The Chicago Stockyarders are a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

football team based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. 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 ...

games while preparing for a fuller exhibition schedule for the 2011 AMNRL season. They originally planned to join the

American National Rugby League The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was the national governing body for rugby league in the United States from 1997 to 2014. The organization was responsible for running the domestic club competitions and the United States national rug ...

(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 (formally the US Association of Rugby League, Inc.) is the national governing body for rugby league in the United States. The organization is responsible for running the domestic club competitions and the United State ...

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, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, 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, 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 ( ; ) is a Borough (Pennsylvania), 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 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. ...

. 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 were a women's cricket team that represented South West England and Wales, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic cricket. They primarily played their home matches at the County Ground, Taunton, the County Ground, Bristol ...

Iowa City Crash Rugby league has been played in the United States by club teams since the 1970s. In that time a number of amateur and semi-professional clubs have been established and ended up going defunct. American National Rugby League *Aston Bulls (1998– ...

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