Barry RLFC
| Club information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Barry Rugby League Football Club | |
| Founded | August 1908 | |
| Exited | 1909 | |
| Former details | ||
| Ground(s) |
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| Competition |
Welsh League Northern Rugby League |
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| 1909 | 29 | |
| Uniforms | ||
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Barry Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at the Trinity Street Ground in Barry, the club was one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folding after just a single season.
At the beginning of the 20th century, rugby union was the sport of choice for most villages and towns.Association football was viewed as a north Wales activity, and cricket was the summer game. At the end of the 19th century, clubs in the north of England had broken away from the International Rugby Board, and started a professional version of rugby which later became known as rugby league. Rugby union was a strict amateur sport, and any player or club that took any form of payment were likely to be suspended from the game. This was very difficult to administer, as clubs were beginning to experience their star players "Going North", to the professional game where they would be paid to play rugby. In 1907, two rugby league teams formed in South Wales and joined the Northern Union, they were Ebbw Vale and Merthyr Tydfil. This led to further clubs considering the switch to the Northern Union game, Barry being one of them.
In 1908, the Barry Herald reported that Barry was 'going strong for a NU club'. A meeting was held soon after at the Windsor Hotel in Barry, presided over by a Mr J. White, where the discussion was to form a Northern Union club. In August, the Herald predicted that 'Barry will loom large in the football world', and that 'crack NU Rugby teams from the North of England' were expected to visit. The club formed soon after and the local Trinity Street ground was acquired as the team pitch while the team colours would be the same as Cardiff Rugby Football Club, that is Cambridge Blue jerseys and socks and black shorts.
To run the professional club a company needed to be formed, so with capital of £250 in 10 s sharesBarry Northern Union Rugby Football Club Ltd. was formed. These subscribers came from all parts of the town who needed to present a minimum of 50s cash subscription or £5 to qualify for the board of directors. For match days, Barry Railway Company offered 'special facilities' for those travelling from Cardiff and the Rhondda Valleys.
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