The first game at Mather Lane was played on 7 September 1889 against Aspull and Leigh forward James Pendlebury scored the first try in front of a 2,000 crowd.

Leigh, along with Salford and Wigan, was suspended for professionalism by the Rugby Football Union, and placed joint bottom of the Lancashire league.

As the new century began, Leigh struggled and despite winning the West Lancashire and Border Towns Cup, the crowds and their fortunes dropped dramatically.

The Northern Union, after being alerted by Wigan, alleged that Leigh player Dick Silcock had played illegally after being absent from work in the week before the game without a permit breaking the 'working clause'.

In December 1925 star player Abe Johnson was transferred to Oldham for £650 and Leigh's decline continued the next season when they slipped to 4th from bottom in the league.

Gate receipts crashed to an all-time low, with the final home game of the season against Broughton Rangers attracting a crowd of around 250 spectators.

The Rugby League Management Committee visited the club in March and two of its members were co-opted on to the Leigh board until the end of the season and the A-team was scrapped to cut costs.

The 1937–38 season opened with some encouraging signs as Leigh beat Rochdale Hornets in the Lancashire Cup, their first win in any competition for 21 games.

These were desperate times though and when Dewsbury visited Mather Lane for a mid-week game in November 1937, only 200 spectators were there to see Leigh suffer a record home defeat of 64–6.

This prompted the Leigh directors to resign en masse and the Rugby League Management Committee stepped in to prevent the club from folding by guaranteeing their fixtures until the end of the season.

The following February, a members club was formed, though the RFL stayed in control until June and Leigh won only one of their last 15 games, again finishing 3rd from bottom.

Leigh's last game at Mather Lane was a War Emergency League fixture against St Helens on 27 April 1940 where a crowd of only 300 spectators saw the visitors win 16–5.

The club repeated that league placing a year later, this time helping Leigh win the Lancashire Cup in front of a crowd of 34,785 at Swinton.

The 14 March 1953 brought the biggest recorded crowd at Hilton Park when 31,326 crammed in to see St Helens win 12–3, to make up for their Lancashire Cup defeat.

Eight clubs participated in a series of games played at football grounds in the London area, with Warrington eventually running out 43–18 victors over Leigh at Loftus Road.

Leigh regain their form however with great wins at Wakefield Trinity, Hull and Sheffield; and finished the season with excellent results at home.

In February 1993, Leigh failed in a bid to buy back Hilton Park for £300,000 but in June, they were offered a reprieve and are allowed to stay for another 12 months.

In April 1996, Eric Hughes was appointed head coach replacing Ian Lucas who was sacked after Leigh had won only one of its first five games of the season.

When Halifax were relegated to play in the 2004 National League competition, their financial troubles meant they were unable to retain a full-time team and struggled, paving the way for Leigh to go about achieving their dream.

Abram resigned in August 2005 after a disagreement with the board, who felt unable to offer him the full-time contract he wanted for 2006 if the club were not in Super League.

In July 2006, Leigh won the Northern Rail Cup after defeating Hull Kingston Rovers 22–18 at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool.

The club's owners decided to part company with Tony Benson causing some of the back room staff and management to resign in support of their colleague.

Leigh were reinstated into Co-operative Championship on 11 November 2009 after the RFL Board took the decision after Gateshead Thunder's chairman Steve Garside wound up Gateshead and Newcastle Rugby Ltd.[6] Ian Millward returned as the club's head coach for 2010, Leigh took advantage of their reprieve and had a terrific season, finishing in third place in the Co-Operative Championship before losing at home in the play-offs to Sheffield Eagles, whilst also reaching the semi-finals of the Northern Rail Cup before being knocked out by eventual winners Batley Bulldogs.

Rowley resigned as Leigh Centurions head coach 10 days before the start of the 2016 Championship season, citing personal reasons.

For their efforts, Leigh picked up the League Leader's Shield and went on to win the Grand Final for the first time in 10 years, with a 36–12 victory over bitter rivals Featherstone Rovers.

[9] On 23 August 2021, Leigh recorded their first victory in the 2021 Super League season after losing the previous 16 matches in the competition beating Salford 32–22.

[12] On 2 October Leigh defeated Batley in the Million Pound Game and won promotion back into Super League for the 2023 season.

[14] In round 3 of the 2023 Super League season, Leigh earned their first win back in the top flight defeating Hull Kingston Rovers 30–25.

On 12 August 2023, Leigh played in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium and beat Hull Kingston Rovers by 17–16 after golden point extra time.

The friendly match against Salford was held as a ramp up event in order for the stadium management company to gain a full safety certificate.