10 Aug 2021
A Glorious Era: Part 1

Photo accessed by kind permission of the Huddersfield RL Heritage
By Bryn Woodworth
The 1906 – 07 Northern Union season was significant for two reasons.
On 12th June 1906 at a meeting at the George Hotel, Huddersfield the Northern Union voted to introduce two changes to the rules which would have long term significance for the game.
Following a proposal by the Warrington club the number of players per team was reduced by two from fifteen to thirteen. The second rule change was proposed by Bradford and involved the introduction of the play the ball rule. Up until this time when a player was tackled the game was resumed by a set scrum. These changes were intended to make the game faster and more interesting for the spectator.
The season would also see the debut of a player who would become known as the Prince of Centres – none other than, Harold Wagstaff. At the tender age of 15 years and 175 days, on 10th November 1906, young Harold made a try scoring debut at Bramley, in a 28 points to 11 victory.
Wagstaff’s illustrious career would stretch over almost 20 years in which he won every honour in the sport he loved. But he could so easily have been a Halifax player.
After another starring performance for Underbank Rangers, Harold was approached by the match referee, George Dickinson. An ex-Halifax player, Dickinson spotted the lad’s potential and recommended him to his former club, but they considered him too young to play professionally.
Joe Clifford of the Huddersfield club wasn’t put off by Wagstaff’s age and persuaded Andrew Wagstaff, Harold’s father to give his permission for Harold to sign for Huddersfield. The signing on fee of five gold sovereigns was roughly equivalent to £600 in today’s money.
Harold would go on to make 21 appearances for Fartown that season, scoring six tries. It wasn’t a particularly good season for the club, finishing 19th in the table after collecting 13 wins in their 32 games. Interestingly positions were based on points average calculated in a similar way to the current system. He number of games played by individual clubs varied enormously from the maximum of 34 played by several clubs down to a mere 20 played by Widnes and Bramley. Halifax were crowned champions and Warrington won the Challenge Cup.
Over the next few years the Fartowners fortunes would see a gradual improvement. Finishing 15th in 1907/8, rising to 5th in 1908/9. Despite this improved form they would have to wait until the following season for their first silverware of the Northern Union era. More of that in the next episode.