Pilkington Recs

The Recs Rugby Football Club is an amateur rugby league team based in St Helens, Merseyside.

History

The club was founded in 1878 as part of the sports and recreational section of Pilkington Glass. The side played rugby union, and occasionally association football.

However, on 14th June 1913, to discuss the future of the club. It was announced that the club would drop association football to rugby football. After considerable discussion, it was unanimously agreed to join the constitution of the Northern Rugby Union Football (later the Rugby Football League). The Recs officially known as St Helens Recs were based at City Road and played their first game on 6th September 1913.

St Helens now had two professional sides with St Helens RLFC being the other professional club. During the 1920s and 1930s the Recs played at every level of competition, hosting visiting Australian touring sides, and gaining honours in the game. Despite their success on the pitch, they played their last game on 29th April 1939. The game was away at Hull KR and Recs lost 25-12. The club had been suffering for a while on falling attendances and the economic depression it was not possible for the town to sustain two teams.

In 1945, following the Second World War, rugby league matches resumed including amateur games. In 1949 a group of Pilkington Employees submitted an application to the Pilkington Recreation Club Committee at the Grove Streetto form an amateur rugby league team. Their first match on 27th August 1949 against local amateur side, Vine Tavern, and played away at their ground.The Recs lost 32-3 in front of a 2,000 strong crowd. However, later in the season the Recs won return match 15-13 in front of an estimated 4000 crowd.

On 13th February 1977 the Recs drew a home fixture in the Challenge Cup against Wigan (now named Wigan Warriors. The game was played at Knowsley Road as the City Road venue could not accommodate the number of spectators.

External links

* [http://www.pilkingtonrecs.co.uk/ Offical Site]