It's been a 14-year labour of love but there are 1159 reasons why Brent Drabble can feel a profound sense of pride.

The Bay of Plenty rugby historian has just put the finishing touches to his magnum opus - the definitive list of all players to have pulled on the blue and yellow jersey in the past 100 years.

The 1159 names will adorn a special commemorative playing jersey for the Steamers this season, beginning with Rongo Nuku from 1911 and ending with Luke Katene from last season.

"I started all this in 1997, when Andy Miller, Ryan Wheeler and Nathan Strongman were all leaving the province," Rotorua-based Drabble explained.

"The numbers of loan players were increasing and I knew if I didn't start collecting information about them, they'd be lost to history as well. During the season I'd collect all the details of the current players and, in the off-season, I'd look for all the players who had gone before. Bay of Plenty rugby is a year-round occupation for me now - I live it, breathe it and sleep it."

Drabble has followed Bay of Plenty rugby teams since the mid-1960s and was given a life membership of the union earlier this year for his selfless service.

His passion has taken him into libraries, cemeteries, newspapers and clubrooms all over the country and, with the centenary looming this year, he redoubled his efforts to find missing players while on holiday after Christmas.

Meticulous research turned up the names and details of a number of former Steamers, though his biggest triumph was unearthing a couple of former war heroes.

"Pini Haupapa and Ru Rogers were both in the 1920 team that played Bay of Plenty's first Ranfurly Shield challenge against Wellington.

I'd seen them in that team photo but I'd never been able to piece together any more information on them.

"It turns out Pini Haupapa changed his name from Pini Rukingi after serving in World War I. I came across a brief reference to him in an old diary from 1927 and was able to trace it back from there, back to the Maori Battalion. That was bloody brilliant, I was so rapt to find that after all this time. I was getting pretty desperate and was considering putting an ad in the paper with a mugshot asking for more information when I found it.

"A couple of days after finding Pini, I was on a Te Puke-based website and found a reference to an Augustus Rogers. It turned out his full name was Augustus Rutakewhenua Rogers and he was decorated for bravery in World War I. I was so pleased to get those guys because they were the last ones from that historic 1920 team."

In the past six weeks, Drabble enlisted Rotorua lawyer Matthew Shaw to help him get all the players numbered and their names on to a workable database.

Shaw is secretary of the Wasps rugby club, long-time supporters of Drabble's historic efforts, and the pair finalised the first names of all 1159 players during a marathon six-hour session on Sunday.

But don't expect him to stop researching - Drabble's unwavering pursuit of accuracy simply won't let him.

"I'm a bit wary about numbering them all because history is a living, breathing thing. More and more old newspaper clippings are being loaded online and it's possible old match reports will throw up names that aren't on the list.

"I don't know how it's going to turn out but I'm definitely going to keep going. There are still a few names on the list I'd like more details on and I'm always keen to hear from people who may have information."

BOPRU chairman Bruce Cameron - who is No722 on the list - paid tribute to Drabble's herculean efforts.

"The Bay Union has a strong and proud history and I know as a former player that this recognition will be very well received by the players, their families, clubs and communities."

Filling in the blanks

• The Bay's oldest surviving player, Harold Roigard (b 1921), is #376
• Several younger players made their debut earlier, however, like Te Puke's Robert Hooper (#327) and former All Black selector Bryce Rope (#329).
• Brent Drabble is keen to know if William Bruce Davis (b 1924, #323) is still alive. Davis played one game for the Bay from the Army club.
• Drabble is also after more details on another Army man from the same era, J Steven, as well as G Lawson, who played in 1944.