Swinton Lions might currently sit in tenth place in the Betfred Championship Table, but if you look back over the last century the small town team actually boasts one of the best seasons ever by a Rugby League club.
Stephen Parker, chair of Swinton Lions Supporters Trust outlined the club’s incredible past at the Salford Histories Festival, which took place on October 28th in Fletcher Hall in Swinton.
He spoke of the rich tapestry of the club’s history – particularly the record-breaking season of 1927/28.
Stephen, in talking about a photograph of the team from that year mentioned the remarkable fact that “the club won all of the available competitions that year, so there’s five trophies on the picture.”
“No team’s done it since!”
He listed off the trophies they won as being the Lancashire league, the Lancashire cup, the Championship, the Salford Royal Hospital cup and the last Challenge cup before the the final was moved to the recently constructed Wembley stadium.
As Stephen pointed out, the feat is nowadays unrepeatable as the Hospital Cup, Lancashire League and the Lancashire Cup are not played anymore.
The team now plays their home games in Sale and has done since 2016, after a series of financial issues leading to a move from Swinton Lions’ long-occupied ground Station Road in 1992.
The Lions, who were only officially named as such in 1996 when the first Super League was held, have struggled to achieve the highs they once did in the 20th century.
The club has been through a number of financial and managerial crises and escaped relegation from the Betfred Championship in 2023.
The Histories Festival is held annually within the city at the end of October and has been a great success in the last two years.
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