The Heavy Woollen Victories 1973/2010
By John Roe – with an introduction by Craig Lingard
Batley and Dewsbury are the professional rugby league clubs whose grounds are in closest proximity to each other, only a couple of miles apart, or thereabouts. In fact, Dewsbury’s stadium is located only just beyond Batley’s official boundary, both towns part of West Yorkshire’s Heavy Woollen District.
Batley RLFC’s ‘glory years’ were most definitely before World War One, although the club did manage to win the Championship trophy in 1924.
Dewsbury, their first Challenge Cup win coming in 1911-12, then had to wait 31 years to win it again, when the final was over two legs in 1943.
After which, the 1950s and 1960s were, for the most part, lean years for both Heavy Woollen clubs.
In the end, Batley had to wait rather longer than Dewsbury for another taste of success, the latter lifting the Championship trophy in 1973, the former winning the Northern Rail Cup in 2010.
This book’s author, John Roe, was born and raised in the area, a rugby league fan from the age of eight. Here in these pages, he brings together a collection of colourful reminiscences of the supporters, administrators and players of both clubs who were there – or at least watching on television!
