In its heyday in the 1950s, gutball was so popular in the North Riding that almost every farmstead boasted its own team. Particular hotbeds were Fryup and Arkengarthdale. The two best teams from the moors and dales respectively played off annually for the Sprule Cup. Matches were fiercely competitive and attracted hundreds of spectators. Fryup staged and won the inaugural World Cup in 1958, which included teams from Jutland, the Faroe Islands and East Frisia.
THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT 
Leave a comment