Today my uncle Fred died. You don't know him but he will be missed by many.
48 years ago he was responsible for introducing me to Rugby league and in particular his beloved Loiners. He was friends with people such as Sid Hynes, Bill Ramsey Bob Haigh and the great Mick Shoebottom. His passion for rugby stayed with him till the end and perhaps for him his greatest pleasure. I am so thankful that someone took the effort to take a scraggy kid like me to the match on a Saturday afternoon.

That got me thinking, how did you get introduced the the world best game, and are you passing that knowledge on?

My old man and uncle got me hooked and i've passed on the passion for the Rhinos onto my younger brother and my eldest daughter and the youngest will venture to her 1st games in the summer.

Sorry to hear your sad news . May he rest in peace on that great SouthStand in the sky .


My uncle took me to my first Leeds match when I was a kid . I got the bug , but followed my local team (Bramley) for a good number of years .
Turned to the rhinos a number of years back after the Bramley 'issues', and haven't looked back ( much)

One day In 2000 I was been an annoying little shi7 kicking my football about in the garden when my neighbours offered to take me to a Rhinos game. I must admit at first I wasn't too impressed but liked the day out none of the less. Slowly but surely over 2000/01 I was going to more and more games and growed into loving the game. In 2001 I got my first season ticket and my dad decided to pop along to a game and now we have both been season ticket holders since. I plan on bringing up an army of RhinoNeils to watch our beautiful game grow.

My cousin lived on St Michael's Lane when we were kids. When we around 10, his sister's boyfriend (a really nice bloke whose was Mick), decided to take us to a match against Leigh. I loved the game but, I liked the smells and sounds of the Southstand equally. I don't care for smoking generally but, I do miss the mixed smell of tobacco and beer in the open air!
For me RL is undoubtedly the best spectator sport in the world and I've been to plenty of live events. As a friend of mine so succinctly put it, it is the purest form of "honest endeavour".

BTW, sorry to hear about Fred, he sounds like a top bloke.

Sorry to hear you news Podman.

I got into the Loiners through my Grandad and Uncle, who also got my Dad interested into it. That was about 17 years ago, Jesus H Christ!

Sorry to hear about your Uncle Fred. I'm sure you've many happy memories of him that will give you & your family comfort.
I got into rugby league in the late 50s, early 60s watching & listening to the oft maligned Eddie Waring on Grandstand.
I liked to watch the game on tv & when Bradford Northern (I lived in Shipley & went to school in Bradford then) were on the brink of going bust in the early 60s I decided I should show my backing for the game by going to watch them.
That started my love for the live game.
Then I went to work in St Helens & used to watch Saints without really supporting them.
I moved back to work in Leeds in the mid 70s & my elder son started to go to Headingly in the late 80s.
He persuaded me to go (to give him a lift really) & I've never looked back.
Him, his various partners over the years, his brother (& his partner) & me have all been season ticket holders now & passionate Rhinos fans ever since.
Thanks Eddie, thanks Chris.

My dad used to take me, back in the days when games were played at Headingley on Saturday afternoons, My heroes were Shoey and Syd Hynes
We used to go in the old supporters club by the bowling green.

Happy days.

Saw my first game was when I moved down from Scotland in 1976 with my Dad. Had watched the floodlit league on BBC 2 as an avid fan and then got to go to a live game and loved it.
Took my then girlfriend, now wife, to a game on our 2nd date. She is now hooked and a season ticket holder since 2005.

My dad took me up there as his mate from work was a chemic if i recall correctly. I absolutley loved it from the word go, perched on top of that ticket booth thingy towards the old western terrace end. So seeing as it was a cheap way out of the house for him we went week after week, cant remember Leeds ever winning though strangely, although i got to see the touring Aussie's early on which was an eye opener even at that young age.

1st game I went to was Leeds V Bulls at Odsal, with my dad

It was dire weather as in those days it was winter rugby, didn't appreciate the game too much and I know my dad was dissapointed in me. How things changed though.

My dad lives in France now in the Audewhich is RL country. I therefore go to Leeds match home away and abroad, as well as getting a look in to the French RL scene too.

My little lad, born Oct last year has seen RL on the telly and even had a Leeds shirt before he was born. I hope he follows in my footsteps, except that he enjoys his first match that me and his grandad will take him to.

Only home we don't get too excited ( Drunk)at the match and leave him there when we return home

Sorry to hear about Fred mate, sounded like one of the good ones.

I Attended my first game when I was 10 days old, and went every Sunday until I was 10, watching my uncle play for York, Hull and Doncaster all over the country.

By then I was hooked, played for Heworth from 6yrs old up until my accident at 14. Although I now spread the good word by writing about the game I love for whoever will listen. I can't wait to take my first kid to their first game, I might give it a bit longer than 10 days though.

rip to your uncle Fred and he did the job of handing it down to the next generation thats the way tradition works.Me and my mate who lived next door on the Broadlea's[it was a nice estsate thenin 1955 used to go to the Lido on bramley town street Saturday matinee's,anyway this particular saturday we followed the crowd of grown ups to the Barley Mow to see Bramley v Huddersfield.Next week his dad a lifelong Leeds loiner took us to Headingley.It was Leeds and Bramley ever since.All my older mates on the estate were mostly leeds fans thet came from Burley ,Kirky road etc

As stated here by my old man, he has me to blame for a few years of hardship and the fact it took him until 2008 to actually see us win a trophy!! in fact my brother and I nicknamed him Jonah at his ability to watch us lose in major finals!

My first game was around 1987 when Schoey scored four tries against Wigan and i was hooked getting the old man to go was harder than he states, in fact the Yorks cup final of 1988 he refused to take me as he was gardening!! So went on the old ring road bus and didnt stop talking about it for weeks!! The game not the bus!!

Eventually he succumb and now we have barely missed a game for aslong as i can remember!!

Does he still carry his original hip flask!

It was always a Boxing Day tradition for my Dad and my uncles to go the game at Headingley on the morning then back home for a big family lunch together. I started tagging along at the age of 6 and got hooked from there.

The next 6-7 years (until I was old enough to get to games under my own steam) must have been torture for my poor Dad. Born and raised a Cas fan, he had to spend every other weekend ferrying his son up to Headingley to watch Leeds as well as over various other parts of the north of England to away games.

No, I've got an even bigger one now, holds about 250ml of the finest malt. It used to suffice for about 10 tries but now I have to share it.
Only when I'm not driving of course!!
This week it will be Yamazaki - a 12 year old Japanese single malt.
If we lose it'll be a proper scotch for the next game.

My dad was an old fashioned Bobby who used to work at Headingley on match days, he used to 'smuggle' me in, in the era of John Atkinson and John Holmes. I remember him getting in bother with his bosses once for throwing his helmet in the air when Atky scored one particularly good try, from that day on we have paid to get in.
Forty years later, he is well into his 70's now, he still has a Season ticket, not only does he still take me to matches, he also buys Season tickets for his 3 teenage grandsons, and now my 11 year old daughter has a season ticket too.

I had one of them when I was younger although not much fun in the rain.

My Great Grandfather was groundsman on both sides of the Northstand, which meant my Mum used to live with him inside the ground during the summer holidays, inside what is now the Taverner's Suite. Guess I didn't have much choice about supporting Leeds RLFC and Yorkshire cricket.

Sorry to here the news.

As for how I got into rugby league and Leeds. I was born into it. My great grandad joseph was watching Leeds back in the late 1800's when they were still a new team so to speak. He then started taking my grandad joseph and that was then passed onto my dad and then onto me. I am told my first match was the last game of the season when I was just gone one years old. I started goig to home games on a regular basis then from the age of 6 and have been a season ticket holder since I was 10. I used to go to the saturday morning blue and amber training sessions too. I was a sad day when my dad had had enough of standing in the south stand when I was around 14 and we moved onto the Eastern Terrace and have been there ever since, obviously jumping onto the Carniege Terrace now.

As for the future, any child of mine will be force fed rugby from the day its born. This worked on my sisters who are also leeds and rl fans but only go to a handful of games. My little nephew who is 2 has now started asking to go see Ronnie Rhino at headingley so we are looking at maybe taking him to a couple of games this year when they are small crowds such as Catalans, Crusaders and Bradford

If you hadn't typed that I'd have added it to your post myself

So, heres my story...

[urlhttp://jerrychicken.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/the-first-game-of-rugby-league/[/url

My best mate at primary school was a lad called Mick Dewhurst (who sadly passed away a couple of years ago). His dad, Robin, used to get us in for free.

His dad presumably being the ex Leeds player from the sixties and coach in the early eighties Robin Dewhurst?

Or just a crazy coincidence.