As the club continues to look ahead to our Season Launch Dinner on January 25th at the Bonus Arena, where three new members will be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame, over the festive period we are looking back at some of the famous names who have already been inducted.
Today, we’re looking back at the life and career of Joe Oliver – one of the club’s biggest starts of the first-half of the 20th century.
‘Give it to Joe’ was a regular cry heard from Hull FC supporters during his glittering career with the Black and Whites.
The full-back/centre amassed almost 2,000 points for the Airlie Birds over two spells. He is the club record point-scorer with 1,842 over his 12 years at the Boulevard, fully justifying the £800 Hull paid for him to Batley in October 1928.
He had just returned from Great Britain’s tour Down Under, where he played in all three Tests against Australia and one against New Zealand, when he headed to East Yorkshire, later becoming captain and the driving force behind their Championship victory in 1935-36, where he scored two tries and kicked five goals in a 21-2 victory over Widnes.
Not only did Hull win the Championship Final, but they also finished top of the league that year, and he would also captain the side to their Yorkshire League victory in a remarkable treble winning season.
The one blot on his playing career came when he was sent off against Leeds in a Challenge Cup tie in front of a record 28,797 crowd at The Boulevard, with Hull subsequently losing 5-4.
In March 1938, he signed for rivals Hull KR and played a key part in confining the Black and Whites to two derby defeats against their arch rivals that same year.
He had two seasons at Rovers but returned to FC for a couple of seasons after the Second World War and played his last game at Dewsbury on the 7th April, 1945.
Hull FC’s famous club anthem, ‘Old Faithful’, also comes from Joe Oliver’s time at the club. Oliver was nicknamed ‘The Points Machine’ and ‘Old Faithful’ by the club’s supporters due to his consistent and prolific scoring rate.
Gene Autry released a song about an ‘old faithful’ horse in 1933 and the fans adopted it for Oliver.
The song has adapted slightly since that time but can still be accredited to his time at the club.
In 426 club appearances and today stands as the club’s fifth highest appearance maker of all time. Oliver scored 156 tries placing him sixth in the club’s all-time chart, but stands top of the club’s all-time points scorers chart with 1842, and goals with 687.
Joe Oliver was one of ten players who were part of the second Hull FC Hall of Fame induction in 1998, alongside the likes of Billy Batten, Lee Crooks, and Peter Sterling.
With thanks to Club Historian Bill Dalton.
Book Your Place At Season Launch & Hall Of Fame Dinner
Our Season Launch Dinner, sponsored by Arcmaster, is just over a month away – over 300 people have secured their place, and theirs still time to secure a ticket.
As well as looking ahead to the new season with Head Coach Tony Smith, Chairman Adam Pearson, and several of our new recruits, the event at the Bonus Arena, Hull’s premier events venue, will see three new names inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame for the first time since 2015.
Attendees will enjoy a delicious three-course meal as well as live entertainment, and the opportunity for photographs with some of the club’s first-team stars.
The club’s Hall of Fame includes some of our greatest former players of all-time, including the likes of Johnny Whiteley, Clive Sullivan, Lee Crooks, James Leuluai, Steve Norton, and David Topliss.
And if you’re still looking for the perfect gift for a Hull FC fan for Christmas, a ticket at our Season Launch Dinner could be exactly what you need.
Doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7.30pm start. The dress code will be smart casual.
Tickets are priced at £60 per person, whilst a table of ten can be booked for £550.
Book your place now by emailing commercial@hullfc.com, or by clicking here to purchase at hullfcshop.com
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