As part of the club’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2007, the Sharks visited the [[Czech Republic]], another country where interest in Rugby League was growing.
As part of the club’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2007, the Sharks visited the [[Czech Republic]], another country where interest in Rugby League was growing.
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/shawcrosssharksarlfc1947/a/hall-of-fame-27599.html?page=1
https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/shawcrosssharksarlfc1947/a/hall-of-fame-27599.html?page=1
More than 250 Shaw Cross players have gone on to play professional Rugby League. In November 2011, the club opened its Hall of Fame. A place was awarded to former players who have represented their country in a test or international match. An initial 15 players were inducted.
More than 250 Shaw Cross players have gone on to play professional Rugby League. In November 2011, the club opened its Hall of Fame. A place was awarded to former players who have represented their country in a test or international match. An initial 15 players were inducted.
Great Britain: 1982
Great Britain: 1982
John signed for Halifax in 1974 and Warrington in 1977. Injury prevented John from obtaining Great Britain Under-24 honours in 1979. Fulham signed him to replace Tony Karalius in 1981, where his abrasiveness made him a fans favourite, and he became the Londoners’ first test cap when he was called up to replace fellow former Shaw Cross player, David Ward, against the 1982 Australia ‘Invincibles.’ 1982 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
John signed for Halifax in 1974 and Warrington in 1977. Injury prevented John from obtaining Great Britain Under-24 honours in 1979. Fulham signed him to replace Tony Karalius in 1981, where his abrasiveness made him a fans favourite, and he became the Londoners’ first test cap when he was called up to replace fellow former Shaw Cross player, David Ward, against the 1982 Australia ‘Invincibles.’ 1982 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
Nick Fozzard
Great Britain: 2005
Nick signed for Leeds Rhinos in 1993. His excellent performances led to Huddersfield Giants to pay £90,000 for him 1997. Two serious injuries led Nick to miss almost two full seasons and he moved to Warrington Wolves in 2001. A move to St Helens brought many club honours and international recognition. At club level he won the World Club Challenge, the Challenge Cup and the Super League and played for Great Britain against New Zealand in 2005. He was selected for the Super League Dream Team in 2007.
== References ==
== References ==
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Shaw Cross Sharks[1] is an amateur Rugby League club based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. Formed in 1947 as Shaw Cross Boys Club, they are well known for the numerous players who have gone on to play professional Rugby. They currently play in the National Conference League.
The club were formed[2] in 1947 by Douglas Hird B.E.M., long-time secretary and Alan Lancaster M.B.E.
The club’s first headquarters were a Nissen hut purchased in 1949 for the then huge amount of £30. The dismantled hut was transported from a former military camp between Wakefield and Doncaster. Over a period of several weeks, during evenings and weekends, the hut was eventually rebuilt.
Opening day was marked by defeating the then-strongest team in the league, Dewsbury YMCA Wanderers, 10-5.
The ‘top’ hut was added in 1953, and the original Nissen hut had to be rebuilt in 1956 following its collapse due to a gale-force wind.
As the club continued to expand, by 1963, it was clear the club required more suitable, larger premises.
Dewsbury businessmen worked with the National Association of Boys’ Clubs, and plans for an £8,000 scheme were presented to the Ministry of Education, who eventually agreed to a 50% grant. Dewsbury Education Authority followed with a 25% grant, leaving the committee to raise the balance. This was eventually achieved, and the new building was opened 20th March 1965. The new clubhouse featured a gymnasium, canteen, office, changing rooms, kit room, referees’ and medical rooms.
By the mid-1970s, the club was running a range of junior teams, but all boys had to leave or stop playing once they were 19.
In 1972, Dave Bradshaw (Brad) recruited a number of former players and additional experienced players to form the first Shaw Cross Open age side. Players included Tony Martin, Mick Kaye, Tony Cooke, ‘Chink’ Helliwell, Roger Lees, Glynn Tolson, John Bracken, Tom Buckley ‘and the youngsters Trevor Scargill, Dave Beevers, Dean Clark, John Birkby, John Haigh, Steve Booth, Martin Summerscales and Graham Smith.[3]
In 1977, the club joined BARLA’s Yorkshire League with Chris Senior as player-coach. Chris was succeeded by former Shaw Cross junior and then Leeds RL captain David Ward. Gary Brook subsequently took over as coach and the team made rapid progress up the league.
In 1982, a £10,000 brewery loan enabled an extension to the clubhouse featuring a licensed bar.
By 1987, the open-age team had been promoted to the Senior Division of the Yorkshire League, and an ‘A’ team formed, winning the second division of the Yorkshire League and the Heavy Woollen Cup in its first season.
in 1987, the elite National Amateur Rugby league had been formed and BARLA invited applications for a new second division. The selection criteria for membership were demanding, but Shaw Cross was elected. For a short while, they were the only club from the Heavy Woollen District. This proved short-lived, as before the new league kicked off, one of the clubs dropped out and was replaced by Dewsbury Celtic.
Shaw Cross has been a mainstay of the National Conference League, as it has become known, ever since.
In 1996, disaster struck. During a break-in at the clubhouse, a discarded cigarette caused a fire. The blaze caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, and almost fifty years worth of trophies, kits and records were destroyed. Matches were postponed, and urgent funding was sought.
Over the next few months, the club prepared an application for a grant from the newly formed National Lottery. Subsequently, Shaw Cross were able to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary with the news of a £281,000 grant. The grant was on the proviso that the club was open to boys and girls. Hence, the club became the Shaw Cross Club for Young People.
Vice-Chairman Mick Turner and recently retired police officer Brian Clarke took on the huge amount of administrative paperwork required, and on 20th March 1998, Douglas Hird laid the foundation stone. Eight Months later, arguably the club’s most famous ex-player, Mike Stephenson, officially opened the new two-storey clubhouse.
Sports Club of the Year
[edit]
In 1998, BARLA nominated Shaw Cross as its nominee for the ‘Sports Club of the Year’ award, presented by the Foundation for Sports and the Arts, and the Central Council of Physical Recreation. A four-man delegation of Club Secretary Douglas Hird, President Alan Lancaster, Chairman Nigel Walsh and Vice-Chairman Mick Turner attended the award night in Huntingdon. The judges endorsed BARLA’s belief that ‘Shaw Cross is a shining example of the type of community-based club upon which rugby league thrives,’ and awarded it their club of the year and with it a £10,000 first prize.
National Conference League
[edit]
In 1993, the National League had restructured into the three-division National Conference League. In 1997, Cross were promoted to League 1, and in 2005, they were crowned Division 1 Champions and promoted to the Premier Division.
A five-year tenure in Division 1 ended with relegation in 2018. Relegation to Division 3 subsequently followed.
The appointment[4] of former Wakefield and Huddersfield player Paul March as coach in December 2021 proved to be a turning point for Cross. A strong finish to the 2022 season resulted in a 5th place finish, and a tough away victory at Seaton Rangers set up a play-off final at Oldham St Annes, where Cross were victorious 18-30 and promoted to Division 2.
During the 2023 season, Cross quickly proved they could more than ‘hold their own’ with the step-up, eventually finishing third and favourites for another promotion via the play-offs. Unfortunately, this was not to be, Woolston Rovers being victorious 12-14 in the final.
Putting disappointment behind them, Shaw Cross hit the 2024 season running. They won eighteen matches out of twenty, with only Wigan St Judes matching them, and both teams were promoted. A 22-24 last-match defeat by St Judes denied Cross the Championship title only on points difference.
At the end of the season, Paul March left to take over the role of coach at Dewsbury Rams. In November 2024, former Dewsbury, Batley and Featherstone player Matt Bramald[5] was announced as Head Coach as Shaw Cross prepared for the 2025 season in Division 1.
International Links
[edit]
Shaw Cross have been pioneers of fostering international links. In 1969, in Manchester, Chairman Alan Lancaster met Monsieur Gilbert Dautant, the organiser of France’s amateur rugby league, and discussed an exchange scheme. Subsequently, the Yorkshire Association of Boys’ Clubs French Rugby League Exchange was set up and based at Shaw Cross and Villeneuve-sur-lot in south-west France.
In 1970, Alan Lancaster, Douglas Hird and Trevor Foster, the former Bradford Northern international and then assistant leader of Bradford Police Boys Club, led the historic first trip to France. In the days before high-speed trains, a long and arduous journey ensued. The party of one team plus reserves arrived to be met with great pomp and ceremony before all party members were housed with French families.
Three matches took place. A 16-11 defeat at Villeneuve was followed by a 27-20 loss to Tonneins before an 11-3 victory over Casseneuil. Each match was followed by a civic reception. Additionally, educational and cultural visits were included. Together with the hospitality provided by the French hosts ensured the tour was long remembered.
The following year, a party of French boys was invited to Yorkshire. They eagerly accepted and requested they could bring two squads of Under-16 and Under-19 players, 40 in total. This proved to be the basis for forthcoming exchanges. Over fifty years later, annual exchange trips continue today; more than 1700 players have participated.
In 1977, Shaw Cross made history by taking the first BARLA tour to Australia and New Zealand. The tour was led by Douglas Hird and Alan Lancaster and included Cross players, Graham Smith and James Wood.
Before becoming coach of Shaw Cross, Mick Turner was sent to South Africa by BARLA as British Ambassador for Sport ahead of its first tour in 1993. During the visit, Mick met the local development officer, Martin Birmingham, who had begun his rugby league development with Dewsbury Celtic. Martin invited clubs willing to make the trip to Cape Town. Mick, a former Shaw Cross junior who had recently returned to the club, brought the opportunity back to Cross, where it was enthusiastically accepted.
A groundbreaking tour took place in May 1999. Cross enjoyed a victory and a draw against Cape Town Cobras. In addition to the games, there were visits to schools in the local townships where youngsters were given rugby league coaching. Further tours took place in 2001 and 2003, featuring games against Cape Town Cobras and Western Province.
In May 2005, the club toured Serbia and Montenegro, where interest in Rugby League was growing.
As part of the club’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2007, the Sharks visited the Czech Republic, another country where interest in Rugby League was growing.
https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/shawcrosssharksarlfc1947/a/hall-of-fame-27599.html?page=1
More than 250 Shaw Cross players have gone on to play professional Rugby League. In November 2011, the club opened its Hall of Fame. A place was awarded to former players who have represented their country in a test or international match. An initial 15 players were inducted.
John Dalgreen
Great Britain: 1982
John signed for Halifax in 1974 and Warrington in 1977. Injury prevented John from obtaining Great Britain Under-24 honours in 1979. Fulham signed him to replace Tony Karalius in 1981, where his abrasiveness made him a fans favourite, and he became the Londoners’ first test cap when he was called up to replace fellow former Shaw Cross player, David Ward, against the 1982 Australia ‘Invincibles.’ 1982 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
Nick Fozzard
Great Britain: 2005
Nick signed for Leeds Rhinos in 1993. His excellent performances led to Huddersfield Giants to pay £90,000 for him 1997. Two serious injuries led Nick to miss almost two full seasons and he moved to Warrington Wolves in 2001. A move to St Helens brought many club honours and international recognition. At club level he won the World Club Challenge, the Challenge Cup and the Super League and played for Great Britain against New Zealand in 2005. He was selected for the Super League Dream Team in 2007.
