1952 Lancashire Cup

The 1952 Rugby League Lancashire Cup competition

1952-53 Lancashire Cup
Structure Regional knockout championship
Number of teams 14
Winners Leigh
Runners-up St Helens
< 1951 Seasons 1953 >

1952 was the fortieth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held.
Leigh won the trophy by beating St Helens by the score of 22-5
The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury, Salford, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 34,785 and receipts were £5,793

Background

Overall, the number of teams entering this year’s competition remained the same as last year’s total of 14
The same pre-war fixture format was retained. This season saw no bye but one “blank” or “dummy” fixture in the first round. There was also one bye but no “blank” fixture” in the secons round.
As last season, all the first round matches of the competition will be played on the basis of two legged, home and away, ties – and the remainder of the rounds remaining on straight forward knock-out basis.

Competition and Results[1]

Round 1 - First Leg

Involved 7 matches (with no bye and one “blank” fixture) and 14 Clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1Sat 30 Aug 1952Barrow21-24St HelensCraven Park12000[2]
2 Sat 30 Aug 1952Oldham25-6SwintonWatersheddings
3 Sat 30 Aug 1952Liverpool City14-58Workington TownMill Yard, Knotty Ash
4 Sat 30 Aug 1952Rochdale Hornets21-16Belle Vue RangersAthletic Grounds
5 Sat 30 Aug 1952Salford17-19WarringtonThe Willows[3]
6 Sat 30 Aug 1952Whitehaven4-15LeighRecreation Ground
7 Sat 30 Aug 1952Widnes15-24WiganNaughton Park[4][5]
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Round 1 – Second Leg

Involved 7 matches (with no bye and one “blank” fixture) and 14 Clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1 Wed 03 Sep 1952St Helens23-5BarrowKnowsley Road47-2619000[2]
2 Wed 03 Sep 1952Swinton18-19OldhamStation Road24-44
3 Mon 01 Sep 1952Workington Town29-18Liverpool CityBorough Park87-32
4 Mon 01 Sep 1952Belle Vue Rangers7-17Rochdale HornetsBelle Vue Stadium23-38
5 Wed 03 Sep 1952Warrington30-8SalfordWilderspool49-25[3]
6Wed 03 Sep 1952Leigh43-2WhitehavenKirkhall Lane58-6
7 Wed 03 Sep 1952Wigan38-5WidnesCentral Park62-20[4][5]
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Round 2 - Quarter Finals

Involved 3 matches (with one bye) and 7 Clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1 Mon 22 Sep 1952Leigh19-8WiganKirkhall Lane[4]
2 Tue 23 Sep 1952St Helens31-7Rochdale HornetsKnowsley Road16,957[2]
3 Wed 24 Sep 1952Workington Town13-10OldhamBorough Park
4Warringtonbye[3]

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1 Mon 13 Oct 1952Workington Town9-13LeighBorough Park
2 Tue 14 Oct 1952Warrington10-17St HelensWilderspool28800[2][3]

Final

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
Saturday 29 November 1952Leigh22-5St HelensStation Road34785£5793-0-01 2 [2][6]

Teams and Scorers[2]

Leigh № St Helens
teams
1James "Jimmy" Lowe
2Steve Llewellyn
3Doug Greenall
4Don Gullick
5Stan McCormick
6James "Jimmy" Honey
7George Langfield
8Alan Prescott
9Reg Blakemore
10Bill Whittaker
11George Parsons
12William "Billy" Bretherton
13Ray Cale
22score5
15HT2
Scorers
Tries
TDon Gullick (1)
T
T
T
Goals
GGeorge Langfield (1)
G
Drop Goals
DG
Referee

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

The road to success

All the first round ties were played on a two leg (home and away) basis.
The first club named in each of the first round ties played the first leg at home.
The scores shown in the first round are the aggregate score over the two legs.

First Round Second Round Semi Finals Final
            
Liverpool City 32
Workington Town 87
Workington Town 13
Oldham 10
Oldham 44
Swinton 24
Workington Town 9
Leigh 13
Whitehaven 6
Leigh 58
Leigh 19
Wigan 8
Widnes 20
Wigan 62
Leigh 22
St Helens 5
Salford 25
Warrington 45
Warrington
bye
blank
blank
Warrington 10
St Helens 17
Barrow 26
St Helens 47
St Helens 31
Rochdale Hornets 7
Rochdale Hornets 38
Belle Vue Rangers 23

Notes and comments

1 * Attendance given in official St Helens archives as 34,541 - data given in Rothmans Rugby Lague Yearbook 1991[6] as 34,785
2 * Station Road was the home ground of Swinton from 1929 to 1932 and at its peak was one of the finest rugby league grounds in the country and it boasted a capacity of 60,000. The actual record attendance was for the Challenge Cup semi-final on 7 April 1951 when 44,621 watched Wigan beat Warrington 3-2

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rugby League Project".
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 [-http://www.warringtonwolves.org/results-archive?y=1897 "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897"].
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-100. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.

External links