My sporting Pottages

[LizzieL]

Wasn't sure if this was the right board or it shoud be occupations.

My grandmother once told me that her grandfather was a founder member of Wakefield Trinity Rugby club. I hadn't bothered too much about this until I found a newspaper report from 1877 naming a player as Pottage (no forename or first initial given) as playing as a back for their second 15. I have emailed Wakefield Trinity to see if they have any more information. The brief history on their website says they started in 1873, so my ancestor if not a founder could be an early member.

While looking through Yorkshire papers, I found two more Pottages playing for what seem to  be York based teams York St Georges and Grove Clarence. These were a little later in the 1880s.
Annoyingly in each case only a surname was given. Other team membes with more common surnames had an initial added.
Does anyone know anything about these teams and whether either have a legacy team that I could contact to see if they have any more information in their archives.
My 2 x great grandfather would have been in Wakefield in the 1870s, but my great grandfather was certainly in York in the 1880s when my grandmother and her older siblings were born, so quite likely to be a connection.

[LizzieL]

I did wonder if the York Pottages were the same one playing for two different teams, but one was a back and the other up front somewhere because he was scoring tries and goals. Not sure what position, there were 15 in a team in those days.

[catfordcrooner]

Hi Lizzie
In rugby, backs are the main scorers
Jeff

[LizzieL]

Oh, I assumed it was like ordinary football where forwards score goals and the backs stop the other side scoring. I had better check the dates on the newspapers more closely and see if it could possibly be the same person transferring clubs

[LizzieL]

Just found another sportsman an E Pottage playing for Huddersfield St Johns. This time the newspaper column is headed Association and only 11 in the team, so ordinary football. At least with an initial and a year (1900) I should be able to track this one down.

Added. Not so easy

I have two Edwards (father and son) one would be 49 in 1900 and the other 16, one seems too old and the other too young.