1910–11 Yorkshire Cup

The 1910–11 Yorkshire Cup was a knock-out competition between (mainly professional) rugby league clubs from the county of Yorkshire. The actual area was at times increased to encompass other teams from outside the county such as Newcastle, Mansfield, Coventry (as this season), and even London (in the form of Acton & Willesden. The competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final taking place in (or just before) December (The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused during, and immediately after, the two World Wars.) 1910 was the sixth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition was held. This year saw a new name on the trophy. Wakefield Trinity won by beating the previous season's winners, Huddersfield by the score of 8-2. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 19,000 and receipts were £696. This was Huddersfield's second appearance in what would be seven appearances in eight consecutive finals between 1909 and 1919 (which included four successive victories and six in total.)

1910–11 Yorkshire Cup
Structure	Regional knockout championship
Teams	14
Winners	Wakefield Trinity
Runners-up	Huddersfield

Background

This season Coventry's name was added to the entrants as newcomers to rugby league. This increased the number of entries by one up to a total of fourteen. This in turn resulted in two byes in the first round.

Competition and Results

[1][2]

Round 1

Involved 6 matches (with two byes) and 14 Clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 15 Oct 1910	Batley		4-7		Dewsbury	Mount Pleasant
2	Sat 15 Oct 1910	Bramley		4-11		Huddersfield	Barley Mow
3	Sat 15 Oct 1910	Hull		9-6		Leeds	Boulevard				[3]
4	Sat 15 Oct 1910	Hunslet		8-13		Hull Kingston Rovers	Parkside
5	Sat 15 Oct 1910	Keighley		2-12		Halifax	Lawkholme Lane
6	Sat 15 Oct 1910	York		9-5		Bradford Northern	Clarence Street
7		Wakefield Trinity				bye					[4]
8		Coventry				bye

Round 2 - Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 05 Nov 1910	Huddersfield		25-0		Dewsbury	Fartown
2	Sat 05 Nov 1910	Hull		24-2		York	Boulevard				[3]
3	Sat 05 Nov 1910	Hull Kingston Rovers		10-2		Halifax	Craven Street (off Holderness Road)
4	Sat 05 Nov 1910	Wakefield Trinity		42-16		Coventry	Belle Vue			1	[4]

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 19 Nov 1910	Huddersfield		12-2		Hull Kingston Rovers	Fartown
2	Sat 19 Nov 1910	Wakefield Trinity		11-0		Hull	Belle Vue				[3][4]

Final

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
	Saturday 3 December 1910	Wakefield Trinity		8-2		Huddersfield	Headingley	19000	696	2	[4][5][6]

Teams and Scorers

[4][7][8]

Wakefield Trinity	№	Huddersfield
	teams
James "Jimmy" D Metcalfe	1	Jack Bartholomew
Ernest Bennett	2	Albert "Rozzi" Rosenfeld
William "Billy" Lynch	3	Edgar Wrigley
Thomas "Tommy" Poynton	4	Harold Wagstaff (c)
William "Billie" Simpson	5	Billy Kitchen
Thomas "Tommy" 'Trapper' Newbould	6	James "Jim" Davies
Ezra Sidwell	7	Thomas Grey
Herbert "Harry" Kershaw	8	Ben Gronow
A K "Nealy" Crosland	9	Dougie Clark
John "Jack" Walton	10	H Sherwood
James Auton	11	Conrad "Con" Augustus Byrne
George Taylor	12	W Ainsley
Joseph "Joe" Taylor	13	W Mellor
??	Coach	(??)
8	score	2
5	HT	0
	Scorers
	Tries
William "Billie" Simpson (1)	T
George Taylor (1)	T
	Goals
James "Jimmy" D Metcalfe (1)	G	Edgar Wrigley (1)
Referee		B. Ennion (Wigan)

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

The road to success

	First Round					Second Round					Semi Finals					Final
	Wakefield Trinity
	bye
						Wakefield Trinity		42
						Coventry		16
	Coventry
	bye
											Wakefield Trinity		11
											Hull		0
	Hull		9
	Leeds		6
						Hull		24
						York		2
	York		9
	Bradford Northern		5
																Wakefield Trinity		8
																Huddersfield		2
	Bramley		4
	Huddersfield		11
						Huddersfield		25
						Dewsbury		0
	Batley		4
	Dewsbury		7
											Huddersfield		12
											Hull Kingston Rovers		2
	Hunslet		8
	Hull Kingston Rovers		13
						Hull Kingston Rovers		10
						Halifax		2
	Keighley		2
	Halifax		12

Notes and comments

1 * The first (and only) game played by new club Coventry in the Yorkshire Cup. The next season they transferred to the Lancashire Cup competition

2 * Headingley, Leeds, is the home ground of Leeds RLFC with a capacity of 21,000. The record attendance was 40,175 for a league match between Leeds and Bradford Northern on 21 May 1947.

See also

• 1910–11 Northern Rugby Football Union season
• Rugby league county cups

References

1. "Rugby League Project".
2. Jack Winstanley & Malcolm Ryding (1991). John Player Yearbook 1975-76. Queen Anne Press.
3. "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
4. J C Lindley and D W Armitage (1973). 100 Years of Rugby. The History of Wakefield Trinity 1873–1973. Wakefield Trinity Centenary Committee. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
5. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991–1992. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
6. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990–1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
7. "Huddersfield RL Heritage 1909–10" (PDF).
8. Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 16 – 1910–11". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a

External links

• Saints Heritage Society
• 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.com
• Hull&Proud Fixtures & Results 1896/1897
• Widnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In Review - 1896-97
• The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org