Hunslet Hawks can trace their lineage back to 1883 when two locally based teams (Albion and Excelsior) were awarded the princely sum of £30 by the Hunslet Cricket club to form the Hunslet Rugby Club based at Woodhouse Hill. The team started to play in blue and white shirts, however this was changed by popular demand to the now familiar white shirts with chocolate trimming. The first official game took place on 11th February 1888 against Mirfield. Hunslet took victory in this game and announced their arrival the following season by beating Leeds St John's in the third round of the Yorkshire Cup. More and more people came to watch Hunsley play, so much so that the landlord threatened to put up the rent for the ground so the team was forced to relocate. Eventually Hunslet were able to purchase 10.25 acres of wasteland from the Low Moor Iron and Coal Company and the landlord wanted to put up the rent. This ground became Parkside which they moved to in 1888.

The team played their first major game in 1888, and one short season later were able to take home their first trophy (the Yorkshire Cup) against Leeds St John's. Hunsley were also one of the founding members of the Northern Union that formed as a response to pay disputes and broke away from the Rugby Football Union. In the 1905-1906 season Hunsley took the Yorkshire Cup again, and were the first team to win all four cups, unfortunately after this success many of the key players left the team to transfer to other clubs. In 1924, the club's record attendance was set at 24,700 for a third round Challenge Cup match. The 1930's saw Hunslet go through a period of stagnation until 1932 where once again they took the Yorkshire Trophy and made it to the final of the Yorkshire Cup. Hunsley also celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1933-1934 in style with a victory against Widnes at Wembley in the Challenge Cup Final. The next major success came in 1938 against Leeds in the Championship Final, and Hunsley dropped out of the league in 1942-1943 to rejoin the next year.

In the post-war depression Hunslet's fanbase seemed to diminish as the town became more and more industrialised and residential areas were swept away to make room for factories and industrial complexes. Hunslet went on to reach a number of semi-finals and finals and kept up a respectable record despite finanical hardships and low attendence records. This was largely due to the large supply of local talent that was on hand mixed with some successful foreign imported players. By the time the 1960's rolled around the team were seen as the classic underdogs, and although they were a talented and experienced side they were unable to harness this experience on the field. The 1962-1963 season saw a new player-coach in the shape of Fred Ward and Hunsley went on to take the Second Division Championship. They also took the 1962 Yorkshire Cup Final over Hull Kingston Rovers. 1965 saw a crushing defeat in the Yorkshire Cup Final against Bradford Northern and a loss against Wigan in the Challenge Cup finals. The team was split up once again due to retirements and a large number of transfers and by 1967 the team had entered another slump. Parkside was destroyed in a fire set by vandals in 1971 and sold off for development the following year. By July 1972 the club had folded. For the 1973-1974 the club was reformed as New Hunslet and played at the Leeds Greyhound Stadium. By the time 1979 rolled around the team reverted to the New Hunslet name in an effort to attract former fans back to enjoy watching their team play.

By 1995 the club (now known as the Hunslet Hawks) moved into the South Leeds Stadium located only half a mile from Parkside. They only just missed out on promotion in the 1996 season. 1997 saw the team play at Wembley for the first time since 1965 in the Challenge Cup Plate Final but were beaten by Hull Kingston Rovers. Hunslet were also promoted to the First Division as champions this year. In 1999 the Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final was taken by Hunslet against Dewsbury 12-11, however the team were denied entry to the Super League by the RFL. This led to an exodus from the club of many members and attendence fell sharply.