Millom R.L.F.C. is an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

club based in the town of

Millom Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southwest Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Furne ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

. It is the oldest amateur rugby league club in the world, having been founded in 1873.

History

Founded as a rugby union club, the club decided to change codes to Northern Union rugby in July 1897. After winning the Lancashire Second Competition in 1897–98 the club was promoted to the Lancashire Senior Competition in 1898. Millom participated in the Lancashire Senior Competition and the Northern Rugby League until the end of the 1905–06 season at which time the club decided to leave the professional game and revert to an amateur team playing in the Cumberland Senior Competition. Though never achieving major success, the club has had some notable achievements. In 1889, although it must be noted that it was still a Rugby Union club at this time, it fielded 12 of the 13 players in a

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

match at

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

, whilst over 50 of its players have been awarded full international honours whilst playing for Millom since 1945. The club's biggest honour came in the 1985-86 season, when they played against Mysons in the

British Amateur Rugby League Association The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) is an association for social and recreational rugby league. It works jointly with the Rugby Football League through the RFL Community Board. History BARLA was created in 1973 in Huddersfiel ...

National Cup Final. Later that year, the club gave

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 c ...

a scare, losing only 8-14 in the

John Player Trophy The John Player Trophy was a golf tournament on the European Tour that was played in England. It was played twice. The first event in 1970 at Notts Golf Club in Nottinghamshire was the 36-hole qualifying event for the John Player Classic. In 19 ...

. They were

National Conference League The National Conference League (known as the Kingstone Press National Conference League for sponsorship reasons) is the top English amateur rugby league competition in the Rugby Football League pyramid, and as such is the leading amateur rugby l ...

division one champions in 1994-1995, and won its challenge cup in 1990-1991. The first team currently plays in the National Conference League Division 3, with the A team representing the club in the Barrow and District League. As well as the open age teams, Millom also has a thriving youth set-up with teams at U8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 level playing in the local competitions. In the 2007-08 season, the club finished as champions of the National Conference league division 2. They currently play at the Coronation Field ground in Millom. The club's colours are

maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. The 2007-2008 season has brought a lot of success to the club. The first team were champions of the NCL Division 2, they won the Barton Townley local cup competition, the A team won the league title and the Frank Reid trophy, runners up in the Harry Warman Cup and runners up in the knockout cup. Bradd Crellin represented BARLA Great Britain on a tour of Australia with 6 other players representing Cumbria, also on a tour of Australia.

Players earning international caps while at Millom Rugby Union and Millom Rugby League clubs

* Edward Knowles won caps for England (RU) while at Millom in

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and in 1897 against Scotland *

Samuel Northmore Samuel Northmore (2 March 1872 – 18 March 1946) was an English rugby union footballer who played in the 1890s. He played at representative level for England, and at club level for Millom, as a fly-half, before switching to rugby league in 189 ...

won a cap for England (RU) while at Millom in 1897 against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

* W, Mc, C Ross 1934-37

References

External links

Millom RLFC's websiteMillom's premier information websiteMillom information website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millom RLFC 1873 establishments in England English rugby league teams BARLA teams Rugby league teams in Cumbria Rugby clubs established in 1873 Millom