Last Saturday saw the first of many celebrations from Keighley Albion throughout 2023 to commemorate 75 years of amateur rugby league in the town.
The club’s new kit was unveiled by their local MP, Robbie Moore, with a shirt presentation to their main sponsor ‘Duftons Plumbing & Heating Supplies’, who can be found on the Castlefield Industrial Estate in Crossflatts.
Moore said: “It was fantastic to meet with players, staff and management at Keighley Albion at the weekend for the unveiling of their new kit to celebrate their 75th-anniversary.
“Keighley Albion play a huge role in promoting sports and physical activity in our town, and it is fantastic to see the sport growing at a grassroots level.
“The fact that over 300 young people aged four to 18 across our community have registered for the club is a testament to Keighley Albion’s service to sport in our town.”
The anniversary kit is of great significance to Albion, who released a statement saying: “We feel that being an established sporting club in the town for so long is great and also shows a mark of respect for the people that have been involved over the years, past and present.
“It is special in many ways to pause and reflect on what has actually happened in those 75 years and how many weekends of fun for individuals the club has provided, not just at open age level, but for the 350 plus juniors we current have at the club.”
In another nice touch, Albion have Jamie Stephenson in their open age side.
He is the son of Keighley Cougars legend Phil Stephenson, who passed away at the age of 47 in 2019 after suffering from motor neurone disease, and continues to carry on the legacy of the family name within the sport of rugby league.
The late Stephenson’s nephew, Alix, plays for the Cougars currently in the Betfred Championship too.
Back to Jamie, and he was in the Albion side who enjoyed a fine 22-10 home win over Hull Wyke last Saturday.
That leaves Keighley fourth in Division One of the Yorkshire Men’s League, with two wins and a defeat from their three league games so far.
It was a home double header for the club, as Keighley Albion Academy were also in action in Division 4B, but they lost 26-6 against visiting West Craven Warriors, leaving them on two defeats from two so far.
The teams face a repeat back at Albion tomorrow, with the academy hosting West Craven in the YML Shield.
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