 | ||
| Club information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bramley Rugby League Football Club | |
| Nickname | Villagers | |
| Founded | 1879; 146 years ago (1879) | |
| Exited | 2000; 25 years ago (2000) | |
| Former details | ||
| Grounds |
| |
| Competition | Rugby League Championships | |
| Uniforms | ||
| ||
| Records | ||
| BBC2 Floodlit Trophy | 1 (1973–74) | |
Bramley RLFC was arugby league club from theBramley area ofLeeds inWest Yorkshire,England, that folded following the 1999 season. The club is a famous name in rugby league, having existed before the formation of theNorthern Union in 1895. The traditional nickname for the club was 'the Villagers'.
Following Bramley's demise, aPhoenix club was formed by the fans of the original club with the desire to return to the professional ranks, continuing the Bramley name, traditions and history. However, theRFL denied the new clubs' applications twice. The new club was admitted toNational League Three in 2004.
Bramley was founded in 1879. They played at Whitegate Farm and Pollard Lane from their founding and moved to theBarley Mow ground in 1890.
The city of Leeds had an abundance ofrugby football clubs and although these were members of the Yorkshire RFU[1] (which was in turn a Constituent Body of theRFU), it was decided to form a ‘more local’ association. For this reason, a Leeds & District organisation was formalised in a meeting at the Green Dragon Hotel, Leeds on 27 September 1888. The foundation clubs were Bramley,Holbeck,Hunslet, Kirkstall,Leeds Parish Church,Leeds St John's (later to becomeLeeds) and Wortley.[2]
Bramley's England internationalHarry Bradshaw, was the first test case atTwickenham, over "broken time payments" in 1893, two years before the "great schism" of 1895 that resulted in the formation of the Northern Union, which in time would be renamed as the Rugby League. Bramley was admitted to the newNorthern Union on 2 June 1896. The rugby league was then split into two county leagues, Lancashire and Yorkshire.
James Lomas became rugby league's first £100 transfer from Bramley toSalford in 1901.[3]
On 9 October 1907, they became the first club to entertain a touring side when they playedthe New Zealand All Golds.
On 9 November 1921, theAustralian Kangaroos as part of the1921-22 Kangaroo tour, defeated Bramley 92–7 at Barley Mow. This would remain the highest ever score for an Australian team during aKangaroo Tour.[4]
In 1942–43, Bramley dropped out of the wartime Yorkshire League. They did not return to league competition until 1945–46.
In the 1960s, the club moved to a new ground on land adjacent to Barley Mow, which became known asMcLaren Field. Bramley developed the ground into a more modern stadium in 1966 with the hope that the new ground would help to take them up the leagues.
In 1973, the clubs voted to split into two divisions.Arthur Keegan became first team coach. Bramley defeatedWakefield Trinity,Castleford andSt. Helens in order to reach the 1973BBC2 Floodlit Trophy. They won the trophy with a 15–7 away victory overWidnes on 14 December 1973. It was the first cup Bramley had won in their entire history. Ironically, due to power cuts resulting from theThree-Day Week, the final against Widnes atNaughton Park took place on a mid-week afternoon. The club played in the First Division in that 1973–74 season. Though relegated the club had some excellent league wins including an away victory atHeadingley againstLeeds. The loss of fixtures against Leeds, Wakefield Trinity and Bradford Northern cost the club financially.
On 1 September 1974, Bramley defeatedDoncaster 52–17 at McLaren Field in aYorkshire County Cup first round tie. This broke the club record which had stood since 1946. However, the resources of the Villagers could not sustain this success, results and attendances flagged, and Keegan was sacked in September 1976.
Bramley won promotion to Division One, underPeter Fox in the 1976–77 season.
Bramley almost went into liquidation in October 1983 but survived.
In 1990, the club was faced with an estimated bill of £250,000 to carry out comprehensive safety work at McLaren Field, for the start of the 1991–92 season.John Kear was appointed coach in 1992.
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In January 1994, due to rising debts, Bramley announced plans to leave McLaren Field and ground share withFarsley Celtic. By June the club backtracked and stayed at McLaren Field until the end of the 1994–95 season asHunslet were considering leavingElland Road to play at McLaren Field.
Hunslet decided against moving to McClaren Field and moving into the newly openedSouth Leeds Stadium, closer to Hunslet. For Bramley this meant it would be financially impossible to stay at McClarn Field. The stadium was subsequently sold to developers and the club moved toClarence Field,Kirkstall, the home ofHeadingley RUFC.
Leeds Rhinos bought Clarence Field in 1996 to construct a purpose built training facility. This would leave Bramley once again homeless however Leeds would offer Bramley a ground share atHeadingley from the 1997 season.[5] Bramley played three seasons at Headingley but once again struggled due to low attendances, and the team became ever more overshadowed byLeeds with some players such asBarrie McDermott andLeroy Rivett turning out for Bramley on the way back from injury.
In 1999,Hunslet had applied to joinSuper League and proposed a merger with Bramley so they could play home games at Headingley.[6] Hunslet were however unsuccessful in their attempt to join the top tier and Bramley resigned from theNorthern Ford Premiership at the end of the 1999 season.
The club applied to rejoin theNorthern Ford Premiership in 2000 with the intention of becoming a feeder club forLeeds Rhinos and playing home games atFarsley CelticsThrostle Nest however they were rejected in favour of a bid fromGateshead Thunder.
After being rejected to join the professional ranks a new supporter owned Phoenix club was set up calledBramley Buffaloes.
Also seeCategory:Bramley R.L.F.C. coaches.
Robert "Bob" Bartlettc. 1948 (toLeeds)| Season | League | Play-offs | Challenge Cup | Other competitions | Name | Tries | Name | Points | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Top try scorer | Top point scorer | |||||||
| 1996 | Division Two | 22 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 360 | 759 | 10 | 11th | R4 | |||||||
| 1997 | Division Two | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 353 | 513 | 11 | 9th | R3 | |||||||
| 1998 | Division Two | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 487 | 386 | 25 | 4th | R3 | |||||||
| 1999 | Northern Ford Premiership | 28 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 489 | 596 | 23 | 11th | R3 | |||||||
