The Inaugurals
On 17 February 1926 Castleford were admitted to the Northern Rugby Football League. Six months later they played their first game, away at Hull. Below are the 13 players who would go down in history as the inaugurals. Captained by Arthur Trevis they succumbed to a 22-0 defeat but there was no shame in that. This was after all our first outing and against a side that had finished 4th in the league table the previous season, losing in the play-offs to eventual champions Wigan. Cas would go on to finish bottom of the pile in 1926/27 while Hull finished 5th, just outside the top 4 play-offs.
| # | Player | Pl. | Tries | Goals | DG | Pts | T/Pl. | Pts/Pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Hargrave | 108 | 22 | 83 | 2 | 236 | 0.20 | 2.19 |
| 2 | William Skelton | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 3 | Harry Minton | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.17 | 0.50 |
| 4 | Tommy Davies | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.05 | 0.16 |
| 5 | Harry Hudson | 47 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0.26 | 0.77 |
| 6 | Tommy Needham | 77 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 0.17 | 0.56 |
| 7 | Arthur James Trevis | 88 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0.09 | 0.27 |
| 8 | John Leake | 72 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0.18 | 0.54 |
| 9 | Robert Nicholls | 92 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.04 | 0.13 |
| 10 | Bill Renton | 89 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.04 | 0.13 |
| 11 | Joseph Malkin | 79 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0.14 | 0.44 |
| 12 | Jack Wormald | 92 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.04 | 0.13 |
| 13 | Joseph Kelly | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.06 | 0.17 |
Only full back Bill Hargrave would go on to make over 100 appearances for the club but the man who made fewest, centre Harry Minton, would occupy his own place in history. Cas followed this defeat with a 3-0 loss at home to Rochdale but in the folllowing game Minton crossed for Castleford's first try in their professional history in a 3-12 loss to Hunslet at Sandy Desert.
Two of the players would go on to become representative players. Hargrave and forward Bill Renton both played a solitary game for Yorkshire. Hargrave featured on the wing against Glamorgan & Monmouth while Renton played against Lancashire at Halifax.
The team were coached by Billy Rhoades. He would go on to coach the team for an incredible 826 games in three spells as coach spread over 32 years, unthinkable in the modern game. Considering he took charge of the club in their formative years, playing against much more experienced and seasoned sides, his win ratio of 48% is very respectable. The club did finish bottom in this inaugural year but registered 5 wins and 1 draw.