1962–63 Northern Rugby Football League season

The 1962–63 Northern Rugby Football League season was the 68th season of rugby league football.

1962–63 Northern Rugby Football League season
LeagueFirst Division
Champions Swinton
Top point-scorer(s) Kel Coslett 321
Top try-scorer(s) Ray Glastonbury 41
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Second Division Hunslet
Keighley
Relegated to Second Division Oldham
Bramley
Second Division
Champions Hunslet

Season summary

1962–63 season saw the league split into two divisions with each team playing each other team home and away. The introduction of an even league meant the end of season championship play-off was done away with and the team finishing top of the table was declared champions.

1962-63 finished up with huge fixture backlogs similar to 1946-47 after "the Big Freeze" brought heavy snow and postponed most rugby league matches for two and half months.

Swinton won their fifth Championship. Oldham and Bramley were demoted to the Second Division.

The Challenge Cup winners were Wakefield Trinity who beat Wigan 25–10 in the final.

The 2nd Division Champions were Hunslet who were promoted along with second placed Keighley.[1]

Workington Town (from Cumberland) won the Lancashire League, and Wakefield Trinity won the Yorkshire League. St. Helens beat Swinton 7–4 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Hunslet beat Hull Kingston Rovers 12–2 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.

First Division

Team Pld W D L Pts
1Swinton30221745
2St. Helens301911039
3Widnes301911039
4Castleford301631135
5Wakefield Trinity301611333
6Warrington301521332
7Leeds301601432
8Wigan301421430
9Huddersfield301401628
10Hull Kingston Rovers301311627
11Featherstone Rovers301231527
12Workington Town301231527
13Halifax301311627
14Hull301021822
15Oldham30912019
16Bramley30902118
  Champions   Relegated

Second Division

Team Pld W D L PF PA Pts
1Hunslet26220450821444
2Keighley26210545018742
3York26161941824333
4Blackpool Borough261501128124730
5Rochdale Hornets261411128224329
6Barrow261401241328028
7Leigh261401236126428
8Batley261311227532227
9Whitehaven261221231830626
10Doncaster261001628332920
11Liverpool City26911615932819
12Salford26811727144217
13Dewsbury26801820034516
14Bradford Northern2621231636325
  Promoted

Challenge Cup

Wakefield Trinity beat Wigan 25–10 in the challenge Cup Final played at Wembley, in front of a crowd of 84,492.

This was Wakefield Trinity's fifth Cup Final win in their fifth Final appearance and their second in successive seasons.[2] Harold Poynton, their stand-off half was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for his man-of-the-match performance.

County championships

Prior to the start of the league season in October, each team played eight fixtures in a regional competition, with teams being split into a Western and Eastern Division. The top four teams in each division competed in the play-offs for the Divisional Championship.

Western Division

Pos Team P W D L PF PA Pts
1Workington Town88002304416
2St Helens87102167315
3Widnes87011805414
4Wigan87012137214
5Swinton87011586114
6Warrington86021719312
7Oldham85031379110
8Barrow8305811446
9Whitehaven8206841744
10Rochdale Hornets8206471724
11Leigh8107811542
12Blackpool Borough8017671621
13Liverpool City8008572040
14Salford8008712950
Source:[3]

Semi-finals

9 October 1962
St Helens 9 – 10 Widnes
Tries: Watson
Goals: Coslett (3)
[4] Tries: Myler, Measures
Goals: Randall (2)
Knowsley Road
Attendance: 20,200
15 October 1962
Workington Town 27 – 9 Wigan
Tries: Pretorius, O'Neill (3), Archer, W. Martin, Glastonbury
Goals: Ferreira (3)
[5] Tries: Carlton (2), Davies

Final

10 November 1962
Widnes 9 – 9 Workington Town
Tries: Thompson
Goals: Randall (3)
[6] Tries: Pretorius
Goals: Lowdon (3)
Replay
21 November 1962
Widnes 0 – 10 Workington Town
[7] Tries: Pretorius, Glastonbury
Goals: Lowdon (2)
Central Park
Attendance: 7,584
Referee: D.S. Brown

Eastern Division

Pos Team P W D L PF PA Pts
1Huddersfield88002114416
2Hull Kingston Rovers88001897216
3Featherstone Rovers87011817114
4Halifax87011667314
5Leeds86111776513
6Wakefield Trinity86021936512
7Castleford84041171378
8Hunslet84041091448
9Bramley83051081306
10York82061281394
11Hull8206961424
12Keighley8206791554
13Batley8116631323
14Bradford Northern8107862362
15Doncaster8107401602
16Dewsbury8107562342
Source:[3]

Semi-finals

10 October 1962
Huddersfield 17 – 0 Halifax
Tries: Bowman (3)
Goals: Dyson (4)
[8]
Fartown
Referee: N.T. Railton
15 October 1962
Hull Kingston Rovers 27 – 11 Featherstone Rovers
Tries: Paul (3), A. Burwell, Hatch
Goals: Kellett (6)
[9] Tries: Greatorex
Goals: Clawson (4)
Craven Park
Attendance: 9,500
Referee: J. Manley

Final

10 November 1962
Huddersfield 10 – 13 Hull Kingston Rovers
Tries: Heywood, Smales
Goals: Dyson (2)
[10] Tries: Paul (2), Harris
Goals: Kellett (2)
Headingley
Attendance: 6,822
Referee: T.W. Watkinson

Lancashire Cup

Yorkshire Cup

References

  1. "1962-63 Season summary". Archived from the original on 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  2. "RFL Challenge Cup Roll of Honour". Archived from the original on 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  3. "Swinton Slip At The Last". The Guardian. 1 October 1962. p. 12. ProQuest 184809657.
  4. "Widnes, Inspired by Myler, Reach Final". The Guardian. 10 October 1962. p. 6. ProQuest 184890717.
  5. "Teamwork earns Workington Town a place in final". The Guardian. 16 October 1962. p. 10. ProQuest 184847246.
  6. "Lowdon Just Saves The Day For Workington Town". The Guardian. 12 November 1962. p. 13. ProQuest 184841962.
  7. "Widnes Can Make Little Use Of Superior Hooking". The Guardian. 22 November 1962. p. 12. ProQuest 184841962.
  8. "Huddersfield Defeat Halifax In Disappointing Semifinal". The Guardian. 11 October 1962. p. 14. ProQuest 184809657.
  9. "Hull KR emphasise their mastery over Featherstone". The Guardian. 16 October 1962. p. 10. ProQuest 184878898.
  10. "Hull Kingston Reserves Show Their Mettle". The Guardian. 12 November 1962. p. 13. ProQuest 184877046.

Sources

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