Bon Anniversaire

Sky went big on the 30th anniversary of Super League at the weekend. A nostalgia fest prior to the Leeds vs. Warrington match on Sunday saw the brief return of Eddie Hemmings and Phil Clarke, Adrian Morley and James Roby, Karl Harrison and Terry O’Connor with their currently playing sons in tow, all with anecdotes aplenty.

For us Salford fans there isn’t much to look back on, mainly because we weren’t in it to begin with. Salford were jettisoned from the party at the end of 1995–95 season for not merging with Oldham to create a Manchester club, and left too far adrift from the hallowed ten due to the late decision to relegate the bottom six First Division clubs. It’s easy to forget that Oldham just about made the cut by themselves, and even easier to forget that Workington played in Super League I. (Didn’t Salford loan Ian Watson to them in 1996?)

There are echoes with rugby league’s birth, too, with Salford eschewing the opportunity to join the Northern Union in 1895, only to sign-up the following year with their tail between their legs. This was not a case of being left out, but more to do with the status of the club’s main decision makers and their want to maintain it, and their stance on professionalism. Loyalty to the RFU was not repaid and the big fishes of Salford and Swinton were left adrift in a pond of relative tiddlers.

Meaning that while Salford can’t really take part in Super League 30th birthday bash, the club can celebrate 130 years as a rugby league club, 30 years since ending Wigan’s great run in the Challenge Cup, 50 years since the winning the title in 1975–76, and 20 years (this month) since they played Catalans Dragons in French Catalonia for the first time. For a club of over 150 years of heritage, there’ll be more no doubt.