150 years of competitive football in Bradford, 1867-2017 : Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:05 am  

February, 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the first competitive football fixture in Bradford, as told on VINCIT: https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/ We are looking for features about Bradford sport history and welcome contributions from Bulls fans.

February, 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the first competitive football fixture in Bradford, as told on VINCIT: https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/ We are looking for features about Bradford sport history and welcome contributions from Bulls fans.

Re: 150 years of competitive football in Bradford, 1867-2017 : Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:33 am  

History might be the key word

Re: 150 years of competitive football in Bradford, 1867-2017 : Fri Dec 30, 2016 2:30 pm  

Please don't interpret the posting / timing as insensitive in the context of the current uncertainty.

Rugby followers in Bradford can - and should - take heart from the 150 year competitive tradition of the game in the district. History arguably repeats itself... the era of Bulls domination was a repeat of the 1884-92 period when Bradford FC was all-conquering. Financial crises have also been a cyclical feature and yet the game has continued to be played... 1896, 1924-29, 1958-64 and of course, more recently.

The club itself might well disappear, but the rugby tradition will not and nor will the history of Bradford rugby that deserves to be celebrated.

Besides, as demonstrated in 1908 and 1964 there have been phoenix clubs re-emerging and there is a strong argument that a new club starting afresh in 2017 could be a more robust option for the future.

Another interesting theme is that the RFL knows that the game cannot afford the game not to be played in Bradford. In 1908, 1924 and 1929 the RFL went out of its way to ensure that there was a viable club in Bradford - even going so far as to provide a grant in the 1920's. It provided similar support in the last decade and it cannot afford the Bulls to disappear as if clubs in north America or China could take its place.