1953–54 Lancashire Cup

1953–54 was the forty-first occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held.
St. Helens won the trophy by beating Wigan by the score of 16–8.
The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 42,793 and receipts were £6,918.
The attendance was again a record, albeit only beating the previous record by about 250.
Sport in general was now at its height of popularity, brought about by the ending of the Second World War, the new peace, the new affluence and more free time. Rugby League was no exception and this particular attendance record would never be broken.

1953–54 Lancashire Cup
StructureRegional knockout championship
Teams14
WinnersSt. Helens
Runners-upWigan

Background

Overall, the number of teams entering this year's competition remained the same as last year's total of 14
The same pre-war fixture format was retained. This season saw no bye but one “blank” or “dummy” fixture in the first round. There was also one bye but no “blank” fixture” in the second round.
As last season, all the first round matches of the competition will be played on the basis of two legged, home and away, ties – and the remainder of the rounds remaining on straight forward knock-out basis.

Competition and results

[1]

Round 1 – first leg

Involved 7 matches (with no bye and one “blank” fixture) and 14 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1Sat 05 Sep 1953Barrow14-13St. HelensCraven Park11,921[2]
2Sat 05 Sep 1953Liverpool City2-14SwintonMill Yard, Knotty Ash
3Sat 05 Sep 1953Rochdale Hornets7-12Workington TownAthletic Grounds
4Sat 05 Sep 1953Salford12-7WiganThe Willows[3]
5Sat 05 Sep 1953Warrington28-7Belle Vue RangersWilderspool[4]
6Sat 05 Sep 1953Whitehaven13-12OldhamRecreation Ground
7Sat 05 Sep 1953Widnes9-14LeighNaughton Park[5]
8blankblank

Round 1 – second leg

Involved 7 matches (with no bye and one “blank” fixture) and 14 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1Wed 09 Sep 1953St. Helens21-17BarrowKnowsley Road34-3120,100[2]
2Wed 09 Sep 1953Swinton20-4Liverpool CityStation Road34-6
3Wed 09 Sep 1953Workington Town10-5Rochdale HornetsBorough Park22-12
4Mon 07 Sep 1953Wigan28-2SalfordCentral Park35-14[3]
5Tue 08 Sep 1953Belle Vue Rangers14-17WarringtonBelle Vue Stadium21-46[4]
6Mon 07 Sep 1953Oldham45-6WhitehavenWatersheddings57-19
7Wed 09 Sep 1953Leigh25-5WidnesKirkhall Lane39-14[5]
8blankblank

Round 2 - quarterfinals

Involved 3 matches (with one bye) and 7 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1Wed 23 Sep 1953St. Helens38-9SwintonKnowsley Road19,000[2]
2Wed 23 Sep 1953Wigan10-7Workington TownCentral Park[3]
3Thu 24 Sep 1953Warrington12-11OldhamWilderspool[4]
4Leighbye

Round 3 – semifinals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1Mon 28 Sep 1953Wigan11-6LeighCentral Park[3]
2Thu 01 Oct 1953St. Helens17-10WarringtonKnowsley Road23,184[2][4]

Final
Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
Saturday 24 October 1953St. Helens16-8WiganStation Road42,793£6,9181 2[2][3][6]

Teams and scorers
St. Helens No. Wigan
teams
Glyn Moses1Jack Cunliffe
Steve Llewellyn2Brian Nordgren
Doug Greenall3Jack Broome
Don Gullick4Ernie Ashcroft
Stan McCormick5Ronnie Hurst
Peter Metcalfe6Jack Fleming
Jimmy Honey 7Johnny Alty
Alan Prescott8Ken Gee
Reg Blakemore9Ronald Mather
George Parr 10Nat Silcock, Jr.
George Parsons11Frank Collier
Bill Bretherton 12Tommy Horrocks
Vince Karalius13Harry Street
16score8
4HT8
Scorers
Tries
Jimmy Honey (1)TJack Fleming (1)
Glyn Moses (1)THarry Street (1)
Goals
Peter Metcalfe (5)GKen Gee (1)
RefereeM. Coates, Pudsey

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

[2][3]

The road to success

All the first round ties were played on a two leg (home and away) basis.
The first club named in each of the first round ties played the first leg at home.
The scores shown in the first round are the aggregate score over the two legs.

First round Second round Semifinals Final
            
Barrow 31
St. Helens 34
St. Helens 38
Swinton 9
Liverpool City 6
Swinton 34
St. Helens 17
Warrington 10
Warrington 46
Belle Vue Rangers 21
Warrington 12
Oldham 11
Whitehaven 19
Oldham 57
St. Helens 16
Wigan 8
Salford 14
Wigan 35
Wigan 10
Workington Town 7
Rochdale Hornets 12
Workington Town 22
Wigan 11
Leigh 6
Widnes 14
Leigh 39
Leigh
bye
blank
blank

Notes and comments

1 * The attendance of 42,793 was again a record, albeit only beating the previous record by about 250 This attendance record would never ever be equalled or beaten.
The receipts were also a new record, but this would only stand for 5 years.
2 * Station Road was the home ground of Swinton from 1929 to 1932 and at its peak was one of the finest rugby league grounds in the country and it boasted a capacity of 40,000. The actual record attendance was for the Challenge Cup semi-final on 7 April 1951 when 44,621 watched Wigan beat Warrington 3-2

See also

References
  1. "Rugby League Project".
  2. "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  3. "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  4. "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 6 July 2010.
  5. "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  6. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-100. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
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