Welcome to earlyWIGANrugby.co.uk
Wigan Warriors Rugby League Football Club has a very long and rich history. Players such as James Sullivan, Billy Boston and Ellery Hanley have all donned the World Famous Cherry and White jersey and in doing so have written themselves into rugby folklore for eternity. We know all about them, and the success Wigan has had during the 1960s, 1980s, 1990s and more recently in the Super League era as it is ingrained within our memories. But what about the Wigan Club before the time of Billy Boston, Martin Offiah and James Sullivan?
What the books don't tell you, it is earlyWIGANrugby's mission to! Long before records began in 1895, Wigan were a growing club with legendary players such as Jim Slevin, Charlie Samuels and Ned Bullough. Here you will find out about them. Even before the era of Jim Sullivan and Johnny Ring, Wigan were a huge success in the rugby world between 1895 and the World Wars, but not much is known. It is this sites aim to Champion, Research and tell the stories that have been forgotten or have been undocumented.
Here you will be able to learn about the Wigan clubs formation in 1872 and we will take you all the way through to the formation of the Northern Union in 1895 and carry on up until the Great War in 1914 and onto the start of World War II. This huge slice of history has been ignored, misrepresented and forgotten. Along the way you can learn about the great players that have donned the Cherry and White jersey and the stories that are to be told along the way!
LATEST UPDATES
TALES TOLD - "Daff" Banks - Wigan half-back who brought stability to the side just as Wigan were getting established, he tells his story. - July 30th, 2020
TALES TOLD - Ned Bullough - Wigans only England RU cap representative
TALES TOLD - Daniel Rickards of Aspull provides a bit of Geography around my homeland
1887 WEST LANCS CUP - The West Lancashire and Border Towns' Union Cup run in all it's glory - and Tragedy. Part of the story of the Wigan Rugby Football Club.
TALES TOLD - Conversations with old footballers from the 1870s and 1880s. There will be 20 or so in total. First update is Jim Slevin (July, 2020) and William Leighton Baldwin (July, 2020) both founder members of the current Wigan Rugby club; Reuben Sharrock of Aspull (July, 2020)
JIM SLEVIN - A look at Wigan's first Great Captain (June, 2020)
PLAYING CAPS - Representative honours of Wigan players pre-Northern Union and a bit more (June, 2020)
PRESCOTT STREET - Wigan move to their second home. A full look at the Frog Lane enclosure (June, 2020)
CHERRY & WHITE - A look at all the playing kits before (and after) we settled on cherry and white - (June, 2020) *updated July, 2020 (always new information!)
SEASONS
GROUNDS
CLASSIC GAMES
PLAYERS
WIGAN IN COLOUR
Due to the success of @Hunslet08 on twitter and social media, we are following Wigan's fortunes during the 1908-09 campaign. Hunslet won all four major trophies available to them and we followed with intrigue the season as it happened. It was a great factual event so I asked whether we can do it for Wigan and had no objections.
So here we are. We have our very own correspondent under the pseudonym "Offside" (pic). He is a local gent and is well known in Wigan and district rugby circles. On a good day he be found in the Three Crowns pub on Standishgate, and on a bad, well... who knows.
He is a proud Wiganer with safe business in the town. His flat cap always rolled up in his back pocket, a pencil in his ear, his hands are large and weathered meaning his claps can be heard all around Central Park.
Offside shall, through the season, keep us Wiganers up to date about the dealings with the club from player transfers, committee news, match reports and everything else he hears in the public houses around town. (They even say he once lost a bet that Wigan would beat Hull in 1902, Wigan lost, and as punishment had to walk home - which he did... whether that is true or not, we have his word)
Other Heritage Sites
Warrington Wolves Heritage Pages - authored by Neil Ormston: www.warringtonrugbyheritage.com "Dedicated to preserving the history of rugby league in Warrington "