56

Season 1952/53 was better with 30 points from 36 matches. Again Cas were eliminated in the first round of both the Yorkshire Cup and the Challenge Cup. Although Cas lost twice to Leeds in the League
they did beat Featherstone twice 13-5 at home and 11-8 away as well as Wakefield 17-14 on Christmas Day during a run of 7 successive wins. In fact the away win at Featherstone was sandwiched between a 20-5 home win against Widnes - 3 matches in successive days and all won! December and early January had been very productive as it also consisted of home wins against Hull KR 22-2, York 15-9 and Bradford 8-7 with a 7-6 win at Doncaster also.

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 19 Dec 2019, 18:39

Season 1953/54 and back to reality with Cas finishing 26th with 23 points from 36 matches. It had actually started pretty well with 6 wins in the first 8 matches, but one of those defeats was 8-58 at Workington, their biggest League defeat at the time. Cas did win 4 away matches 12-8 at Keighley, 28-7 at Hull KR, 26-12 at Liverpool and 25-20 at Huddersfield, but both Leeds and Wakefield beat Cas twice, and even Featherstone beat Cas 25-4 at Post Office Road.
Season 1954/55 saw Cas finish in 21st position with 30 points from 36 matches, but 9 of Castleford’s 13 wins were against clubs below them in the League at Batley 17-8, Blackpool 45-12 and Belle Vue Rangers 18-0,
and at home to Bramley 14-11, Salford 19-0, Doncaster 19-9, Blackpool 20-9, Belle Vue Rangers 33-7 and
Dewsbury 30-10. What was unusual about that season was the number of draws for Cas 13-13 at home to Leeds, and away draws at Featherstone 8-8, Bradford 23-23 and Hull 11-11.

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 19 Dec 2019, 19:10

Season 1955/56 and Cas were in the doldrums again. Belle Vue Rangers withdrew from the League at the beginning of the season but after the fixture list had been compiled, so as 12 clubs were to play 36 matches
and the remaining 18 clubs only 34 matches, the League placings were decided on a percentage ratio of points gained against matches played. Cas won only 9 of their 36 matches and finished 27th with 25%. By Boxing Day Cas had only won 7 matches and two of them were home matches in the Yorkshire Cup, a 29-8
win against Dewsbury and a 17-0 win against Hull KR. The Semifinal at home to Halifax produced a 8-24 defeat and to rub salt into the wounds Cas lost the League match at Halifax 7-44. Cas finished the season with only one away win 16-6 at Batley and only 8 home wins against Widnes 12-10, Batley 32-18, Blackpool
32-7, York 25-19, Doncaster 19-11, Featherstone 18-9, Hull KR 32-12 and Leeds on Easter Monday 26-15.

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 19 Dec 2019, 19:31

The gloom continued at Wheldon Road for another 3 seasons as Cas finished 25th in season 1956/57 with 24 points from 38 matches. In fact Cas won only one of their first 13 matches and that was a 23-17 win against Bradford in the Yorkshire Cup. The first League win came at Liverpool 18-3. By the beginning of January Cas had won only 4 matches from 24 and those were doubles over Liverpool and Doncaster. There
then was a slight revival as Cas won 4 matches in a row with doubles over Dewsbury 46-13 at home and
22-5 away plus home wins against Hull KR 15-11 and Bramley 17-10, but the highlight was again the Easter Monday win against Leeds 16-9.

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 19 Dec 2019, 20:16

Season 1957/58 was the worst season since the inaugural season of 1926/27 as Cas finished last but one to wooden spoonists Doncaster. They accumulated only 15 points from 38 matches despite winning the first match of the season 21-8 at home to Salford. They did manage to win 29-9 at Doncaster in the first round of the Yorkshire Cup but lost to them 5-8 in a League match in mid-December although they had beaten them 34-0 earlier in th season after which they lost 10 of the next 11 matches with only a 19-19 home draw with Bramley breaking up that losing sequence. Things got no better as Cas also lost their last 8 matches.
For what it’s worth Castleford’s other wins were the double over Liverpool 12-11 at home and 32-18 away, Featherstone and Hunslet at home 16-5 and 16-10 respectively.
Season 1958/59 was better with 26 points from 38 matches. Cas actually won their first 4 matches, home wins against Rochdale 15-14 and Doncaster 20-4, plus away wins against Batley 21-18 and Hull KR 26-16.
But 8 defeats in 9 matches throughout December and January derailed their season and 9 more defeats in
their final 10 matches.The only wins against teams higher in the League were against York 18-7, Blackpool
10-8, Bramley 10-9 and Featherstone 27-14, although they did win 23-9 at Bradford after losing at home to
them and 26-16 at Hull KR after losing at home to them also. Cas then showed a gradual improvement at
the beginning of the 1960s to perhaps their greatest period towards the end of that decade, but more about that later.

Ken Smith
Academy Player
Academy Player
Posts: 336
Joined: 21 Aug 2017, 06:44
Contact:

Re: History of Rugby League in Castleford

Post by Ken Smith » 30 Mar 2020, 14:19

Casmania
This is the strangest web site I’ve come across. I’ve just resumed the History of Rugby League in Castleford from 1959 to 1962 and pressed Submit but it hasn’t been printed. It was not a particularly long blog, in fact I have written far longer ones on this subject with no trouble. But the instructions after pressing the ‘Submit’ button are confusing to an 82 year old like me. Should I have pressed Full Editor & Preview First before submitting? I must say I’ve sent blogs regularly on the BBC website and on www.diasboro.com where I have reviewed the seasons of Middlesbrough FC right up to 2002 without any trouble, and if you look at the diasboro web site and scroll down a little you will also find ‘Ken Smith’s Boro History’ with several articles so once you leave a reply you just enter your eMail address followed by the name you wish to use, your blog is accepted with no trouble at all.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Semrush [Bot] and 64 guests