Founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, by a team of enthusiastic football players. There were very few Clubs that played either of the football codes – Rugby or Association, so rules were improvised on the spot!
A Brief History of Sale FC.
Founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, by a team of
enthusiastic football players. There were very few Clubs that played either of
the football codes – Rugby or Association, so rules were improvised on the spot!
Sale FC possess the oldest Minute Book in the world – 1865 with ten rules as Sale saw them, for example tripping and pushing were legal – hacking was not!
The number of players was not specified, but was usually around 20 or more. There was no score for getting the ball over the line, but in order to “try” for a goal kick over the posts, the ball had to first be placed over the line.
Rugby was evolving from the medieval mass, mob game of chasing a pigs bladder from one end of town to the other! Gradually, order came to this violent exercise, particularly in schools, so that when boys left, they began to form clubs. In 1858, the early ones were Blackheath, Richmond, Manchester and Liverpool. Sale was formed in 1861 and is the fifth oldest surviving club.
By 1865, we needed management and control over our affairs. The aforementioned Minute Book, beautifully handwritten, records that 54 members paid annual subscriptions of 2/6d (twelve and a half pence.) We have the Minute Book and a photograph, believed to be the oldest in existence.
Local fixtures were against Northenden (who subsequently joined Sale) Longsight, Manchester Atheniums, Hulme, Swinton, Widnes, Owens College etc. By 1871 the English Rugby Union was formed at Pall Mall restaurant, Sale joined and adopted the codified laws. Fixtures became easier, in 1871/72 we played 14 matches, winning 11 and had 128 members.
From the beginning, the Club rented a portion of Sale Cricket Club’s ground or farmers fields. In 1873, when the Brooklands Hotel (Now Bruntwood Estates Offices on the corner of Marsland Road and Brooklands Road) was built, the landlord allowed the use of the adjoining field.
In 1892 we played Leicester and in 1897 Northampton. Better fixtures demanded better facilities and by 1905 we acquired the use of a coach house on Marsland Road and the lease of a field at the end of Heywood Road. The old coach house is now a dental workshop and was only vacated in 1956. Prior to that we used Ashton on Mersey Cricket and Football Club’s fields and changed in the Bull’s Head on Cross Street, Sale.
By 1911 enthusiasm, training and social facilities swept us to an unprecedented P 26, W 24, D 2, not bad for our 50th year. We also provided a British Lion, G. Isherwood who played in all tests against South Africa at scrum half. Born in Barton, he never played for his country, we know no more.
After the First World War, it was resolved to buy the ground at Heywood Road. Charles and Ernest Hartley ran the Club in their capacity as Secretaries and the Walton family looked after the financial affairs. The stand that was erected in 1924 was only replaced in 1996, to accommodate the professional era’s increase in spectators.
Pat Davies became Sale’s first International – playing for England in 1927. The game at Sale improved in all aspects, better fixtures against Llanelli, Rugby, Moseley and the North of Ireland, with many players representing Cheshire and Lancashire.
The “Roaring Thirties” brought about an International back line, Hal Sever (England wing), Claude Davey and Wilf Wooller (Wales centres) and Ken Fyfe (Scotland wing).
Sale were invited to the Middlesex Sevens in 1936 and walked away with the Cup. Suddenly the North West was acknowledged and recognised by people in the South, not just as a Rugby League area, but also as a formidable source of Union players. Incidentally, when the “breakaway” into Rugby League happened in 1894, due to payments for “broken time”, Sale lost many of its fixtures to League.
Prior to World War Two, the need for more grounds for junior teams was solved, by acquiring Woodbourne Road, this provided potential for development of the Club on one site. Discussions within the Club were moving forward, when war broke out, Jim Birtles kept the Club going for the next five years (and for almost thirty years after that!).
When the war was over, the initiative to move to Woodbourne Road disappeared and instead some land was sold to pay for the present timber clubhouse, around 1955. The old bath house was replaced by squash courts, better changing facilities and the “upstairs” lounge bar in the early 70’s, when the present floodlights were also installed. The Jim Birtles Stand was built by members at the same time, to replace the old “bike shed”. Since then we have sold the remaining eight acres at Woodbourne Road for sixteen acres at Carrington, which is becoming a “Centre of Excellence” for local and regional players.
Over the years sale has provided numerous Internationals, County Players and British Lions.
Captains of England - Joe Mycock 1947; Eric Evans 1957-58; Fran Cotton 1979; Steve Smith 1982-83
Captains of Wales - Claude Davey 1935; Wilf Wooller 1937
Captain of Scotland - Ken Fyfe 1934
Now that the professional era is with us, many more players have carried the name of Sale into the International arena.
The future is bright with Sale the centre piece of North West rugby. The structure around us, the will to develop and pass on a legacy for future generations to enjoy and experience the game at all levels is paramount.
Thank you to the past players and administrators for this gift.
John Gardiner (Member since 1956)