1904-1905

This was another successful year: the team gained fourth place in the First Division, there as a slight increase in the membership to 2,335, the average attendance was 9,022, and there was a profit on the season?s work of ?151.

With the pre-season signing of Phil Thomas, the Oldham centre, at a fee of ?250, the strength of the Leeds back division was the envy of many other clubs: H. Littlewood, T. Llewellyn, P. Thomas,W. Evans, W. D. Llewellyn, J. P. Jenkins, G. Mosley, R. Ward and G. Grace. Unfortunately Jenkins returned to Wales, along with Woolf, the forward, at the very commencement of the season. The acquisition of A. Brayshaw, the Bramley half-back, in December, more than compensated for Jenkins? absence and the club then possessed an attacking combination fit to rank with the very best in the game.

Other signings included: J. Clarkson and A. Murray, at full back; Ike Leonard and A. nderton, wingers; T. Bowen centre; and several forwards including W. Pickard from York, T. H. Wainwright from Bramley, A. Lunn and W. Walsh from Hunslet.

Leeds got straight on to the winning track with a home victory over Batley, but the next match at Parkside was a tough assignment. Our players put up a very fine show, however, and held an interval lead of 3 points to 2, Evans having scored a try in reply to a drop goal from Albert Goldthorpe. Within five minutes of the re-start Hunslet took the lead through an unconverted try by Everson. The game fluctuated right up to the last two minutes, and then the issue was decided in an extremely dramatic fashion. First Mosley dropped a goal to equal the scores, but immediately he had done so his team were taken completely by surprise. From Albert Goldthorpe?s kick out one of the Leeds players made a poor return, and the powerful Hunslet forwards rushed the ball down field in a body, dribbled past Clarkson, and Uttley dropped on the ball to register a try, which Goldthorpe converted with the last kick of the match.

Five consecutive victories led to a rapid climb up the league table, but away defeats at Halifax and Bradford, and four more losses in December put paid to any hopes of winning the divisional championship. Reference must be made to the disgraceful exhibition at Mount Pleasant on December 31st. Before the game was a quarter of an hour old, Wormald, of Leeds, and Fozzard, of Batley, were sent off the field for fighting, and in the last ten minutes Birch, of Leeds, and Calvert, Settle and Wade of Batley, all received marching orders. This match, at which the official in charge was Mr. F. T. Rowlands of Bradford, was the subject of a special inquiry by the Management Committee.

A very comfortable victory over Ossett at Headingley in the 1st Round of the Northern Union Cup Competition resulted in a trip to Craven Street, and that was the end of the journey for Leeds. Although our defeat was by the narrow margin of three points to nil Kingston Rovers always had the game well in hand and only desperate work by the Leeds defence kept the score down. The teams were: Leeds-Littlewood; R. Ward, T. Llewellyn, P. Thomas, Naylor; Grace, Brayshaw; Webster, Lunn, Crumpton, Birch, Wormald, Moon, Wainwright, Stead. Hull K. R.-Sinclair; West, Robinson Phipps, Madley; Barry, Gordon; Starks, Kemp, Windle, Osborne, Spackman, Ellis, Townsley, Gorman.

In spite of the fact that no trophies had come to Headingley this was another satisfactory season?s work, and at the Annual General Meeting of the Football Section the Chairman was most forthright in stating that? we might have held a much stronger position in the table and also done better in the Cup-ties had it not been for matters which had concerned the Committee very much during the season. The club played 36 matches, and on no fewer than 19 occasions referees from Bradford officiated.? He was not casting any aspersion on any referee but he thought it was manifestly unfair for the Northern Union Committee to make them take that number. There must, he said, be some rivalry between Leeds and Bradford, and it was in the interests of football that the Bradford referees should visit Leeds far more infrequently.