Rugby Football League Championship

RFL Championship
Current season or competition:: *Super League XXII*
Sport	Rugby league
Inaugural season	1895–96
Countries	England (11 teams) France (1 team)
Champions	Wigan Warriors (21st title) (2016)
Most titles	Wigan Warriors (21 titles)
Relegation to	RFL Second Division

The Rugby Football League Championship was the top division of rugby league in the UK between 1895 and 1996 and was often referred to as the First Division or Division 1. In 1996 it was replaced by the Super League although winning the Super League is still regarded as winning the Championship.

History

1895–1904: Foundations

The first season of rugby league (1895–96) saw all the breakaway clubs play in a single league competition. The addition of new teams and the problems of travelling led to the league being split in two for the following season; into the Yorkshire League and the Lancashire League. This arrangement lasted until the 1901–02 season, when the top clubs from each league resigned and formed a single new competition. The following season the remaining clubs in the Yorkshire and Lancashire Leagues were re-organised to form a second division.

1905–1970: Restructure

In 1905–06 the two divisions were re-combined into a single competition. Clubs played all the teams in their own county on a home-and-away basis, results counting towards the re-formed Yorkshire and Lancashire Leagues. They also organised inter-county fixtures on an individual basis; all results were collated into a single table for the Championship. In order to even up the competition a top-four play-off series was used to determine the Championship.

Apart from the interventions of the two world wars, this system was retained until the 1962–63 season, when the league briefly returned to a two divisional system. This lasted only two years, and in the 1964–65 season they returned to one large division subdivided into county leagues. The play-offs were expanded to the top 16 teams and the Harry Sunderland Trophy was introduced as the man-of-the-match award for the decider.

1970–1995: Premiership and reintroducing Second Division

In the 1973–74 season they once again went back to two divisions. The play-off and the Yorkshire and Lancashire League were abandoned, and a new play-off type competition, the Premiership, was introduced however the team finishing top of the Championship were crowned champions. During this period in the late 80's and early 90s Wigan dominated both the Championship and Challenge Cup.

1996–present: Super League

In 1996 the championship was replaced by the Super League. The remaining clubs later went on to form the Rugby League Championships.

Champions

Season
Season	Champions	Score	Runners-up
1895–96	Manningham	N/A	Halifax
1896–97	County Leagues
1897–98	County Leagues
1898–99	County Leagues
1899–00	County Leagues
1900–01	County Leagues
1901–02	Broughton Rangers	N/A	Salford
1902–03	Halifax		Salford
1903–04	Bradford F.C.		Salford
1904–05	Oldham		Bradford F.C.
1905–06	Leigh		Hunslet
1906–07	Halifax	18–3	Oldham
1907–08	Hunslet	12–7	Oldham
1908–09	Wigan	7–3	Oldham
1909–10	Oldham	13–7	Wigan
1910–11	Oldham	20–7	Wigan
1911–12	Huddersfield	13–5	Wigan
1912–13	Huddersfield	29–2	Wigan
1913–14	Salford	5–3	Huddersfield
1914–15	Huddersfield	35–2	Leeds
1918–19	County Leagues
1919–20	Hull	3–2	Huddersfield
1920–21	Hull	16–14	Hull Kingston Rovers
1921–22	Wigan	13–2	Oldham
1922–23	Hull Kingston Rovers	15–5	Huddersfield
1923–24	Batley	13–7	Wigan
1924–25	Hull Kingston Rovers	9–5	Swinton
1925–26	Wigan	22–10	Warrington
1926–27	Swinton	13–8	St Helens Recs
1927–28	Swinton	11–0	Featherstone Rovers
1928–29	Huddersfield	2–0	Leeds
1929–30	Huddersfield	10–2	Leeds
1930–31	Swinton	14–7	Leeds
1931–32	St. Helens	9–5	Huddersfield
1932–33	Salford	15–5	Swinton
1933–34	Wigan	15–3	Salford
1934–35	Swinton	14–3	Warrington
1935–36	Hull	21–2	Widnes
1936–37	Salford	13–11	Warrington
1937–38	Hunslet	8–2	Leeds
1938–39	Salford	8–6	Castleford
1939–40	County Leagues
1940–41	County Leagues
1941–42	Wartime Emergency League
1942–43	Wartime Emergency League
1943–44	Wartime Emergency League
1944–45	Wartime Emergency League
1945–46	Wigan	N/A	Huddersfield
1946–47	Wigan	N/A	Dewsbury
1947–48	Warrington	15–5	Bradford Northern
1948–49	Huddersfield	13–12	Warrington
1949–50	Wigan	20–2	Huddersfield
1950–51	Workington Town	26–11	Warrington
1951–52	Wigan	13–6	Bradford Northern
1952–53	St. Helens	24–14	Halifax
1953–54	Warrington	8–7	Halifax
1954–55	Warrington	7–3	Oldham
1955–56	Hull	10–9	Halifax
1956–57	Oldham	15–14	Hull
1957–58	Hull	20–3	Workington Town
1958–59	St. Helens	44–22	Hunslet
1959–60	Wigan	27–3	Wakefield Trinity
1960–61	Leeds	25–10	Warrington
1961–62	Huddersfield	14–5	Wakefield Trinity
1962–63	Swinton	N/A	St. Helens
1963–64	Swinton	N/A	Wigan
1964–65	Halifax	15–7	St. Helens
1965–66	St. Helens	35–12	Halifax
1966–67	Wakefield Trinity	21-9	St. Helens
1967–68	Wakefield Trinity	17–10	Hull Kingston Rovers
1968–69	Leeds	16–14	Castleford
1969–70	St. Helens	24–12	Leeds
1970–71	St. Helens	16–12	Wigan
1971–72	Leeds	9–5	St. Helens
1972–73	Dewsbury	22–13	Leeds
1973–74	Salford	N/A	St. Helens
1974–75	St. Helens		Wigan
1975–76	Salford		Featherstone Rovers
1976–77	Featherstone Rovers		St. Helens
1977–78	Widnes		Bradford Northern
1978–79	Hull Kingston Rovers		Warrington
1979–80	Bradford Northern		Widnes
1980–81	Bradford Northern		Warrington
1981–82	Leigh		Hull
1982–83	Hull		Hull Kingston Rovers
1983–84	Hull Kingston Rovers		Hull
1984–85	Hull Kingston Rovers		St. Helens
1985–86	Halifax		Wigan
1986–87	Wigan		St. Helens
1987–88	Widnes		St. Helens
1988–89	Widnes		Wigan
1989–90	Wigan		Widnes
1990–91	Wigan		Widnes
1991–92	Wigan		St. Helens
1992–93	Wigan		St. Helens
1993–94	Wigan		Bradford Northern
1994–95	Wigan		Leeds
1995–96	Wigan		Leeds
1996	St. Helens		Wigan
1997	Bradford		London
1998	Wigan	10–4	Leeds
1999	St. Helens	8–6	Bradford
2000	St. Helens	29–16	Wigan
2001	Bradford	37–6	Wigan
2002	St. Helens	19–18	Bradford
2003	Bradford	25–12	Wigan
2004	Leeds	16–8	Bradford
2005	Bradford	15–6	Leeds
2006	St. Helens	26–4	Hull
2007	Leeds	33–6	St. Helens
2008	Leeds	24–16	St. Helens
2009	Leeds	18–10	St. Helens
2010	Wigan	22–10	St. Helens
2011	Leeds	32–16	St. Helens
2012	Leeds	26–18	Warrington
2013	Wigan	30–16	Warrington
2014	St. Helens	14–6	Wigan
2015	Leeds	22–20	Wigan
2016	Wigan	12–6	Warrington

Winning records by club

	Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons
1	Wigan	21	16	1908/09, 1921/22, 1925/26, 1933/34, 1945/46, 1946/47, 1949/50, 1951/52, 1959/60, 1986/87, 1989/90, 1990/91, 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1998, 2010, 2013, 2016
2	St. Helens	13	16	1931/32, 1952/53, 1958/59, 1965/66, 1969/70, 1970/71, 1974/75, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014
3	Leeds	10	11	1960/61, 1968/69, 1971/72, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015
4	Huddersfield	7	6	1911/12, 1912/13, 1914/15, 1928/29, 1929/30, 1948/49, 1961/62
5	Bradford	6	7	1979/80, 1980/81, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005
6	Salford ^[1]	6	4	1913/14, 1932/33, 1936/37, 1938/39, 1973/74, 1975/76
7	Hull F.C.	6	4	1919/20, 1920/21, 1935/36, 1955/56, 1957/58, 1982/83
8	Swinton	6	2	1926/27, 1927/28, 1930/31, 1934/35, 1962/63, 1963/64
9	Hull Kingston Rovers	5	3	1922/23, 1924/25, 1978/79, 1983/84, 1984/85
10	Oldham	4	5	1904/05, 1909/10, 1910/11, 1956/57
11	Halifax	4	5	1902/03, 1906/07, 1964/65, 1985/86
12	Warrington	3	11	1947/48, 1953/54, 1954/55
13	Widnes	3	4	1977/78, 1987/88, 1988/89
14	Hunslet §	2	2	1907/08, 1937/38
15	Wakefield Trinity	2	2	1966/67, 1967/68
16	Leigh	2	0	1905/06, 1981/82
17	Featherstone Rovers	1	2	1976/77
18	Bradford F.C. §	1	1	1903/04
19	Workington Town	1	1	1950/51
20	Dewsbury	1	1	1972/73
21	Manningham §	1	0	1895/96
22	Broughton Rangers	1	0	1901/02
23	Batley	1	0	1923/24
24	Castleford	0	2
25	St Helens Recs §	0	1
26	London	0	1

§ Denotes club now defunct

Titles won by region

Region	Number of titles	Clubs
Greater Manchester	40	Wigan (21), Salford (6), Swinton (6), Oldham (4), Leigh (2), Broughton (1)
West Yorkshire	36	Leeds (10), Huddersfield (7), Bradford (6), Halifax (4), Hunslet (2), Wakefield Trinity (2), Bradford F.C. (1), Batley (1), Dewsbury (1), Featherstone Rovers (1), Manningham (1)
Merseyside	13	St. Helens (13)
East Yorkshire	11	Hull F.C. (6), Hull Kingston Rovers (5)
Cheshire	6	Warrington (3), Widnes (3)
Cumbria	1	Workington Town (1)

Titles won by city/town

City/ town	Number of titles	Clubs
Batley	1	Batley (1)
Bradford	8	Bradford Bulls (6), Bradford F.C. (1), Manningham (1)
Dewsbury	1	Dewsbury (1)
Featherstone	1	Featherstone Rovers (1)
Halifax	4	Halifax (4)
Huddersfield	7	Huddersfield (7)
Hull	11	Hull F.C. (6), Hull Kingston Rovers (5)
Leeds	12	Leeds (10), Hunslet (2)
Leigh	2	Leigh (2)
Salford	13	Salford (6), Swinton (6), Broughton Rangers (1)
St. Helens	13	St. Helens (13)
Wakefield	2	Wakefield Trinity (2)
Warrington	3	Warrington (3)
Widnes	3	Widnes (3)
Wigan	21	Wigan (21)
Workington	1	Workington Town (1)

References

↑ "Salford Red Devils: Official Club Website". Salford Red Devils. Retrieved 13 June 2012.

Rugby league in Great Britain and Ireland
Nations and regions	Rugby league in England Rugby league in Ireland Rugby league in Scotland Rugby league in Wales Rugby league in Lancashire Rugby league in Yorkshire
Federations	Rugby Football League BARLA Rugby League Ireland Scotland Rugby League Wales Rugby League
National teams	Great Britain England Ireland Scotland Wales
Women's national teams	Great Britain England Ireland Scotland Wales
Leagues	Super League Championship League 1 National Conference League Cumbria Men's League Cumberland League East Rugby League London & South East Men's League Midlands Rugby League North East Rugby League North West Men's League South West Rugby League Yorkshire Men's League Pennine League Hull & District League South Premier Scottish Conference League North Wales Conference South Wales Premiership Super 8 RFL Women's Rugby League
Cups	Challenge Cup League 1 Cup Conference Challenge Trophy BARLA National Cup BARLA Yorkshire Cup BARLA Cumbria Cup Cumberland County Cup Women's Challenge Cup
Former competitions	RFL Championship Premiership Rugby League Conference Lancs/Yorks County Cups Lancs/Yorks League League Cup Charity Shield BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Trans-Pennine Cup Championship Cup Conference League South BARLA Lancashire Cup

Rugby Football League seasons

Rugby Football League era
(1895–1996)

					1895–96	1896–97	1897–98	1898–99	1899–00
1900–01	1901–02	1902–03	1903–04	1904–05	1905–06	1906–07	1907–08	1908–09	1909–10
1910–11	1911–12	1912–13	1913–14	1914–15	1915–16	1916–17	1917–18	1918–19	1919–20
1920–21	1921–22	1922–23	1923–24	1924–25	1925–26	1926–27	1927–28	1928–29	1929–30
1930–31	1931–32	1932–33	1933–34	1934–35	1935–36	1936–37	1937–38	1938–39	1939–40
1940–41	1941–42	1942–43	1943–44	1944–45	1945–46	1946–47	1947–48	1948–49	1949–50
1950–51	1951–52	1952–53	1953–54	1954–55	1955–56	1956–57	1957–58	1958–59	1959–60
1960–61	1961–62	1962–63	1963–64	1964–65	1965–66	1966–67	1967–68	1968–69	1969–70
1970–71	1971–72	1972–73	1973–74	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80
1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90
1990–91	1991–92	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96

Super League era
(1996–present)

					1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017

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