The First Monstre Meet

The following seasons saw the Nightingales consolidate their position. Its members - notably John Baker, Alf Adams and secretary C.D. Hiscocks - are credited with organising the first Monstre meet of local clubs.

Fifty athletes turned up at the Duke of Cumberland in Cottingham for the first meet in December 1886. The social that followed, chaired by George Lidiard of Hull Harriers, proved a memorable and high-spirited affair. The Nightingales set another precedent that season, being the first local club to enter the Kennedy Cup, the forerunner of the present Yorkshire Cross-Country Championship, where they took a creditable third place.