Newcastle Rugby League Football Club joined the
Rugby Football League for the 1936/37 season.
The Pathe News cameras were out when Newcastle opened their
home programme with a great fanfare. The match was attended by many dignitaries
including the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, This first match, played against Huddersfield on
7th Sept 1936, resulted in a 12-33 loss. A piece of film, only about a minute
and a half duration, exists and the clip is described as, “The Lord
Mayor of Newcastle walking along with other officials to open first rugby
league game. He runs a flag up a pole, it says 'Newcastle Rugby League
F. C.' The Newcastle team run out onto the pitch, there are various shots of the
crowd as Huddersfield run out and various shots of the match."
In their first season, 1936/37 Newcastle
finished a lowly 29th out of 30 clubs, with only Featherstone Rovers below
them.
In their second and last season,1937-38 they
again finished second bottom 28th and last out of 29 clubs, this time with Bramley below them.
Newcastle Rugby League Football Club Club left the league
at the end of the 1937/38 season.
Stadium
Newcastle RLFC played at a stadium
also used as a greyhound stadium. This was possibly Brough Park Stadium which
at the time was already home to both greyhound racing and Newcastle Diamonds
speedway team.
According to "the Grounds of
Rugby League"(Trevor Delaney,1991) Newcastle RLFC played at Brough Park in
the 1936/37 season. For 1937/38 the team moved to the new White City Stadium in
Gateshead.
Club League Record
Season
|
Position
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
For
|
Against
|
Diff
|
Pts
|
No of teams in
league
|
1936-37
|
29th
|
38
|
5
|
1
|
32
|
300
|
890
|
-590
|
11
|
30
|
1937-38
|
28th
|
36
|
2
|
4
|
30
|
206
|
750
|
-544
|
8
|
29
|
Acknowledgements:
Wikipedia
The Grounds of Rugby League by Trevor Delaney
Wikipedia
The Grounds of Rugby League by Trevor Delaney
A book is being written about the club. I was contacted by the author last year.
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