Sowerby Bridge (Rugby League)

Sowerby Bridge was a (semi) professional rugby league club.

The club was based in Sowerby Bridge, a small market town (population approx. 10,000) that lies within the Upper Calder Valley in the district of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, northern England, and approximately 3 miles from Halifax.

The club joined the Northern Union in 1901-02 and played for the single season in the Yorkshire Senior Competition, which was effectively Division 2 (East).

Only limited County League information is available for this season.

Very little is known about the Sowerby Bridge club.

At the end of the 1901-02 season, the County Leagues elected 18 teams to join the new Division 2 (7 from Lancashire and 10 from Yorkshire and new member South Shields) with the existing second competition scrapped. This meant that teams were excluded from the senior competitions leaving them with several options:

Sowerby Bridge was one of the 4 Yorkshire (the others being Goole, Heckmondwike and Liversedge) and 2 Lancashire clubs (Altrincham and Radcliffe) not elected to the new Division 2, but it is unknown as to which route the club followed. However, based on the limited available informnation and taking into account the poor playing record, it is feasible to assume that the club folded (or as described in Cherry and White "disappeared.

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