1950–51 Northern Rugby Football League season
| 1950–51 Rugby Football League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Northern Rugby Football League |
| Champions |  Workington Town |
| League Leaders |  Warrington |
| Top point-scorer |  Bert Cook 332 |
| Top try-scorer | Brian Bevan 68 |
The 1950–51 Rugby Football League season was the 56th season of rugby league football.
Season summary
Workington Town won their first, and to date, only Championship when they beat Warrington 26–11 in the play-off final. Warrington had finished the regular season as the league leaders.
The Challenge Cup Winners were Wigan who beat Barrow 10–0 in the final.
Warrington won the Lancashire League, and Leeds won the Yorkshire League.
Championship
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warrington | 36 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 60 |
| 2 | Wigan | 36 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 59 |
| 3 | Workington Town | 36 | 27 | 0 | 9 | 54 |
| 4 | Leigh | 36 | 24 | 2 | 10 | 50 |
| 5 | Leeds | 36 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 48 |
| 6 | St. Helens | 36 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 45 |
| 7 | Hunslet | 36 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 45 |
| 8 | Batley | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 43 |
| 9 | Huddersfield | 36 | 20 | 2 | 14 | 42 |
| 10 | Wakefield Trinity | 36 | 19 | 3 | 14 | 41 |
| 11 | Halifax | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
| 12 | Belle Vue Rangers | 36 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 40 |
| 13 | Dewsbury | 36 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 40 |
| 14 | Bradford Northern | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 38 |
| 15 | Oldham | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 36 |
| 16 | Keighley | 36 | 16 | 3 | 17 | 35 |
| 17 | Swinton | 36 | 16 | 1 | 19 | 33 |
| 18 | Hull | 36 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 32 |
| 19 | Salford | 36 | 15 | 1 | 20 | 31 |
| 20 | Barrow | 36 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 30 |
| 21 | Whitehaven | 36 | 13 | 3 | 20 | 29 |
| 22 | Rochdale Hornets | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
| 23 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 36 | 12 | 2 | 22 | 26 |
| 24 | Bramley | 36 | 11 | 3 | 22 | 25 |
| 25 | Castleford | 36 | 12 | 1 | 23 | 25 |
| 26 | Featherstone Rovers | 36 | 12 | 1 | 23 | 25 |
| 27 | Widnes | 36 | 10 | 1 | 25 | 21 |
| 28 | York | 36 | 8 | 1 | 27 | 17 |
| 29 | Liverpool Stanley | 36 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 5 |
Play-offs
| Semi-finals | Championship final | ||||||||
| 1 | Warrington | 15 | |||||||
| 4 | Leigh | 9 | |||||||
| Warrington | 11 | ||||||||
| Workington Town | 26 | ||||||||
| 2 | Wigan | 5 | |||||||
| 3 | Workington Town | 8 | |||||||
12 May 1951 |
| Workington Town | 26 – 11 | Warrington |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Gibson (2), Wilson (2), Lawrenson, Paskins Goals: Risman (4) |
Tries: Heathwood (2), Jackson Goals: Bath |
| Workington Town | Number | Warrington |
|---|---|---|
| Teams | ||
| Gus Risman | 1 | Eric Frodsham |
| Johnny Lawrenson | 2 | Brian Bevan |
| Tony Paskins | 3 | Bill Jackson |
| Eppie Gibson | 4 | Albert Naughton |
| George Wilson | 5 | Albert Johnson |
| John Thomas | 6 | Bryn Knowelden |
| Albert Pepperell | 7 | Gerry Helme |
| Jimmy Hayton | 8 | Billy Derbyshire |
| Vince McKeating | 9 | Harold Fishwick |
| Jimmy Wareing | 10 | Jack Atherton |
| Rupert Mudge | 11 | Harry Bath |
| Steve Thurlow | 12 | Bob Ryan |
| Billy Ivison | 13 | Austin Heathwood |
| Gus Risman | Coach | Chris Brockbank |
Challenge Cup
Wigan beat Barrow 10–0 in the final played at Wembley in front of a crowd of 94,262. This was Wigan's fourth Cup Final win in nine Final appearances. It was also the third successive final that the losing team had failed to score. Cec Mountford, Wigan's stand-off half back was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for man-of-the-match.
County cups
Wigan beat Warrington 28–5 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Huddersfield beat Castleford 16–3 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
Italy tour
An Italian team toured Britain in August 1950, and arranged fixtures against five English clubs and a South Wales team. The team also played three games in France prior to their arrival. The team manager was Dennis Chappell, who was originally from Wakefield, and later became a Turin resident. The team mostly consisted of rugby union players based in Turin, and was captained by Vincenzo Bertolotto, who had previously been capped by the Italy rugby union team.
The squad was: Guido Aleati, Sergio Aleati, Roberto Antonioli, Angelo Arrigoni, Vincenzo Bertolotto, Michele Bietto, Giovanni Bonino, Luigi Bosia, Giuseppe Cannone, Pasquale Cannone, Delio Caron, Gabriele Casalegno, Amerio Chiara, Giorgio Cornacchia, Guido Cornarino, Fabrizio Faglioli, Enzo Francesconi, Giuseppe Franco, Aldo Guglielminotti, Giovanni Orecchia, Luigi Pignattaro, Franco Pipino, Giorgio Rassaval, Giorgio Rubino, Giovanni Tamagno, Oreste Tescari and Giovanni Vigna.
| Date | Opponents | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 August | Wigan | Lost 28–49 | St Helens |
| 30 August | St Helens | Lost 38–74 | Wigan |
| 2 September | South Wales XIII | Lost 11–29 | Bridgend |
| 6 September | Huddersfield | Lost 12–28 | Huddersfield |
| 9 September | Leigh | Lost 15–58 | Leigh |
| 11 September | Leeds | Lost 41–56 | Leeds |
European Championship
This was the eleventh European Championships and was won for the third time by France on points difference.
Results
Final standings
| Team | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 France | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 53 | 30 | +23 | 4 |
| Other nationalities | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 4 |
 England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 4 |
 Wales | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 77 | −39 | 0 |
Sources
References
- ↑ "1950-51 Season summary". Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ↑ "RFL All Time Records". Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ↑ "Yorkshireman persuaded Italian footballers to change their code". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury. 26 August 1950. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "1950 Tour Match: Wigan 49 Italy 28". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ↑ "Huddersfield v An Italian XIII - Match Programme - Wednesday 6 September 1950" (PDF). huddersfieldrlheritage.co.uk. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ↑ Saxton, Irvin (ed.). History of Rugby League: No.56 1950–1951. League Publications. p. 19.
- ↑ "A Creditable Show by Tourists". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 7 September 1950. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Raymond Fletcher; David Howes (1995). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1995-1996. London: Headline Book Publishing. p. 424. ISBN 0-7472-7817-2.