1908–09 Yorkshire Cup

The 1908–09 Yorkshire Cup was the fourth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition, a Rugby league tournament, was held. This year's final was between cup holder Hunslet and the previous season's runner-up Halifax with this year the reverse result, Halifax winning the trophy by beating Hunslet by the score of 9-6. The match was played at Belle Vue, in the City of Wakefield, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 13,000 and receipts were £356. This was the third meeting between the two teams, Halifax and Hunslet, who had now met in three out of the first four previous finals, Hunslet having won on both earlier occasions in 1905–06 and 1907–08.

1908–09 Yorkshire Cup
Structure	Regional knockout championship
Teams	13
Winners	Halifax
Runners-up	Hunslet

Background

This season there were no junior/amateur clubs taking part, no new entrants and no "leavers" and so the total of entries remained the same at thirteen. This, in turn, resulted in three byes in the first round.

Competition and results

[1][2]

Round 1

Involved 5 matches (with three byes) and 13 Clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 10 Oct 1908	Halifax		13-0		Leeds	Thrum Hall
2	Sat 10 Oct 1908	Hull Kingston Rovers		13-19		Batley	Craven Street (off Holderness Road)
3	Sat 10 Oct 1908	Keighley		6-14		Hunslet	Lawkholme Lane
4	Sat 10 Oct 1908	Wakefield Trinity		0-17		Huddersfield	Belle Vue
5	Sat 10 Oct 1908	York		8-2		Bradford Northern	Clarence Street
6	Sat 10 Oct 1908	Bramley		0		bye
7	Sat 10 Oct 1908	Dewsbury		0		bye
8	Sat 10 Oct 1908	Hull		0		bye					[3]

Round 2 - Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 24 Oct 1908	Dewsbury		32-2		Bramley	Crown Flatt
2	Sat 24 Oct 1908	Halifax		31-2		Hull	Thrum Hall				[3]
3	Sat 24 Oct 1908	Huddersfield		8-13		Batley	Fartown
4	Sat 24 Oct 1908	York		0-14		Hunslet	Clarence Street

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 14 Nov 1908	Halifax		9-0		Batley	Thrum Hall
2	Sat 14 Nov 1908	Hunslet		10-2		Dewsbury	Parkside

Final

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
	Saturday 28 November 1908	Halifax		9-5		Hunslet	Belle Vue	13000	356	1	[4][5]

Teams and scorers

Halifax	№	Hunslet
team unknown	teams	team unknown
	1
	2
	3
	4
	5
	6
	7
	8
	9
	10
	11
	12
	13
	Coach
9	score	6
7	HT	0
	Scorers
	Tries
	T
	T
	T
	Goals
	G
	G
	Drop Goals
	DG
Referee		unknown

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

[6]

The road to success

	First Round					Second Round					Semi Finals					Final
	Halifax		13
	Leeds		0
						Halifax		31
						Hull		2
	Hull
	bye
											Halifax		9
											Batley		0
	Wakefield Trinity		0
	Huddersfield		17
						Huddersfield		8
						Batley		13
	Hull Kingston Rovers		13
	Batley		19
																Halifax		9
																Hunslet		5
	York)		8
	Bradford Northern		2
						York)		0
						Hunslet		14
	Keighley		6
	Hunslet		14
											Hunslet		10
											Dewsbury		2
	Dewsbury
	bye
						Dewsbury		32
						Bramley		2
	Bramley
	bye

Notes and comments

1 * Belle Vue is the home ground of Wakefield Trinity with a capacity of approximately 12,500. The record attendance was 37,906 on the 21 March 1936 in the Challenge Cup semi-final between Leeds and Huddersfield

General information for those unfamiliar

The Rugby League 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 Rugby League season always (until the onset of "Summer Rugby" in 1996) ran from around August-time through to around May-time and this 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)

See also

• 1908–09 Northern Rugby Football Union season
• Rugby league county cups

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 1896/1897".
4. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-1992. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
5. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
6. Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 14 – 1908–09". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a

External links

• Saints Heritage Society
• 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.com
• Hull&Proud Fixtures & Results 1896/1897
• Widnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In Review - 1896-97
• The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org