Halifax fans are spoilt for choice when it comes to picking their best side, with squads from the 1900s, 1930s, 1950s and 1980s all boasting arguments in their favour.

One of the founder members of the Northern Union in 1895 after forming as a rugby union team in 1873, they almost got off to a dream start by winning the first ever league but missed out on the title by a single point to Manningham.

However, the Yorkshire club were not made to wait long for success, as in 1902-03 they completed the Challenge Cup and League double, and the following year they lifted the Cup. Then in 1907 they became the first ever Championship play-off winners.

A fallow period followed, but that ended in 1931 when an estimated 100,000 people lined the streets of the town to salute Dan Jenkins' side after they won the Challenge Cup by beating York 22-8 at Wembley. Eight years later they were victorious at Wembley again, this time after a 20-3 win over Salford.

Another lean spell occurred in the 1940s, but a 1950 Yorkshire League triumph heralded a golden era, as Halifax were Championship runners-up three times, Yorkshire Cup winners twice and Yorkshire League winners four times during that decade.

They also featured in two Wembley finals in that time, in 1954 and 1956, with the 1954 match against Warrington resulting in the first ever drawn final. It was followed by an 8-4 replay defeat at Bradford's Odsal Stadium in front of a world-record rugby league crowd of 102,569.

The 1960s and 1970s brought financial trouble off the pitch, which resulted in a downturn on the pitch as well, with key players sold to make up for the losses.

However, the appointment of Australian Chris Anderson as player/coach in 1985 changed that as he steered Halifax to a League title win in 1986 and a famous victory over St Helens in the 1987 Challenge Cup final.

Halifax joined the Super League in the first season in 1996 and added 'Blue Sox' to their name, despite criticism from fans.

Halifax finished third in 1998 under coach John Pendlebury and then dropped the 'Blue Sox' tag, returning to being known simply as Halifax RLFC in 2003.

Unfortunately, this move coincided with relegation to the National League One and in 2006 they hit financial trouble again. Indeed, they were on the verge of going out of business as they announced they needed to raise £90,000 to save the club.

Fans from across England raised funds to help out and they managed to get to £55,000 before former chairman Howard Posner gave the club a loan of £35,000 in order to keep the club alive.