𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐁 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟓 𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬: 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬 🐶

07 August 2023

The Batley Bulldogs claimed their place in the final with a 22-8 win against York Knights in the semi-finals and will be playing at Wembley Stadium for the first time in their 143-year history.

The Batley Bulldogs were formed in 1880 and were originally known as Batley Athletic or the ‘Gallant Youths’, then in 1996 the team renamed themselves the Batley Bulldogs.

Before the team could settle at their home at Mount Pleasant alongside newly merged Batley Cricket Athletic and Football Club, they played a challenge match against the Batley Mountaineers, the other local rugby team, to determine which side was the premier team and worthy of the cricket club. Despite both teams claiming victory, the cricket club chose Batley Athletic to join them at Mount Pleasant.

The ‘Gallant Youths’ became the first winners of the Betfred Challenge Cup in 1897, beating St Helens 10-3 in front of a crowd of 13,492 at Headingley and they retained the trophy for a further two years, beating Bradford Northern in front of 27,941 spectators which was then a record number for a rugby match and then defeating Warrington 6-0 for their third and final Betfred Challenge Cup win to date.

In 1923, Batley reached the semi-finals of the Yorkshire Cup and went on to lead the league in November of the same year. The following year Batley were crowned champions, lifting the Rugby League Championship Trophy for the only time in their history, they were also Yorkshire League winners in that season too.

When the league was restructured into two-divisions in the 60’s, Batley were one of only a few teams who were unlucky to make it into the top-flight of teams, however they did come very close in 1993/4. They then won the Second Division Championship in 1994/5 season, but when the Super League was created for the following year, Batley along with Keighley were excluded.

In 1998 the Bulldogs won the Trans-Pennine Trophy beating Oldham in the final at Mount Pleasant and they were also promoted from the Second Division that same season.

More recently, the Bulldogs finished the 2021 Championship season in 4th place on the table and qualified for the playoffs, falling one match short of the Million Pound Game after losing 51-12 against Toulouse Olympique. The following season they played the Million Pound Game for the first time but were defeated by Leigh 44-12.

We can only imagine how much it means to Batley Bulldogs to have been given the opportunity to play at Wembley Stadium for the first time, their coach Craig Lingard said “It’s quite humbling, the club has not been to Wembley and to be a part of the first group of staff to have taken this club there is really difficult to put into words. It is emotional and something which I will be forever proud of”. Read more of his interview with the Dewsbury Reporter here - https://www.dewsburyreporter.co.uk/news/people/craig-lingard-humbled-and-emotional-after-leading-batley-bulldogs-to-first-ever-wembley-appearance-4228928?fbclid=IwAR1fhk-zjPqimleqweqQNqZD2M83ieU30EiErkradCuCZ4fP3ZlUjVMX-uw

Batley Bulldogs will be competing against Halifax Panthers in the 1895 Cup Final completing this years’ triple-header at Wembley Stadium alongside both the Women’ and the Men’s Betfred Challenge Cup Finals!

Tickets for Wembley Stadium are available from £20 for adults and £10 for children https://www.rugby-league.com/tickets/challenge-cup-final

Find out more about Halifax here:
Meet the 1895 Cup Finalists: Halifax Panthers – http://absundecks.co.uk/news.php