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Bramley Buffaloes
	Buffalo
Club information
Full name	Bramley Buffaloes Rugby League Community Club
Website	www.bramley-rlfc.co.uk
Colours	Amber and black
Founded	1879
Current details
Ground(s)	Stanningley ARLFC (Coordinates: 53°49′04.08″N, 1°39′32.31″W)
Competition	Rugby League Conference National

Bramley Buffaloes is a rugby league club from the Bramley area of West Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Previously known simply as Bramley RLFC, the club is a famous name in rugby league, having existed prior to the formation of the Northern Union in 1895. The traditional nickname for the club is The Villagers which survives as the name of the official match programme.

[edit] History

Bramley were founded in 1879. In 1881 they moved to the Barley Mow ground. They were admitted to the Northern Union on 2 June 1896. The rugby league was then split into two county leagues.

James Lomas became rugby league's first £100 transfer, from Bramley to Salford in 1901.^[1]

On 9 October 1907, they became the first club to entertain a touring side when they played New Zealand.

In 1942–3, Bramley dropped out of the wartime Yorkshire League, they did not return to league competition until 1945–6.

In the sixties, the club moved to a new ground on land adjacent to Barley Mow, which became known as McClaren Field.

In 1973 Arthur Keegan became first team coach. Bramley defeated Wakefield Trinity, Castleford and St Helens in order to reach the 1973 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy. They won the trophy with a 15–7 away victory over Widnes on the 14th December 1973. It was the first cup Bramley had won in their entire history. Ironically, due to power cuts, the final against Widnes at Naughton Park took place on a mid-week afternoon.

On Sunday 1 September 1974, Bramley defeated Doncaster 52–17 at McLaren Field in a Yorkshire Cup, first round tie, this broke the club record which had stood since 1946.

The resources of the Villagers could not sustain this success, results and attendances flagged, and Keegan was fired in September 1976.

Bramley won promotion to Division One, under Peter Fox, in the 1976-77 season.

Bramley almost went into liquidation in October 1983 but survived.

In 1990 the club was faced with an estimated bill of £250,000 to carry out comprehensive safety work at McClaren Field for the start of the 1991–92 season. John Kear was appointed coach in 1992.

Bramley managed to survive at McClaren Field until the end of the 1994–95 season. The following seasons they played at Clarence Field and then moved to Headingley in 1997.

Crowd numbers were affected and the team became ever more overshadowed by Leeds. In 1999 as a possible merger between Hunslet and Bramley was debated.[1] At the end of the 1999 season Bramley resigned from the Northern Ford Premiership to become a feeder team for Leeds, but this never materialised. Bramley applied to rejoin the Northern Ford Premiership in 2000 but were rejected, a similar bid from Gateshead Thunder was accepted. They had planned to play games at the home of soccer club Farsley Celtic and progressively upgrade the ground, this may have been the cause of the rejection.

Bramley applied again to rejoin the Rugby Football League for the 2003 season with their home games to be played at Morley Rugby Union Club, with the long-term aim of establishing their own ground. They were rejected again despite meeting the grounds criteria because the stadium was not in Bramley. They were reformed as a supporter-owned club and joined National League Three, also fielding a side in the Rugby League Conference. After finishing as runners-up in 2005, Bramley took the title in 2006, beating Hemel Stags by 30 points to 8. Since 2007 Bramley have participated in the Rugby League Conference National Division, the new name for the re-branded National League Three.

In November 2008, Paul Cook left his post as Head Coach of Bramley Buffaloes to take up an Assistant Coach role at Huddersfield Giants. He had taken Bramley to a Grand Final in each of his three seasons with the club. Mark Butterill was appointed as Head Coach following Paul's departure, with Jon Nicholls being appointed as Assistant Coach

[edit] Honours

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy: 1973/74
Leeds RFC Summer Sevens: 1996
Rugby League Conference National Division: 2006¹, 2009

¹ Then known as National League Three.

[edit] Players Earning International Caps While At Bramley

Louis Marshall, for England while at Bramley 1923 Wales

[edit] Other Notable Players

Jeffrey "Jeff" Tennant (Testimonial match 1987)
Dennis Warrior (Testimonial match 1955)
John "Johnny" Wilson
John "Johnny" Wolford
Wayne (Danny) Thornton

[edit] Records

[edit] Player records

Most tries in a match: 7 by Joe Sedgewick vs Normanton Knights, 16 April 1906
Most goals in a match: 13 by Paul Drake vs Coventry Bears, 24 April 2005
Most points in a match: 36 by Paul Drake vs Underbank Rangers, 4 September 2005
Most tries in a season: 34 by Peter Lister, 1985–86
Most goals in a season: 146 by Paul Drake, 2005
Most points in a season: 382 by Paul Drake, 2005
Most career tries: 140 by Peter Lister, 1982–91
Most career goals: 926 by Johnny Wilson, 1953–64
Most career points: 1903 by Johnny Wilson, 1953–64
Most career appearances: 410 by Johnny Wolford 1962–76
Most consecutive appearances: 100 by Jim Hainsworth, April 1960 - December 1962

[edit] Club records

Highest score for: 86–0 vs Essex Eels, 19 June 2005
Highest score against: 92-7 vs Australia, 9 November 1921 (Tour Match)
Highest attendance at Barley Mow: 12,600 vs Leeds, 7 May 1947
Highest attendance at McLaren Field: 7,500 vs Bradford Northern, 17 February 1972

[edit] Sources

^ Baker, Andrew (1995-08-20). "100 years of rugby league: From the great divide to the Super era". Independent, The (independent.co.uk). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/100-years-of-rugby-league-from-the-great-divide-to-the-super-era-1597130.html. Retrieved 2009-09-25.

[edit] External links

[0] Baker, Andrew (1995-08-20). "100 years of rugby league: From the great divide to the Super era". Independent, The (independent.co.uk). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/100-years-of-rugby-league-from-the-great-divide-to-the-super-era-1597130.html. Retrieved 2009-09-25.

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