1896-97 Northern Rugby Football Union season
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The 1896-97 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the second ever season of rugby league football. Following the success of the Northern Union's first season, several more clubs from the Rugby Football Union joined the rebel competition. This resulted in the decision that for the 1896-97 season the competition should be split into two separate county championships: Lancashire and Yorkshire. This season also saw the introduction of the Challenge Cup.
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[edit] Season summary
Eight new teams joined the twenty-two teams already in the Northern Union, and so it was split into two county leagues. The new teams were Bramley, Castleford, Heckmondwike, Holbeck, Leeds Parish Church, Morecambe, Swinton, and Salford. Mr J.E. Warren of Warrington was elected as the new President of the Northern Union. As Warrington's secretary he had been largely responsible for the Warrington Club's involvement in the foundation of the Northern Union.
[edit] Yorkshire competition
| Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | D | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighouse Rovers | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 213 | 68 | 145 | 48 |
| 2 | Manningham | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 291 | 129 | 162 | 46 |
| 3 | Halifax | 30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 219 | 112 | 107 | 40 |
| 4 | Hunslet | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 211 | 138 | 73 | 36 |
| 5 | Hull | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 152 | 125 | 27 | 36 |
| 6 | Batley | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 164 | 126 | 38 | 35 |
| 7 | Bradford | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 170 | 157 | 13 | 33 |
| 8 | Wakefield Trinity | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 172 | 154 | 18 | 30 |
| 9 | Castleford | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 178 | 161 | 17 | 28 |
| 10 | Huddersfield | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 142 | 179 | (37) | 27 |
| 11 | Liversedge | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 176 | 233 | (57) | 26 |
| 12 | Leeds | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 115 | 123 | (8) | 24 |
| 13 | Leeds Parish Church | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 129 | 162 | (33) | 22 |
| 14 | Bramley | 30 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 101 | 193 | (92) | 21 |
| 15 | Holbeck | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 86 | 223 | (137) | 18 |
| 16 | Heckmondwike | 30 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 72 | 308 | (236) | 10 |
[edit] Lancashire competition
After finishing second from the bottom of the competition in the previous season, Broughton made a remarkable turnaround to finish the 1896-97 competition at the top of the Lancashire division, just one competition point ahead of Oldham, who had won more matches and had a better points differential.
| Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | D | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broughton Rangers | 26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 201 | 52 | 149 | 43 |
| 2 | Oldham | 26 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 243 | 59 | 184 | 42 |
| 3 | Tyldesley | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 159 | 80 | 79 | 32 |
| 4 | Runcorn | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 134 | 62 | 72 | 31 |
| 5 | Stockport | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 157 | 137 | 20 | 30 |
| 6 | Swinton | 26 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 125 | 82 | 43 | 29 |
| 7 | Warrington | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 100 | 124 | (24) | 27 |
| 8 | Leigh | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 105 | 147 | (42) | 26 |
| 9 | St Helens | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 122 | 160 | (38) | 24 |
| 10 | Widnes | 26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 113 | 164 | (51) | 23 |
| 11 | Wigan | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 73 | 118 | (45) | 23 |
| 12 | Rochdale Hornets | 26 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 121 | 167 | (46) | 17 |
| 13 | Salford | 26 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 76 | 191 | (115) | 11 |
| 14 | Morecambe | 26 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 52 | 238 | (186) | 6 |
[edit] Challenge Cup
The inaugural Northern Union Cup (later re-named the Rugby League Challenge Cup) tournament commenced the week after the final round of the Yorkshire championship.
[edit] Final
| Batley | Position | St. Helens |
|---|---|---|
| A. Garner | 1. | T. Foulkes |
| W.P. Davies | 2. | R. Doherty |
| D. Fitzgerald | 3. | David Traynor |
| John B. Goodall (c) | 4. | J. Barnes |
| I. Shaw | 5. | W. Jaques |
| J. Oakland | 6. | R. O'Hara |
| H. Goodall | 7. | F. Little |
| M. Shackleton | 8. | T. Winstanley |
| J. Gath | 9. | W. Briers |
| G. Maine | 10. | W. Winstanley |
| R. Spurr | 11. | T. Reynolds |
| F. Fisher | 12. | I. Thompson |
| C. Stubley | 13. | T. Dale |
| J. Littlewood | 14. | S. Rimmer |
| J.T. Munns | 15. | W. Whiteley |
The first ever Challenge Cup final was to be contested by Yorkshire club Batley and Lancashire club St. Helens on 24 April, 1897 at Headingley, Leeds, in front of 13,492 people. Batley claimed the new trophy for the first time, winning 10 - 3.
[edit] Sources
- 1896-97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.com
- The First Challenge Cup final at rlhalloffame.org.uk
- Manningham's second season at bantamspast.co.uk
- Rugby League History at rlheritage.co.uk
- The History Of Rugby League at napit.co.uk
- The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org
| Rugby Football League seasons | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1890-91 · 1891-92 · 1892-93 · 1893-94 · 1894-95 · 1895-96 · 1896-97 · 1897-98 · 1898-99 · 1899-00 |
