Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project

Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project This project presents the opportunity to look back to where the club has come from and look forward positively at a time of change.

A two-year project (2022-4) led by the Eagles Foundation and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to collect, record and share the history of the Sheffield Eagles Rugby Football League Club for the first time. The Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project is a two-year project, led by the Eagles Foundation and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to collect, record and share the heritage

of the Sheffield Eagles Rugby Football League Club. Since the Club played their first game on 2nd September 1984 there have been many highs and lows, with a large number of stories to be told about the club, many of them never collected or shared before. The project will work with the existing supporters of the Club, potential new fans, past and present players of the club, past and present coaching staff, those involved in setting up the club, heritage enthusiasts, local schools and the broader community of Sheffield. The project is not just focused on those interested in Rugby League but those interested in history, those who live in the area and those who aren’t interested in Rugby or history but are keen to be involved in interesting projects and hear interesting stories. The project will be led by a project manager, Richard King running from April 2022 to March 2024 and will record and share the heritage of the Sheffield Eagles Rugby League Football Club for the first time through:

- Researching the archives of the club, in Sheffield Archives and at the Rugby Football League

- The digitisation of key documents and items from the club’s past which will then be catalogued and built into an online database, making them searchable and more widely accessible

- Collecting the stories of officials, players, supporters and coaches from throughout the life of the club, recording and filming their stories

- Training and supporting volunteers to take part in the project

- Sharing the stories through a website, pop-up exhibitions, learning packs, publications, films, podcasts, events and public talks

- Working with the local community within the immediate area around the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and the wider city to involve them in the activities

The project is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to the National Lottery players. This page is open to everyone, there is no group membership required. We ask that people talk positively about the project, the Sheffield Eagles, memories of the Club and each other. We reserve the right to moderate and delete posts.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the first ever game of Super League, a game which saw the Sheffield Eagles take on P...
29/03/2026

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the first ever game of Super League, a game which saw the Sheffield Eagles take on Paris Saint Germain at the Charlety Stadium in Paris. It wasn't to be a winning start for the Eagles, losing 30-24, but it was a memorable night for those Eagles fans that made the journey across to be part of the 17,000+ crowd.

You can read more about that first game and the Eagles' first season of Super League on the Heritage Project's website here: https://heritage.sheffieldeagles.com/1996-one-night-in-paris

You can watch the game on that page or on the Heritage Project's YouTube page along with some of Sky's build up to the game here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLROu1QTloklt-29SeFomOmxnIIDNIq9Qx

The dawn of Super League and summer rugby

On Monday night there was a chance for past Sheffield Eagles players to meet up at Headingley, in particular due to Paul...
05/11/2025

On Monday night there was a chance for past Sheffield Eagles players to meet up at Headingley, in particular due to Paul Carr and Danny McAllister being across from Australia for the Ashes. The Heritage Project had already sent Paul's heritage certificate to him last year as part of his inclusion in the "40 from 40 years" list of players. We were delighted though to be able to present Paul's framed entry into the Hall of Fame and Danny's heritage certificate along with a selection of items produced through the Heritage Project.

Thanks to Jake Borrill for the photos.

On National Sporting Heritage Day it's a good time to reflect on this time last year when the Heritage Project organised...
30/09/2025

On National Sporting Heritage Day it's a good time to reflect on this time last year when the Heritage Project organised the Celebration Dinner to mark the 40th anniversary of the Sheffield Eagles. We were fortunate to have Gary and Kath Hetherington there to share their memories (and the challenges) of creating the Club, along with Daryl Powell and Mark Gamson who played in that first season. You can watch them here: https://youtu.be/9AxTCw8rzTU?si=PFwR0z6L428pPG9r

We then had players from every decade sharing their memories and you can see videos of them all on our YouTube channel, along with footage from the first ever game and a range of other matches along with events organised by the Project: https://www.youtube.com/

The Dinner also marked the end of the two and a half year Heritage Project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. We're still hopeful of a phase 2 to build on the success of the first phase and we'll keep you updated. You can find out more about what the Project achieved here: https://heritage.sheffieldeagles.com

Sporting Heritage

On the 5th September 2024 the Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project working with the Sheffield Eagles held a celebration dinner to mark the 40th anniversary of t...

Don’t forget the display case capturing some of the history of the Sheffield Eagles is still at Weston Park Museum and w...
05/08/2025

Don’t forget the display case capturing some of the history of the Sheffield Eagles is still at Weston Park Museum and will be there for at least the next few months.

Why not combine it with a visit to the Pete McKee exhibition at the Museum?

On the 8th June 1996 played St Helens at Cardiff Arms Park losing 32-43. This was the first season of Super League and t...
15/07/2025

On the 8th June 1996 played St Helens at Cardiff Arms Park losing 32-43. This was the first season of Super League and the on the road initiative saw games played outside the rugby league heartlands.

This was classed as a home fixture for the Eagles becoming one of the 21 “home” grounds the Club has played at. You can read more about those 21 grounds here: https://heritage.sheffieldeagles.com/a-story-of-celebration-survival-and-community -block-8b3d6e2f9518

Someone recently uploaded footage of the full game to YouTube here: https://youtu.be/8imS08LH0SU?si=46Yxn1MwJ5g52Pih

You can see how the teams lined up for that game here: https://stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com/matchdetails.php?tselect=193

You can also read about that first Super League season here: https://heritage.sheffieldeagles.com/1996-one-night-in-paris

25/04/2025

Share Your Sport & Fashion Exhibitions!

As Month approaches this June, we’re spotlighting the heritage of sportswear in your collections, archives and research and considering its place in the story of UK sport.

📢 Do you know of any exhibitions, collections, or research on sporting fashion? Whether it’s a museum display, archive, or personal collection, we want to hear about it!

Get involved by sharing your stories using and help us celebrate the role of sportswear in shaping sport, identity, and culture.

🔗 Learn more: https://tinyurl.com/mwswa5h8

20/03/2025

🙌 It was great to see former Eagles player Joe Dakuitoga be presented with his heritage certificate by Dawn Aston, on her recent trip over to Fiji.

Heritage number 190, Joe made his Sheffield Eagles debut on 19th November 1995, and he went on to make a total of 19 appearances for the club.

🤝 Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project

03/03/2025

🙌 It was great to welcome back Sheffield Eagles legend Peter Green to Sunday's game, where he received his Heritage Certificate from Club President Chris Noble MBE at half time.

In advance of the Sheffield Eagles facing the Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup we look back to the first loss, draw a...
06/02/2025

In advance of the Sheffield Eagles facing the Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup we look back to the first loss, draw and win for the Eagles against Wigan. The Eagles first played Wigan on 15th November 1987 when they were drawn against each other in the first round of the John Player Cup, when Wigan were the reigning World Club champions having beaten Manly. 7,484 saw the Eagles lose 34-8 at Central Park but the Eagles had put up a fight, leading 8-2 after half an hour. You can watch all of that game on the Heritage Project's YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/CaGSZtJv9wA?feature=shared

After further defeats in the following seasons the Eagles managed to draw 18-18 with Wigan at Central Park on the 9th September 1990 in front of a crowd of 10,668, with Mark Aston scoring a 40 yard penalty with 8 minutes to go to ensure the draw.

It wasn't until 27th March 1994 that the Eagles managed to secure their first historic win over Wigan, beating them 10-5 at Don Valley Stadium in front of a crowd of 5,465. Mark Aston scored all the points that game with a try and 3 goals. You can see the programme from that game here: https://heritage.sheffieldeagles.com/collections/933f147e-78f4-4334-9bbf-9a5c7db9e354

You can watch full footage of the game on the Heritage Project's YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/5YrO2pcwFRU

The first time the Sheffield Eagles played at Central Park, this was the first round of the John Player Special Trophy and the Eagles lost 34-8.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the rebirth of the Sheffield Eagles. After the merger of the Sheffield Eagles with t...
28/12/2024

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the rebirth of the Sheffield Eagles. After the merger of the Sheffield Eagles with the Huddersfield Giants at the end of the 1999 season it seemed that was the end of the Sheffield Eagles. Less than 70 days later the Sheffield Eagles were back, with a win 32-20 win over the Lancashire Lynx on 28th December 1999. The first era of the Sheffield Eagles lasted for 16 seasons but 2025 will see the 26th season of this second era. Those last 25 year have seen many ups and downs along the way but somehow as always, against the odds, the Club is still here.

You can watch that first game here, don't forget the Eagles are playing in the blue away kit of the Lancashire Lynx.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH3iT34RDoQ

You can read more about that first game on the Heritage Project's website here: https://heritage.sheffieldeagles.com/stories/celebrating-25-years-of-the-reborn-sheffield-eagles or read Ian Swain's review of the 2000 season, including the challenges of forming a new team here: https://heritage.sheffieldeagles.com/season-summary-2000

28th December 1999. Lancashire Lynx v Sheffield Eagles. The first game of the "new" Sheffield Eagles after the merger of the old club with Huddersfield Giant...

With the need for a successful website such a key part of the Heritage Project it was really positive to see how well re...
13/11/2024

With the need for a successful website such a key part of the Heritage Project it was really positive to see how well received it was, as shown by the external evaluation that was carried out. Thanks again to Hive It for their work on the website and The National Lottery Heritage Fund for funding the project.

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Access House, Clun Street
Sheffield
S47JS

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