Playing sports connected many of you during your time at Salford. From training and winning matches to nights out and socialising, sports societies were a place for students to share common interests, have fun and make friends for life.
Over the years, Salford has offered a range of sports such as men’s and women’s football, rugby league, rugby union, hockey, as well as mixed sports societies like dance, swimming, skating and much more.
Recently, we invited our alumni community to share your fondest sporting memories.
Rugby tour 1999 Credit: Sion O’Hare
Michael Stones was the secretary of the Rugby League society in the early 1970s, when he studied Environmental Sciences. He returned to study Health & Safety Law & Environmental Law in 1973. He remembers:
“The Rugby League club ran two teams in the 1970’s. The 1971-72 team achieved the most memorable results. As secretary of the club, I was tasked with the administration arrangements and also played on the left wing in the team.
“I acquired a nickname of ‘Wizard Winger’ following three tries in a game against Leeds University. Salford came out on top and thus won the Championship that year. As a result, they were chosen as the Salford ‘Team of the Year’ and the Students’ Union paid for a weekend trip to Cumbria.
“54 years later, and after two degrees at the University, I still regularly visit the University in my capacity of Head of Risk Management at UMAL, the University Insurers.”
Rugby league photo 1971-72 Credit: Michael Stones
Nicky Howgego studied Civil Engineering with European Studies and graduated in 1995. She helped kickstart the Women’s Rugby Union society with Emma Deutsch. She remembers:
“I didn’t know many women at the time, so I thought I’d see if there was a rugby club as I’d played a bit before I went.
“I went up to the men’s rugby union stand at the freshers fair and asked. They told me to speak to Emma Deutsch, who was in her final year. We set the team up from scratch. We advertised to recruit teammates, some women turned up and the rest is history!
“We played our first match in early 1992. I remember running out of the changing rooms under the Pav at Castle Irwell. Emma’s mum had spent the holiday sewing up the old shirts the men had given us as they had holes in them so big they would have been indecent if she hadn’t.
“We went from strength to strength for the rest of my time at Salford and the friendships remain. We met up at the recent Women’s rugby World Cup final at Twickenham last year.”
Michael Thomas studied Economics and graduated in 1983. He was the treasurer for the football society in his second year. He remembers:
“Becoming an undergraduate and playing football at Salford probably changed my life, although I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time. I ended up playing the first season at left full back, scoring twice. One for Salford and one for York University. In a very strong gale, a pass from 30 yards out got caught on the wind and ended up in our net. The trip to York was also memorable. The team coach was stopped by the police on the way back, as the rugby team had removed the gates from the University Principal’s house and smuggled them on the bus.
“I was Treasurer for the Football society, which involved organising coaches and, more importantly, refreshments after the match -a job I shared with the Captain of the Ladies hockey team. Our key duties involved buying and cooking pies and beans, in between playing, and making sure they were ready for about 30 minutes after the game. Football finished at age 34, and my career finished last year at 63. It’s hard to believe the stories above were 40 years ago.”
Moving from the field to the piste, the Salford skiing society came second in the B team championship in 1992.
Hugo Fry at the British Universities Skiing Championships 1992 Credit: Hugo Fry
Hugo Fry studied Chemistry and graduated in 1993. He was a part of the Salford University Ski team, which had two men’s teams.
“This is a photo from the British Universities Skiing Championships of 1992 in Les Arcs. The photo is of me competing in the Giant Slalom. The Salford University Ski team used to train every week in Rossendale. They also demonstrated parallel ski racing at the Daily Mail Ski Show at Olympia one year.”
It is lovely to see that some teams still meet up, like the men’s football club of 2000-2003, who reunited in 2014.
We loved hearing your memories. They are just as important to us as they are to you!
If you have a sports story you would like to share, we would love to hear them. Please get in touch at alumni@salford.ac.uk.
