1984–85 League Cup (rugby league)

This was the fourteenth season for the League Cup, which was again known as the John Player Special Trophy for sponsorship purposes.

1984–85 League Cup
Structure	National knockout championship
Teams	38
Winners	Hull Kingston Rovers
Runners-up	Hull

Hull Kingston Rovers claimed the trophy by beating their local rivals Hull F.C. by the score of 12–0 in the final. The match was played at Boothferry Park, Kingston upon Hull and the attendance was 25,326. Gate receipts were £69555.

Background

This season saw several changes in the entrants:

1. Cardiff City Blue Dragons were renamed Bridgend Blue Dragons and Kent Invicta were renamed Southend Invicta
2. Mansfield Marksman and Sheffield Eagles joined the league and also the competition
3. Huyton changed their name to Runcorn Highfield and moved from Alt Park, Huyton to Canal Street, Runcorn
4. and the re-introduction of the invitation to two junior clubs.

This involved an increase in entrants to thirty-eight, in turn resulting in a six-match, 12-club preliminary round to reduce the number of clubs taking part in the first round proper to thirty-two.

Competition and results

[1][2]

Preliminary round

Involved six matches and 12 clubs

Game No.	Fixture date	Home team		Score		Away team	Venue	Attend	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Fri 2 Nov 1984	Myson (Hull)		2-8		Dewsbury	Boulevard			1
2	Sun 4 Nov 1984	Bramley		20-6		Southend Invicta	McLaren Field	572
3	Sun 4 Nov 1984	Keighley		24-10		Bradford Dudley Hill	Lawkholme Lane	1570		2, 3
4	Sun 4 Nov 1984	Sheffield Eagles		17-6		Wakefield Trinity	Owlerton Stadium	1279		4	[3]
5	Wed 7 Nov 1984	Carlisle		8-26		Bradford Northern	Brunton Park	1215		5
6	Wed 7 Nov 1984	Hunslet		2-6		Workington Town	Elland Road	719		5

[4]

Round 1 – First round

[4] Involved 16 matches and 32 clubs

Game No	Fixture date	Home team		Score		Away team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 17 Nov 1984	Hull Kingston Rovers		32-5		Leigh	Craven Park (1)	4541		6
2	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Bradford Northern		22-1		Swinton	Odsal	3712
3	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Bramley		12-10		Blackpool Borough	McLaren Field	653
4	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Bridgend Blue Dragons		4-42		Castleford	Coychurch Road, Bridgend	1803		7
5	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Dewsbury		14-8		Salford	Crown Flatt	1176
6	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Featherstone Rovers		17-12		Barrow	Post Office Road	1651
7	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Fulham		14-36		Hull F.C.	Polytechnic of Central London	2324		8	[5]
8	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Leeds		50-2		Sheffield Eagles	Headingley	4881
9	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Rochdale Hornets		10-8		Mansfield Marksman	Athletic Grounds	620
10	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Runcorn Highfield		18-5		Batley	Alt Park, Huyton	760
11	Sun 18 Nov 1984	St. Helens		60-8		Keighley	Knowsley Road	5145			[6]
12	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Warrington		5-17		Halifax	Wilderspool	4171			[7]
13	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Whitehaven		64-0		Doncaster	Recreation Ground	1717		9
14	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Wigan		50-6		Huddersfield Barracudas	Central Park	7375			[2][8]
15	Sun 18 Nov 1984	Workington Town		12-22		Widnes	Derwent Park	1010			[9]
16	Sun 18 Nov 1984	York		6-22		Oldham	Clarence Street	2504

Round 2 – Second round

[10] Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs

Game No	Fixture date	Home team		Score		Away team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 1 Dec 1984	Leeds		10-4		Wigan	Headingley	9261			[2]
2	Sun 2 Dec 1984	Bradford Northern		12-12		St. Helens	Odsal	9419			[6]
3	Sun 2 Dec 1984	Bramley		33-5		Whitehaven	McLaren Field	1358
4	Sun 2 Dec 1984	Dewsbury		31-16		Runcorn Highfield	Crown Flatt	1242
5	Sun 2 Dec 1984	Halifax		20-18		Castleford	Thrum Hall	4784
6	Sun 2 Dec 1984	Hull F.C.		26-14		Oldham	Boulevard	11500		10	[5]
7	Sun 2 Dec 1984	Hull Kingston Rovers		34-12		Rochdale Hornets	Craven Park (1)	4835
8	Sun 2 Dec 1984	Widnes		28-10		Featherstone Rovers	Naughton Park	3850			[9]

Round 2 – Second round replays

Involved one match and two clubs

Game No	Fixture date	Home team		Score		Away team	Venue	Attend	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Wed 5 Dec 1984	St. Helens		24–10		Bradford Northern	Knowsley Road	10156			[6]

Round 3 – Quarter finals

[10] Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Game No	Fixture date	Home team		Score		Away team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 22 Dec 1984	St. Helens		8–14		Halifax	Knowsley Road	5768			[6]
2	Sun 23 Dec 1984	Dewsbury		8–22		Hull F.C.	Crown Flatt	7197			[5]
3	Sun 23 Dec 1984	Hull Kingston Rovers		14–6		Widnes	Craven Park (1)	7710			[9]
4	Sun 23 Dec 1984	Leeds		28–14		Bramley	Headingley	6404

Round 4 – Semi-finals

[10] Involved two matches and four clubs

Game No	Fixture date	Home team		Score		Away team	Venue	Attend	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 29 Dec 1984	Hull Kingston Rovers		14–8		Halifax	Headingley	6390
2	Sat 5 Jan 1985	Hull F.C.		18–6		Leeds	Boothferry Park	13362		11, 14	[5]

Final

Game No	Fixture date	Home team		Score		Away team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
	Saturday 26 January 1985	Hull Kingston Rovers		12–0		Hull	Boothferry Park	25326	69555	12, 13, 14	[5][10][11][12]

Teams and scorers

[11][12][13]

Hull Kingston Rovers	№	Hull
	teams
George Fairbairn	1	Gary Kemble
Garry Clark	2	Steve Evans
Ian Robinson	3	Fred Ah Kuoi
Gary Prohm	4	James Leuluai
David Laws	5	Dane O'Hara
Mike Smith	6	David Topliss (c)
Paul Harkin	7	Peter Sterling
Mark Broadhurst	8	Phil Edmonds
David Watkinson	9	Shaun Patrick
Asuquo "Zook" Ema	10	Paul Rose
Christopher Burton	11	Lee Crooks
Phil Hogan	12	Wayne Proctor
Gavin Miller	13	Gary Divorty
? Not used	14	Garry Schofield (for Gary Kemble)
? Not used	15	Andy Dannatt (for Phil Edmonds)
	Coach
12	score	0
?	HT	?
	Scorers
	Tries
Garry Clark (1)	T
Gary Prohm (1)	T
Phil Hogan (1)	T
Referee		Stanley Wall (Leigh)
Man of the match		Paul Harkin - Hull KR - scrum-half
Competition sponsor		John Player Special

Scoring - Try = four (4) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = one (1) point

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	?	1	?
Runner-up	?	1	?
semi-finalist	?	2	?
loser in Rd 3	?	4	?
loser in Rd 2	?	8	?
Loser in Rd 1	?	16	?
Loser in prelim round	?	?	?
Grand total

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

	First Round					Second Round					Third Round					Semi Finals					Final
	Hull Kingston Rovers		32
	Leigh		5
						Hull Kingston Rovers		35
						Rochdale Hornets		12
	Rochdale Hornets		10
	Mansfield Marksman		8
											Hull Kingston Rovers		14
											Widnes		6
	Workington Town		12
	Widnes		22
						Widnes		28
						Featherstone Rovers		10
	Featherstone Rovers		17
	Barrow		12
																Hull Kingston Rovers		14
																Halifax		8
	Bradford Northern		22
	Swinton		1
						Bradford Northern		12 (10)
						St. Helens		12 (24)
	St. Helens		60
	Keighley		8
											St. Helens		8
											Halifax		14
	Warrington		5
	Halifax		17
						Halifax		20
						Castleford		18
	Bridgend Blue Dragons		4
	Castleford		42
																					Hull Kingston Rovers		12
																					Hull		0
	Dewsbury		14
	Salford		8
						Dewsbury		31
						Runcorn Highfield		16
	Runcorn Highfield		18
	Batley		5
											Dewsbury		8
											Hull		22
	Fulham		14
	Hull		36
						Hull		26
						Oldham		14
	York		6
	Oldham		22
																Hull		18
																Leeds		6
	Leeds		50
	Sheffield Eagles		2
						Leeds		10
						Wigan		4
	Wigan		50
	Huddersfield Barracudas		6
											Leeds		28
											Bramley		14
	Bramley		12
	Blackpool Borough		10
						Bramley		33
						Whitehaven		5
	Whitehaven		64
	Doncaster		0

Notes and comments

1. * Myson are a Junior (amateur) club from Hull.
2. * Bradford Dudley Hill are a Junior (amateur) club from Bradford.
3. * Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991[11] and 1991-92,[12] and RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives score as 24-10 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 24-8

4 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] and Wakefield till I die[3] give the score as 17-6 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 17-8
5 * This fixture not shown on Wigan official archives[4]
6 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] give score as 32-5 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 32-6
7 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] give score as 4-42 but Wigan official archives [2] gives it as 4-34
8 * venue possibly Crystal Palace NSC or Chiswick Poly Sports Ground
9 * The highest winning margin to date between professional clubs
10 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] and Hull official archives[5] give score as 26-14 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 23-14
11 * Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991[11] and 1991-92,[12] RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] and Wigan official archives[2] give the venue as Boothferry Park but Hull official archives[5] gives it as The Boulevard Boothferry Park was the home of Hull City A.F.C.
12 * The attendance at this final was a new record, which would never be beaten in the competition
13 * Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991[11] and 1991-92,[12] RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] and Wigan official archives[2] give the venue as Boothferry Park but Hull official archives[5] gives it as The Boulevard Boothferry Park was the home of Hull City A.F.C.
14 * Boothferry Park was the home ground of Hull City from 31 August 1946 until December 2002. The final capacity was 15,160 although the record attendance was 55,019 set on 26 February 1949 in an FA Cup quarter-final when Hull City played host to Manchester United

General information

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

• 1984–85 Rugby Football League season
• 1984 Lancashire Cup
• 1984 Yorkshire Cup
• John Player Special Trophy
• Rugby league county cups

References

1. "Rugby League Project".
2. "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
3. "Wakefield until I die".
4. "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 1 archived results".
5. "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
6. "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
7. "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
8. "Huddersfield Rugby League Heritage" (PDF).
9. "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
10. "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 2 onwards archived results".
11. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
12. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-100. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
13. "Hull RLFC official stats".

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