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Rugby League: A People's History
In 1895, the game of rugby league was born. Ever since then, it has brought us thrilling matches, magical players and countless memorable moments.
Rugby League: A People's History tells the story of the sport in all its glory, from global superstars to local supporters and everyone in between... professionals and amateurs, men and women, officials and volunteers.
It goes back to the start of rugby and explains why rugby league was born, how it grew around the world, and what enabled - and still enables - it to triumph over adversity.
This is more than just a history of rugby league. It is a social history of the life and times of the north of England.
Rugby League: A People's History tells the story of the sport in all its glory, from global superstars to local supporters and everyone in between... professionals and amateurs, men and women, officials and volunteers.
It goes back to the start of rugby and explains why rugby league was born, how it grew around the world, and what enabled - and still enables - it to triumph over adversity.
This is more than just a history of rugby league. It is a social history of the life and times of the north of England.
248 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 20, 2020
One of the best Sports books I have ever read..highly readable and accessible history of Rugby League but also a great piece of social history..Highly recommended..
October 12, 2020
Tony Collins knows his stuff and can express it in a coherent and readable manner. If you want to know the story of the greatest team game ever invented then this is a good place to begin. In the book, Collins has largely condensed and abridged his more academic studies of the game, and something important is lost in the process. Well, not lost. You can delve further into the sport. I'd suggest reading anything by Collins before venturing into lesser scribes. This game deserves an authoritative voice whose authority stems from knowledge and understanding.
Impossible to understand rugby league without venturing into the realms of prejudice. It is a game born out of a desire to remove itself from the hypocritical hierarchies of late-Victorian Britain. Hypocrisy that has used sport to survive intact into the modern era.
I've been a chip on the shoulder fan aware of the unfairness with which the sport and the players have been treated for the 125 years it has existed. But now I feel vindicated. I have followed a sport that spurned prejudice, gave black players and coaches opportunities before any other professional sport in the UK. That has shown (with failings) a more enlightened view to the common humanity of each other than any other sport in this country and a sport that remains a better spectacle in a better culture than any other sport.
We have been kicked and kept down, denied funding and opportunities that were given to other sports, but we have survived with our dignity intact. It is a people's sport, and as such it will continue to thrive as the most honest, most decent and most athletic sport of them all. The People's Game! The Greatest Game!
Impossible to understand rugby league without venturing into the realms of prejudice. It is a game born out of a desire to remove itself from the hypocritical hierarchies of late-Victorian Britain. Hypocrisy that has used sport to survive intact into the modern era.
I've been a chip on the shoulder fan aware of the unfairness with which the sport and the players have been treated for the 125 years it has existed. But now I feel vindicated. I have followed a sport that spurned prejudice, gave black players and coaches opportunities before any other professional sport in the UK. That has shown (with failings) a more enlightened view to the common humanity of each other than any other sport in this country and a sport that remains a better spectacle in a better culture than any other sport.
We have been kicked and kept down, denied funding and opportunities that were given to other sports, but we have survived with our dignity intact. It is a people's sport, and as such it will continue to thrive as the most honest, most decent and most athletic sport of them all. The People's Game! The Greatest Game!
July 6, 2021
Great bit of social history of the North, and a must read by League fans. I would have liked a little more than the closing chapter on Super League era however, and felt the authors passion lay more in the earlier history as opposed to modern.
July 7, 2021
A book to make you remember why you fell in love with the game in the first place.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews