St Helens Recreation Rugby League Football Club, often known as St Helens Recs or just the Recs, is a former professional

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 11 ...

club from St. Helens,

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 ...

, that played in the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

during the inter-war years. The club had a great rivalry with St Helens RFC.

History

The club was founded in 1878 as part of the sports and recreational provision of Pilkington Glass. Initially the side played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

but in 1898 voted to abandon rugby for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. However, on 14 June 1913, to settle the future of the club, it was announced that it was to abandon association football to concentrate on rugby football. After considerable discussion, it was unanimously agreed to join the constitution of the

Northern Rugby Football Union Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

(later the

) and were elected to the Lancashire Combination in July 1913. The Recs, still officially known as the St Helens Recs, were based at

City Road City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of Lon ...

and played their first game on 6 September 1913. In 1915 to bolster the ranks of the war time league, St Helens Recreation along with Brighouse Rangers and

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "smal ...

were promoted from district leagues to join the senior clubs for the duration of the conflict. In June 1919 the Recs were admitted as full member of the Northern Rugby League. During the 1920s, and 1930s, the Recs played at every level of competition, hosting visiting Australian touring sides and gaining honours in the game, including; winning the Lancashire league in the 1926–27 season, winning the

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

(17-0 victory over Swinton), and 1930 Lancashire Cups (18-3 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the 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 north-east and Warrington t ...

), and being runners-up in the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

(0-10 defeat by

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 ...

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

(2-10 defeat by St. Helens), and 1933 Lancashire Cups (0-12 defeat by

). Despite their success on the pitch, they played their last game on 29 April 1939. The game was away at

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challen ...

, and the Recs lost 25-12.

Honours

County Cup: 2 **1923-24, 1930–31 * Lancashire League: 1 **1926-27

Players earning international caps while at St Helens Recs

* Albert Bailey won caps for England while at St. Helens Recs (1934, France) * Frank Bowen won caps for Great Britain while at St. Helens Recs in 1928 against New Zealand (3 matches) * Tommy Dingsdale won caps for England while at St. Helens Recs (1928, Wales) * Oliver Dolan won caps for England while at St. Helens Recs (1932, Wales) * Alec Fildes won caps for England while at St. Helens Recs (1927 Wales, 1929 Other Nationalities), and won caps for Great Britain while at St. Helens Recs (1926-27 New Zealand, 2 matches; 1928 Australia, 3 matches; New Zealand, 3 matches; 1929-30 Australia, 3 matches). While at St Helens R.F.C. he was again an international (1932 Australia, New Zealand, 3 matches) * Johnny Greenall won caps for ''England'' while at St. Helens Recs 1923 Wales (2 matches), and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at St. Helens Recs 1921-22 Australia * Jim Owen won caps for ''England'' while at St. Helens Recs 1921 Wales, Other Nationalities, Australia, 1923 Wales (2 matches), and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at St. Helens Recs 1921-22 Australia * Jimmy Pyke, won a cap for ''England (RU)'' while at St. Helens Recs in 1892 against Wales * Jim Wallace (rugby league) won caps for ''England'' while at St. Helens Recs 1925 Wales, 1926 Other Nationalities, and won caps for ''Great Britain'' while at St. Helens Recs 1926-27 New Zealand

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Helens Recreation RLFC Rugby clubs established in 1878 Rugby clubs disestablished in 1939 Recreation Rugby League Football Club Defunct rugby league teams in England