Rotherham Rangers was formed on the 5th of April 1977 at meeting held in a town centre pub called the Charter Arms. Following the inaugural meeting training sessions and friendly matches took place in preparation for the club joining the West Yorkshire Sunday League.
Until the formation of Rotherham Rangers, rugby league had never been part of the sporting scene in Rotherham.
On Sunday the 18th of September 1977 Rotherham Rangers amateur rugby league club played its first ever West Yorkshire League game against local rivals Sheffield Concord.
Rangers won the game by 33 points to 25
Following that first game and after a few seasons of struggling to raise a team and win games, Rangers finally began to recruit better players, achieve success in the local cup competitions and progress through the league structures.
The club had several changes of name from Rangers to Roosters and then to Giants. The Rotherham club also played at eight different grounds before going out of existence in 2012.
The story of rugby league in Rotherham is told in:
The Other Rugby
Available from YorkBookShop.com follow the link here
