The 1949–50 Rugby Football League season was the 55th season of rugby league football. First placed Wigan successfully defended a challenge from second placed Huddersfield in the play-off final to claim the Rugby Football League Championship. The Challenge Cup winners were Warrington who beat Widnes 19-0 in the final.[1] Wigan won the Lancashire League, and Huddersfield won the Yorkshire League. Wigan beat Leigh 20–7 to win the Lancashire Cup, and Bradford beat Huddersfield 11–4 to win the Yorkshire Cup. Crowds peaked in 1949-50 with a record 69.8 million paying to watch rugby league matches.[2]
| 1949–50 Rugby Football League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Northern Rugby Football League |
| Champions |  Wigan |
| League Leaders | Wigan |
| Top point-scorer(s) |  Harold Palin 290 |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Brian Nordgren 57 |
Championship edit
This season the Rugby Football League Championship was determined by a final.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wigan | 36 | 31 | 1 | 4 | 63 |
| 2 | Huddersfield | 36 | 28 | 1 | 7 | 57 |
| 3 | Swinton | 36 | 25 | 4 | 7 | 54 |
| 4 | Halifax | 36 | 25 | 0 | 11 | 50 |
| 5 | Salford | 36 | 24 | 2 | 10 | 50 |
| 6 | Leigh | 36 | 24 | 1 | 11 | 49 |
| 7 | St. Helens | 36 | 23 | 2 | 11 | 48 |
| 8 | Leeds | 36 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 48 |
| 9 | Dewsbury | 36 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 46 |
| 10 | Workington Town | 36 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 45 |
| 11 | Warrington | 36 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 44 |
| 12 | Castleford | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
| 13 | Keighley | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
| 14 | Wakefield Trinity | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 38 |
| 15 | Hunslet | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
| 16 | Widnes | 36 | 16 | 4 | 16 | 36 |
| 17 | Belle Vue Rangers | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 34 |
| 18 | Oldham | 36 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 34 |
| 19 | Hull | 36 | 15 | 3 | 18 | 33 |
| 20 | Barrow | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
| 21 | Bradford | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
| 22 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
| 23 | Whitehaven | 36 | 11 | 4 | 21 | 26 |
| 24 | Batley | 36 | 10 | 0 | 26 | 20 |
| 25 | Featherstone Rovers | 36 | 9 | 2 | 25 | 20 |
| 26 | Bramley | 36 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 13 |
| 27 | Rochdale Hornets | 36 | 5 | 2 | 29 | 12 |
| 28 | York | 36 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 12 |
| 29 | Liverpool Stanley | 36 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 8 |
Play-offs edit
The top four finishing teams entered a play-off series which culminated in a final between Wigan and Huddersfield, but not before Wigan had to re-play and defeat Halifax, with whom they drew in their first play-off match.
| Semi-final / Replay | Championship final | ||||||||||
| 1 | Wigan | 5 | 18 | ||||||||
| 4 | Halifax | 5 | 2 | ||||||||
| Wigan | 20 | ||||||||||
| Huddersfield | 2 | ||||||||||
| 2 | Huddersfield | 9 | |||||||||
| 3 | Swinton | 0 | |||||||||
Wigan were without eight of their regular starters for the final, as the players had been selected for the 1950 Great Britain Lions tour, and had already departed for Australia.[3] Despite a weakened team, Wigan were able to win, claiming their seventh Rugby Football League Championship.
13 May 1950 |
| Wigan | 20 – 2 | Huddersfield |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Silcock, Broome, Nordgren, Blan Goals: Ward (4) | Goals: Bawden |
Challenge Cup edit
Warrington beat Widnes 19-0 in the final played at Wembley in front of a crowd of 94,249. This was Warrington’s third Cup final win in nine Final appearances. In the match Albert Naughton, at centre for Warrington opposed his older brother Johnny, who was in the Widnes second row.[4] This was the second successive Final that the losing side had failed to score.[5] The Warrington scrum-half Gerry Helme won the Lance Todd Trophy for man-of-the-match.
County cups edit
| First round | Second round | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bramley | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bramley | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Keighley | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Keighley | 60 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yorkshire Amateurs | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bramley | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bradford | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| York | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bradford | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bradford | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Castleford | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Castleford | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hull | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bradford | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Huddersfield | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hunslet | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dewsbury | 29 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dewsbury | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Batley | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Batley | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halifax | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dewsbury | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Huddersfield | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Huddersfield | 29 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Leeds | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Huddersfield | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wakefield Trinity | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wakefield Trinity | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Featherstone Rovers | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
References edit
- ^ "1949-50 Season summary". Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ Jon Henderson (2007). Best of British: Hendo's sporting heroes. UK: Yellow Jersey Press. p. 85. ISBN 9780224082488.
- ^ "Wigan Will Need Eight Reserves For Final". Hull Daily Mail. 11 May 1950. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ news.bbc.co.uk (11 May 2004). "Cup final facts". BBC Sport. UK: BBC. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
- ^ "RFL All Time Records". Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-08-07.