Hull FC
Real club history, honours, and Grand Final appearances, sourced and cross-checked.
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Hull FC — 0 Super League/British top-flight titles on record.
Club Background
Hull Football Club was founded in 1865, one of English rugby league's oldest clubs, and among the founding members of the Northern Union in 1895. Nicknamed the "Airlie Birds," the club played at The Boulevard from 1895 until 2003, then moved to a new stadium (now the MKM Stadium) shared with football club Hull City. The club's headline modern achievement is winning back-to-back Challenge Cups in 2016 (beat Warrington Wolves 12-10) and 2017 (beat Wigan Warriors 18-14), part of five Challenge Cup wins overall (1914, 1982, 2005, 2016, 2017). Hull's fiercest rivalry is the "Hull derby" against Hull Kingston Rovers, rooted in the historic East Hull (Rovers) vs West Hull (Hull FC) divide.
Club history
Hull FC was formed in 1865 and settled at The Boulevard in 1895, coinciding with joining the Northern Union breakaway of 22 clubs that founded rugby league as a separate code. Hull won its first Challenge Cup in 1914, beating Wakefield Trinity, and claimed league championships across the 1920s to 1980s, plus a Premiership title in 1990-91. A second Challenge Cup arrived in 1982.
After 107 years at The Boulevard, Hull FC relocated in January 2003 to a new stadium (initially the KC Stadium) shared with Hull City — a groundshare that continues today under the MKM Stadium naming. In the Super League era, Hull reached their only Super League Grand Final in 2006 but lost 26-4 to St Helens; they have never won the Super League Grand Final itself. Their biggest modern success came with successive Challenge Cup triumphs: a 12-10 win over Warrington Wolves in 2016, ending a long "Wembley hoodoo," followed by an 18-14 win over Wigan Warriors in 2017 to retain the trophy — Marc Sneyd won the Lance Todd Trophy (man of the match) in both finals.
More recently the club has experienced turbulence: head coach Tony Smith was sacked during the 2024 season, and ownership changed in November 2024 when Andrew Thirkill and David Hood took over from long-time chairman Adam Pearson. John Cartwright took over as head coach for 2025, and Hull FC finished the 2025 Super League season in 7th place, missing the play-offs.
Sourcing caveat: Nickname sourcing varies — Wikipedia lists "the All Blacks" and "the Airlie Birds"; the official club site uses "the Black and Whites" — all appear to be genuine historical nicknames but which is most current/primary is unclear. Exact founding circumstances (which named individuals founded the club) vary slightly by source; the 1865 founding year itself is consistent.
Sources
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