1940–41 Yorkshire Cup
StructureRegional knockout championship
Teams16
WinnersBradford Northern
Runners-upDewsbury

The 1940–41 Yorkshire Cup was held in spring 1941.

The Yorkshire Cup competition was a knock-out competition between (mainly professional) rugby league clubs from the county of Yorkshire. The actual area was at times increased to encompass other teams from outside the county such as Newcastle, Mansfield, Coventry, and even London (in the form of Acton & Willesden). The competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final taking place in (or just before) December. The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused during, and immediately after, the two World Wars.

The Second World War was continuing and the Yorkshire Cup was moved to the end of the 1940–41 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season.

1940–41 was the thirty-third occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. This season's competition is classed as a "Wartime Emergency Competition" and therefore the results did not count as an official competition win. However, this aside and for the second consecutive competition, there was a new winner for this season's trophy, Bradford Northern winning the trophy by beating Dewsbury by the score of 15-5. The match was played at Fartown, Huddersfield, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 13,316 and receipts were £939.

Change in Club participation

Hull Kingston Rovers – The club dropped out of the wartime Lancashire league after the ‘first (1939–40) season. They did not return to league competition until 1945–46 peacetime season.

Wigan - This club entered the Yorkshire Cup competition.

Oldham - The club, as Wigan, also entered the Yorkshire Cup competition.

Batley, Bramley and Keighley all rejoined the competition after appearing to withdraw from last season's competition.

Dewsbury - had a relatively successful time during the war years. Managed by Eddie Waring, and with the side boosted by the inclusion of a number of big-name guest players, the club won the Wartime Emergency League in 1941–42 and again the following season 1942–43 (though that championship was declared null and void when it was discovered they had played an ineligible player). They were also runners-up in the Championship in 1943–44, Challenge Cup winners in 1943 and Yorkshire Cup final appearances in this season 1940–41 and winners in 1942–43.

Background

This season there were no junior/amateur clubs taking part, but with the addition of the two Lancashire clubs, Wigan and Oldham, the total number of entrants increased by four to the total of sixteen.

This in turn resulted in no byes in the first round.

Competition and results

[1][2]

Round 1

Involved 8 matches (with no byes) and 16 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Sat 15 Mar 1941Bradford Northern28-10BramleyOdsal
2Sat 15 Mar 1941Dewsbury17-5HunsletCrown Flatt
3Sat 15 Mar 1941Featherstone Rovers14-0KeighleyPost Office Road
4Sat 15 Mar 1941Halifax6-13CastlefordThrum Hall
5Sat 15 Mar 1941Huddersfield35-3BatleyFartown
6Sat 15 Mar 1941Hull15-22YorkBoulevard[3]
7Sat 15 Mar 1941Wakefield Trinity17-5OldhamBelle Vue1[4]
8Sat 15 Mar 1941Wigan3-9LeedsCentral Park2[4]

Round 2 - quarterfinals

Involved 4 matches and 8 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Sat 22 Mar 1941Bradford Northern18-5Wakefield TrinityOdsal
2Sat 22 Mar 1941Dewsbury21-5YorkCrown Flatt
3Sat 22 Mar 1941Featherstone Rovers20-9LeedsPost Office Road
4Sat 22 Mar 1941Huddersfield8-3CastlefordFartown

Round 3 – semifinals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Sat 29 Mar 1941Dewsbury20-2Featherstone RoversCrown Flatt
2Sat 29 Mar 1941Huddersfield0-2Bradford NorthernFartown

Final

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Saturday 5 April 1941Bradford Northern15-5DewsburyFartown13,316£9393[5][6]

Teams and scorers

Bradford Northern No. Dewsbury
teams
George Carmichael1
Walter Best2
Tom Winnard3
Ernest Ward4
Emlyn Walters5
Gus Risman (wartime guest from Salford)6
Donald Ward7
Frank Whitcombe8
Cliff Carter (wartime guest from Leeds)9
Leonard Higson10
Trevor Foster11
xWilliam Smith12
John Moore13
Dai ReesCoachEddie Waring
15score5
6HT5
Scorers
Tries
T
T
T
Goals
G
G
Drop Goals
DG
Refereeunknown

Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points

The road to success

First round Second round Semifinals Final
            
Huddersfield 35
Batley 3
Huddersfield 8
Castleford 3
Halifax 6
Castleford 13
Huddersfield 0
Bradford Northern 2
Bradford Northern 28
Bramley 10
Bradford Northern 18
Wakefield Trinity 5
Wakefield Trinity 17
Oldham 5
Bradford Northern 15
Dewsbury 5
Dewsbury 17
Hunslet 5
Dewsbury 21
York 5
Hull 15
York 22
Dewsbury 20
Featherstone Rovers 2
Featherstone Rovers 14
Keighley 0
Featherstone Rovers 20
Leeds 9
Wigan 3
Leeds 9

Notes and comments

1 * Oldham joined the Yorkshire Cup. This was the first Yorkshire Cup match to be played by Oldham

2 * Wigan joined the Yorkshire Cup. This was the first Yorkshire Cup match to be played by Wigan and the first at Central Park

3 * Fartown was the home ground of Huddersfield from 1878 to the end of the 1991-92 season to Huddersfield Town FC's Leeds Road stadium, and then to the McAlpine Stadium in 1994. Fartown remained as a sports/Rugby League ground but is now rather dilapidated, and is only used for staging amateur rugby league games.

See also

References

  1. "Rugby League Project".
  2. Jack Winstanley & Malcolm Ryding (1991). John Player Yearbook 1975-76. Queen Anne Press.
  3. "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
  4. 1 2 "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  5. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-1992. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
  6. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
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