Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton,

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, but in 1933 moved to

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hig ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

to play at the

Belle Vue Stadium Belle Vue Stadium was a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedway, as the home ground of Elite League t ...

, and were renamed Belle Vue Rangers in 1946. The club folded in 1955. In 2005, local businessman Stefan Hopewell attempted to resurrect the club and now owns the intellectual property to Broughton Rangers and Belle Vue Rangers.

History

1877–1905: Foundation

The club was founded in 1877 as Broughton and added Rangers for its second season. The club's headquarters was the Bridge Inn on Lower Broughton Road and home games were played at

Wheater's Field Wheater's Field was a rugby ground in Broughton, Salford, England. It was home to the Broughton Rangers rugby league club of the Northern Union. On 19 October 1907, the stadium hosted a match between Rangers and the New Zealand All Golds. It ...

. On 15 December 1888, Rangers lost to New Zealand Natives 8–0. From 1892 the headquarters was the Grosvenor Hotel on the corner of Great Clowes Street and Clarence Street. A motion to join the Northern Union was moved by the club captain and carried unanimously. Broughton Rangers was one of 21 clubs which met at the

George Hotel, Huddersfield The George Hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, is a Grade II listed building famous as the birthplace of rugby league football in 1895. The 60 bed hotel was built in 1851 and closed in January 2013, with the receivers looking for a n ...

on 29 August 1895 and formed the Northern Rugby Football Union. Broughton built on winning the Lancashire League in 1896–97 and 1898–99 by becoming the first champions of the Northern Union. When the Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues amalgamated in 1901–02; Rangers' form was so outstanding that by February the championship was guaranteed. The same year, Broughton won the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

beating

25–0 at

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in front of 15,006 spectators. Rangers won the East Lancashire League that season after finishing 12 points ahead of second-placed Salford.

1906–1917: Early success

Broughton Rangers became the first club to win the Championship and the Northern Union Challenge Cup in the same season in 1901-02.In the 1902 Challenge Cup final Rangers captain Bob Wilson became the first player to score three tries in a final. Broughton Rangers appeared in successive Lancashire Cup Finals, in 1906–07 and 1907–08, beating

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

15–6 at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

but losing to

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

16–9 at Rochdale 12 months later. The Rangers reached the top-four semi-finals in 1907–08, losing to All Four Cups winners

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...

. Broughton Rangers lost 14–20 to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

during the 1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain on Saturday 19 October 1907, the match attracted a crowd of 24,000, New Zealand led early in the game and despite a Rangers comeback, New Zealand won. The club won the

in 1910–11 when it beat

4–0 at

the Willows The Willows may refer to: Places * The Willows, El Paso, Texas, USA * The Willows, Queensland, a town in Australia * The Willows, Salford, home of Salford Rugby League club in Salford, England, UK * The Willows, Saskatoon, a residential community ...

, Salford in front of a crowd of 8,000. Broughton's last game at Wheater's Field was against St. Helens on 9 April 1913 before moving to

the Cliff A cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliff, The Cliff or The Cliffs may also refer to: Buildings *Cliff Brewery, a former brewery near Ipswich, England *Cliff Palace, largest cliff dwelling in North America *The Cliffs, a histo ...

on Lower Broughton Road, Higher Broughton.

Inter-war years

Broughton's highest league position between 1918 and 1939 was sixth in 1935–36 and its lowest, 27th in 1927–28, with Rangers generally finishing in the bottom half of the league. The only trophy won in the inter-war years was the 1920–21 Lancashire Cup, when they defeated

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

6–3 at Salford in front of 25,000 spectators. In 1933, Broughton Rangers moved to

, inside the speedway track. In 1941–42 the club dropped out of the wartime Lancashire League and did not return to league competition until 1945–46. On 18 September 1935 Rangers signed future

Lance Todd Trophy The Lance Todd Trophy is a trophy in rugby league, awarded to the annual Challenge Cup Final's man of the match. Introduced in 1945–46, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was killed i ...

winner

Frank Whitcombe Frank William Whitcombe (29 May 1913 – 17 January 1958), also known by the nickname of "The Big Man", was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played rugby union (RU) for Cardiff ...

from

Army Rugby Union The Army Rugby Union (ARU) is the governing body for rugby union in the British Army and a constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The ARU was formed on 31 December 1906 and marked the fulfilment of Lieutenant J. E. C. "Birdie" Partr ...

buying him out of the army for a fee of £100. Two years later in 1938, they sold him to

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...

for £850, a world record fee for a front row forward.

Belle Vue Rangers

In 1946–47, Broughton was renamed Belle Vue Rangers. It made a Lancashire Cup final appearance in 1946–47 which ended in 9–3 defeat by Wigan at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

. The club repeated this feat in 1947–48; losing again to Wigan 10–7 at

Wilderspool Wilderspool is a district of Warrington, Cheshire, near the town centre. It consists of Wilderspool Causeway and the streets coming off it, the limits being the River Mersey into Stockton Heath (where it turns into London Road), Bridgefoot (nea ...

. After the war, Rangers finished mid-table or above but after finishing 12th in 1950–51, Rangers finished 30th, second from bottom in 1954–55, its last season before the club folded.

Stadia

, 1933–55 *

The Cliff A cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliff, The Cliff or The Cliffs may also refer to: Buildings *Cliff Brewery, a former brewery near Ipswich, England *Cliff Palace, largest cliff dwelling in North America *The Cliffs, a histo ...

Higher Broughton Broughton is a suburb and district of Salford, City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, on the east bank of the River Irwell, it is northwest of Manchester and south of Prestwich. Historically in Lancashire, Broughton was a township ...

, 1913–33 *

, Lower Broughton,

, 1892–1913

Honours

Rugby Football League Championship The Rugby Football League Championship First Division was the top division of rugby league in England between 1895 and 1996, when it was replaced by the Super League. History 1895–1904: Foundations The first season of rugby league (189 ...

: 1 **1901–02 *

: 2 **1901–02, 1910–11 * Lancashire Cup: 2 **1906–07, 1920–21 * Lancashire League: 2 **1896–97, 1898–99

Players earning international caps while at Broughton Rangers/Belle Vue Rangers

Billy Bentham William Bentham (birth unknown – death unknown) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He played at representative level for Great Britain national rugby league team, Great Britain, England nati ...

won caps for ''England'' while at Broughton 1922 Wales, 1926 Wales, and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at Broughton 1924 New Zealand (2 matches) * George Bunter won a cap for ''England'' while at Broughton 1940 Wales * "Bert" Cambridge won a cap for ''England'' while at Broughton 1935 France * James "Jim" Clampitt won caps for ''England'' while at Broughton 1909 Wales, 1911 Wales, Australia, 1912 Wales, 1913 Wales, 1914 Wales won caps, and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at Broughton 1908 New Zealand, 1911 Australia, 1914 New Zealand * James "Jim" Cumberbatch won caps for ''England'' while at Broughton 1937 France, while at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

1938 Wales * John "Jack" Flynn won a cap for ''England'' while at Broughton 1908 New Zealand * John "Jack" Garvey won caps for ''England'' while at St. Helens 1933 Other Nationalities, while at Broughton 1936 Wales * Elwyn Gwyther represented ''Wales XV (RU)'' while at Llanelli RFC in the 'Victory International' non-Test matches between December 1945 and April 1946, and won caps for ''Wales (RL)'' while at Belle Vue Rangers, and Leeds 1947...1953 15-caps, and won caps for ''Great Britain (RL)'' while at Belle Vue Rangers in 1947 against New Zealand (2 matches), in 1950 against Australia (3 matches), and in 1951 against New Zealand *

Andrew Hogg Andrew James Hogg (born 2 March 1985) is a retired professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Maltese side Birkirkara. Born in England, he earned more than 60 caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Scienc ...

won caps for ''England'' while at Broughton 1908 Wales, New Zealand, and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at Broughton 1908 New Zealand won caps for ''

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

'' while at Broughton ?-caps * Edward "Ned" Jones won a cap for ''Wales'' while at Broughton Rangers 1913 1-cap * Glyn Jones won a cap for ''Wales'' while at Broughton Rangers 1946 1-cap *

Stan McCormick Stanley "Stan"/ "Mac" McCormick (5 July 1923 – July 1999) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and coached in the 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England ...

won caps for ''England'' while at Belle Vue 1948 Wales, France, while at St. Helens 1949 Wales, France, 1951 Wales, 1953 France (2 matches), Wales, and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at Belle Vue 1948 Australia (2 matches), while at St. Helens Australia * Doug Phillips won caps for ''Wales'' while at Oldham and Belle Vue Rangers 1945...1951 9-caps, and won caps, and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at Oldham in 1946 against Australia (3 matches), and while at Belle Vue Rangers in 1950 against Australia * Robert "Bob" Poole won a cap for ''England'' while at Broughton 1905 Other Nationalities * John "Jack" Price won caps for ''England'' while at Broughton 1921 Australia, while at

1922 Wales, 1924 Other Nationalities, and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at Broughton 1921–22 Australia (2 matches), while at

1924 Australia (2 matches), New Zealand (2 matches) * Ray Price won caps for ''Wales'' while at Belle Vue Rangers 1948...1953 6-caps, and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at Warrington in 1954 against Australia, and New Zealand (2 matches), in 1955 against New Zealand, in 1956 against Australia (3 matches), and in 1957 against France (2 matches) * Arthur "Artie" V. Royle won a cap for ''England (RU)'' while at Broughton in 1889 against New Zealand Natives *

George Ruddick George Ruddick (third ¼ 1881 – first ¼ 1949) was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1890s, 1900s and 1910s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Brecon RFC, and representative level rugby le ...

won caps for ''Wales'' while at Broughton Rangers 1908...1910 3-caps, and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at Broughton Rangers in 1908 against New Zealand (2 matches), and in 1910 against Australia, and Australasia *

Robert Seddon Robert Lionel "Bob" Seddon (birth registered October→December 1860 in Salford district – 15 August 1888) was an English international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Broughton Rangers and Swinton and county rugby for Lancashi ...

won caps for ''England (RU)'' while at Broughton Rangers in 1887 against Wales, Ireland and Scotland. He was also the first captain of a British Isles team in 1888 and died on the tour. *

Billy Stott William Isaac C. Stott (16 April 1913 – third ¼ 1972) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played at representative level for England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Featherstone Rove ...

(1946 Challenge Cup Winner and 1946

Winner with while at

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

) won a cap for ''England'' while at Broughton 1936 Wales * Alfred Teggin won caps for ''England (RU)'' while at Broughton Rangers in 1884 against Ireland, in 1885 against Wales, in 1886 against Ireland and Scotland, and in 1887 against Ireland, and Scotland * Ernest "Ernie" Thompson won a cap for ''England'' while at Broughton 1936 Wales * Melbourne "Mel" Tierney won a cap for ''Wales'' while at Belle Vue Rangers 1953 1-cap *

won caps for ''Wales'' while at Broughton Rangers, and Bradford Northern 1938...1948 14-caps, and won caps for Great Britain while at Bradford Northern in 1946 against Australia (2 matches).

winner at Wembley 1948 * Robert "Bob" Wilson won a cap for ''England'' while at Broughton 1905 Other Nationalities

Other notable players

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

Ashworh 1945–46 * Eric Ayles * William H. "Billy" Barlow 1911 Challenge Cup winner * James Leonard Battersby mid-1920s, also North Sydney * George Beatty * Harry Dagnan * David "Dai" Morgan Davies *

Derek Day Sir Derek Malcolm Day (29 November 1927 – 7 March 2015) was a British diplomat and field hockey player who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was educated at Hurstpierpoint College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Field hock ...

* William "Billy" Dingsdale * George Dixon * John "Jack" Elwyn Evans * Jim Featherstone * Maurice Gallagher * Albert Gregory * Bryn Howells * Bill Hunt * David James * Evan James *

Jack Mannion Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

* Edward Melling * Dai Morgan *

Harry Pimblett Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

* Stanley Powell *

Dai Rees David James Rees, (31 March 1913 – 15 November 1983) was one of the Britain's leading golfers either side of the Second World War. The winner of many prestigious tournaments in Britain, Europe and farther afield, Rees is best remembered as ...

* Tommy Rees * J. Robertson

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

on Saturday 12 March 1887 * J. Scott * Thomas Steele (VC) * Billy Teall * Jack Tonge * Silas Warwick

References

Notes Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broughton Rangers Sport in the City of Salford Rugby league teams in Greater Manchester Defunct rugby league teams in England Defunct English rugby union teams Sports clubs disestablished in 1955 Rugby clubs established in 1877 Rugby clubs disestablished in 1955 Founder members of the Northern Rugby Football Union 1877 establishments in England 1955 disestablishments in England English rugby league teams