HULL F.C.

(Redirected from Hull FC)
:''For the football team of the same city, see Hull City A.F.C.''
'Hull FC' is a professional rugby league football club formed in 1865 and based in Hull, England. They were one of the founder members of the Northern Union which was formed in 1895. 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 supported Hull FC while Hull Kingston Rovers were supported by the east half, the 'border' usually being regarded as the River Hull. The club reverted to their former name of Hull FC in 1999, after Hull (then known as 'Hull Sharks') merged with Gateshead Thunder after both clubs ran into financial difficulties.
Old Faithful is a traditional Hull terrace song.

Contents
History
Early years
Post World War two
Super League era
2007 Squad
2007 Fixtures/Results
Transfers
2007/2008 Transfers in
2007/2008 Transfers out
Captains
Pre-Super League
Super League
Notable Former players
Honours
Records
Player records
Career records
Team records
External links

History


Early years

The club was formed by a group of ex-schoolboys from York, who had been at Rugby school, in 1865. The club immediately took on members who were plumbers and glaziers.
The club moved into the Hull Athletic Club at the Boulevard in 1895, and subsequently played their first ever match 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 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 Harrison (VC), the only professional sportsman to win the Victoria Cross, the holder of the club record for most tries in a season. 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 attendence was set in 1936 when 28,798 turned up for the visit of Leeds for a third round Challenge cup match.
Post World War two

In 1954, the black Welshman Roy Francis became the first black professional coach in any British team sport, when he coached Hull.
After the second world war, Hull won two Championship in three years, beating Halifax in 1956 and Workington Town in 1958. These two triumphs healed the wound of two successive Yorkshire Cupfinal defeats in 1955 and 1957. They lost in two further Challenge Cup finals to Wigan and Wakefield 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.
With the coaching appointment of Arthur Bunting Hull FC 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. 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 of 1985 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 and Noel Cleal 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.
Super League era

When the Super League was formed, it was suggested that Hull should merge with Hull Kingston Rovers to form 'Humberside'. This was resisted but the club changed its name to 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.
The old 'Hull Sharks' logo
Hull FC finished below the cut-off point of 10th in the existing top flight and were excluded from the new Super League.
The club won promotion to the Super League until 1997. Hull and Gateshead Thunder merged at the end of 1999, after the owner of the two clubs could not afford to keep both afloat and Hull reverted to their original name, Gateshead later reforming as a new club but retaining the Thunder tag. Ex-St Helens and Gateshead Thunder coach Shaun McRae was at the helm from 2000 up to 2004.
After 107 years at the Boulevard, Hull moved in January 2003 to a £44m state-of-the-art council-owned Kingston Communications Stadium, more commonly known as the KC Stadium. They are joint tenants at the stadium alongside city's football team: the two teams have priority use at the stadium at the end of each sport's season, thus Hull FC receive priority during the early part of the football season, the situation being reversed at the early part of the rugby season. 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 Challenge Cup final for the first time since 1985. Hull defeated Leeds Rhinos 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 FC on 3 April 2006 after a disappointing start to the season, which saw Hull FC lose 4 out of their first 7 league games and also their defence of the Challenge Cup being ended at the first hurdle against the Bradford Bulls in a 23-12 defeat, to be replaced by Peter Sharp who was recruited from Parramatta Eels where he was assistant coach. Between 14 April15 July 2006 Hull FC won 13 matches in succession, including a 27-26 defeat of the league leaders St Helens on the 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 the 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 Bulls. Over 20,000 Hull FC 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 FC 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, the 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 April 23 Paul Cooke, stand-off, controversially resigned from Hull FC to join Hull Kingston Rovers. He played his first game for them on Friday April 27 against Huddersfield . On Saturday May 5 Cooke took to the field at the Millennium Stadium for the 200th all Hull derby against Hull FC.
In early June 2007, Hull signed Brisbane's 2006 Clive Churchill Medallist, Shaun Berrigan, for the 2008 season.
Also, in early July 2007, Hull FC played their bitter rivals, Hull Kingston Rover at Craven Park in front of just over 9,000 people, where Hull FC overcame a good first half from Hull Kingston Rovers, and eventually came out 30-20 winners in the enemy's back yard.

2007 Squad


NumberPlayerPositionPrevious Club
'1'Shaun BriscoeFull BackWigan Warriors
'2'Matt SingWingerNorth Queensland Cowboys
'3'Kirk YeamanCentreHull FC Academy
'5'Gareth RaynorWingerLeeds Rhinos
'7'Richard HorneScrum HalfHull FC Academy
'8'Ewan DowesPropLeeds Rhinos
'10'Garreth CarvellPropLeeds Rhinos
'11'Lee RadfordSecond RowBradford Bulls
'12'Shayne McMenemySecond rowHalifax RLFC
'13'Danny WashbrookLoose ForwardHull FC Academy
'14'Motu TonyUtilityCastleford Tigers
'15'Paul KingPropHull FC Academy
'16'Danny TickleSecond RowWigan Warriors
'17'Willie ManuSecond RowCastleford Tigers
'18'Wayne GodwinHookerWigan Warriors
'19'Graeme HorneSecond RowHull FC Academy
'20'Richard WhitingStand OffFeatherstone Rovers
'21'Hutch MaiavaPropCronulla Sharks
'22'Craig HallCentreHull FC Academy
'23'Tommy LeeScrum HalfHull FC Academy
'25'Matty DaleSecond RowHull FC Academy
'26'Scott WheeldonPropHull FC Academy
'27'Danny HoughtonHookerHull FC Academy
'28'Mike BurnettSecond RowHull FC Academy
'29'Nathan FreerPropHull FC Academy
'30'Ross DivortySecond RowHull FC Academy
'32'Mathew HeadHalf BackSt George Illawarra Dragons

2007 Fixtures/Results


'2007 Engage Super League'
RdHome TeamScoreAway TeamResultAttendance
'1'
'Hull FC'
10-10
Catalans Dragons
Draw12,673
'2'
Leeds Rhinos
18-4
'Hull FC'
Lost18,659
'3'
Warrington Wolves
25-24
'Hull FC'
Lost11,097
'4'
'Hull FC'
6-19
Wakefield Trinity
Lost13,229
'5'
Huddersfield Giants
12-16
'Hull FC'
Won7,188
'6'
'Hull FC'
24-12
St Helens
Won12,678
'7'
'Hull FC'
20-30
Wigan Warriors
Lost12,577
'CCC4'
'Hull FC'
78-0
Hunslet Hawks
Won5,602
'8'
Harlequins RL
30-28
'Hull FC'
Lost3,545
'9'
'Hull FC'
22-14
Hull KR
Won23,003
'10'
Salford City Reds
18-35
'Hull FC'
Won4,077
'11'
'Hull F.C.'
22-32
Bradford Bulls
Lost12,767
'12'
Wakefield Wildcats
18-20
'Hull FC'
Won7,142
'
★ 13'
'Hull FC'
10-14
Hull KR
Lost32,384
'CCC5'
'Hull FC'
44-6
Sheffield Eagles
Won4,363
'14'
'Hull FC'
36-12
Leeds Rhinos
Won14,256
'15'
Wigan Warriors
47-16
'Hull FC'
Lost14,313
'16'
'Hull FC'
9-9
Huddersfield Giants
Draw12,094
'CCCQF'
'Hull FC'
23-26
Catalans Dragons
Lost7,441
'17'
Bradford Bulls
34-8
'Hull FC'
Lost11,557
'

★ 18'
'Hull FC'
P-P
Salford City Reds
PostponedRe-arranged 28 days
'19'
HKR
20-30
'Hull FC'
Won9,035
'20'
'Hull FC'
20-8
Harlequins RL
Won12,270
'21'
Catalans Dragons
18-34
'Hull FC'
Won7,560
'

★ 18'
'Hull FC'
48-26
Salford City Reds
Won13,338
'22'
St Helens
31-20
'Hull FC'
Lost10,005
'23'
'Hull FC'
46-14
Warrington Wolves
Won13,404
'24'
Wakefield Wildcats
42-24
'Hull FC'
Won8,115
'25'
'Hull FC'
6-42
HKR
Lost23,004
'26'
Leeds Rhinos
-
'Hull FC'
--
'27'
'Hull FC'
-
Bradford Bulls
--
'PO1' 3rd- 6th--
'PO2' 4th- 5th--
'PO3' 1st- 2nd--
'PO4' Winner of Play-off 1- Winner of Play-off 2--
'PO5' Loser of Play-off 3- Winner of Play-off 4--
'


★ SLGF'
Winner of Play-off 3- Winner of Play-off 5--

'
★ Round 13 played at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.'
'

★ Round 18 match re-arranged from 01/07/07 to 29/07/07 due to flooding in Hull'
'


engage Super League Grand Final to be played at Old Trafford, Manchester.'
'
Current Super League Table'

Transfers


2007/2008 Transfers in

NameSigned FromFeeDate
Rob WorrincyDoncaster Rugby UnionMay 2007
Mathew HeadSt George Illawarra DragonsJuly 2007
Adam DykesCronulla Sharks2008
Shaun BerriganBrisbane Broncos2008

2007/2008 Transfers out

NameSold ToFeeDate
'Paul Cooke'Hull Kingston RoversPrideApril 2007
Rob WorrincySheffield EaglesJune 2007
'Sid Domic'Dewsbury RamsJune 2007
Richard SwainRetiredJuly 2007
Anthony ThackerayCastleford TigersJuly 2007
Shaun BriscoeHull Kingston RoversNovember 2007

Captains


Pre-Super League

1965-71: Arthur Keegan
1971-74: Clive Sullivan
1974-75: Chris Davidson
1975-78: Brian Hancock
1978-80: Vince Farrar
1980-81: Steve Norton
1981-85: Dave 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
Super League

NameStartedEndedNotes
Alan Hunte19981998
Gary Lester19981998
Karl Harrison19991999Retired
Tony Grimaldi20002001Moved to Canterbury Bulldogs
Jason Smith20022004Moved to Canberra Raiders
Richard Swain20052006Relinquished captaincy
Lee Radford2007PresentN/A

Notable Former players



Tommy Harris

Clive Sullivan

Honours



Championship: 1919-20, 1920-21, 1935-36, 1955-56, 1957-58, 1982-83 ''(6 times)''

Challenge Cup : 1913-14, 1981-82, 2005 ''(3 times)''

Premiership: 1990-91

Division Two Championship: 1976-77, 1978-79, 1997 ''(3 times)''

Yorkshire Cup : 1922-23, 1968-69, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84 ''(5 times)''

Yorkshire League: 1918-19, 1922-23, 1926-27, 1935-36 ''(4 times)''

John Player Trophy: 1981-82

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy: 1979-80 (not subsequently contested)

Records


Player records


★ Most tries in a match: 7 by Clive Sullivan vs Doncaster, 15 April 1968

★ Most goals in a match: 14 by Jim Kennedy vs Rochdale Hornets- 7 April 1921, Sammy Lloyd v Oldham - 10 September 1978, Matt Crowther v Sheffield Eagles - 2 March 2003

★ Most points in a match: 36 by Jim Kennedy vs Keighley, 29 January 1921

★ Most tries in a season: 52 by Jack Harrison VC, MC, 1914-15

★ Most goals in a season: 170 by Geoff ‘Sammy’ Lloyd, 1978-79

★ Most points in a season: 369 by Geoff ‘Sammy’ Lloyd, 1978-79

★ Consecutive Tries: 11 by Jack Harrison VC, MC, , 1914-15 & Richard Horne, 2006
Career records


★ Most goals: 687 - Joe Oliver 1928-37 & 1943-45

★ Most tries: 250 - Clive Sullivan 1961-74 & 1981-85

★ Most points: 1,842 - Joe Oliver 1928-37 & 1943-45

★ Most appearances: 501 - Edward Rogers 1906-25
Team records


★ Highest score: 88-0 vs Sheffield Eagles, 2 March 2003

★ Highest against: 71-0 vs Bradford Bulls, play offs 2005

★ Highest attendance: 28,798 vs Leeds, 7 March 1936

★ Fastest ever try in both codes of rugby: 9 seconds by Lee Jackson for Hull FC in the Yorkshire Cup semi-final against the Sheffield Eagles at the Don Valley Stadium, 1992 This World Record still stands today

★ Only team to have won every single league game in a season: 1979 Division Two

★ Most consecutive Super League victories: 13 games, (April 14 2006July 15 2006, beating Huddersfield, Wakefield, Catalans, Wigan, Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield, St Helens, Harlequins, Castleford, Catalans, Salford & Warrington).
Also made their first super league grand final but lost to St Helens in 2006

External links



Official site

Official Picture Site

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