Real Crafty
9 Upper Dicconson St
Wigan
WN1 2AD
Telephone 01942 200364
After a change of ownership at the Millstone the team have moved to the Real Crafty pub on the site of the old Wigan British Legion, and have changed their name accordingly.
Formed as 'Pemberton Huntsmen' to avoid confusion with another team with the same name but hailing from a different area, the team joined the League by way of Division Two as early as 1988 and then during a general reorganisation to accommodate an additional third division for the start of the following season they underwent a name change.
The team then played as Hare & Hounds, Pemberton until in 1990 they were able to dispense with the place name suffix when the similarly named team disbanded. The 'Hare' were eventually promoted to the top division after a play-off against Bryn Hall for the Division Two runners-up spot in 1992 and remained there until being relegated at the end of the 1995 season. It didn't take long for them to get back as they achieved promotion again the following year, this time as divisional champions. They have remained as a fixture of Division One ever since.
Since returning to Division One the team have enjoyed Knockout Competition successes but have had to wait until the 2002 season to get amongst the silverware in League competition. At the end of 2002 the 'Hare' found themselves narrowly beaten into second place in Division One by the Bulls Head who finished the league campaign a mere one point ahead.
The team squad had a regular membership which consisted of the then team Secretary Brian Heaton, brothers Ian and Chris Barlow, Jeff Penney and Mike Simpson. Unfortunately the team lost long serving member Walter Fairhurst, who died suddenly a few weeks before the start of the 2008 season. The obvious effects of Walter's demise was evident in the team's League form and they found themselves relegated at the season's end, however there was a great deal of comfort gained from a convincing win in the final of the League Knockout Plate Competition.
The start of the 2009 season found the team struggling to attract enough players to carry on under their longstanding name. Due to various reasons players became unavailable and to overcome this loss of personnel it became imperative to re-locate and the remaining players, bolstered by new recruits, were fortunate to be made welcome at theMillstone. The season saw the team joined by Mike Leach and the formidable Pat Gibson. It came as little surprise that the team went on to record a highly successful term, bagging both League and Cup honours. With a change in the League make-up and the uncertain availability of key personnel, 2010 proved to be a stiffer challenge, however there was still success to be had, this time as Runners-Up in the Division One competition.