The Chicago Stockyarders are a semi-professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

football team based in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. The team was established in 2010, and played two exhibition

rugby league sevens Rugby league sevens (or simply sevens) is a seven-a-side derivative of rugby league football, which is usually a thirteen-a-side sport. The game is substantially the same as full rugby league, with some rule changes and shorter games. Sevens is u ...

games while preparing for a fuller exhibition schedule for the

2011 AMNRL season The 2011 AMNRL season was the fourteenth season of the American National Rugby League. The Jacksonville Axemen are the reigning champions. Prior to the season seven AMNRL teams withdrew from the league to form the new USA Rugby League. The Ne ...

. They originally planned to join the

American National Rugby League The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

(AMNRL), however the league has since folded and plans are currently being made to join the current first grade U.S. competition, the

USA Rugby League The USA Rugby League (USARL) is the official governing body for rugby league, a code of rugby football, in the United States. The organization also runs the national amateur competition for club teams in the US. The league consists of six te ...

History

In May 2006, a successful beach Rugby League 9's exhibition game was held at North Avenue Beach, Chicago between the Chicago Saints and the touring UK team Ormskirk Heelers. The Saints would be the front-runner to a planned Chicago based AMNRL team that would eventually be named the Chicago Stockyarders. In 2009 an organization named Midwest Rugby League was formed to promote

in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

, and to operate the Stockyarders team from 2010 onwards. The Stockyarders made their first on-field appearance on July 31, 2010, at the

(AMNRL)'s annual War at the Shore tournament. They played an exhibition

game against the

Northern Raiders The New York Raiders were an American rugby league football team based in Congers, New York. The team played in the American National Rugby League (AMNRL) from 2002 to 2013, when the AMNRL folded its domestic competition. The team originated as t ...

, which ended with an 18-10 loss for the Stockyarders. Dan Hoskin scored their first ever points with a debut try in a Man of the Match (MVP) performance. They played a second exhibition sevens game as a curtain raiser to the AMNRL Grand Final at A. A. Garthwaite Stadium in

Conshohocken, Pennsylvania Conshohocken ( ; Lenape: ''Kanshihàkink'') is a borough on the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in suburban Philadelphia. Historically a large mill town and industrial and manufacturing center, after the decline of industry in ...

. Visiting Australian Kangaroo player

Daniel Wagon Daniel Wagon (born 30 April 1976) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Limoux Grizzlies in the Elite One Championship. He is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Aston DSC Bul ...

guested for the Stockyarders in a game against the

Philadelphia Fight The Philadelphia Fight are a semi professional rugby league team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. They currently compete in the USA Rugby League, having formerly competed in the now defunct AMNRL. They play their home games at A. A. ...

. The Fight won the game 24–16. In October 2010 the Stockyarders signed their first sponsor, and announced their intention to play a full exhibition schedule in the 2011 season. The Stockyarders had been at the forefront of developing a Midwest conference concept for the AMNRL before the league folded. In 2012, the

Western Storm Western Storm are a women's cricket team representing South West England and Wales, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic cricket. They play their home matches at the County Ground, Taunton, the County Ground, Bristol and Sophia Ga ...

, Iowa City Crash and Lewis University all played games against the Stockyarders at Winnemac Park Chicago under this format resulting in a record of 1–2 for the Stockyarders. The same venue also hosted the AMNRL Midwest sevens tournament in Chicago which was won by an Irish Exiles team. After a year in hiatus the Stockyarders and Midwest Rugby League revived this conference concept with the AMNRL Midwest Piranha Guard development series which will saw games played against Elmhurst college and Lewis University in spring 2014 and the Stockyarders finishing with a 2–0 record. The team are currently in talks to enter the

, the US's top level rugby league competition.

References

External links

Midwest Rugby League WebsiteChicago Stockyarders Website
{{Illinois Sports American National Rugby League teams Stockyarders Rugby clubs established in 2010 2010 establishments in Illinois Rugby league in Illinois

History

See also

References

External links