1948–49 Northern Rugby Football League season

The 1948–49 Rugby Football League season was the 54th season of rugby league football. This was Whitehaven's inaugural season in the League.[1]

1948–49 Rugby Football League season
LeagueNorthern Rugby Football League
Champions Huddersfield
League Leaders Warrington
Top point-scorer(s) Ted Ward 312
Top try-scorer(s) Lionel Cooper 60

Season summary

Warrington finished the regular season as the league leaders. However, Huddersfield won their sixth Championship when they beat Warrington 13–12 in the championship final.[2] The game, played at Maine Road, Manchester, attracted a crowd of 75,194 and receipts of £11,073 setting new records for both attendances and receipts for a rugby league game played anywhere other than Wembley.[2] Huddersfield's Australian fullback, Johnny Hunter scored 16 tries during the season, breaking the record for a fullback set by Jim Sullivan.[3]

The Challenge Cup winners were Bradford who beat Halifax 12–0 in the final.[4]

Warrington won the Lancashire League, and Huddersfield won the Yorkshire League. Wigan beat Warrington 14–8 to win the Lancashire Cup and Bradford Northern beat Castleford 18–9 to win the Yorkshire Cup.

Championship
Team Pld W D L Pts
1Warrington36310562
2Wigan36281757
3Huddersfield36270954
4Barrow362511051
5Widnes362421050
6Batley362301346
7Salford362051145
8Workington Town362211345
9Swinton362131245
10Bradford Northern362201444
11St. Helens362011541
12Wakefield Trinity361911639
13Hull361901738
14Leeds361811737
15Keighley361731637
16Hunslet361701934
17Hull Kingston Rovers361701934
18Leigh361451733
19Castleford361602032
20Dewsbury361512031
21Belle Vue Rangers361412129
22Rochdale Hornets361232127
23Oldham361232127
24Bramley361222226
25Halifax361132225
26Featherstone Rovers36932421
27Whitehaven36622814
28York36522912
29Liverpool Stanley3632318

Play-offs
Semi-finals Championship Final
      
1 Warrington 23
4 Barrow 8
Warrington 12
Huddersfield 13
2 Wigan 5
3 Huddersfield 14

Challenge Cup
Main article: 1948–49 Challenge Cup

The Challenge Cup tournament's final was to be played by Bradford and Halifax at Wembley Stadium. It was the first time tickets to the Challenge Cup final were sold out.[1] Bradford won the game 12-0 in the final played in front of a world record[5] rugby league crowd of 95,050. Trevor Foster and Eric Batten scored the tries for Bradford and Ernest Ward kicked three goals as well as winning the Lance Todd Trophy for man-of-the-match.[6]

This was Bradford’s fourth Cup Final win in seven Final appearances including one win and one loss during World War II.[7]

Sources
  • 1948-49 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com
  • "The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website". The Rugby Football League. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009.

References
  1. "The History Of Rugby League". Rugby League Information. napit.co.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  2. "Huddersfield are Champions". Yorkshire Post (31, 735). 16 May 1949. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Player Profile - Johnny Hunter". yesterdayshero.com.au. SmartPack International Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  4. "1948-49 Season summary". Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  5. "Tom Goodman's League Column". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1950-05-04. p. 9. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  6. "Bradford bulls History". Archived from the original on 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  7. "RFL All Time Records". Archived from the original on 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
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