| Full name | Hull Rugby League Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Airlie Birds, Black and Whites, The Cream | ||
| Website | www.hullfc.com | ||
| Founded | 1865 | ||
| Ground | KC Stadium, Kingston upon Hull (Capacity 25,404) |
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| Key people | Adam Pearson (Chair) Peter Gentle (Coach) |
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| League | Super League | ||
| XV position | Finished 8th in 2011 | ||
| Championships | 6 | ||
| Challenge Cups | 3 | ||
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| Current season | |||
Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull FC, is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition. Hull FC were one of the founding members of the Northern Rugby Football Union which was formed in 1895 in Huddersfield, making them one of the world's first twenty-two rugby league clubs. Later that year they moved to the Hull Athletic Club's ground at The Boulevard, Airlie Street, which gave rise to their nickname "The Airlie Birds". Traditionally people from the west side of Hull support Hull FC while Hull Kingston Rovers are supported by the east half, the 'border' being regarded as the River Hull. Old Faithful is a traditional Hull terrace song. The team shares KC Stadium with association football side Hull City A.F.C.. Their mascot is "The Airlie Bird" and officially carries the sponsors name, currently P&O Ferries.
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Formed by a group of ex-schoolboys from York, most notably Anthony Bradley, who had been at Rugby School, in 1865. The founders used to meet at the Young Men's Fellowship, at St. Mary’s Church in Lowgate. The vicar at that time was the Reverend Scott and his 5 sons made up the nucleus of the team. The club immediately took on members who were plumbers and glaziers.
Soon another team, Hull White Star, was formed and the two clubs merged. Hull Football Club was one of the first clubs in the north of England to join the Rugby Football Union.
Hull were one of the initial 22 clubs to form the Northern Union after the acrimonious split from the Rugby Football Union in 1895. The club moved into the Hull Athletic Club at the Boulevard in 1895, and subsequently played their first ever match there in September of that year. 8,000 people turned out to witness the first club's match in which Hull beat Liversedge.
The early years of the Northern Union saw Hull prosper, and their black and white irregular hooped jerseys became one of the most famous and feared strips in the league. Between 1908–10, Hull lost three consecutive Rugby League Challenge Cup finals, and has in fact lost in more major finals than anyone else.
In 1913, they paid a world record £600, plus £14 per match, to Hunslet for Billy Batten, one of only seventeen players, and the only representative from Hull FC, so far inducted into the British Rugby League Hall of Fame. A year later the Airlie Birds won their first Challenge Cup, beating Huddersfield in the semi-final and Wakefield Trinity in the final. Playing alongside Billy on that day was John "Jack" Harrison VC, MC, the only professional sportsman to win the Victoria Cross and the Military Cross, the holder of the club record for most tries in a season.
Australian Jim Devereux became the first player to score 100 tries for Hull.[1]
In 1920, Batten was once again key in Hull's first ever Championship final, scoring the only try in the 3–2 victory over Huddersfield.
The early-1920s were bittersweet years for the club. In 1921, Hull won the Yorkshire Cup but lost the county championship, both against rivals Hull Kingston Rovers. Hull couldn’t match the successes of 1914, losing a further two consecutive cup finals in 1922–23 to Rochdale Hornets and Leeds respectively, but they managed to win the Yorkshire Cup and finish top of the league.
In the early 1930s, Hull had a full back and goal kicker called Joe Oliver. Oliver was so dependable with the boot that the crowd at one match spontaneously started singing the Gene Autry song, Old Faithful at him. Hull supporters adopted the song as their battle cry from then on.
Hull's record attendance was set in 1936 when 28,798 turned up for the visit of Leeds for a third round Challenge cup match.
The 1952 Kangaroos visited the Boulevard on Monday 8 September. They had opened their tour with a victory at Keighley two days earlier, and they continued their winning run with a 28–0 victory over Hull.
In 1954, the black Welshman Roy Francis became the first black professional coach in any British team sport, when he coached Hull.
Hull team won the league championship in 1956 when Colin Hutton kicked a last-minute penalty in the final against Halifax at Maine Road, Manchester. Hull won the play-offs again in 1958, against Workington Town. They also won the European Club championship in 1957 and lost in the cup finals at Wembley in 1959 and 1960. These triumphs healed the wound of two successive Yorkshire Cup final defeats in 1955 and 1957. They lost in two further Challenge Cup finals to Wigan and Wakefield Trinity in 1959 and 1960. All these reverses, when one hand had been grasping so many trophies, gave Hull a steely resolve and a thirst for success.
Johnny Whiteley became player coach in October 1963. When Roy Francis retired as Hull FC coach in 1965, Whiteley took over as coach. Hull F.C. lost to Wakefield Trinity 17–10 victory in the 1968 Rugby Football League Championship final at Headingley on 4 May 1968. Francis resigned in 1970 to coach Hull Kingston Rovers. Ivor Watts was then appointed coach from 1970-1971 of which Hull won 28 matches and lost 17.
With the coaching appointment of Arthur Bunting in 1978, Hull began a period of dominance. Hull won all of their 26 Division Two matches in 1978–79, the only time a club has won all of its league matches in a season and returning to the top flight. The Airlie Birds lost the 1980 Challenge Cup final against Hull KR 10–5 and have never won at Wembley since. It was reputed that a makeshift sign was left on the A63 (the major westerly road out of Hull) that read "last one out turn the lights off!" due to most of the city travelling to Wembley for the final. In 1982, Hull, crushed by Widnes in the Premiership final, avenged the defeat with an 18–9 Challenge Cup replay win.
Hull eventually won the league in 1983 and also reached the Premiership final, the Challenge Cup final and the Yorkshire Cup final, but the latter trophy would be their only reward from the three finals. They lost to Featherstone Rovers at Wembley in one of the great Challenge Cup final upsets and they also lost the Premiership final three years running.[2]
The signing of Australian Peter Sterling, a 2006 inductee into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame, maintained Hull’s strength, and Bunting’s men went to their third successive Yorkshire Cup beating Hull KR 29–12, but were edged out in arguably the greatest ever Challenge Cup final in 1984–85 by Wigan at Wembley Stadium with a score of 28 to 24 in Wigan's favour. A number of subsequent coaches, such as Brian Smith (1988–90) failed to deliver consistent success. Hull lost the Premiership final in 1989 to Widnes, but two years later returned to beat them at Old Trafford under coach Noel Cleal.
In 1996, the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inaugural Super League season and changed from a winter to a summer season.[3] As the sport in Britain entered a new era, controversy was sparked in the city of Hull when it was suggested that Hull should merge with Hull Kingston Rovers to form 'Humberside'. Hull's shareholders gave the idea general approval but it was ultimately resisted.[4] The club like many other rugby league clubs re-branded and became known as the Hull Sharks. It is unclear who came up with the 'Sharks' as a nickname but for a nautical city it was a fairly obvious choice. Hull finished below the cut-off point of 10th in the existing top flight and so were excluded from the new Super League.
Phil Sigsworth joined the club in 1996 and coached them to the First Division championship title and promotion to Super League in 1997. However the club struggled to gain a foot hold in the competition under new manager Peter Walsh. The renaming was unpopular with the supporters and the club spiralled in to financial difficulties and went out of business. Hull Sharks closed and was taken over by the recently formed expansion team Gateshead Thunder at the end of 1999 (with the backing of the Super League).[5] The Association of Premiership Clubs blocked proposals for the newly merged company to enter a Hull-based team in the Northern Ford Premiership[6] and so Hull FC closed and Gateshead Thunder took over the traditional Hull FC identity in Super League and moved its home games to The Boulevard. Most of the Gateshead playing squad moved to Hull along with their Board and ex-St Helens coach Shaun McRae who remained at the helm until 2004.
After 107 years at the Boulevard, Hull moved in January 2003 to a £44 million state-of-the-art council-owned Kingston Communications Stadium, more commonly known as the KC Stadium and the rejuvenation of the club continued. Although they are joint tenants at the stadium alongside city's football club: the two teams sharing use of the stadium, Hull FC have been forced to play a cup match away at Doncaster in order to avoid two matches clashing. Shaun McRae left the club to return to Australia at the end of the 2004 season; he was replaced by former England coach John Kear, who had previously been McRae's deputy.
In his first season at the club, Kear led Hull to the Rugby League Challenge Cup final for the first time since 1985. Hull defeated Leeds 25–24 in a thrilling final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to lift the trophy. Paul Cooke's 77th minute try, which was converted by Danny Brough gave Hull a 1 point lead, which they held onto after Hull captain Richard Swain charged down a drop-goal attempt from Leeds skipper Kevin Sinfield in the dying seconds of the match.
John Kear left Hull on 3 April 2006 after a disappointing start to the season, which saw Hull lose four out of their first seven league games and also their defence of the Challenge Cup being ended at the first hurdle against the Bradford Northern in a 23–12 defeat, to be replaced by Peter Sharp who was recruited from Parramatta Eels where he was assistant coach. Between 14 April – 15 July 2006 Hull won 13 matches in succession, including a 27–26 defeat of the league leaders St Helens on 8 June 2006. The last time they beat St Helens on their ground was 18 years ago. This run ended in defeat at Harlequins RL on 23 July 2006. Hull managed to finish in second place, their highest league position in the Super League era. They lost to the league leaders St Helens in the first Grand Final playoff game, but succeeded in reaching the final by defeating the reigning champions Bradford. Over 20,000 Hull fans travelled to Old Trafford, but again they lost out to the Saints, this time by 26–4. The overall attendance broke the Grand Final record, mainly due to the stadium's recent expansion.
For the 2007 season, Hull signed five players: Matt Sing (a prolific National Rugby League try-scorer and Australian representative), Hutch Maiava, Willie Manu, Danny Tickle and Wayne Godwin. Also, the Hull v Hull Kingston Rovers derbies are back for the 2007 season due to Rovers' promotion from National League 1. The first of four of these derby matches was played on Easter Monday, 9 April 2007, at the KC Stadium. The game was played in front of a sell-out attendance of 23,002 and ended with a result for the Black and Whites who had been struggling early in the season. The final score was 22–14 with Sid Domic crossing the line for the Airlie Birds in the final seconds.
On 23 April Paul Cooke, stand-off, controversially resigned from Hull to join Hull Kingston Rovers. Cooke claimed he was out of contract as he had not signed the contract that the club had offered him. Following his departure, club Chief Executive David Plummer resigned. His replacement James Rule has come in for much criticism.
Hull have endured a poor 2008 season and on 19 May 2008 the club dismissed coach Peter Sharp. A week later they appointed his assistant Richard Agar as his replacement. John Sharp has since been named as an addition to the Hull coaching staff. Hull finished a poor 11th in the League in 2008, falling far short of the fans expectations, although a Challenge cup final appearance and a successful franchise application ensured the season was not a complete failure. The club announced that Australian test prop Michael Crocker will sign for the club on a three year contract from the start of the 2008–09 season. Fullback Chris Thorman has signed a one-year deal for 2009, after leaving Huddersfield. Matty Dale, Matt Sing and James Webster were released at the end of the season. Former HKR favourite - Webster having only played one game.
In March 2009 Michael Crocker was denied a visa to come to England to play for Hull. Hull announced four big name signings for the 2010 SL season: Craig Fitzgibbon, Mark O'Meley, Sean Long, and Jordan Tansey (although Tansey arrived at the club towards the end of the 2009 season, having been released early from his contract at Sydney Roosters). Several long serving players left the club at the end of the forgettable 2009 season, including Paul King, Graeme Horne, and Gareth Raynor.
Super League XV started well with five wins from the first seven games, the two losses coming away against Crusaders and Wigan Warriors. FC beat Hull KR 18-14 in the first derby of the year at Craven Park, but then followed a period of one win from five games, in which the team were convincingly knocked out of the Challenge Cup by Leeds. Hull finished the regular season in 6th place, however a convincing 21-4 home defeat to rivals Hull Kingston Rovers brought an early end to their playoff campaign.
On 22 July 2011 it was confirmed that Hull City's Head of Football Operations, Adam Pearson had purchased the entire shareholding of the club and had taken over full control from Kath Hetherington. In a statement on the club's website, it was also confirmed that James Rule would continue as Chief Executive.[7]
*Announced on 19 December 2011
| 2012 Hull F.C season | |||||||||
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| First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
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Head coach Assistant coaches
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Ins
| Nat | Name | Moved From | Length | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Ellis | Leigh | 3 Years | June 2011 | |
| Wade McKinnon | Wests Tigers | 3 Years | June 2011 | |
| Aaron Heremaia | New Zealand Warriors | 2 Years | June 2011 | |
| Brett Seymour | New Zealand Warriors | 3 Years | June 2011 | |
| Eamon O'Carroll | Wigan Warriors | 3 Years | September 2011 | |
| Andy Lynch | Bradford Bulls | 3 Years | September 2011 | |
| Tony Martin | Crusaders RL | 1 Year | October 2011 | |
| Martin Aspinwall | Castleford Tigers | 1 Year | October 2011 | |
| Mike Burnett | Harlequins RL | 1 Year | November 2011 |
Outs
| Nat | Name | Moved To | Length | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Washbrook | Wakefield Wildcats | 3 years | September 2011 | |
| Ewan Dowes | Wakefield Wildcats | 1 year | September 2011 | |
| Epalahame Lauaki | Wigan Warriors | 3 Years | September 2011 | |
| Luke Briscoe | Leeds Rhinos | 4 years | September 2011 | |
| Sean Long | Salford City Reds Assistant Coach | 1 Year | August 2011 | |
| Craig Fitzgibbon | Sydney Roosters Assistant Coach | 3 Years | September 2011 | |
| Cameron Phelps | Released | September 2011 | ||
| Martin Gleeson | Released | September 2011 | ||
| Lee Radford | Hull FC Assistant Coach | 3 years | October 2011 | |
| Sam Obst | Keighley Cougars | 1 Year | November 2011 |
coaches In
| Nat | Name | Moved From | Precision | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaun McRae | Salford City Reds | Director of rugby league | September 2011 | |
| Peter Gentle | Wests Tigers | Head coach | September 2011 | |
| Lee Radford | Hull FC | Assistant Coach | September 2011 | |
| Andy Hay | Castleford Tigers | Assistant Coach | September 2011 |
1980–81: Steve Norton
1981–85: David Topliss
1985–87: Lee Crooks
1987–90: Dane O'Hara
1990–92: Greg MacKey
1992–94: Russ Walker
1994–96: Steve McNamara
1996: Gary Divorty
1997: Andy Fisher
| Name | Started | Ended | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Hunte | 1998 | 1998 | Relinquished captaincy | |
| Gary Lester | 1998 | 1998 | ||
| Karl Harrison | 1999 | 1999 | Retired | |
| Tony Grimaldi | 2000 | 2001 | Moved to Canterbury Bulldogs | |
| Jason Smith | 2002 | 2004 | Moved to Canberra Raiders | |
| Richard Swain | 2005 | 2006 | Relinquished captaincy | |
| Lee Radford | 2007 | 2009[update] | Relinquished captaincy | |
| Sean Long | 2010 | 2011 | Relinquished captaincy | |
| Craig Fitzgibbon | 2011 | 2012 | Retired to be assistant coach at Sydney Roosters | |
| 2012 | Present[update] | N/A |
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These players have either; won Challenge Cup, Rugby Football League Championship, Yorkshire Cup, Yorkshire League, played during Super League, have received a Testimonial match, were international representatives before, or after, their time at Hull, or are notable outside of rugby league.
Also made their first super league grand final but lost to St Helens in 2006
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