Liverpool City Rugby League

[Georgec]

Anyone here who used to go and watch Liverpool City at Knotty Ash (come on, there were 250 of us). I was 12 at the time, and I remember an aunt knitting me a green and white scarf - because you obviously couldn't buy such a thing!

Better still - anyone any old photos of the ground?

Was it really as bad as I remember with the gravelled terraced embankment and the old rusty tin shelter behind the posts at the scoreboard end?

[SteH]

Not old enough to remember Liverpool City, but did go to watch one of their descendants Prescot Panthers before they eventually gave up the ghost in 1997. When you say Knotty Ash do you mean Alt Park or was their anther ground somewhere?

[Luke the Scouser]

I go and watch the Liverpool Buccaneers and St Helens RLFC. I'm too young to remember the other teams mentioned.

[Georgec]

Hi guys.

Ste> Liverpool City moved from "Knotty Ash Stadium" (honestly - it was called that!!) to Alt Park when they changed their name from Liverpool City to Huyton, having spent one year in the wilderness playing home games at Widnes.

They were at Knotty Ash from about the early 1950s, if not earlier (before that they were Liverpool Stanley) until about 1968 or so.

And of course later they moved on to Runcorn and then Prescot before finally the Rugby League, I believe, didn't like the non-professional attitude being brought to the game, so "persuaded" them to fold.

I remember the first Sunday game at Alt Park - they couldn't charge admission, so gave free admission when you bought a programme - which was of course the normal price for admission.

I remember Knotty Ash being used for an epsiode of Z-Cars when one of the characters was a "rugby player" but photos are extremely hard to come by.

Knotty Ash was, let's be honest, a dump - but it was home! I'm not sure whether it was 100% true, but it was said that players and officials from away teams used to pay at the gate to help the club out. You wouldn't get that now!

[Georgec]

Only me then!

Did find this programme though.

[Kev Keegan]

Excellent George, was this the club that holds the title of the oldest in the world?

[Georgec]

Never heard that before!

[Kev Keegan]

1857 - World’s first Rugby Club (Liverpool Rugby Club).

[Georgec]

Rugby Union that'll be.

[Jimmy78]

1857 - World’s first Rugby Club (Liverpool Rugby Club).

Liverpool RU is worlds first open club, now called Liverpool St. Helens and its president is Ray French, the BBC Rugby League commentator and former cross-code international.

[gregs dad]

Did Liverpool City evolve from Liverpool Stanley rugby club who played
in Church Road off Edge Lane.The stadium was also used for speedway
racing. I remember bunking in to watch them in my very younger days,
even though it was only threepence to get in
gregs dad

[Georgec]

Yep!

They started lif, I think, as Wigan Highfield, and then became London Highfield, then Liverpool Stanley, Liverpool City, Huyton, Runcorn Highfield and Prescot.

[scouse mouse]

I remember bunking in to see a couple of games when they played at Knotty Ash, I remember lot's of corrugated iron fencing and that the "terraces" were cinder and not concrete.

[Georgec]

That's the place

[bluesareus]

I remember bunking in to see a couple of games when they played at Knotty Ash, I remember lot's of corrugated iron fencing and that the "terraces" were cinder and not concrete.

That's it opposite the Swimming baths.