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More stories will be added on a weekly basis, so keep coming back to see what's new. Very soon the search function will be added allowing you to easily search the entire site for stories, players, games or any other reference.

Learn more about Sheffield Eagles through the stories we've researched and focused on. If you'd like to share your memories and stories with the project then get in touch. 



The Sheffield Eagles are recognised as establishing rugby league in Sheffield but they weren’t Sheffield’s first rugby league team, it is in fact the third time there has been an attempt at setting up a “Rugby League” team in the City - first in 1914 and then 1922.

The Research The Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project have discovered the existence of Rugby League in Sheffield before the Sheffield Eagles thanks to a box of documents sent to the Heritage Project by Nigel Borham. This included a photocopy of Issue 5 of Code 13 Magazine from 1987. Graham Williams wrote an article titled “Before the Eagles: A History of Sheffield Hornets” that revealed the little known story. A full copy of the article is available below and the story that follows is based heavily on Graham’s article. It shows that Sheffield isn’t the rugby league newcomer that many people suggest. Sheffield was in fact involved in rugby league even before that name was in use. If either of those previous clubs had been successful then we would have already celebrated over 100 years of rugby league in Sheffield.

Sheffield Northern Union Football Club With the breakaway from Rugby Union in 1895 the Northern Union was formed – this was to eventually become what we now know as Rugby League. In the early 1900s there were two rugby union teams in the Sheffield and the Northern Union saw the potential to establish the new game in Sheffield. A Northern Union game between Yorkshire and Australia was held at Bramall Lane in 1911 watched by over 4,000 people. Various meetings took place in 1914 about a Sheffield club and on 30th April the Northern Union Committee meeting in Huddersfield approved the new Sheffield Northern Union Football Club, based in Heeley. They were going to play in the Northern Combination, a reserve team league, alongside four other teams including Featherstone Rovers. A practice match on 29th August saw Sheffield NUFC lose 37-6 to Huddersfield, with their first full game also seeing them lose to Wigan “A” 25-0. With the outbreak of World War 1, a lack of funding and many of their players conscripted Sheffield weren’t able to fulfil their fixtures from October onwards and on 24th November they submitted their resignation from the competition. They’d played five games, lost five games, scored 28 points and conceded 190. The early form of “rugby league” in Sheffield had only lasted a few months.

Sheffield Hornets Rugby League Football Club 1922 saw the second attempt at rugby league in Sheffield, in the east end of the City, an area now long associated with the Sheffield Eagles. Darnall Rugby Union team were losing players to the Northern Union game, struggling with running costs and were having to cancel games. They made the decision to switch to the Northern Union and were accepted on 27th April 1922. They were originally going to use the name Sheffield NUFC once again but this coincided with the point when Northern Union renamed itself as Rugby League. Instead of using the name Sheffield RLFC they decided to be known as Sheffield Hornets. They were accepted into the Yorkshire Senior Competition, a second grade league containing 15 teams including 9 “A” teams from other rugby league clubs – Featherstone Rovers, Halifax, Hull, Hull KR, Hunslet, Keighley, Leeds, Wakefield Trinity and York. After a public meeting in July of that year it was agreed that the team would play at the Darnall Wellington Cricket and Football Ground in Darnall.
[Image: Darnall Greyhound Stadium shortly after closure in 1965. 

By RJRoweCollection - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109873969]
The new team wasn’t prepared enough for any practice matches against other teams so had games between the players that they had signed, or were looking to sign. The first game of the 1922/23 season was away against Hull KR on 9th September – coincidentally almost 62 years to the day before the first ever Sheffield Eagles game on 2nd September 1984. The Sheffield Hornets were captained at that first game by Edgar Quigley, a New Zealand international, signed as a statement of how ambitious the club wanted to be. The Hornets struggled though and lost that first game 33 points to 5. The first game in Darnall was the following week against Sharlston when it was another loss, 6 points to nil. There then followed a series of tough defeats against Hunslet, Hull and Wakefield Trinity, conceding an average of nearly 60 points a game. The Hornets realised they were struggling and asked the Rugby League Council for financial support to recruit more players, which they did, and new players were brought in. There was increased confidence amongst the team and closer games, but still no wins in the YSC, with them also knocked out of the Challenge Cup. By the end of January the record was played 17, lost 17, points for 91, points against 434. Things started to change though - there were two draws in February against Keighley and Wyke, but they remained bottom. The first win was at home on 17th March 1923, 25-2 against Pontefract, this was followed by an away win at Sharlston, before drawing with Hull, then top of the division. The results on the pitch started to generate interest off it with 2,000 watching the home game against Hunslet on Easter Monday – the Hornets lost 8-2. They went on to finish the season played 26, won 2, drawn 3, lost 21 with 185 points for and 351 points against.

In order to generate further interest and players, a schools match (Hunslet v Wakefield) was held in April with schools from across the City invited to watch. As a result six schools in Sheffield planned to take up rugby league. Things were looking positive for the 1923/24 season but they could no longer play at the Wellington Ground and had to move to the Hyde Park Ground on Manor Oaks Road. Plans were underway for the next season in a division now reduced to 10 other clubs, with new players recruited and practice matches held. Despite two losses at the start of the season these were then followed by a win and a draw, with things looking increasingly positive on the field. There were financial problems for the club off the field though, with not enough income being generated, leading to cancelled matches. It was hoped that rugby league fans in the City would come to their rescue but unfortunately no new funding was found. The fixture on 14th November 1923 against Keighley had to be cancelled and no further games took place. This meant the Hornets’ record ended played 6, won 3, drawn 1, lost 2, points for 60, points against 71. The signs were that the club was growing on the field, but the money wasn’t there to keep the club going. As can be seen there were many echoes of the Sheffield Eagles story, but the Eagles have managed to survive the many ups and downs of the last 39 years. The records of the Sheffield Hornets and Sheffield NUFC are patchy but if anyone has any more information on these Rugby League pioneers then please do share them.

Further reading You can find out more about the Darnall Wellington Cricket and Football Ground ,HERE,. 
You can find out more about Hyde Park Cricket Ground ,HERE,.



The Full Article You can read the full, original article below. 

[File: undefined]

Author Richard King

Learn more about the attempts to set up a Rugby League team in Sheffield before the Sheffield Eagles

Rugby League in Sheffield before the Sheffield Eagles



The Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project and the Sheffield Eagles were delighted to be able to use the Club's first Heritage Game on 3rd September 2023  as a chance to launch the Sheffield Eagles Past Players Association. 

PPA Launched The aim of the Past Players Association is to bring together former players who may have lost touch with teammates, to receive heritage certificates and to link in with what the Club is doing now. We’ll be putting together a regular newsletter for former players and are hoping to arrange a series of reunions as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations in 2024. 
The Association will initially focus on former players from the men’s team, over time thought it will grow to include former members of all the other Eagles’ teams that have recently been established. 
If you are a former player or are the family of a former player then please get in touch with the Heritage Project. Contact details can be found ,HERE,. 

Author Richard King

Sheffield Eagles Past Players Association Launched

Past Players Association



The Heritage Project worked with the Club to make the home game on 3rd September the first ever Sheffield Eagles Heritage Game - the game closest to the anniversary of the first ever Sheffield Eagles game on 2nd September 1984. In the future the home game closest to the 2nd September will become Heritage Game that year.

The Programme The Club produced a special, commemorative programme that reflected the design of the first ever programme in 1984. Each copy was individually numbered with “Number 1” being signed by all the Sheffield Eagles players at the game. Below are the first ever programme, the commemorative programme, the signed copy and images of the 40 years of programmes that were brought together for the Heritage Game programme.

[Image: The front cover of the first ever Sheffield Eagles programme from 1984]
[Image: The cover of the programme for the first ever Sheffield Eagles Heritage Game - 3rd September 2023]
[Image: The cover of the signed copy (numbered 1) of programme for the first ever Sheffield Eagles Heritage Game - 3rd September 2023]
[Image: A collage of programmes from 1984 to 2023 for the 2023 Heritage Game programme]

Postcards The Heritage Project produced a series of five postcards showing players from the 1980s, 1990, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. These postcards were available free at the match and proved both incredibly popular but also provided a starting point for many discussions and recollections.
[Image: Postcard produced for the 2023 Heritage Game - 1980s]
[Image: Postcard produced for the 2023 Heritage Game - 1990s]
[Image: Postcard produced for the 2023 Heritage Game - 2000s]
[Image: Postcard produced for the 2023 Heritage Game - 2010s]
[Image: Postcard produced for the 2023 Heritage Game - 2020s]

Share Your Memories Linked to the free postcards was a further postcard asking fans to share their memories and post them in the Heritage Project postbox. You can find a selection of the comments below.

[Quote: "Been watching since 88, there’s been so many memories to choose from but my favourite is Wembley 2019" Author: Eagles Fan]
[Quote: "Winning back to back championships was amazing and I’ll never forget it" Author: Eagles Fan]
[Quote: "Mark Aston saved the Club" Author: Eagles Fan]
[Quote: "Being Freddy the Eagleman at the launch of Super League in St Helens. The mascot race was fixed – Ronnie the Rhino was the academy winger" Author: Eagles Fan]
[Quote: "A very wet and cold trip to the Watersheddings in Oldham. Daryl Powell scored a drop goal for the win. Snowed all the way home and only just made it over Woodhead Pass. " Author: Eagles Fan]
[Quote: "Winning the Challenge Cup against Wigan was amazing, being able to “look after” the Challenge Cup in our house was legendary" Author: Eagles Fan]
[Quote: "Two of my abiding memories are the coach breaking down on the way back from Salford and having to wait in Hyde Road bus garage. The other is the first trip to Paris – very contrasting times" Author: Eagles Fan]
[Quote: "The first ever Eagles shirt I bought and wore, then my 4 year old daughter started coming to the matches so I cut it down to fit her and now her teddy is the proud owner of it" Author: Eagles Fan]
[Quote: "The Eagles have given me some of the best days of my life. The Challenge Cup and the 1895 victories being the obvious standouts. It’s definitely more than just a sports team to me" Author: Eagles Fan]
[Quote: "Hitting the target for money raised to save the Club – absolutely priceless" Author: Eagles Fan]

Banners Using the same images from the postcards banners were produced and placed around the ground showing people the rich history of the Club. These stayed up for the rest of the 2023 season and will be used again in 2024 for the 40th anniversary.
[Image: Photo of the banner at the 2023 Heritage Game. Photo by Jake Borrill]

Retro Shirts and Selfie Frames Fans were encouraged to wear their favourite old Sheffield Eagles shirt, with the ground full of different designs dating back to 1984. Selfie fames were also produced for fans to be able to show off their shirts.
[Image: Selfie Frame 2023 Heritage Game - Photo Jake Borrill]
[Image: Retro Shirts 2023 Heritage Game - Photo by Jake Borrill]

Further Photos Further photos from the 2023 Heritage Game by Jake Borrill.

[Image: Postcards 2023 Heritage Game - Jake Borrill]
[Image: Share Your Memories 2023 Heritage Game - Jake Borrill]
[Image: Old Programmes 2023 Heritage Game - Jake Borrill]
[Image: Old Shirts 2023 Heritage Game - Jake Borrill]

Author Richard King

The Sheffield Eagles home game against the London Broncos on 3rd September was designated the first ever Heritage Game.

Sheffield Eagles Heritage Game 2023



On the 30th September of every year Sporting Heritage organise National Sporting Heritage Day (#NSHD) and the Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project was delighted to take part. You can find more details of what we organised here.

National Sporting Heritage Day Sporting Heritage celebrates the UK’s sporting heritage supporting the collection, preservation, access, and research of sporting heritage in the UK and wider. As part of this on the 30th September of every year they organise National Sporting Heritage Date (#NSHD) and the Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project are delighted to be taking part.
Rather than organising something specific for the 30th September the Heritage Project had a series of events and activities throughout September. September is important to the Club as they played their first ever game on 2nd September 1984. Therefore next year marks the 40th anniversary of the Sheffield Eagles, with events and activities planned throughout the year to mark this special season.
We’ve brought together details of all the #NHSD related activities we’ve been involved in, just click on the links below to find more information.

SHEFFIELD EAGLES HERITAGE GAME The Heritage Project worked with the Club to make the home game on 3rd September the first ever Sheffield Eagles Heritage Game - the game closest to the anniversary of the first ever Sheffield Eagles game on 2nd September 1984. In the future the home game closest to the 2nd September will become Heritage Game that year.
To read more click ,HERE,.

PAST PLAYERS ASSOCIATION The Sheffield Eagles Past Players Association was launched to coincide with the 2023 Heritage Game. You can find more details of the Association by clicking ,HERE,. 

Hall of Fame and Roll of Honour As part of the Sheffield Eagles 2023 End of Season Presentation on 29th September new inductees to the Sheffield Eagles Hall of Fame and Roll of Honour were announced. You can find more details of membership of both by clicking ,HERE,. Details of the new inductees will be included after they have been announced.

The Story of Rugby League in Sheffield After some research by the Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project it has become clear that there were attempts to establish Rugby League in Sheffield before the Sheffield Eagles in 1984. In fact there were attempts even before it was known as Rugby League. Find out more ,HERE,. 

How the Sheffield Eagles Started You can read more about how the Sheffield Eagles started by clicking ,HERE,.
You can watch full footage of the first ever Sheffield Eagles game in 1984 ,HERE,. 
You can watch a video of the first 10 years of the Sheffield Eagles ,HERE,.

Sheffield Eagles - Literacy Kicks The Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project working with the Literacy Kicks project delivered 21 literacy workshops at 9 schools in Sheffield throughout September. The workshops used the Sheffield Eagles historic 1998 Challenge Cup win as the starting point for children to write their own newspaper articles. You can find out more ,HERE,.

Sheffield Eagles Walking Rugby Team The recently launched Sheffield Eagles Walking Rugby Team played their first competitive games since they were formed in June as part of a tournament in Wath. You can read more ,HERE,.

The Full Monty Game As a result of Mark Addy's character Dave in the Full Monty film wearing the Sheffield Eagles 1996 away kit it has become known as the "Full Monty" shirt. The last game of the regular season on 24th September 2023 was designated the Full Monty game. Read more about it ,HERE,.

Sporting Heritage Sporting Heritage is a Community Interest Company dedicated to supporting the protection, understanding and celebration of the nation’s sporting heritage. They are based in Leeds and deliver work across the UK. They support sports clubs, governing bodies, schools, community groups, cultural organisations, diverse representatives, universities, and individuals across the UK, working with them to:
Understand the importance of sporting heritage.
Develop knowledge and interest in how to collect, preserve, display and provide access to sporting heritage.
Demonstrate the role of sporting heritage across a range of other agendas such as mental health and education.
Sporting Heritage was established in 2012 because despite the rich sporting heritage of the UK the protection, preservation and celebration of it is often overlook. Therefore Sporting Heritage aims to help keep sporting stories alive across the four nations, in communities, schools, sports groups and museums. This can help them be key drivers of wellbeing; education; community engagement; heritage and sport participation; and tourism objectives.
You can find more about Sporting Heritage ,HERE,. 


Author Richard King

Details of all the activities the Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project organised linked to National Sporting Heritage Day 2023.

National Sporting Heritage Day 2023



Long term Sheffield Eagles fan Ian Swain has been collecting programmes and press cuttings about the Club since the 1994-95 season and he contacted the Heritage Project to discuss sharing this collection.

Programme Collection Ian has spent many hours digitising his collection of programmes, press cuttings and photos, providing the Heritage Project with a memory stick of over 12gb, containing nearly 9,000 files in total! This is an amazing digital collection that we’re delighted to be able to share via the Heritage Project website. We’ve worked with two students to upload all the programmes so that Ian’s entire collection of 563 programmes from the last 28 years is now available to everyone. It’s fascinating to look back to see how the programmes have changed over time, the different players and the progress of the team. It’s also a trip down memory lane to see the various adverts from Sheffield businesses and shops.

WHERE TO FIND THE PROGRAMMES If you want to investigate the collection then click the "Collections" button at the top of this page then search for programmes based on season or team. We’ll continue to digitise the rest of the programmes we have from before 1995 over the next year and add the programmes on from this season in September. We’ll select some of the press cuttings Ian has given us to add to the website but the rest will form a digital archive that will be part of the legacy of the Heritage Project.

ANY OTHER PROGRAMMES? If you have any programmes that we've not uploaded to the site then get in touch and we'll see if we can add them.

Search the collection of Sheffield Eagles programmes donated by Ian Swain

Sheffield Eagles Programmes



The webinar focused on how we collect the stories and experiences that are vital to sporting heritage. 

Webinar We were delighted to be invited to be part of the panel for Sporing Heritage's webinar - "Sharing Stories through collecting". The webinar looked at how do we identify stories and how do we approach collecting them. It considered How do these experiences equate to the physical objects in our collections and how do we share both with our communities? 
Also on the panel were the Red Archive (Liverpool FC), National Football Museum and St Fagans National Museum of History. We were able to share a little of the history of the Sheffield Eagles, how the Heritage Project is collecting stories, what we've achieved to date and what we have planned for the rest of the project. It was a great chance to raise the profile of both the Project and the Sheffield Eagles.
If you'd like to see the presentation then a pdf version is provided below.
[File: undefined]



Author Richard King