Fartown (Rugby and Cricket Ground), Huddersfield
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Fartown is also an area of Pudsey, West Yorkshire. See Pudsey.
Fartown is a suburb of Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England, and is famous for being the location of the home ground of the Huddersfield rugby league team between 1878 and 1992.
The ground, officially named the St. Johns Ground but always referred to as Fartown, was the scene of many great games, including several Challenge Cup semi finals and internationals. The Giants are still known as "Fartown" or "the Fartowners" by many of their older supporters.
The highest attendance at the stadium to watch a Huddersfield game was 32,912 against Wigan on the 4th March 1950, although a Challenge Cup semi-final between Leeds and Wakefield on April 19, 1947 attracted a crowd of 35,136.
Senior football was played there just once, an FA Cup semi final in 1882, organised as part of an attempt by the Football Association to promote the game of soccer in what was, at the time, a predominantly rugby focused town. Blackburn Rovers drew 0-0 with Sheffield Wednesday, forcing a replay at Fallowfield in Manchester. Blackburn eventually won 5-1, and went on to lose 1-0 in the final to Old Etonians.
On August 11th, 1943 an exhibition baseball game was staged between two teams of American soldiers which attracted 2,400 curious spectators.
The rugby ground was adjoined by a cricket pitch, once considered to be the finest wicket in Yorkshire. A total of 76 first class games were played on the pitch, the first on August 28, 1873 when Yorkshire played Nottinghamshire, and the last on August 17, 1955, when Yorkshire defeated Gloucestershire by 67 runs. Sunday League one-day games continued to be played at the ground until 1982.
Huddersfield rugby league team moved to Leeds Road in 1992, and then to the McAlpine Stadium in 1994, although they continued to use Fartown as a training base until 2004. The ground is now rather dilapidated, and is only used for staging amateur rugby games.
