Broughton Rangers

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Broughton Rangers were a British rugby league team. They were based in Broughton, Greater Manchester.

[edit] History

They were founded in 1877. They took part in the first rugby match under floodlights on October 22 1878 when they played Swinton in Salford.

They were one of twenty-one clubs met at the George Hotel in Huddersfield on 29 August 1895 and formed the Northern Rugby Union.

In 1901-02, Broughton Rangers won the Challenge Cup by beating Salford 25 - 0 at Rochdale in front of 15,006 spectators. They also won the 1901-02 Championship.

They won the cup again in 1910-11 when they beat Wigan 4 - 0 at Salford in front of 8,000.

In 1941-2 Broughton Rangers dropped out of the wartime Lancashire league, they would not return to league competition until 1945-6.

In 1946, they relocated and renamed themselves Belle Vue Rangers. They played on the Belle Vue Motorcycle Speedway ground inside the speedway track. After the war, they finished mid table or above but things slipped in the 50s so that in the 54-55 season they finished next to bottom. This lasted until 1955 when they folded.