After the outbreak of war, sport was at a standstill in the Hartlepool area.

John Hand, together with Wilf Bulley, who were both employed by “William Gray’s” shipbuilders decided to form a Rugby team, naming it “Allied Shipbuilders XV”.

However, this was barely off the ground when Wilf Bulley was called to H.M. forces.

Several games were played, and such was the enthusiasm that it was decided to form a Rugby Team from which came Hartlepool Athletic.

A meeting in the bus shelter on the corner of Brougham Street (now Durham Street) and Middlegate in the summer of 1943 resulted in the formation of Hartlepool Athletic RFC, with teams made up of servicemen home on leave and local youngsters. The club's first headquarters were the Barracks in Baltic Street. The first Committee formed, and comprised John Hand, Fred. Calvert, S. Hogarth, J. Keasey, J. Hogarth, Tom Marine, Fred Jacques being President.  The first game was against a Royal Air force XV at Thornaby in mid-September 1943.

The club's first full season of fixtures was 1945-46 when they became a member of the Rugby Football Union and Durham County Rugby Football Union. Playing at Grayfields, they won all 28 games that season.

The club used several public houses as headquarters until the mid-50s when members built their own clubhouse on Hartlepool Trading Estate (now Oakesway Estate). Unfortunately, all wooden structure, affectionately known as the "Ponderosa" burnt down in the early 1960s, and members once again built new premises adjacent to the original site.

Athletic, like all clubs, played "friendly" games as well as cup competitions run by Durham County RFU and Hartlepool & District RFU who organised the Pyman Cup competition which Athletic won in 1953.

In 1987 the Rugby Football Union introduced leagues for the first time, with Athletic playing in Durham/Northumberland Leagues. The club fluctuated between divisions three and four, winning promotion as champions of division four in 2003/03 and 2006/07.

A dearth of players meant Athletic struggled to fulfil fixture commitments in season 2010/11, and coupled with increasing financial difficulties, the club regrettably made the decision to wind-up, and resigned from the RFU and DCRFU in September 2011. A sad end to a club which had provided the opportunity for many hundreds of Hartlepool's young men to participate in the greatest of all team sports.

An early photograph of Hartlepool Athletic, possibly taken in 1943 their founding year and possibly at their first game, away to RAF Thornaby. 5^th from the left of Bob Robinson, second left is George Bulley. 

 The first XV named by the new club for the game at Thornaby on 18^th September, 1943, was Bennett, Pouton, Allen, Frank Hand, Platts, Laurie Hand, Robinson, John Hand, Fred Calvert (Captain), Hogarth, Scooones, Keasey, Todd, Norris, Bulley, Unthank, Briggs, Webster, Wilson, McAndrew, Pell.

The unbeaten Athletic XV in season 1945 / 1946, 

Ath’s team of 46/47 carried off the 2^nd Teams Cup beating Horden on Hollow Drift, they had played for most of the match with 14 men as Laurie Hind injured a rib and was hospitalised. Spudder Wood had travelled to present the Cup only to find it was not available. He drove to Billingham (they had last held it in 1939) only to find it had apparently been handed back in 1940.  Eventually Mr A Watling loaned Ath a Pyman Cup to celebrate the victory! The Cup was eventually tracked and returned. This win led to Athletic becoming a Senior Club. One of the Horden wingers 20-year-old Christopher Coburn signed for Salford in the Rugby League following the game. 

Horden got their revenge a week ater when the teams met in the Pyman Cup Final with Horden taking the honours by just 3 - 0.

Another successful side, the Athletic 2^nd XV , the 1953 / 1954 side that lifted the Pyman Cup defeating Hartlepool B B O B by 6 pts to 3 on the New Friarage.

 No names with this image but on the day the Selectors had named the following Ath team and reserves for the game, which was a 6.30 kick off on a Friday night.

 A Booth, D Coull, F Bulley, W Neil M Devaney T Devaney G Windebank M McClelland R Smith G Longmoor S Bambridge A Popplewell A Ainsley A Rowntree O Briggs Reserves J Winters W Wallace H Carr L Spence L Pounder

 The BBOB Selection (they came to the game as the holders, by the way) W Cowley J Westmoreland R Shipley J Whittingham P Larkin J Waller (Capt.) G Elliott R Hewson D Thompson J Deighton R Pouton F Docherty  E Danby R Stonehouse C Hunter Reserves  P Young K Lowther

An image from a traditional way to round off a season, the Athletic under 30s Select prior to taking on the Club over 30’s on the Trading Estate, late in April of 1959.

An image from a game on the Trading Estate pitch sometime in the 60s between Ath and an unknown team.  Standing in mid picture for Ath is George Wrankmore while 4^th from the right in Ath strip is Stan Lindridge, a long time member of Hartlepool Old Boys.

It is not uncommon during the depths of mid-winter for Hartlepool to be the only place in the North East where Rugby takes place.  One such occasion was on Feb 2 in 1980 when the only game to take place was a derby between Athletic and Seaton on KGV, with Seaton running out winners by 7 – 4. The season was proving to be the best for Seaton since they moved to the then Petrus (now Hornby) Park in 1974, The image of the Seaton Carew XV is on their Venue on this website.

As part of the build up to the Rugby World Cup held in England in 1991, a ball containing a message to be read by Queen Elizabeth was carried throughout the country and at every ball venue a special event was held. In Hartlepool that year the ball was brought to Brierton Lane and a coaching session was held by Will Carling the England Captain.  To ensure everyone was included a relay team of youngsters from every club carried the ball along Brierton Lane and the runners were from left to right : -

Unknown, Carl Robinson (Athletic).Chris McLoughlin County President, Councillor & Mrs Trevor LLoyd, Neil Hunter, (Hartlepool) Unknown

Kneeling, Unknown, unknown, unknown, John Paul Maynard (TDSOB)