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.