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CLUB HISTORY
CLUB HISTORY LANDMARKS – EARLY HISTORY
THE LEIGH CLUB’S RUGBY UNION HISTORY
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1878Surveyor Fred Ulph became founder of the Leigh club. The first ground was at Buck’s Farm, just over Leigh Bridge.
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1879Leigh moved to a field behind the Three Crowns public house in the Bedford area of the town.
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1886Leigh went through the 1885-86 season undefeated.
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1889Leigh defeated the New Zealand Natives, the first touring team to this country.Later that year Leigh moved to a new ground on the Frog Hall Estate, later known as Mather Lane.
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1892Leigh fullback Tom Coop was chosen for the England rugby union team, becoming Leigh’s firstinternational.
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1894Leigh were suspended from playing for ten weeks by the England RFU for alleged professionalism.
THE LEIGH CLUB’S RUGBY LEAGUE HISTORY
- 1895Leigh became one of 22 founder members of the Northern Union, later known (from 1922) as the Rugby Football League. First match under the new code was against Leeds on 7 September 1895.
- 1896The Challenge Cup was inaugurated.
- 1898Unrestricted professionalism was allowed in the Northern Union provided players followed legitimate employment at least three days per week.
- 1901Leigh’s close rivals Tyldesley disbanded. Leigh won the Southwest Lancashire and Border Towns Cup,their first honour under the Northern Union.
- 1902Two divisions introduced. Working clause abandoned.
- 1905The Leigh Club became a limited liability company/. Two divisions were scrapped. The LancashireCup was inaugurated and Leigh lost to Wigan in the first final after a replay.
- 1906
Leigh became Champions of the Northern Union, in the last season of 15-a-side, 1905-06. After that season the game became 13-a-side. The play-the-ball rule was introduced. - 1907
Leigh defeated the first New Zealand tourists at Mather Lane. - 1908
Leigh became the first side to defeat the inaugural Australian tourists, thereby completing a ‘hat-trick’ of wins against touring sides. Joseph Lavery, a New Zealander, became the first overseas player to play for Leigh. - 1909
Former Kangaroo tourist Mick Bolewski became the first Australian player to play for Leigh. The first representative game was staged at Mather Lane as Lancashire played the Australian tourists. - 1910
Leigh forward Billy Winstanley was selected for the first tour by a Northern Union team to Australia and New Zealand
- 1915Competitive games were suspended for the duration of the war.
- 1919Competitive games resumed in January 1919.
- 1920Joe Cartwright became Leigh’s second tourist.
- 1921Leigh won the Challenge Cup for the first time, defeating Halifax 13-0 in the final at Broughton.
- 1922The Mather Lane ground was purchased outright and a new grandstand was erected.
- 1924Walter Mooney and Joe Darwell were chosen to tour Australia and New Zealand.
- 1928The grandstand was doubled in size and an iron bridge over the canal constructed to make access easier for spectators.
- 1933A public meeting was held to outline the club’s financial difficulties. Financial support from outside sources enabled the club to continue.
- 1934Leigh played under floodlights for the first time, against London Highfield at the White City.
- 1937Two members of the Rugby League Management Committee were co-opted onto the Board until the end of the season to assist with financial difficulties. In November the directors resigned and the RFL was in control until a Members’ Club was formed on 21 Feb 1938.
- 1938Albert Worrall retired after making a club record 503 appearances.
- 1939An Emergency League was formed due to the outbreak of the war.
- 1940The Club was without a ground when Callender’s Cable and Construction Company obtained a compulsory purchase order of the Mather Lane ground from the owners, Messrs George Shaw and Company Ltd, of the Leigh Brewery.Leigh played all matches away in the 1940-41 season.
- 1941Leigh ceased playing after a Challenge Cup tie defeat at Hunslet in April.
- 1946The Leigh Club was re-formed following a public meeting in January. All home matches were to beplayed at the Athletic Ground on Charles Street. Leigh commenced playing again in the 1946-47 season, their first match at Rochdale in August being the club’s first for over five years. Tommy Sale became the first post-war Leigh captain.
- 1947
Leigh moved to the ground at Kirkhall Lane after the site was purchased for £2,500. The steel-framed grandstand from Mather Lane was dismantled and re-erected at the new ground. St Helens were the first visitors for a Lancashire Cup-tie in August 1957, when a crowd of 17,000 was in attendance.Tommy Sale had supervised the hundreds of volunteers who transformed the site from allotments into a ground that met the requirements of the RFL.
Jack Wood scored a Club record six tries against York. In June 1947 Leigh and Barrow were chosen to play each other three times in a promotional tour of Devon and Cornwall.
- 1948
Leigh signed Dewsbury fullback Jimmy Ledgard for £2,650, a new record fee for a Rugby League player. - 1949
Leigh hosted French champions Roanne at Kirkhall Lane. - 1950
Leigh toured France for the first time, playing games in Perpignan and Carcassonne. Leigh paid Wigan £5,000 for their hooker, Joe Egan, a new RL record fee. - 1952
Leigh won the Lancashire Cup for the first time, after defeating St Helens at Swinton.
- 1953
Leigh became the second RL club (after Bradford Northern) to install floodlights. These were
completed in Sep 1953 at a cost of £4,100. A ground record attendance of 31,326 was established for a Challenge Cup-tie against St Helens. Leigh created headlines throughout the world by signing the Trinidad-born Olympic sprinter McDonald Bailey, a former joint world record-holder, but his contract was terminated by mutual consent after he played in one friendly game against Wigan which attracted a crowd of 17,000.1954
Jimmy Ledgard and Frank Kitchen were members of the Great Britain team which won the inaugural RL World Cup in France when Leigh coach Joe Egan and trainer Bill Hughes were also involved. - 1955
Leigh took part in the inaugural ITA Television Trophy competition with matches staged under floodlights in London. - 1956
The Pools got under way, providing a new source of financial support for the Club. Australia played New Zealand in a friendly international at Kirkhall Lane. - 1958
Jimmy Ledgard re-joined Dewsbury after setting new Club records by kicking 1,043 goals and scoring 2,194 points. Mick Martyn scored 23 tries during Great Britain’s tour of Australia and New Zealand, a record for a forward on tour. - 1959
The ground was renamed ‘Hilton Park’ in memory of the former Club Chairman James Hilton. - 1962
Two divisions were re-introduced. - 1964
The RL reverted to one division. Substitutes were allowed for the first time, but only for injuries up until half-time. The first test match to be staged at Leigh was between Great Britain and France. - 1965
Substitutes were allowed for any reason, initially up to and including half-time. The BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was inaugurated. - 1966
The four-tackle rile was introduced for Floodlit Trophy matches from October and for all matches from December.
- 1967
Leigh entertained Dewsbury on 17 Dec in their first game to be held on a Sunday. - 1968
Mick Martyn announced his retirement and was given a free transfer after scoring a Club record 189 tries during his career. - 1969
Two substitutes were allowed at any time. Leigh won the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy for the first time after defeating Wigan at Central Park. - 1971
Leigh won the Challenge Cup for the second time, defeating Leeds at Wembley Stadium. Alex Murphy, the Club’s player-coach, was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy as man-of-the-match.The John Player Trophy competition was introduced. Stuart Ferguson played and scored in every Leigh game during the 1970-71 season.
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1972
The six-tackle rule was introduced. - 1973
Two divisions were re-introduced. - 1974
Drop-goals were reduced in value to one point. - 1976
The differential penalty was introduced for scrum offences. - 1978
John Woods played and scored in every one of Leigh’s games during the 1977-78 season.
- 1982
Leigh won the Championship for the second time in Club history after defeating Whitehaven away in their final match. - 1983
The Sun bin was introduced. The value of a try was increased to four points. The handover after the sixth tackle was introduced. - 1984
Steve Donlan’s Club record of 179 consecutive appearances came to an end when he was chosen to represent England against Wales and so missed a Club game. - 1986
Leigh scored over 1,000 points in League games for the first time in winning the Second Division, losing only one game. Steve Halliwell scored 49 tries and Chris Johnson amassed 400 points during the 1985-86 season, both Club records. Leigh set a new club record by defeating Keighley 92-2. - 1987
A new players’ contract system was introduced. - 1989
Leigh set a new Club record for their highest away victory, 88-2 at Runcorn Highfield. - 1990
John Woods became the Club’s record points scorer, surpassing Jimmy Ledgard’s reco
- 1991
The company went into administration and a new limited company was formed. Tony Cottrell became the Club’s first player-chairman. Three divisions were introduced. An Academy League was formed. - 1992
Steve Simms became Leigh’s first Australian coach. - 1993
Three divisions and the Lancashire Cup were scrapped, and two divisions re-introduced. - 1995
As Leigh celebrated one hundred years since becoming one of the League’s founder members, plans
were unveiled for the formation of a Super League and a switch to summer rugby from the following
year. Leigh suffered a club record defeat, 94-4 at Workington Town. The 1995-96 Centenary season was the last winter season. The club became known as Leigh Centurions. - 1996
Leigh Centurions finished seventh in the Second Division after the first ‘summer’ season, the first game on 14 Jan and the last game on 25 Aug
- 2000
Leigh lost to Dewsbury in the grand final at Gigg Lane, Burry, missing out on the opportunity to gain promotion to Super League. - 2001
Neil Turley scored 55 tries, a new Club record and a world record for a fullback. He equalled Jack Wood’s 54-year-old club record by scoring six tries against Workington Town. - 2002
A new company, Sporting Club Leigh Limited was incorporated on behalf of the Club. - 2004
After successive grand finals defeats in the previous two years, Leigh defeated Whitehaven in the grand final at Widnes, after extra-time, to reach Super League for the first time. Neil Turley set new Club records with 187 goals and 468 points during the season, and a match record 42 points against Chorley. - 2005
Leigh finished bottom of Super League and were relegated after just one season. Leigh lost 78-4 to St Helens, a Club record home defeat. - 2006
Leigh played Russian opposition for the first time, playing Strela Kazan in the Challenge Cup at Leigh Sports Village. - 2008
The final season at Hilton Park, the last game a play-off defeat at the hands of Whitehaven. Gregg McNally, later to become a Leigh player, scored the final try on the ground. Leigh moved to the new Leigh Sports Village, entertaining Salford in a friendly game on 28 Dec 2008. - 2009
Leigh played London Skolars in the first official game at Leigh Sports Village.
- 2013
Derek Beaumont returned to the club as director, becoming club owner and commencing a major investment into the club. - 2014
Leigh won the Championship grand final, after defeating Featherstone Rovers at Headingley but with no promotion or relegation to or from Super League for a three-year period, stayed in the Championship the following year. A successful Heritage Day is staged at LSV and every player to play for Leigh is allocated a unique Heritage Number. - 2015
Leigh sign NRL superstar Fuifui Moimoi. A club record sequence of 27 consecutive wins came to an end when Leigh lost at London Broncos in June 2015. - 2016
Leigh won their way through the Middle Eights play-offs to reach Super League for a second time after lifting the League Leaders Shield for the third season in succession. A new ground record attendance for LSV is established as 10,556 attend the Batley game. - 2017
Leigh finished 11th out of 12 in Super League but were relegated after being defeated by Catalans Dragons in the Million Pound Game. - 2018
Leigh played in Canada for the first time after the Toronto Wolfpack played in the Championship. - 2020
The season was suspended in March due to the Covid pandemic and Leigh did not play a competitive game for a year. In Dec 2020 Leigh were awarded a place in Super League for 2021 following asuccessful bid application following the demise of Toronto. - 2021
The season began with games played behind closed doors. Spectators were readmitted, initially under stringent control requirements, for the Wigan home game in May. Leigh were relegated from Super League for a third time. Gill Wood became the first woman director in Club history when she joined the non-executive board. - 2022
Leigh enjoyed a record-breaking season, lifting the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup by defeating Featherstone Rovers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the League Leaders Shield after losing only one league game. By defeating Batley in the grand final at Leigh Sports Village they earned their 25th successive victory.Krisnan Inu broke Mick Stacey’s 46-year-old club record by kicking 16 goals in Leigh’s club record 100-4 home victory over York. Leigh set a new RL record for most points scored (1,306) in a league season by any team, a record the Club previously jointly held with Huddersfield. In October the Club announced a rebrand and became the Leigh Leopards, introducing U15s and U16s teams and merging with Leigh Miners Women’s Team to form a Leigh Leopards Women’s Super League team for 2023. During the year the Club also fielded its first PDRL/LDRL team. Head Coach Adrian Lam was the assistant coach for Australia who won the World Cup Final by defeating Samoa.
