A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



Championship was gained in the season of 

 1899-1900, when they defeated the holders, 

 Devonshire, at Exeter by eleven points to three. 

 The following year they were runners up to the 

 same county. In 1901-2 the northern county 

 regained the championship by defeating Glouces- 

 tershire, a performance they repeated against 

 Kent the next year, a magnificent dropped goal 

 by the veteran J. T. Taylor just giving them 

 the victory by four points to three. Kent, how- 

 ever, turned the tables in 1 904 by the narrow 

 margin of eight points to six. In the final 

 against Middlesex in 1905 Durham won by a 

 single point, but in 1906 Devon again wrested 

 the championship from the northern county. In 

 1907 Durham somewhat unexpectedly drew 

 with the holders, who had no less than nine 

 international players in their team. After two 

 draws had been played in the final it was decided 

 to divide the championship honours between the 

 two counties. It will thus be seen that during 

 the last eight years Durham has won on four 

 occasions, tied once, and been in the final three 

 times, a performance which speaks for itself as to 

 the high standard of play in the county. In 

 1902 Durham, as champion county, had the 

 honour of playing the Rest of England, but 

 suffered defeat by thirteen points to nil. They 

 have also played the powerful teams which have 

 visited us from New Zealand and South Africa. 

 Against the former they were the first side to 

 cross the Colonials' line, but were eventually 

 beaten by sixteen points to three. In their match 

 with the South Africans the team were at a 

 disadvantage, since this was their first appearance 

 of the season, but even allowing for this, their play 

 was disappointing, and resulted in a defeat by 

 twenty-two points to four. 



The prominence of Durham gained them 

 a seat in the Rugby Union governing body so far 

 back as 1879. Their first representative was 

 J. Lowthian Bell, a member of the Sunderland 

 club, and a devoted follower of the game. He 

 was succeeded by the late C. Kidson of the 

 same club. The present Durham representative 

 is Mr. H. E. Ferens, and Mr. J. Marsh holds 

 the position of county secretary. Club football 

 in the county is in a well-organized state. There 

 are both senior and junior inter-club compe- 

 titions, the former instituted in 1 880. Of 

 individual teams the Hartlepool Rovers, winners 

 in 1907 of the County Challenge Cup, rank 

 among the strongest in the kingdom. Founded 

 in 1 88 1 they have contributed many prominent 

 players to the county fifteen. West Hartle- 

 pool, founded at a somewhat later date, is 

 another powerful combination. In point of 

 age Darlington was the doyen of Durham clubs, 

 and supplied a powerful nucleus to the team. 

 Founded in 1 865, the scene of their exploits was 

 the Darlington Cricket Ground. The club, how- 

 ever, was disbanded some years ago. Sunderland, 



which is again redivivus, dates back to 1870, and 

 was for many years the most powerful organiza- 

 tion in the county. It enjoys the distinction of 

 having supplied in the person of H. E. Kayll the 

 first Durham man to obtain his English cap. 

 Mr. Kayll played for the North in 1877, and 

 against Scotland in the following March. A 

 noted athlete, he took numerous running and 

 jumping prizes in the north, and won the 

 amateur pole-jumping championship in 1877. 

 Football and club football especially owe much 

 to the missionary zeal of an enthusiastic Scotsman, 

 P. B. Junor. This fine player, an old Glasgow 

 Academical, lived in the 'seventies in the county, 

 and founded many clubs. To his energy the 

 Houghton, Tudhoe and other clubs owe their 

 inception, and when at Durham in 1874 he 

 inspired the city team, of which he was captain, 

 with great activity. Another famous fifteen in 

 the early days was the Bensham, from which was 

 largely formed the well-known North Durham 

 Club in 1875. T. M. Swinburne, for many 

 years the Durham representative on the Rugby 

 Union executive, was first captain of the N.D.C. 

 The team won the County Challenge Cup in the 

 season of 1882-3, and still occupies a prominent 

 position among northern teams. Durham School, 

 though probably better known for the fine oars- 

 men it has produced, is by no means without 

 football honours. F. H. R. Alderson's distinc- 

 tions are alluded to elsewhere, but in addition to 

 him the following old alumni of the school have 

 played for England : E. B. Brutton, who also 

 captained Cambridge, R. W. S. Bell, N. S. Cox, 

 F. C. Lohden, and J. W. Sagar. The univer- 

 sity has also placed a team in the field for many 

 years, and has at times turned out some good 

 players. The other prominent clubs in the 

 county comprise The Hartlepool Old Boys, 

 Stockton Heath, Westoe, and Hamsteels. 



Among individual players a foremost place must 

 be assigned to F. R. H. Alderson, the respected 

 head master of Hartlepool Grammar School. 

 Though a Northumbrian born, he received his 

 football training at Durham School, and his 

 later residential qualification led to his renewed 

 association with the county, whose captain he 

 was elected in 1890. At Cambridge he had 

 represented his university against Oxford on the 

 three-quarter line, and in 1891 he was selected 

 to play for England in a similar position. His 

 knowledge of the game and judicious handling of 

 a team subsequently led to his being appointed 

 captain of the English side, a position he very 

 worthily filled. Mr. Alderson still takes a keen 

 interest in the game, and his school proves a 

 valuable nursery for young players. Another 

 Durham county player, H. Oughtred, more 

 recently captained the English team. A clever 

 and capable half-back, he had in his day no 

 superior in England. Co-temporaneous with 

 Alderson in the Durham and English teams was 



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