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BIRSTALL CC

Leeds Road, Birstall WF17 0JD

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Altitude: 139 Metres/456 Feet

Central Yorkshire League

Heavy Woollen Junior League

Volunteer Contacts:

June Harris & Mark Gilman

Club Website 1
Club Website 2

 
  Club Image
 

Founded: 1883
Nearest Landmark: Set of shops at the bottom of Leeds Road
Nearest Railway Station: Batley
By Bus: 281 from Batley Bus Station
Nearest Other Club: Crossbank Methodists
Former Grounds: Forerunner clubs played behind the Black Bull (Kirkgate) and behind the National Schools (Scott's Field)

Club

Timeline (40kb PDF)

Early Years (968kb PDF)
Later Years (1.5mb PDF)

Official History of Club (685kb PDF)

Club History in Batley News (2006) (135kb PDF)
Concise History of Club (12kb PDF)

1903 Scorecard v Morley (38kb PDF)

1939 Club Income (47kb PDF)

1943 Scorebook v Cleckheaton & Heckmondwike (331kb PDF)

1945 Professional and Accounts (106kb PDF)

1947 (19 May) Minutes, Ladies 'Thank You' & Crowther Cup Finalists (198kb PDF)

1948 Aerial View & Yorkshire Nets (125kb PDF)

1949 AGM, Accounts, Club Debate & Letter (263kb PDF)

1950s Undated Press Reports (1.5mb PDF)

1952 Scorebook v East Ardsley & Team Photo (375kb PDF)

1955 Heavy Woollen Cup Final v Ossett (186kb PDF)

1956 Scorebook v Mirfield & Match Reports v Ossett (581kb PDF)

1956-7 Accounts (79kb PDF)

1957 Yorkshire Council Semi-Final Defeat v Pontefract (171kb PDF)

1960 Club Letter & Accounts (90kb PDF)

1965 Match Report v Scholes (76kb PDF)

1970 Scorecard v Scholes (38kb PDF)

1976 Ken Haley, Promotion Challenge & AGM (221kb PDF)

1980 Birstall Gavaskar XI v Select League XI (284kb PDF)

1985 Championship Double (204kb PDF)

2002 Central Yorkshire League Champions, Juniors & Under-17s (254kb PDF)

2004 Team Fixtures (188kb PDF)

2004-5 Club Diary (808kb PDF)

2004 & 2006 Tea Room Prices (87kb PDF)

2005 Heritage Exhibition Launch Poster (83kb PDF)

2006 Club Leisurewear (27kb PDF)

2007 First Schools Activity Packs Distributed (34kb PDF)

2nd XI Averages - undated (72kb PDF)

2nd XI Champions - undated (77kb PDF)

Heritage Display in Club Pavilion (466kb PDF)
LEAGUES: Central Yorkshire League (web link)

People

Who's Who (950kb PDF)

Mick Ellis   '50 Years On' (web link)

Mark Gilman

Philip Haley   1966 - Scorer (138kb PDF)

Peter Hardy

June Harris

Graham Hobson

Peter Ingham   Cricinfo

Steve Rhodes   Cricinfo

Jean & Alan Sidle

Hugh Smith   Son Mike - Cricinfo

Andrew Townsley   Cricinfo

Team Photos

1880s (265kb PDF)

1900s (226kb PDF)

1910s (47kb PDF)

1920s (127kb PDF)

1930s (64kb PDF)

1940s (102kb PDF)

1950s (673kb PDF)

1960s (184kb PDF)

1970s (379kb PDF)

1980s (546kb PDF)

1990s (162kb PDF)

2000s (105kb PDF)

Undated (137kb PDF)

Ground

Story of Leeds Road (397kb PDF)

2007 (12 May) Birstall v Woodkirk (473kb PDF)

2008 (26 Apr) Birstall v Batley (896kb PDF)

3D Map & Aerial Photograph (250kb)
Watercolour by Tony Haigh

Wicket & Square (65kb PDF)

Groundsman (82kb PDF)

Scoreboard (245kb PDF)

People (340kb PDF)

Signage (364kb PDF)

Tea Room (542kb PDF)

Lottery Sports Fund - New Practice Nets (91kb PDF)

Oral History

June Harris & Jean Sidle

Early Memories
A Village Way of Life
Bar Work!
Community Focal Point
Junior Players
Women's Committee
Ken Haley
Rivals

Graham Hobson

Moving In (29kb PDF)

Like an Exocet (31kb PDF)

Dave's Big Draw (45kb PDF)

Chris's Big Hit (28kb PDF)

Local Context

Profile of Birstall (396kb PDF)

Birstall (Wikipedia)

Birstall Library (web link)

GENUKI, 1820s (web link)

Francis Frith Old Photographs (web link)

St. Peter's Church (web link)

Former Cricket Clubs in Local Area (web link)

Birstall Albert - possible precursor of Birstall CC

Birstall Britannia CC

Birstall Brownhill CC

Birstall C&FC

Birstall Carpets/Carpet Co. Ltd. CC

Birstall Carr Mills CC

Birstall Kirkgate CC

Birstall Mill Street CC

Birstall Parish (aka The Parish) CC

Birstall Phoenix CC

Birstall Raglan CC

Birstall Salem Congregational Church CC

Birstall St. Saviours CC

Birstall Temperance CC

Birstall Trades Hall CC

Birstall Tradesmen CC

Birstall Victoria CC  - precursor of Birstall CC

Birstall Wellington CC

Birstall Wensleydale CC

Birstall Wesleyans CC

Birstall White Lee CC

Birstall Young England CC

Further Reading

Sport in Birstall - author unknown (280kb PDF)

H.C.Cradock, History of the Ancient Parish of Birstall, Yorkshire (1933)

M.H.Haigh, Historical Snapshots of Batley and Birstall (1994)

Birstall News

The Press

Club Archives

West Yorkshire Archive Collection (Stored at Huddersfield Library)

 

 

If you have any information about this club or any others in this area that could be of use please feel free to contact us via p.j.davies@hud.ac.uk.

 

 

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Select Images to View Below:

The Ground
  Archive Images

 

Greatest Moment

Doing the 'Treble' in 1954 - winning the Central Yorkshire League, Heavy Woollen Cup and Wheatley Cup.

Local Hero

June Harris - stalwart supporter and former Ladies Section member.

Bizarre Fact

The club's birth in 1883 was a product of the amalgamation of Birstall Victoria CC and the local rugby club.

Albert and the Black Bull

The first cricket club to appear in Birstall was Birstall Albert Cricket Club, named after the Prince Consort. They played six matches per year, including Feast matches against Holmfirth.

Apparently, the team played near the Black Bull in Kirkgate as early as 1854. There is a certain amount of debate as to whether this is a direct ancestor of the current club.

This club had a small membership of around 30 people, and these saw fit to change their name in 1860 to Birstall Victoria – in honour of the Queen.

Moving Moment

In 1860 Birstall Victoria moved from near the Black Bull to a site behind the National Schools, in Scott’s Field.

The team remained here for 10 years (occasionally competing under the name Birstall Cricket Club) until notice was served for a housing development to take place.

Therefore, a ground move had to take place yet again. Eventually, the club settled at its current location around 1870.

In 1883 Birstall Victoria embarked on a brief merger with Birstall Rugby Club. However, this was short-lived and the separation of the two establishments in 1885 signalled the official birth of the cricket club as an entity.

This development also heralded the arrival of the club’s first Heavy Woollen Cup victory in the same year, against rivals Dewsbury & Savile in the final.

Grandstand Plans

Plans for a grandstand were passed in April 1887 and around 5,000 people were reported as attending that year’s Heavy Woollen Cup semi-final (loss) against Dewsbury & Savile.

Money was ploughed into ground improvements and in 1892; the pitch was leveled out using pit waste from the local industries.

This off-field investment seemed to have a knock-on effect on the field of play - one of the reasons (possibly) why the club scooped the Heavy Woollen Cup in 1892, defeating Batley in the final.

However, as the team walked home through Batley, some disgruntled opposition supporters pelted the team and the accompanying Birstall Band with grass sods.

This didn’t dampen the celebrations, which lasted for a full week and, as one local historian states, ‘the cup was hardly ever empty of alcohol’.

Purchasing Leeds Road

The club initially purchased the Leeds Road ground in 1896. However, problems with mortgage payments led to an appeal from the Club to potential local benefactors.

The 1935 Birstall v Ossett semi-final started on the Saturday and continued on the Wednesday and Thursday evenings without completion.

Ossett failed to turn up on the Friday evening, claiming an agreement to continue on Monday had been made. Birstall refused to continue the match on the Monday, claiming Ossett had failed to complete the match on the Friday. The match was awarded to Ossett!

After this dispute, the club left the Heavy Woollen League and spent the 1936 season in the Leeds League before re-joining the Heavy Woollen League for the 1937 season.

Disclaimer - Designed and programmed by Lee Booth.

 
Heritage Lottry Fund University of Huddersfield