York Railway Institute is a

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, founded in 1886. The club plays

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, and

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

. It is most notable for its football team, which won the Northern Counties East Division One championship during the 1987–88 season.

History

The club was formed as an

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 ...

club in 1886 by railway employees of the

York railway station York railway station is on the East Coast Main Line serving the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is north of and on the main line it is situated between to the south and to the north. , the station is operated by London North East ...

and were one of the first clubs to be formed in the city. York RI began playing sport at its current New Lane site in 1926. Success came first for the rugby section of the club who captured the Yorkshire Shield during the 1950s. However, by the 1970s, the football club had climbed up to the Yorkshire League system. York RI gained promotion from the third to second Yorkshire League during 1978–79, by capturing the championship.FCHD.info – League stats
/ref> Two seasons later they gained promotion again, by finishing second in the league. While in that league York Railway Institute were playing against clubs such as Emley,

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

and

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in t ...

. The Yorkshire League was brought to a close after 1982 and so York RI became founding members of the

Northern Counties East Football League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English association football, football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football lea ...

, specifically NCE Division One North. The league system was re-ordered once again for 1985 and York Railway Institute were placed into NCE Division Two. Their first season in this league was a successful one, they finished third and gained promotion. This began the club's highest point in their history; they spent six seasons in NCE Division One. The club even won the league during 1987–88 beating out the likes of

Garforth Town Garforth Town Association Football Club is a association football, football club based in Garforth, West Yorkshire, England. They are members of the and play at Wheatley Park. History The club was established in 1964 as Miners Arms, a Sunday ...

but for unknown reasons they were not promoted.

Recent times

From 1992 the club suddenly began to decline, dropping down the divisions to where they reside currently; York Football League Premier Division. The rugby union club participates in the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

and currently plays in

Yorkshire 4 Counties 4 Yorkshire is an English rugby union league at the tenth tier of the domestic competition for teams from Yorkshire. Club rugby in Yorkshire operates without promotion play-offs meaning that the top two teams are automatically promote ...

Honours

Northern Counties East Football League League Cup The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively. History Th ...

**Winners: 1987–88 * NCEL Division One **Champions: 1987–88 * NCEL Division Two **Promoted: 1985–86 * Yorkshire League Division Two 1984 north riding county cup winners **Runners-up: 1980–81 * Yorkshire League Division Three **Champions: 1978–79 *

York Football League The York Football League is a football competition based in North Yorkshire, England, founded in 1897. Currently it is known under the terms of a sponsorship agreement as the ''York Minster Engineering Football League''. It is a member of the ...

**Champions: 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1940–41, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1967–68 * York Football League Division One **Champions: 1980–81 * York Football League Division Two **Champions: 2007–08

Club records

*Best league performance:

Northern Counties East Football League Division One The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively. History T ...

champions, 1987–88

References

{{coord, 53, 59, 05.47, N, 1, 03, 11.85, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Sport in York Football clubs in North Yorkshire 1886 establishments in England Yorkshire Football League Northern Counties East Football League York Football League Association football clubs established in 1886 Railway association football teams in England