1936–37 Challenge Cup

The 1936–37 Challenge Cup was the 37th tournament of rugby league's oldest trophy, the Challenge Cup. 32 clubs entered the competition which was won by Widnes who beat Keighley 18–5 in the final at Wembley Stadium on 8 May 1937. This was Widnes' second win in the competition and, to date, Keighley's only appearance in the final.

1936–37 Challenge Cup
Duration5 Rounds
Number of teams32
WinnersWidnes
Runners-upKeighley

First round

The first round draw was made on 13 January 1937. 16 ties were drawn that were played on 13 February 1937.[1]

Home Score Away Match information
Referee Attendance Receipts
Bramley 0–6 Dewsbury L Greenwood 3,400 £167
Goole 2–14 Broughton Rangers J Orford 2,500 £100
Hunslet 2–5 Keighley A E Harding 10,300 £553
Leigh 0–28 Liverpool Stanley A Brown 3,000 £144
Oldham 4–15 Wigan A S Dobson 18,000 £1075
Rochdale Hornets 0–10 Hull F.C. A Hill 7,200 £396
St. Helens 4–11 Huddersfield F Peel 7,000 £285
Salford 4–10 Warrington J E Taylor 26,700 £1,647
Halifax 8–2 Barrow J Edden 9,000 £650
Hull Kingston Rovers 13–5 St Helens Recreation J W Webb 7,000 £288
Bradford Northern 39–0 Streatham and Mitcham B Timility 10,000 not given
Swinton 9–5 Newcastle L Thorpe 4,238 £190
Wakefield Trinity 2–0 Leeds F Fairhurst 18,600 £1,109
Widnes 39–2 Higginshaw B Laughlin 4,000 £241
York 18–4 Featherstone Rovers A Holbrook 3,797 £188
Batley 2–2 Castleford P Cowell 10,400 £550
Source:[2][3][4]

First round replay

The replay between Castleford and Batley was played on the Wednesday 17 February 1937.

Home Score Away Match information
Referee Attendance Receipts
Castleford 8–4 Batley P Cowell 10,875 £522/10/-
Source:[5][6]

Second round

The draw for the second round was made on 15 February 1937 with the eight ties schedules 27 February.[7] Only six ties were played that day as heavy snow forced the postponement of the game at Bradford and the match between Widnes and Dewsbury was abandoned at half-time with the score 8–0 to Widnes.[8]

Home Score Away Match information
Referee Attendance Receipts
Keighley 11–5 Broughton Rangers A Holbrook 9,000 £454
Castleford 5–5 Wigan Warriors A E Harding 21,000 £1,192
Halifax 4–5 Wakefield Trinity P Cowell 20,000 £1,189
Bradford Northern 2–12[lower-alpha 1] Huddersfield F Fairhurst 19,387 £1,340
Widnes 8–0[lower-alpha 2] Dewsbury A Hill 7,000 £320
Hull Kingston Rovers 2–7 Liverpool Stanley J Orford 15,000 539
Swinton 10–8 Hull F.C. A S Dobson 10,348 £542
York 4–5 Warrington J W Webb 12,124 £718
Source:[7][8][9][10]
  1. Played 3 March 1937
  2. Match abandoned at half-time

Second round replays

The replay between Castleford and Wigan was played on the Wednesday 3 March 1937 and the rescheduled Widnes v Dewsbury game was played on Thursday 4 March.[11]

Home Score Away Match information
Referee Attendance Receipts
Castleford 6–13 Wigan F Peel 26,000 £1,200
Widnes 12–7 Dewsbury A Hill 8,000 £383
Source:[11][12]

Third round

The third round draw was made on 1 March, ties were due to be played on 13 March,[13] but the weather played a part again and the match between Huddersfield and Wigan was postponed an played on 17 March.

Home Score Away Match information
Referee Attendance Receipts
Liverpool Stanley 2–7 Keighley F Peel 9,000 £499
Huddersfield 7–8 Wigan Warriors A Holbrook 17,000 £1,100
Wakefield Trinity 5–0 Warrington A E Harding 22,075 £1,237
Widnes 7–2 Swinton J E Taylor 11,220 £612
Source:[13][14][15]

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was delayed until the third round tie between Huddersfield and Wigan had been played and was made on 18 March. The semi-finals were played at neutral venues on Saturday 3 April.

First team drawn Score Second team drawn Match information
Venue Referee Attendance Receipts
Widnes 12–9 Wigan Wilderspool, Warrington F Peel 29,260 £1,973
Wakefield Trinity 0–0 Keighley Headingley, Leeds A E Harding 39,998 £2,793
Source:[16][17]

Semi-final replay

Wakefield and Keighley met to replay their tie at Fartown Huddersfield on 7 April.

First team drawn Score Second team drawn Match information
Venue Referee Attendance Receipts
Wakefield Trinity 3–5 Keighley Fartown, Huddersfield A E Harding 14,400 £1,072
Source:[18]

Final
8 May 1937
3:00 pm BST
Widnes 18 – 5 Keighley
Tries: Shannon
McCue
Barber
Silcock
Goals: Topping (3)
 Tries: Lloyd
Goals: Sherburn
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 47,699
Referee: P Cowell
Team details
WidnesPositionKeighley
NameNumberNumberName
Walter Bradley1Fullback1Iorwerth Herbert
Frank Whyte2Wing2Joseph Sherburn
Peter Topping3Centre3Idris Towill
Ken Barber4Centre4Gwyn Parker
Alan Evans5Wing5Reg Lloyd
Tommy Shannon6Stand off6Llewellyn Bevan
Tommy McCue7Scrum half7Dai Davies
Nat Silcock (c)8Prop forward8James Traill
Jimmy Jones9Hooker9Cyril Halliday
Alec Higgins10Prop forward10Hal Jones
Hugh McDowell11Second row11George Dixon
Bob Roberts12Second row12Fred Talbot
Harry Millington13Loose forward13James Gill

Widnes and Keighley met in the final at Wembley Stadium on 8 May 1937. Widnes went 5–0 up within the first ten minutes as Tommy Shannon scored a try which Peter Topping converted. Just before the half-hour mark, Widnes scored another try as Tommy McCue over to give Widnes an 8–0 lead which remained the score at half-time. Immediately after the second half kicked off, Keighley were awarded a penalty which Joseph Sherburn kicked to reduce Widnes' lead to six points. Some Keighley pressure came to nothing and Ken Barber intercepted a pass to score Widnes' third try which Topping converted. Five minutes later Widnes' put the game beyond Keighley's reach as captain Nat Silcock scored their fourth try. Topping missed the conversion but made amends by kicking a penalty after an hours play. With the score 18–2 with minutes left to play, Keighley scored their only try as Reg Lloyd went over making the final score 18–5 to Widnes.[19] The attendance or the game was 47,699 and the gate receipts totalled £6,579.[20]

References
  1. "Rugby League Cup: Draw made for the first round of tourney". Sheffield Independent. No. 25,654. 14 January 1937. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. "Saturday's results and league tables". Leeds Mercury. No. 30,331. 15 February 1937. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Rugby League cup-ties". Lancashire Evening Post. No. 15,611. 12 February 1937. p. 13 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Cup crowds and cash". Leeds Mercury. No. 30,331. 15 February 1937. p. 11 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "R.L. Cup. First round re-play". Hull Daily Mail. No. 16,009. 17 February 1937. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Castleford win Cup replay". Yorkshire Post. No. 27,942. 18 February 1937. p. 19 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Yorkshire's Cup luck holds". Leeds Mercury. No. 30,332. 16 February 1937. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Brief results". Sheffield Star Green 'Un. No. 1,538. 27 February 1937. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Rugby League Cup: Second Round". Leeds Mercury. No. 30,343. 1 March 1937. p. 11 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Cup match in the mud". Yorkshire Post. No. 27,954. 4 March 1937. p. 19 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "Dewsbury's great rally". Leeds Mercury. No. 30,347. 5 March 1937. p. 11 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "Castleford fight all the way". Yorkshire Post. No. 27,954. 4 March 1937. p. 19 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "Draw and officials". Leeds Mercury. No. 30,334. 2 March 1937. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Rugby League Challenge Cup: Third Round". Yorkshire Post. No. 27,963. 15 March 1937. p. 16 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. "Wigan's late victory". Leeds Mercury. No. 30,358. 18 March 1937. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. "Widnes make Wembley history". Yorkshire Evening Post. No. 14,503. 5 April 1937. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. "Rugby League Cup". Sheffield Independent. No. 25,709. 19 March 1937. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. "Northern Rugby League: Challenge Cup — semi-final replay". Yorkshire Post. No. 27,983. 8 April 1937. p. 19 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. "Widnes had Wembley way with them". Hull Daily Mail. No. 16,077. 8 May 1937. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. "Defeat still hailed as 'a magnificent achievement'". Yorkshire Post. 7 March 2008.
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