Did Hull FC player of the 1890s Jack Holmes score the first ever Rugby League try? Club Historian Bill Dalton looks into the possibility in today’s Throwback Thursday feature…
Hull FC has, throughout its 155 years existence, very often been at the forefront of a number of ‘Firsts’. First of all, Hull were the first Yorkshire Club to join the English Rugby Union in 1872, a Hull Forward – William Henry Heap Hutchinson, was appointed the first Yorkshire Captain and he also became the first Yorkshire player to be capped for England.
In later Northern Union days, Hull were the first club to contest three successive Challenge Cup Finals, and in more modern times, the first club to reach any final of a competition which embraced all RFL teams – the John Player Final in 1975-76. And, of course, the 1978-79 team was the first to win all of its league matches in a season. Along the way in addition, we are the only club to have contested two Challenge Cup Final Replays.
In season 1927-28, Hull took the field in no less than 52 competition fixtures, including replayed Cup-ties and abandoned matches. Jack Davies appeared in 50 of those matches. Both are records in world club Rugby League.
A little-known possibility, however, is that a Hull player, Jack Holmes, is likely to have scored the first-ever Rugby League try.
In the hastily-arranged programme for 7th September 1895, Hull were scheduled to visit Mount Pleasant, Batley to take on the “Gallant Youths”. From Reports of the game, it can be reasonably assumed that the game kicked off promptly at 3.30pm, which in fact was quite a rarity in those days. Travel was, of necessity, by rail and then horse drawn carriage to the venue.
Batley kicked off ‘against the hill’ and early exchanges by both sides resulted in the opportunity for Jack Holmes to gather and score – almost certainly within the first five minutes of the start.
The only other fixture known to have started on time at 3.30pm was that at Canal Street, Runcorn, who were opposing local rivals Widnes. George Moores scored for the home team, also after about five minutes. So, it does appear that, assuming that both games did kick off on time, that it was a dead heat for the accolade. As neither player was known as a prolific scorer, it’s nice to know they were awake at their kick-offs!
Whether or not Jack Holmes owns the distinction, it is a fact that he scored the first try on any Rugby League ground that is still in existence.
Shortly after his feat, Jack was in the headlines again when, working as a dock labourer on Alexander Dock, he fell into the dock between the ship and the quay. His first words on being fished out of the dock were “I shan’t be playing against Leeds on Saturday.”
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