York Wasps

York Wasps (known simply as York until 1989 and Ryedale-York from 1989–96) was an English professional rugby league club based in York. At the start of the 2002 season, the club was dissolved. A new club, York City Knights was established to take the Wasps' place for the 2003 season.

History

Early years

The club was first formed as York Football Club in 1868 and played both association and rugby football, for the first few seasons they had portable goal posts as they did not have their own ground and would play wherever they could find a pitch. Eventually a permanent pitch was secured on Knavesmire.

It took three years for the club to record their first victory, and that was in an association football match against York Training College. Results picked up in the mid-1870s as the club attracted a higher standard of player. In 1877, York were among several leading Yorkshire clubs who inaugurated the Yorkshire Challenge Cup. In the first season 16 teams battled it out for the T'owd Tin Pot, with York eventually losing out to Halifax in the final.

Financial problems in the early 1880s forced the club out of the Yorkshire Gentlemen's Ground in Wigginton Road and in 1883 the club amalgamated with York Melbourne Club.

After playing on Poad's Fields for a short time, the York Lunatic Asylum leased the club a plot of land at the end of the Clarence Street in 1885. The first game at the new site was between a York XV and 20 players from the city.

The club made great strides with the team of 1895, which won virtually all their home matches. Off the field the club paid £85 for the Waterman's Mission Hut in Fishergate and converted it into their first grandstand, incorporating dressing rooms.

Northern Union

Northern rugby teams broke away from the Rugby Football Union to form their own Northern Union in 1895. York initially stayed with the Rugby Football Union but as more and more clubs began to join the new order, it became a financial necessity to follow suit. The decision to join the Northern Union was taken at a meeting at the Bar Hotel, Micklegate, on Monday, 25 April 1898 and five days later they played their first Northern Union match against Hull Kingston Rovers losing 29–2.

The York club was first admitted to the Rugby Football League in 1901. In 1902/03 the Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues were combined to form a second division. They defeated the touring All Golds team in 1908.^[1] York was one of the new teams to join the second division. After the First World War, they became known as "the Dreadnoughts". They beat the visiting Australasian team of the 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain 9–3.

York's best moment came in 1931 when they reached the Challenge Cup Final for the first time, only to be beaten 22–8 by Halifax. York had finished as the top Yorkshire club in 1932–33 for the first time and fourth in the league to qualify for the Championship play-offs but were beaten by Swinton. In 1933, York beat Hull Kingston Rovers 10–4 in the Yorkshire Cup final held at Headingley. 10 February 1934, York's record attendance was set when 14,689 turned up to watch a Challenge Cup match against Swinton, which ended in a 0–0 draw.

York again made the final of the Yorkshire Cup in 1935 but were beaten by Leeds 3–0 at Thrum Hall, Halifax but were back the next year this time beating Wakefield Trinity 9–2 in a final held at Headingley.

Bill Kirkbride became coach in 1980. York team lifted the Division Two title in 1980–81, beating Hunslet 53–7 to guarantee themselves the title with two games to spare, finishing above big-guns Wigan and big-spending Fulham.^[2] Kirkbridge left in 1982.

Financial problems forced the club to sell their training pitch for £200,000 in 1986. Three years later faced with a large bill for safety work, the rest of the stadium was sold to a housing developer for £705,000, less than half what the ground was worth. York's last match at Clarence Street produced a 26–17 victory over Hunslet in front of a crowd of 2,904 spectators. When plans to ground share with York City F.C. broke down, York moved to the Huntington Stadium (originally Ryedale Stadium) two miles to the north of the city at Monk's Cross. As the stadium was financed by Ryedale District Council the club became known as Ryedale-York.

Ryedale-York

Gary Stephens became coach in 1988. Huntington/Ryedale Stadium's record attendance for a rugby league match was set on 5 January 1990 when 4,977 turned up to watch a division two match against Halifax.

In 1991, York and Fulham toured Russia, an act that caused many Russian rugby union clubs to switch to rugby league. Stephens left as coach.

Stuart Horton took over the coaching reins from Roger Millward in January 1995. He was sacked at the end of 1996 for alleged gross misconduct after the postponement of a friendly fixture at Hull. He was replaced by Dean Robinson. Following the move to summer rugby in 1996, the club was renamed York Wasps.

York Wasps

York were beaten by amateur side West Hull 10-6 in the Challenge Cup on Humberside on a frozen pitch. They became the first professional side to lose to an amateur club in the fourth round, and it was only the third time a minnow had triumphed against a giant in the event since the Second World War.

York won one game in the Northern Ford Premiership in 2000 and finished the campaign with a team of amateurs after almost folding. Coach Dean Robinson resigned in March 2000 and caretaker coach Garry Atkins finished the season.

Lee Crooks took over as coach in August 2000. They attracted sponsorship from the New York Economic Development Council for the 2001 season.^[3] This promised, but did not deliver, a bright future. Lee Crooks resigned and academy coach Martin Flynn took charge for the final Northern Ford Premiership home game.

York made an approach to Virgin to buy the London Broncos in August 2001 and form a merged club under a new name, York Wasps Ltd, to play in Super League.^[4] Australian Leo Epifania came over to England to be head coach of York Wasps in September.

On 19 March 2002, after completing 11 games,^[5] York Wasps announced that they had folded. After a last-ditch take-over deal to save the Wasps collapses, the RFL accept the club's resignation on 26 March 2002.^[6] Ironically the plug was pulled less than a fortnight after the club's first win in 13 months.

Head coach, Leo Epifania quit England but York players continued to train with the idea of playing later in the season under unpaid caretaker-boss Stuart Horton. A supporters' trust working party was formed on 27 March 2002 and applied to the RFL to continue the 2002 Northern Ford Premiership fixtures. After hearing it would be impossible to meet requirements to return that season, on 5 May 2002 fans backed new proposals for a new club to apply for admittance to the league for 2003, and a new club, York City Knights, was subsequently established.

Honours

• Yorkshire County Cup: 3
  • 1922-23, 1933–34, 1936–37

Coaching register

• Bill Kirkbride 1980–81
• Alan Hardisty 1982
• Gary Stephens 1988–91
• Derek Foster 1992
• Steve Crooks 1993
• Roger Millward
• Stuart Horton 1995-6
• Dean Robinson 1996–2000
• Garry Atkins 2000
• Lee Crooks 2000-1
• Martin Flynn 2001
• Leo Epifania 2001–2002
• Stewart Horton

Notable players

Players earning international caps while at York

Hall of Fame

The following players have been inducted into the York Rugby League Hall of Fame. To be considered for inclusion, a player must have spent at least four seasons at the club, and be retired for more than five years.^[8]

• Geoff Pryce
• Vic Yorke
• Willie Hargreaves
• Gary Smith
• Norman Fender
• Basil Watts
• Edgar Dawson
• Charlie Taylor
• Geoff Hunter
• Kevin Harkin
• Graham Steadman
• Rich Hayes

Records

* Match records Tries: 7 by Brad Davis v Highfield 17 September 1995

* Season records Tries: 35 by John Crossley, Jr., 1980–81

* Highest score against 98–0 at Rochdale Hornets, 8 April 2001

* Biggest defeat 98–0 at Rochdale Hornets, 8 April 2001

* Highest home attendances

Clarence Street: 14,689 v Swinton (Challenge Cup), 10 February 1934.

Huntington Stadium: 4,977 v Halifax (Division 2), 5 January 1990 – Then Ryedale Stadium.

References