Bradford Bulls
| File:BradfordBullsLogo.png | |||
| Full name | Bradford Bulls Rugby League Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Bulls | ||
| Founded | 1881 | ||
| Region | Bradford, Yorkshire, England | ||
| Ground(s) | Grattan Stadium (Capacity: 27,000) | ||
| Chairman |  Peter Hood | ||
| Coach(es) | Steve McNamara | ||
| Captain(s) | Paul Deacon | ||
| League(s) | Super League (Europe) | ||
| 2007 | 3rd | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| www | |||
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, England. It has been one of the major success stories of the Super League era, with the 2003 season being its best where the club successfully won all of the major rugby league honours, (Challenge Cup, Superleague Championship, World Club Championship, and Minor Premier) The team jersey is white with red, black and amber hoops. The club plays its home games at Grattan Stadium which is located to the south of the city centre this stadium is fantastic but shall always be called odsal
History
1863 - 1907: In the Beginning
The Bradford Rugby Club was formed in 1863. Park Avenue was established as their home ground in 1880. It achieved its first major success by winning the Yorkshire Cup in 1884. In 1895, along with cross-town neighbours Manningham, Bradford was among 22 clubs to secede from the Rugby Football Union after a historic meeting at The George Hotel in Huddersfield, in response to a dispute over "broken time" payments to players. These 22 clubs formed the Northern Rugby Union. In 1903-4 Bradford finished level on points with Salford at the top of the league and then won the resulting play-off 5-0. Manningham ran into financial difficulties and, despite a summer archery contest that generated enough money to ensure their survival, its members were persuaded to change to Association football. The club was invited to join the Football League in 1903, in an attempt to introduce the soccer to the rugby-dominated region, and the newly renamed Bradford City A.F.C. was voted into full membership of the Second Division without playing a game of soccer, having a team or being able to guarantee a ground.
There was also a demand for Association Football at Park Avenue, which played host to soccer matches as well as Northern Union games. The first game of Association Football played at Park Avenue is believed to have been between Blackburn Rovers and Blackburn Olympic F.C. and in 1895 a Bradford side beat a team from Moss Side, Manchester 4 -1 in front of 3,000 spectators. In 1905-6 Bradford beat Salford 5-0 to win the Challenge Cup and were runners up in the Championship. The following season winning the Yorkshire Cup 8-5 against Hull Kingston Rovers.
With soccer already successful at Bradford City, a meeting was called of the club members on April 15th 1907 to decide the club's future. An initial vote appeared to favour continuing in the Northern Union, then opinion shifted towards rugby union but the Chairman, Mr Briggs, used his influence to swing the committee behind Association football. This act, sometimes referred to as "The Great Betrayal", led to Bradford becoming a soccer club, Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. and a new team Bradford Northern was created to take the available place in the Northern Union. Bradford Northern's first home was Greenfield Athletic Ground.
Bradford Northern
Bradford moved to Birch Lane in 1908. Bradford council offered Bradford a site for a new stadium between Rooley Lane and Mayo Avenue in 1927. However the RFL said the site was too small and the club kept on looking. On 20 June 1933 Bradford Northern signed a ten-year lease with Bradford council for a former quarry being used as a waste dump at Odsal Top. It was turned into the biggest stadium outside Wembley. The Bradford Northern team played its first match there on September 1st 1934. Before moving to Odsal Bradford had had two other homes, Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill and Birch Lane which was part of Bowling Old Lane Cricket ground, although at times they also had to hire Valley Parade as the capacity at Birch Lane was not sufficient enough for large matches.
1940s
Success came in the 1940s with a number of cup wins: the Yorkshire cup in 1940-1, 1942-3, 1944-5, 1945-6, 1948-9 and 1949-50; and the Challenge cup 1943-4, 1946-7 and 1948-9. In the championship Bradford found it difficult to win either before the war or after despite being runners up in 1942-3 and 1947-8.
On Saturday 3rd November 1945, Bradford Northern met Wakefield Trinity in the final of the Yorkshire Cup held at Thrum Hall, Halifax. Wakefield began the match as favourites, they had lost only one of thirteen matches thus far in the season. However, Bradford won 5-2 and lifted the Yorkshire Cup for the fourth time in six seasons.
Bradford defeated Leeds 8-4 to win the Challenge Cup at Wembley in 1947.
The 1947-8 Challenge Cup final was notable as it was the first rugby league match to be attended by the reigning monarch, King George VI, who presented the trophy. It was also the first televised rugby league match as it was broadcast to the Midlands. Unfortunately Bradford lost 8-3 to Wigan. The 1949 Challenge Cup final was sold out for first time as 95,050 spectators saw Bradford beat Halifax.
1950s
In 1951-2 Bradford were runners up in the league but beat New Zealand at Odsal in the first floodlit football match of any code in the North of England. In 1953, a crowd of 69,429 watched Bradford play Huddersfield in the Challenge Cup third round. This was Northern’s highest ever attendance. Northern also won the Yorkshire Cup final 7-2 against Hull. Bradford Northern and Leigh were the first rugby league clubs to stage matches on a Sunday in December 1954, although there was opposition from the Sunday Observance lobby.
1960s
Bradford Northern's support declined rapidly in the 1963 season, attracting a record low crowd of 324 against Barrow. Northern went out of business on 10th December 1963 having played just 13 matches; winning 1 and losing 12, scoring 109 points and conceding 284. In 1964, the Bradford Northern club reformed through the efforts of such people as Trevor Foster and Joe Phillips and were accepted back into the Rugby League. The reformed club won its first cup in 1965-66 by beating Hunslet 17-8 in the final of the Yorkshire Cup.
1970s
In 1972-3 Bradford lost the Challenge Cup final against Featherstone 33-14. In 1973-4 Bradford won the Second Division Championship and were promoted back to the First Division. During this season Keith Mumby made his debut, becoming the Bradford's youngest player at only 16 years of age, scoring 12 goals and a try in a match against Doncaster. He went on to make a record 576 appearances for the club. In 1974-75 Bradford won the Regal Trophy 3-2 against Widnes. Peter Fox joined Bradford as coach for the first time in 1977-78. Bradford won the Premiership final 17-8 against Widnes and were also Championship runners-up. In 1978-79 Bradford appeared in another Premiership final this time losing 24-2 to Leeds. A year later Bradford won the Championship and Regal Trophy, Peter Fox winning the award for Coach of the Year. In 1980-81 the club made it back to back championships.
1980s
In 1981-82, Bradford lost the Yorkshire Cup final 10-5 against Castleford and lost again in 1982-83, this time 18-7 against Hull. Keith Mumby won the award for First Division Player of the Year while Brian Noble won the Young Player award. In 1985 Ellery Hanley left Northern to join Wigan for a then record transfer deal, worth £80,000 and a player exchange involving Steve Donlan and Phil Ford. In 1987-8 Bradford won the Yorkshire Cup final replay against Castleford 11-2 after drawing 12-12. Ron Willey coached Bradford Northern for a short stint in 1989/90 and led them to the Premiership final and success in the Yorkshire Cup final when they beat Featherstone 20-14. Bradford lost the Regal Trophy against Warrington 12-2 in 1990-91. In 1993-4, the last Championship before Super League, Bradford finished as runners up behind Wigan on points difference.
The Super League era
Bradford Bulls Became very successful in the Super League, they have won the title in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2005
Season Summaries
Stadium
Odsal Stadium is a stadium situated in Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. The venue is used for rugby league and has been the home ground of Bradford Bulls since 1934. The official name of the stadium is currently "Grattan Stadium" due to corporate sponsorship. Odsal has also hosted many other sports, including association football, speedway, stock car racing, basketball featuring the Harlem Globetrotters, wrestling, show jumping and kabaddi. The stadium boasts one of the largest attendances of all time for rugby league (102,569) when Halifax played Warrington on the 5th of May, 1954.
2008 Squad
Run-on Team 2008
| Bradford Bulls Run-on Team |
|---|
Subs
- 14
Chris Feather - 15 Matt Cook
- 16 Sam Burgess
- 17
Matt James - 18
Craig Kopczak - 19
Simon Finnigan - 20 Wayne Godwin
- 22
Ben Jeffries - 23
Chris Nero - 24 Paul Sykes
- 25
Semi Tadulala - 26 Jason Crookes
- 27 Richard Johnson
2008 Player Signings/Transfers
2008 Gains
| Player | Previous Club | Years Signed | Until the End of |
|---|---|---|---|
 Tame Tupou |
Brisbane Broncos | 4 Years | 2011 |
| Wayne Godwin |
Hull F.C. | 1 Year | 2008 |
 Ben Jeffries |
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 2 Years | 2009 |
 Semi Tadulala |
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 1 Year | 2008 |
 Chris Nero |
Huddersfield Giants | 3 Years | 2010 |
 Simon Finnigan |
Salford City Reds | 1 Year | 2008 |
| Paul Sykes |
Harlequins RL | 2 Years | 2009 |
2008 Losses
| Player | Signed for | When left |
|---|---|---|
| Lesley Vainikolo |
Gloucester RFC | June 2007 |
 Ian Henderson |
New Zealand Warriors | Sept 2007 |
| Ben Harris |
North Queensland Cowboys | Sept 2007 |
| Chris McKenna |
Doncaster RLFC | Sept 2007 |
| Richard Hawkyard |
Swinton Lions | Sept 2007 |
| Nathan McAvoy |
Leigh Centurions | Sept 2007 |
| Marcus St Hilaire |
Oldham Roughyeds | Sept 2007 |
2008 Fixtures/Results
*Round 13 played at Millennium Stadium,Cardiff. ***engage Super League Grand Final to be played at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Captains
| Name | Started | Ended | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Robbie Paul | 1996 | 2004 | Peacock took captaincy |
|
|
Jamie Peacock | 2005 | 2005 | Moved to Leeds Rhinos |
|
Iestyn Harris | 2006 | 2006 | Deacon took captaincy |
|
|
Paul Deacon | 2007 | Present | N/A |
Coaching Register
From 1930 -
| Name | Contract Started | Contract Ended | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Dai Rees | 1936 | 1960 | Sacked |
|
|
Trevor Foster | 1960 | 1961 | Sacked |
|
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Doug Greenall | 1961 | 1961 | Sacked |
|
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Jimmy Ledgard | 1961 | 1962 | Sacked |
|
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Harry Beverley | 1962 | 1963 | Sacked |
|
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Jack Wilkinson | 1963 | 1963 | Sacked |
|
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Gus Risman | 1964 | 1971 | Sacked |
|
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Harry Street | 1971 | 1972 | Sacked |
|
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Ian Brooke | 1973 | 1975 | Sacked |
|
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Roy Francis | 1975 | 1977 | Resigned due to ill health |
|
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Peter Fox | 1977 | 1985 | end contract |
|
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Barry Seaborne | 1985 | 1989 | Resigned |
|
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|David Hobbs | 1989 | 1989 | Caretaker Role |
|
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Ron Willey | 1989 | 1990 | Sacked |
|
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David Hobbs | 1990 | 1993 | Sacked |
|
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Peter Fox | 1993 | 1995 | Sacked |
|
|
Brian Smith | 1995 | 1996 | Moved to Parramatta Eels |
|
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Matthew Elliott | 1996 | 2000 | Moved to Canberra Raiders |
|
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Brian Noble | 2001 | 2006 | Moved to Wigan Warriors |
|
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Steve McNamara | 2006 | N/A |
Player Records
All-time Top 5 Bradford Bulls Tryscorers
| Name | Tries | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Jack McLean | 261 |
|
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David Redfearn | 240 |
|
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Tommy Winnard | 167 |
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Eric Batten | 156 |
|
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Robbie Paul | 156 |
All-time Top 5 Bradford Bulls Point Scorers
| Name | Points | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Paul Deacon* | 2,000 |
|
|
Keith Mumby | 1985 |
All-time Top 5 Bradford Bulls Appearances
| Name | Appearances | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Keith Mumby | 588 |
|
|
George Carmichael | 473 |
|
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David Redfearn | 470 |
|
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Trevor Foster | 433 |
|
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Ernest Ward | 391 |
Former Super League Players
Team of the Century
As announced in Bradford's T&A Paper on 31 August, 2007 :Bradford's Team of the Century
| Bradford Bulls Team Of The Century |
|---|
Head Coach
- 00 Brian Noble
Kit man
See also
- Bradford Bulls statistics
- Bradford Bulls Academy
- Former Bradford Bulls Players
- Bradford Bulls Officials
- Bradford Bulls 2007