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Hull F.C.

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Hull F.C.
Club information
Full nameHull Football Club
Nickname(s)Black & Whites
The Airlie Birds
Short nameHull
ColoursBlack and White
Founded1865; 161 years ago (1865)
Websitehullfc.com
Current details
Ground
ChairmanAndrew Thirkhill
David Hood
CoachAndy Last (interim)
CaptainAiden Sezer[1]
CompetitionSuper League
2025 season7th
Current season
Uniforms
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours
Records
Championships6 (1920, 1921, 1936, 1956, 1958, 1983)
Challenge Cups5 (1914, 1982, 2005, 2016, 2017)
Other honours12

Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as "Hull", "Hull F.C.", the "All Blacks", or the "Airlie Birds", is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The city of Hull is split in two by the River Hull with Hull F.C. representing the west side and cross-city rivals Hull Kingston Rovers representing the east side.

Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club's traditional home colours are white shirts with black hoops and black shorts.

Hull have won the League Championship six times and the Challenge Cup five times.

History

Founding

The club was first founded in 1865 by a group of ex-schoolboys from York, most notably Anthony Bradley, who had been at Rugby School. They met at the Young Men's Fellowship of St Mary's Church, Lowgate, where Reverend Scott was the vicar and whose five sons made up the nucleus of the team, together with a number of plumber and glazier recruits. Another team, Hull White Star, was soon formed, and when the two clubs merged the resulting Hull Football Club, nicknamed both the "All Blacks" and the "Airlie Birds", was one of the first clubs in the north of England to join the Rugby Football Union.

The early years

After an acrimonious split from the Rugby Football Union in 1895, Hull F.C. were one of the initial 22 clubs who formed the Northern Union. That same year the club moved from East Hull to the Hull Athletic Club at the Boulevard, and in September 1895 8,000 people turned out to witness Hull F.C.'s first match there in which they beat Liversedge RFC. The Oxford-educated Cyril Lemprière (1870–1939), who also played for Yorkshire, was captain of Hull during the 1895–96 and 1897–98 seasons.[3][4]

The early years of the Northern Union saw Hull F.C. prosper, and the black and white irregular hooped jerseys which they adopted in 1909 became one of the most famous and feared strips in the league. But between 1908 and 1910, Hull F.C. lost three consecutive Challenge Cup Finals: in the first they failed to score against Hunslet who would go on to win All Four Cups; in the second they failed to score against Wakefield Trinity; and in the third final in 1910 they held Leeds to a 7–7 draw at Fartown, Huddersfield but were heavily beaten in the replay held two days later.

Hull team of 1914 with the Challenge Cup won that season

World War I and after

In 1913 the club paid Hunslet F.C. a then-world record of £600, plus £14 per match, for Billy Batten, the first representative from Hull F.C. so far inducted into the 17-member British Rugby League Hall of Fame. With Billy Batten on board, the club won their first Challenge Cup in 1914, beating Huddersfield in the semi-final and Wakefield Trinity in the final held in Halifax. Playing alongside Billy Batten on the day of the final was John "Jack" Harrison VC, MC who scored a try, one of 52 he scored in the 1914–5 season alone, a club record that still stands.[5] Australian Jim Devereux became the first player to score 100 career tries for Hull,[6] but on the other side of the ledger, 12 Hull F.C. players were killed during the First World War.

In 1920, Billy Batten was once again key in Hull F.C.'s first ever Championship Final, scoring the only try in their 3–2 victory over Huddersfield. But the rest of the early 1920s were bittersweet years for the club. with Hull F.C. not able to match the successes of 1914. In 1921, the club lost the Yorkshire County Cup but won the county championship, both against cross-city rivals Hull Kingston Rovers, before losing a further two consecutive cup finals in 1922 and 1923 to Rochdale Hornets and Leeds respectively. However, Hull F.C. managed to win the Yorkshire County Cup in 1923 and finish top of the league.

In the early 1930s Hull F.C. had a full back and goal kicker called Joe Oliver who was so dependable with the boot that the crowd at one match spontaneously started singing the Gene Autry song Old Faithful to him. Hull F.C. supporters adopted the song as their battle cry from then on.

Hull F.C.'s record attendance was set in 1936 when 28,798 turned up for a visit by Leeds for a third round Challenge Cup match.

The post-World War II years

On Monday 8 September 1952, the Australian "Kangaroos" played Hull F.C. at the Boulevard. They had opened their tour of the U.K. with a victory at Keighley two days earlier, and they continued their winning run with a 28–0 victory over Hull.

In 1955, the black Welshman Roy Francis became the first black professional coach in any British team sport when he switched from playing on the wing to coaching Hull F.C..

In 1956, Hull F.C. won the league championship when Colin Hutton kicked a last-minute penalty in the final against Halifax at Maine Road, Manchester. Hull F.C. won the play-offs again in 1958, against Workington Town, and also won the European Club championship in 1957. These triumphs helped heal the wounds of two successive Yorkshire County Cup Final defeats in 1955 and 1957, with the club losing two further Challenge Cup finals in 1959 and 1960 to Wigan and Wakefield Trinity, as well as losing the cup finals at Wembley Stadium in 1959 and 1960. After having previously grasped so many trophies, all these reverses gave Hull F.C. a steely resolve and a thirst for success.

Johnny Whiteley became a player coach in October 1963, and when Roy Francis retired as Hull F.C. coach in 1965 Whiteley took over. Hull F.C. lost to Wakefield Trinity 17–10 in the 1968 Rugby Football League Championship final at Headingley on 4 May 1968, and Whiteley resigned in 1970 to coach Hull Kingston Rovers. Ivor Watts was then appointed coach from 1970 to 1971, during which time Hull F.C. won 28 matches and lost 17.

With the appointment of Arthur Bunting as coach in 1978, Hull F.C. began a period of dominance, returning to the top flight by winning all of their 26 Division Two matches in 1978–79, the only time a club has won all of its league matches in a season. The club lost the 1980 Challenge Cup final against Hull Kingston Rovers 10–5 and had to wait until 2016 to win at Wembley. It was reputed that on the day of the final a makeshift sign was left on the A63, the major westerly road out of Hull, that read "last one out turn the lights off!", due to most of the city travelling to Wembley for the game. In 1982, Hull F.C. was crushed by Widnes in the Premiership Final, but avenged the defeat with an 18–9 Challenge Cup replay win at Elland Road.

MKM Stadium

Hull F.C. eventually won the league in 1983 and also reached the Premiership final, the Challenge Cup final, and the Yorkshire County Cup Final that year, but with the latter trophy their only reward from those three finals. They also lost to Featherstone Rovers at Wembley in one of the great Challenge Cup final upsets, as well as losing the Premiership final for three years running.[7]

The signing of Australian Peter Sterling, later to be inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2016, maintained Hull F.C.'s strength, and Bunting's men went to their third successive Yorkshire Cup beating Hull Kingston Rovers 29–12. But they were edged out of arguably the greatest ever Challenge Cup Final in 1985 by Wigan at Wembley Stadium in front of 99,801 fans, the rugby league attendance record for Wembley, with the final score 28 to 24 in Wigan's favour. A number of subsequent coaches such as Brian Smith (1988–90) failed to deliver consistent success. But although Hull F.C. lost the Premiership final in 1989 to Widnes, two years later they returned to beat Widnes 14–4 at Old Trafford under coach Noel Cleal.

Royce Simmons moved to England to coach Hull F.C. for two seasons from 1992 to 1994.[8][9] When financial trouble forced Hull F.C. to put seven players on the transfer list in June 1993, Simmons ran five marathons to raise money to pay for players from Australia.

The summer season era

In 1996, the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inaugural Super League season and changed from a winter to a summer season.[10] As the sport entered a new era in Britain, controversy was sparked in the city of Hull when it was suggested that Hull F.C. should merge with Hull Kingston Rovers to form "Humberside". Hull F.C.'s shareholders gave the idea general approval but it was ultimately rejected.[11] Like many other rugby league clubs, the club instead re-branded, becoming the "Hull Sharks".[12] But the newly rebranded team finished below the cut-off point of 10th in the existing top flight and so were excluded from the new Super League.

Phil Sigsworth joined the club in 1996 and coached them to the First Division championship title and promotion to Super League in 1997, but the team struggled to compete in the top division. Off-field issues in 1999 saw the club offered a merger with Gateshead Thunder, including being offered £1.25 million as part of the agreement. However, the club reverted to the name Hull F.C. at the start of the 2000 Super League season and continued to play at The Boulevard without any acknowledgement of Gateshead. A new Gateshead Thunder was formed for the 2001 Premiership season, with ex-St. Helens coach Shaun McRae at the helm until 2004.[13]

In January 2003, after 107 years at the Boulevard, Hull F.C. moved to the £44 million state-of-the-art council-owned Kingston Communications Stadium, more commonly known as the KC Stadium, and the rejuvenation of the club continued. Although they were joint tenants at the stadium alongside the city's championship football club side Hull City A.F.C., the two teams shared use of the stadium, forcing Hull F.C. to play a cup match away at Doncaster to avoid two matches clashing.

Shaun McRae left the club to return to Australia at the end of the 2004 season and was replaced by McRae's deputy and former England coach John Kear. In his first season at the club, Kear led Hull F.C. to the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final for the first time since 1985, defeating Leeds 25–24 in a thrilling final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Paul Cooke's 77th minute try was converted by Danny Brough to give Hull a 1-point lead, which they held onto after Hull F.C. captain Richard Swain charged down a drop-goal attempt from Leeds skipper Kevin Sinfield in the dying seconds of the match. John Kear left Hull F.C. on 3 April 2006 after a disappointing start to the season, seeing Hull F.C. lose four out of their first seven league games as well as their defence of the Challenge Cup ending at the first hurdle when beaten by the Bradford Bulls 23–12.

John Kear was replaced by Australian Peter Sharp, recruited from the Parramatta Eels where he was assistant coach. Between 14 April and 15 July 2006 Hull F.C. won 13 matches in succession, including a 27–26 beating of the league leaders St Helens on 8 June 2006, the first time they had beaten St Helens on their home ground for 18 years. This run of wins ended in defeat at Harlequins RL on 23 July 2006, resulting in Hull F.C. managing to finish in second place overall, their highest league position in the Super League era. In the finals they lost to league leaders St. Helens in the first Grand Final playoff game, but succeeded in reaching the final by defeating the reigning champions Bradford. Over 20,000 Hull F.C. fans travelled to Old Trafford for the Grand Final, and the overall attendance that day broke the Grand Final record, mainly due to the stadium's recent expansion. But Hull F.C. again lost out to the Saints, this time by 26–4.

Hull F.C. signed five players for the 2007 season: Matt Sing, a prolific National Rugby League try-scorer and Australian representative; Hutch Maiava; Willie Manu; Danny Tickle; and Wayne Godwin. The "Hull Derby" also returned for the 2007 season due to Rovers' promotion from National League 1. The first of four of these derby matches was played on Easter Monday, 9 April 2007, at the KC Stadium in front of a sell-out attendance of 23,002 and ended with a win for Hull F.C., who had been struggling early in the season. The final score was 22–14 with Sid Domic crossing the line for Hull F.C. in the final seconds.

Hull F.C.Academy facing Leeds Academy at Headingley, May 2009

On 23 April stand-off Paul Cooke controversially resigned from Hull F.C. to join Hull Kingston Rovers. Cooke claimed he was out of contract as he had not signed the contract that the club had offered him. Following his departure, club chief executive David Plummer resigned and his replacement James Rule came in for much criticism.

Hull F.C. endured a poor 2008 season and on 19 May 2008 the club dismissed coach Peter Sharp, appointing his assistant Richard Agar as his replacement a week later. John Sharp has since been named as an addition to the Hull F.C. coaching staff. Hull F.C. finished a poor 11th in the League in 2008, falling far short of the fans' expectations, although a Challenge cup final appearance and a successful franchise application ensured the season was not a complete failure.

The club announced that Australian test forward Michael Crocker would sign for the club on a three-year contract from the start of the 2008–09 season, but in March 2009 he was denied a visa to come to England to play for Hull F.C.. Fullback Chris Thorman signed a one-year deal for 2009 after leaving Huddersfield Giants, while Matty Dale, Matt Sing, and James Webster were released at the end of the season, with former Hull Kingston Rovers favourite Webster having played only one game for Hull F.C.. Several long-serving players left the club at the end of the forgettable 2009 season, including Paul King, Graeme Horne, and Gareth Raynor.

The club announced four big name signings for the 2010 Super League season: Craig Fitzgibbon, Mark O'Meley, Sean Long, and Jordan Tansey, although Tansey arrived at the club towards the end of the 2009 season after being released early from his contract at Sydney Roosters. Super League XV started well with five wins from the first seven games, the two losses coming away against Crusaders and Wigan Warriors. Hull F.C. beat Hull Kingston Rovers 18–14 in the first derby of the year at Craven Park, but then followed a period of just one win from five games, resulting in the team being convincingly knocked out of the Challenge Cup by Leeds. Hull F.C. finished the regular season in 6th place, but a convincing 21–4 home defeat by rivals Hull Kingston Rovers brought an early end to their playoff campaign.

On 22 July 2011 it was confirmed that Hull City's Head of Football Operations Adam Pearson and his close friend Mikey Drake had purchased the entire shareholding of the club together, and had taken over full control from Kath Hetherington. In a statement on the club's website it was also confirmed that James Rule would continue as chief executive.[14] Richard Agar left the club at the end of the 2011 season and was replaced by Australian Peter Gentle.

The 2012 season was a largely transitional one, with high player turnover and many injuries hampering the side's progress mid-season. However, the club finished a respectable 6th in the regular season and went on to convincingly beat Huddersfield in the first round of play-off games, eventually falling to defeat Warrington away in the preliminary semi-finals.

In the 2013 season Hull F.C. again finished 6th in the regular season and beat Catalans at home in the first round of the play-offs, only to be comprehensively beaten 76–18 by Huddersfield in the second round. Hull F.C. also reached the Challenge cup final for the first time in 5 years but were beaten 16–0 by Wigan. On 24 September 2013 Hull F.C. announced the departure of Peter Gentle with two years still remaining on his contract, with the record loss to Huddersfield in the play-offs along with the poor performance at Wembley appearing to be the main factors behind his demise. The next day Hull F.C. announced that 34-year-old assistant Lee Radford would become Head Coach from 2014, and that Andy Last would step up to become Lee's assistant. Former player Motu Tony became the new director of football, replacing outgoing director Shaun McRae.

In 2016, a promising beginning to the season was crushed with a 46–6 loss to Widnes. After the match, coach Lee Radford and his staff were asked to leave the changing room by the Hull F.C. squad.[15] Following this initial defeat, Hull enjoyed a 10-game winning streak and finished on top of the Super League table. The club won at Wembley Stadium for the first time in the club's history, defeating Warrington in the 2016 Challenge Cup Final and defending their title in 2017 by defeating Wigan. Following the win at Wembley, Hull ended the 2016 season by finishing 3rd in the Super 8's, although later losing to Wigan in the semi-finals of the play offs.

In March 2020, Hull F.C. announced the departure of Lee Radford after a 38–4 home loss to Warrington Wolves.[16] It turned out to be Hull F.C.'s final fixture before the nation was put into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Assistant coach Andy Last was put in interim charge of the club until the end of the 2020 season, guiding the team to the play-off semi-finals where they were eventually upended by Wigan Warriors.[17] Last departed the club at the end of the 2020 season to take up an assistant coach role at fellow Super League club Wakefield Trinity.[18] In November 2020, Hull F.C. announced that Brett Hodgson would take over as head coach of the club for the 2021 season,[19] with the Australian coach winning his first game of the season against Huddersfield Giants, the club he once played for.[20]

On 17 May 2021, Hull F.C. played their first match in front of spectators following the COVID-19 lockdown, resulting in them being defeated 27–10 by Catalans Dragons at home.[21] The club started the 2021 Super League season in strong fashion, losing only once in their opening seven games. However, the club won only once in their last nine matches, seeing them finish the year in 8th place on the table.[22]

In 2022 Hull F.C. finished the Super League season in 9th place on the table. Head coach Brett Hodgson resigned from his post and was replaced by Tony Smith for the 2023 season.[23]

In 2023, Hull F.C. started the Super League season with two wins in a row under new head coach Tony Smith. However, the club would then record seven successive league defeats and by round 10 of the competition sat second bottom of the table.[24]

Hull F.C. started the 2024 Super League season poorly, losing six of their first seven matches with their only victory coming in a last gasp effort against the London Broncos. The 2024 season under Smith saw Hull F.C. concede 50 points or more on three occasions,[25] and was the first time the club had lost 20 or more league fixtures since 1999.[26] After 18 months in charge, Tony Smith stepped down as head coach on 11 April 2024.

In the 2025 Super League season, Hull F.C. signed a number of new recruits and also had a new head coach in John Cartwright. The club's performances improved on the pitch throughout the year with the team finishing in 7th place on the table.[27]

Stadiums

1895–2002: The Boulevard

Hull F.C. moved into The Boulevard shortly after the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, and between 1904 and 1905 the ground was shared with Hull City A.F.C.. The Boulevard also hosted many international rugby league games, and like a number of grounds during the 1940s, 1970s, and 1980s, the pitch at The Boulevard was surrounded by a Motorcycle speedway track that was also later used for greyhound racing.

2003–present: MKM Stadium

Hull F.C. moved into the KC Stadium in 2003, renamed KCOM Stadium in 2016[28] and MKM Stadium in 2021,[29] which they share with Hull City A.F.C. for a second time in their history. The record attendance for a rugby league ground was at KCOM Stadium in 2007, when 23,004 spectators watched the club play local rivals Hull Kingston Rovers.

Kit sponsors and manufacturers

Year Kit Manufacturer Main Shirt Sponsor
1982–1992 Umbro ABI Caravans
1992–1994 Ellgren Shopacheck
1994–1995 Pelada ABI Caravans
1996–1998 OS International Corporate Events
1999 Rossco JWE Telecom
2000 Avec
2001–2002 Exito KIT
2003 JVP
2004–2005 The Deep
2006–2012 ISC P&O Ferries
2013–2016 Hyundai
2017 Bambu Scaffolding
2018 The Goldthorpe Property Group
2019 Nationwide Concrete Flooring
2020 Atropa
2021– Hummel

Rivalries

The club's main rivalry is with cross-city side Hull KR in which they contest the Hull Derby.

2026 squad

First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coach


Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)
  • Red card = suspended
  • red cross icon = injured
  • (gk) = Goal kicker

Updated: 18 May 2026
Source(s): 2026 Squad Numbers

2026 transfers

Gains

Player Club Contract Date
England Harvie Hill Wigan Warriors 2 years March 2025[30]
Samoa Sam Lisone Leeds Rhinos 2 years July 2025[31]
Australia Jake Arthur Newcastle Knights 2 years August 2025[32]
England Joe Phillips Goole Vikings 1 year September 2025[33]
England Connor Bailey York Knights 2 years September 2025[34]
England Joe Batchelor St Helens 3 years September 2025[35]
Scotland James Bell St Helens 3 years September 2025[35]
France Arthur Romano Catalans Dragons 2 years September 2025[36]

Loans in

Player Club Loan period Date
England Harry Newman Leeds Rhinos Three weeks April 2026[37]
New Zealand Jeremiah Mata'utia Leeds Rhinos Five weeks April 2026[38]
Australia Ethan O'Neill Leeds Rhinos One month May 2026[39]

Losses

Player Club Contract Date
England Cobie Wainhouse Hull Kingston Rovers 2 years August 2025[40]
New Zealand Jordan Rapana N/A Retirement September 2025[41]
England Jordan Lane Castleford Tigers 4 years September 2025[42]
England Jack Ashworth Castleford Tigers 2 years September 2025[43]
England Zach Jebson Midlands Hurricanes 2 years October 2025[44]
England Jack Charles Hull Kingston Rovers 4 years October 2025[45]
England Will Gardiner Bradford Bulls 2 years October 2025[46]
England Liam Watts Goole Vikings 1 year January 2026[47]
England Owen Haldenby Salford RLFC 1 year January 2026[48]
Australia Liam Knight TBC February 2026[49]

Loans out

Player Club Loan period Date
England Denive Balmforth York Knights End of season October 2025[50]
England Matty Laidlaw Hunslet R.L.F.C. Four weeks March 2026[51]
England Logan Moy Halifax Panthers March 2026[52]
France Hugo Salabio Halifax Panthers March 2026[52]

Players

Hall of Fame inductees

The following players have been inducted into Hull F.C.'s Hall of Fame:[53]

Bill Drake · Chris Davidson · Gary Kemble · Richard Horne · Greg Mackay · Ivor Watts · James Leuluai · Jim Drake · Keith Boxall · Mick Crane · Paul Prendiville · Richard Swain · Tevita Vaikona · Trevor Skerrett · Billy Batten · Jim Kennedy · Joe Oliver · Clive Sullivan · Peter Sterling · Garry Schofield · Mick Scott · Arthur Keegan · Tommy Harris · Paul Eastwood · Phil Bell

Captains

Past coaches

Also see Category:Hull F.C. coaches.

Seasons

Super League era

Season League Play-offs Challenge Cup Other competitions Name Tries Name Points
Division P W D L F A Pts[a] Pos Top try scorer Top point scorer
1996 Division One 20 14 0 6 565 392 28 3rd R5
1997 Division One 20 18 1 1 617 228 37 1st QF
1998 Super League 23 8 0 15 421 574 16 9th R5
1999 Super League 30 5 0 25 422 921 10 13th QF
2000 Super League 28 12 1 15 630 681 25 7th R4
2001 Super League 28 20 2 6 772 630 42 3rd Lost in Preliminary Semi Final QF
2002 Super League 28 16 0 12 742 674 32 5th Lost in Elimination Playoffs R4
2003 Super League 28 13 3 12 701 577 27 7th QF
2004 Super League 28 19 2 7 843 478 40 3rd Lost in Elimination Playoffs QF
2005 Super League 28 15 2 11 756 670 32 5th Lost in Preliminary Semi Final W
2006 Super League 28 20 0 8 720 578 40 2nd Lost in Grand Final R4
2007 Super League 27 14 2 11 573 553 30 4th Lost in Preliminary Semi Final QF
2008 Super League 27 8 1 18 538 699 17 11th RU
2009 Super League 27 10 0 17 502 623 20 12th R4
2010 Super League 27 16 0 11 569 584 32 6th Lost in Elimination Playoffs R4
2011 Super League 27 13 1 13 718 569 27 8th Lost in Elimination Playoffs QF
2012 Super League 27 15 2 10 696 621 32 6th Lost in Preliminary Semi Final R4 Tom Briscoe 21 Danny Tickle 196
2013 Super League 27 13 2 12 652 563 28 6th Lost in Preliminary Semi Final RU Ben Crooks 20 Danny Tickle 120
2014 Super League 27 10 2 15 653 586 22 11th R4
2015 Super League 30 12 0 18 620 716 24 8th QF
2016 Super League 30 20 0 10 749 579 40 3rd Lost in Semi Final W
2017 Super League 30 17 1 12 714 655 35 3rd Lost in Semi Final W
2018 Super League 30 11 0 19 615 786 22 8th QF
2019 Super League 29 15 0 14 645 768 30 6th SF
2020 Super League 17 9 0 8 405 436 52.94 6th Lost in Semi Final QF
2021 Super League 21 8 1 12 409 476 40.48 8th SF
2022 Super League 27 11 0 16 508 675 22 9th QF
2023 Super League 27 10 0 17 476 654 20 10th QF
2024 Super League 27 3 0 24 328 894 6 11th R6
2025 Super League 27 13 1 13 539 461 27 7th QF

Honours

Major titles

Competition Wins Years won
RFL Championship First Division / Super League 6 1919–20, 1920–21, 1935–36, 1955–56, 1957–58, 1982–83
Challenge Cup 5 1913–14, 1981–82, 2005, 2016, 2017

Other titles

Competition Wins Years won
Premiership 1 1990–91
League Cup 1 1981–82
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy 1 1979–80
RFL Yorkshire League 4 1918–19, 1922–23, 1926–27, 1935–36
RFL Yorkshire Cup 5 1923–24, 1969–70, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85

Records

Player records

Career records

Team records

  • Highest score: 88–0 vs Sheffield Eagles, 2 March 2003
  • Highest against: 80–10 vs Warrington Wolves, 30 August 2018[56]
  • Highest losing margin: 71 points (71–0) vs Bradford Bulls, 1 October 2005[57]
  • Highest attendance (The Boulevard): 28,798 vs Leeds, 7 March 1936
  • Highest attendance (KC Stadium): 23,004 vs Hull KR, 2 September 2007
  • Highest attendance (Challenge Cup): 99,801 vs Wigan, 4 May 1985 (1985 Challenge Cup Final)
  • Highest attendance vs an international touring team: 16,616 vs Australia, 23 September 1948 (1948–49 Kangaroo tour)
  • Only team to have won every single league game in a season: 1979 Division Two
  • Most consecutive Super League victories: 13 games, (14 April 2006 – 15 July 2006, beating Huddersfield, Wakefield, Catalans, Wigan, Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield, St Helens, Harlequins, Castleford, Catalans, Salford & Warrington).
  • Most consecutive Super League Losses: 13 Games, (5 May 2018 – 7 February 2019, Losing to Huddersfield, St Helens, Wakefield, Hull KR, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Warrington, Castleford, St Helens, Catalans, Wigan, Hull KR & Castleford)

Other teams

In addition to the men's team, a number of other teams compete under the Hull F.C. brand, including academy, wheelchair, women's, and several youth teams. In 2020 a Learning Disability Rugby League (LDRL) team was founded. Physical Disability Rugby League (PDRL) and Masters teams were established in 2022.[58]

Women's team

Hull F.C. began developing their women's team through a partnership with local school Sirius Academy, which worked with the Hull F.C. Community Foundation to establish teams playing at the under-14s and under-16s level using the Hull F.C. brand.[59] In April 2018, the Hull team made their début in the RFL Women's Championship.[60] A month later they recorded their first competitive win, defeating Oulton Raidettes 26–22 in the preliminary round of the 2018 Women's Challenge Cup,[61] and at the end of the season they competed in the play-off semi-finals.[62]

In 2020 the Hull women's team was drawn against local rivals Hull Kingston Rovers in the Challenge Cup.[63] However, the season was cancelled and the first women's Hull derby match did not take place until the quarter-finals of the 2022 League Cup.[64] The team continued to compete in the Championship until the restructuring of the league pyramid saw them drop down to League 1.[65]

In the 2024 season they won the League 1 Grand Final 26–18 against Fryston Warriors and returned to the Championship in the 2025 season.[66][67]

Wheelchair team

The Hull F.C. wheelchair team was established in 2013.[68] The team competed in the National League in the 2015 season,[69] and in the North League in 2017.[70] In the 2019 season they reached the final of the Wheelchair Challenge Trophy[71] and won the Championship Grand Final to earn promotion to the RFL Wheelchair Super League.[72] In the Challenge Cup, the Hull F.C. wheelchair team has competed at the quarter-finals stage several times when it has been played as a knockout tournament.[73][74] When a round-robin format was used, their best result was a third-place finish in 2023.[75]

Notes

  1. ^ Win percentage for 2020 and 2021

References

  1. ^ "Sezer named as captain for 2025". Hull FC News. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Hull City Football Club – MKM Stadium". Hull City A.F.C. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Coaches and Captains". hullfc.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Statistics at hullfc.com". hullfc.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  5. ^ Gibbons, Trevor (4 August 2014). "Rugby hero silenced WW1 machine gun". BBC News.
  6. ^ Hull's Australians Archived 27 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine at Hull F.C..com
  7. ^ "David Topliss: Sparkling rugby international". The Independent. London. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Coaches and Captains". hullfc.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Factbox on sacked Penrith coach Royce Simmons". Australia: AAP Sports News. 11 September 2001. Retrieved 25 July 2010.[dead link]
  10. ^ Hadfield, Dave (20 December 1995). "Rugby's £87m deal gives Murdoch transfer veto". The Independent. London. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  11. ^ Hadfield, Dave (22 April 1995). "British tours will survive the Super League fall-out". The Independent. London. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  12. ^ "Fans divided on name change". Hull Daily Mail. 27 February 1997. p. 48. Retrieved 22 December 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Laybourn, Ian (16 November 1999). "Gateshead fold as League agrees merger". The Independent. London. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Club statement: Adam Pearson on takeover". Hull F.C. 22 July 2011. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  15. ^ Bower, Aaron (11 March 2016). "Hull FC players kick Lee Radford out of changing room after Widnes run riot". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  16. ^ "Hull FC part company with Lee Radford". Hull FC News. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  17. ^ Walker, Gareth (19 November 2020). "Wigan cruise into 11th Super League Grand Final with big win over Hull FC". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
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