Do you want to know which club’s fans have it in for Hull City – and who Tigers fans really do dislike the most? Will it be Leeds United, Sheffield United or Sheffield Wednesday – or does another club annoy you more than those three?
Hull City fans consider Leeds United to be their main rivals. However, the feeling isn’t mutual. Some 77% of Tigers fans consider Leeds to be one of their top five rivals, according to a survey run by Hull Live. That’s a higher percentage than for any other club in the country.
However, only 3% of Leeds fans felt the same way when the same survey was run by our sister site Leeds Live. They consider Manchester United to be their main rivals with 82% of Leeds fans picking them as a top five rival. That too is something of a one-way relationship with only 38% of Man United fans picking Leeds.
Where Did It All Begin?
The Hull City Football Club was founded in June 1904. Prior attempts to find a football club had proved to be difficult owing to the dominance in the city of rugby league teams for example Hull F.C. as well as Hull Kingston Rovers. The club was not able to apply for membership of the Football League for the 1904–05 season and rather played just in friendlies, the first of which was a 2–2 draw with Notts County which happened on 1 September 1904 with 6 000 fans who attended.
These early matches took place at the Boulevard, which is the home of Hull F.C. Hully City’s first competitive football match was in the FA Cup preliminary round. The club drew 3–3 with Stockton on 17 September, however they were eliminated following the loss of the replay 4–1 on 22 September. After altercations with landlords at the Boulevard, Hull City relocated to Anlaby Road Cricket Ground.
Admission To The Football League Second Division
After having played 44 friendly fixtures the prior season, Hull City were ultimately admitted into the Football League Second Division for the season spanning 1905–06. Other teams who competed in the league that season consisted of the likes of Manchester United as well as Chelsea, in addition to Yorkshire adversaries Barnsley, Bradford City and Leeds City. Hull beat Barnsley 4–1 at home in their first game and then finished the season in fifth place.
An Interesting Fact
Hull City and Grimsby Town were the only two professional teams which had official permission to play league football on Christmas Day because of the demands of the fish trade, but that tradition has now disappeared following the dramatic reduction of their trawler fleets in recent years.
Biggest Wins
Hull City Football Club has experienced many wins and losses over the years. Some of the highlights are:
- Biggest Win: 11-1 v Carlisle United (H), Division Three (North), 14th January 1939
- Biggest Home Win: 11-1 v Carlisle United, Division Three (North), 14th January 1939
- Biggest Away Win: 8-2 v Stalybridge Celtic, FA Cup First Round, 26th November 1932
- Biggest European Victory: 2-1 v AS Trencin, Europa League, 7th August 2014 and v KSC Lokeren, Europa League, 28th August 2014