1973–74 League Cup (rugby league)

This was the third season of rugby league's League Cup competition, which for sponsorship reasons was known as the Players No.6 Trophy.

1973–74 League Cup
Structure	National knockout championship
Teams	32
Winners	Warrington
Runners-up	Rochdale Hornets

Warrington won the final, beating Rochdale Hornets by the score of 27-16 in the match played at Central Park, Wigan. The attendance was 9,347 and receipts were £4380.

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at thirty-two.

Competition and Results

[1][2][3][4]

Round 1 - First Round

[5] Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 15 Sep 1973	Bramley		20-12		Hull F.C.	McLaren Field	750			[6]
2	Sat 15 Sep 1973	Keighley		30-10		Huyton	Lawkholme Lane	595		1
3	Sat 15 Sep 1973	St. Helens		34-16		Featherstone Rovers	Knowsley Road	3000		2	[7]
4	Sat 15 Sep 1973	Whitehaven		26-3		Dewsbury Celtic	Recreation Ground	1276		3, 4
5	Sat 15 Sep 1973	Wigan		34-0		Batley	Central Park	4149			[4]
6	Sun 16 Sep 1973	Bradford Northern		12-34		Leeds	Odsal	9028
7	Sun 16 Sep 1973	Castleford		88-5		Millom	Wheldon Road	1031		5, 6
8	Sun 16 Sep 1973	Dewsbury		33-24		Widnes	Crown Flatt	2508		7	[8]
9	Sun 16 Sep 1973	Halifax		20-5		Barrow	Thrum Hall	1281		8
10	Sun 16 Sep 1973	New Hunslet		11-26		Leigh	Elland Road Greyhound Stadium	2000
11	Sun 16 Sep 1973	Rochdale Hornets		18-2		Huddersfield	Athletic Grounds	1952			[9]
12	Sun 16 Sep 1973	Salford		47-17		Doncaster	The Willows	4122
13	Sun 16 Sep 1973	Wakefield Trinity		47-13		Blackpool Borough	Belle Vue	2462			[10]
14	Sun 16 Sep 1973	Warrington		31-14		Oldham	Wilderspool	5238			[11]
15	Sun 16 Sep 1973	Workington Town		20-9		Hull Kingston Rovers	Derwent Park	1503
16	Sun 16 Sep 1973	York		32-13		Swinton	Clarence Street	2509

Round 2 - Second Round

[12] Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
NOTE - Matches in this round kicked off earlier to make maximum use of the daylight
Use of Floodlights in sporting events was banned by government order from 15 November 1973 due to mining strikes

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 15 Dec 1973	Bramley		24-12		Leigh	McLaren Field	750		9
2	Sat 15 Dec 1973	Warrington		18-9		Castleford	Wilderspool	2208		9	[11]
3	Sun 16 Dec 1973	Halifax		7-16		Dewsbury	Thrum Hall	2050		9
4	Sun 16 Dec 1973	Rochdale Hornets		11-0		York	Athletic Grounds	2274		9
5	Sun 16 Dec 1973	St. Helens		28-2		Whitehaven	Knowsley Road	2310		9, 10	[7]
6	Sun 16 Dec 1973	Salford		4-17		Leeds	The Willows	821		9
7	Sun 16 Dec 1973	Wakefield Trinity		10-7		Workington Town	Belle Vue	1835		9	[10]
8	Sun 16 Dec 1973	Wigan		10-14		Keighley	Central Park	2509		9, 11	[4]

Round 3 -Quarter Finals

[12] Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 29 Dec 1973	Wakefield Trinity		18-18		St. Helens	Belle Vue	2890		12	[7][10]
2	Sun 30 Dec 1973	Keighley		8-11		Bramley	Lawkholme Lane	2887		13
3	Sun 30 Dec 1973	Rochdale Hornets		7-5		Leeds	Athletic Grounds	5389		13
4	Sun 30 Dec 1973	Warrington		20-12		Dewsbury	Wilderspool	6090		13	[11]

Round 3 -Quarter Finals - Replays

Involved 1 match with 2 clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sun 6 Jan 1974	St. Helens		16-10		Wakefield Trinity	Knowsley Road	7287			[7][10]

Round 4 – Semi-Finals

[12] Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sun 6 Jan 1974	Rochdale Hornets		14-2		Bramley	Athletic Grounds	2835		14
2	Sat 12 Jan 1974	Warrington		20-9		St. Helens	Wilderspool	5352			[7][11]

Final

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
	Saturday 9 February 1974	Warrington		27-16		Rochdale Hornets	Central Park	9347	4380	15, 16	[11][13][14]

Teams and Scorers John Player yearbook 1974–75

[13][14]

Warrington	№	Rochdale Hornets
	teams
Derek Whitehead	1	James "Jim"/"Jimmy" Crellin
Michael "Mick"/"Mike" Philbin	2	Norman Brelsford
Derek Noonan	3	Tom Brophy
Frank Reynolds	4	David Taylor
John Bevan	5	Willie Aspinall
Alan Whittle	6	John Butler
Parry Gordon	7	Stephen/Steven "Steve" Gartland
David "Dave" Chisnall	8	William "Bill" Holliday
Kevin Ashcroft (c)	9	R. Harris
Brian Brady	10	S. Whitehead
David "Dave" Wright	11	Terry Fogerty
Robert "Bobby" Wanbon	12	William "Bill"/"Billy" Sheffield
Barry Philbin	13	Tony Halmshaw
William "Bill"/"Billy" Pickup (for Derek Noonan or Frank Reynolds)	14	Harry Wood (for John Butler or Terry Foggerty)
Mike Nicholas (for Dave Chisnall 19-mins)	15	? Not used
	Coach
27	score	16
12	HT	0
	Scorers
	Tries
Derek Whitehead (1)	T	Norman Brelsford (2)
Derek Noonan (2)	T	Tom Brophy (1)
John Bevan (1)	T	David Taylor (1)
Mike Nicholas (1)	T
	Goals
Derek Whitehead (6)	G	William "Bill" Holliday (2)
Referee		D. Gerald "Gerry" Kershaw (York)
Man of the match		Kevin Ashcroft - Warrington - Hooker
Competition Sponsor		Player's №6

Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = one (1) point

Timeline in the final

Time	Incident	Score
?	Penalty Goal: Derek Whitehead	2-0
27 min	Try: Mike Nicholas	5-0
	Conversion: Derek Whitehead	7-0
39 min	Try: Derek Noonan	10-0
	Conversion: Derek Whitehead	12-0
Half Time		12-0
	Penalty Goal: Colin Whitfield	12-0
43 min	Try: Norman Brelsford	15-3
?	Try: Derek Noonan	15-3
	Conversion: Derek Whitehead	17-3
?	Try: David Taylor	17-6
	Conversion: Bill Holliday	17-8
approx 50 min	Try: John Bevan	20-8
	Conversion: Derek Whitehead	22-8
approx 60 min	Try: Derek Whitehead	25-8
	Conversion: Derek Whitehead	27-8
?	Try: Norman Brelsford	27-11
	Conversion: Bill Holliday	27-13
79 min	Try: Tom Brophy	27-16
Full Time		27-16

Prize Money

As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season is as follows :-

Finish Position	Cash Prize	No. receiving prize	Total Cash
Winner	5000	1	£5000
Runner-up	2500	1	£2500
semi-finalist	1000	2	£2000
loser in Rd 3	?	4	?
loser in Rd 2	?	8	?
Loser in Rd 1	?	16	?
Loser in Prelim Round	?	?	?
Grand Total

Note - the author is unable to trace the rest of the award amounts. Can anyone help ?

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

	First Round					Second Round					Third Round					Semi Finals					Final
	Warrington		31
	Oldham		14
						Warrington		18
						Castleford		9
	Castleford		88
	Millom		5
											Warrington		20
											Dewsbury		12
	Halifax		20
	Barrow		5
						Halifax		7
						Dewsbury		16
	Dewsbury		33
	Widnes		24
																Warrington		20
																St. Helens		9
	Wakefield Trinity		47
	Blackpool Borough		13
						Wakefield Trinity		10
						Workington Town		7
	Workington Town		20
	Hull Kingston Rovers		9
											Wakefield Trinity		18 (16)
											St. Helens		18 (27)
	St. Helens		34
	Featherstone Rovers		13
						St. Helens		28
						Whitehaven		2
	Whitehaven		26
	Dewsbury Celtic		3
																					Warrington		27
																					Rochdale Hornets		16
	Rochdale Hornets		18
	Huddersfield		2
						Rochdale Hornets		11
						York		0
	York		32
	Swinton		13
											Rochdale Hornets		7
											Leeds		5
	Salford		47
	Doncaster		17
						Salford		4
						Leeds		17
	Bradford Northern		12
	Leeds		34
																Rochdale Hornets		14
																Bramley		2
	Wigan		37
	Batley		0
						Wigan		10
						Keighley		14
	Keighley		30
	Huyton		10
											Keighley		8
											Bramley		11
	Bramley		20
	Hull F.C.		12
						Bramley		24
						Leigh		12
	New Hunslet		11
	Leigh		26

Notes and comments

1 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] states that the match was played at Bradford, whereas it was played at Lawkholme Lane, Keighley
2 * St Helens official archives[7] give the attendance as 2,500 whereas RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives it as 3,000
3 * Dewsbury Celtic are a Junior (amateur) club from Dewsbury, home ground is Crow Nest Park
4 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75[3] and the News of the World Football Annual 1974–75[2] give the attendance as 1,250 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] give it as 1,276
5 * Millom are a Junior (amateur) club from Cumbria, current home ground is the Coronation Field ground
6 * The highest score, to date in the competition against a Junior club
7 * Widnes official archives[8] give the result as a Wiidnes win
8 * Wigan official archives[4] show a score of 30-3 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] give it as 20-5
9 * Matches kicked off Earlier to accommodate daylight. Use of Floodlights was banned by government order from 15 November 1973 due to mining strikes.
10 * Wigan official archives[4] give score as 28-3 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] give it as 28-2
11 * Wigan's hooker (Colin Clarke) and two Keighley players (Wilmot and Burke) were sent off during this second half of this match.
12 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75[3] give the date as 9-12-1974 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] give the date as 29-12-1974
13 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75[3] give the date as 9-12-1974 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] give the date as 30-12-1974
14 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75,[3] the News of the World Football Annual 1974–75[2] and Wigan official archives[4] give the date as Saturday 5-1-1974 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] give the date as Sunday 6-1-1974
15 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75[3] gives the attendance as 10,047 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] give the attendance as 9,347
16 * Central Park was the home ground of Wigan with a final capacity of 18,000, although the record attendance was 47,747 for Wigan v St Helens 27 March 1959

General information for those unfamiliar

The council of the Rugby Football League voted to introduce a new competition, to be similar to The Football Association and Scottish Football Association's "League Cup". It was to be a similar knock-out structure to, and to be secondary to, the Challenge Cup. As this was being formulated, sports sponsorship was becoming more prevalent and as a result John Player and Sons, a division of Imperial Tobacco Company, became sponsors, and the competition never became widely known as the "League Cup"
The competition ran from 1971–72 until 1995-96 and was initially intended for the professional clubs plus the two amateur BARLA National Cup finalists. In later seasons the entries were expanded to take in other amateur and French teams. The competition was dropped due to "fixture congestion" when Rugby League became a summer sport 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 usually taking place in late January
The competition was variably known, by its sponsorship name, as the Player's No.6 Trophy (1971–1977), the John Player Trophy (1977–1983), the John Player Special Trophy (1983–1989), and the Regal Trophy in 1989.

See also

• 1973–74 Northern Rugby Football League season
• 1973 Lancashire Cup
• 1973 Yorkshire Cup
• Player's No.6 Trophy
• Rugby league county cups

References

1. "Rugby League Project".
2. Frank Butler and Patrick Collins (1974). News of the World Football Annual 1974–75 - 88th year. News of the World Ltd.
3. Jack Winstanley & Malcolm Ryding (1991). John Player Yearbook 1974–75. Queen Anne Press.
4. "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
5. "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
6. "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
7. "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
8. "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
9. "Huddersfield Rugby League Heritage" (PDF).
10. "Wakefield until I die".
11. "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
12. "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
13. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
14. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-1992. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.

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
• Huddersfield R L Heritage
• Wakefield until I die