During the early years (during the period playing under RFU rules), the club had a prominent player who gained international caps.
They joined the ranks of the semi-professionals when they became members of the Northern Union in 1901–02 and played for one season in the Lancashire Senior Competition, which was effectively Division 2 (West).
At the end of the 1901–02 season, the County Leagues elected 18 teams to join the new Division 2 (7 from Lancashire and 10 from Yorkshire and new member South Shields) with the existing second competition scrapped.
The following season, 1904–05 Birkenhead started off, lost their first four matches failing to score even one solitary point,[4] and resigned from the league.
The new ground was quickly enclosed so that gate money could be taken and later improvements included dressing rooms, a small stand and turnstiles.