1972–73 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy

The 1972–73 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the eighth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year was another new name on the trophy
Leigh won the trophy by beating Widnes by the score of 5-0
The match was played at Central Park, Wigan, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 4,691 and receipts were £1,391
This was Leigh's first victory after being runner-up in two of the previous finals

1972–73 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
StructureFloodlit knockout championship
Teams18
WinnersLeigh
Runners-upWidnes

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at eighteen.
The format remained the same as the last season with the preliminary round played on a two-legged home and away basis and the rest of the tournament being played on a knock-out basis.
The preliminary round involved four clubs, to reduce the numbers to sixteen.

Competition and results

Preliminary round – first leg

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
P1Tue 5 Sep 1972Wakefield Trinity7-7Hull F.C.Belle Vue[1][2][3]
P1Tue 12 Sep 1972Hull Kingston Rovers15-6Rochdale HornetsCraven Park (1)

[4]

Competition and results

[4]

Preliminary round – second leg

Involved 2 matches and the same 4 Clubs in reverse fixtures

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
P2Tue 19 Sep 1972Hull F.C.3-11Wakefield TrinityBoulevard10-181[1][2][3]
P2Tue 26 Sep 1972Rochdale Hornets9-23Hull Kingston RoversAthletic Grounds15-38

Round 1 – first round

Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Tue 3 Oct 1972Barrow9-12KeighleyCraven Park2
2Tue 3 Oct 1972Oldham12-8SalfordWatersheddings
3Wed 4 Oct 1972Hull Kingston Rovers10-12LeighCraven Park (1)
4Tue 10 Oct 1972St. Helens6-14LeedsKnowsley Road[5]
5Tue 17 Oct 1972Huddersfield9-15CastlefordFartown[6]
6Tue 24 Oct 1972Wigan26-6HalifaxCentral Park3[7]
7Wed 25 Oct 1972Swinton6-18Wakefield TrinityStation Road[1][2]
8Tue 31 Oct 1972Warrington18-18WidnesWilderspool[8][9]

Round 1 – first round – replays

Involved 1 match and 2 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
RTue 14 Nov 1972Widnes14-11WarringtonNaughton Park[8][9]

Round 2 – quarter finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Tue 7 Nov 1972Oldham9-7CastlefordWatersheddings
2Tue 14 Nov 1972Wakefield Trinity19-2KeighleyBelle Vue[1][2]
3Tue 21 Nov 1972Widnes9-4LeedsNaughton Park[9]
4Tue 28 Nov 1972Wigan14-16LeighCentral Park3[7]

Round 3 – semi-finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Tue 5 Dec 1972Leigh10-8OldhamHilton Park
2Tue 12 Dec 1972Widnes16-9Wakefield TrinityNaughton Park[1][2][9]

Final
Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
FTuesday 19 December 1972Leigh5-0WidnesCentral Park4,6911,3913 4 5 6[9][10][11]

Teams and scorers
Leigh No. Widnes
teams
Mick Hogan1Ray Dutton
Graeme Lawson2Alan Prescott
John Atkin3Bob Blackwood (NOTE 6)
Mick Collins4Mal Aspey (NOTE 7)
Mick Stacey5Paul McDonnell
Tony Barrow6Eric Hughes (NOTE 8)
Cliff Sayer7Alan Ashton
Paul Grimes8Jim Mills
Derek Clarke9Keith Elwell
Geoff Fletcher10John Warlow
Jim Fiddler11John Foran
Frank Barrow12Barry Sheridan
Thomas Martyn13George Nicholls
Les PearceCoachVince Karalius
5score0
0HT0
Scorers
Tries
G. Lawson (1)T
Goals
Jim Fiddler (1)G
RefereeG. Frederick "Fred" Lindop (Wakefield)

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

[9][10]

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

First round Second round Semi-finals Final
            
Wigan 26
Halifax 6
Wigan 14
Leigh 16
Hull Kingston Rovers 10
Leigh 12
Leigh 10
Oldham 8
Oldham 12
Salford 8
Oldham 9
St Helens 7
Huddersfield 9
Castleford 15
Leigh 5
Widnes 0
Warrington 18 (11)
Widnes 18 (14)
Widnes 9
Leeds 4
St. Helens 6
Leeds 14
Widnes 16
Wakefield Trinity 9
Swinton 6
Wakefield Trinity 18
Wakefield Trinity 19
Keighley 2
Barrow 9
Keighley 12

Notes and comments

1 * Wakefield Trinity, who joined the competition in season 1967–68, win their first game in the competition
2 * Keighley (who joined the competition in season 1967–68) win their first match in the competition
3 * This match was televised
4 * This was the second of only two occasions when the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy final was played on a neutral ground
5 * Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991[10] and 1991-92[11] give the attendance as 4,691, but RUGBYLEAGUEprojects[4] gives it as 4,841
6 * The Widnes official archives[9] give this player, Bob Blackwood as number 3 but Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-91[10] and 1991-92[11] give the position as 4
7 * The Widnes official archives[9] give this player, Mal Aspey as number 4 but Rothmans Tearbook 1990-91[10] and 1991-92[11] give the position as 3
8 * The Widnes official archives[9] give the stand off (No 6) as Eric Hughes but Rothmans Tearbook 1990-91[10] and 1991-92[11] give the player as Ged Lowe
9 * Central Park was the home ground of Wigan with a final capacity of 18,000, although the record attendance was 47,747 for Wigan v St Helens 27 March 1959

General information for those unfamiliar

The Rugby League BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was a knock-out competition sponsored by the BBC and between rugby league clubs, entrance to which was conditional upon the club having floodlights. Most matches were played on an evening, and those of which the second half was televised, were played on a Tuesday evening.
Despite the competition being named as 'Floodlit', many matches took place during the afternoons and not under floodlights, and several of the entrants, including Barrow and Bramley did not have adequate lighting. And, when in 1973, due to the world oil crisis, the government restricted the use of floodlights in sport, all the matches, including the Trophy final, had to be played in the afternoon rather than at night.
The Rugby League season always (until the onset of "Summer Rugby" in 1996) ran from around August-time through to around May-time and this competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final taking place in December (The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused by inclement weather)

See also

References
  1. 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.
  2. "I'm Wakefield 'til I die..."
  3. "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
  4. "Rugby League Project".
  5. "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  6. "Huddersfield Rugby League Heritage" (PDF).
  7. "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  8. "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014.
  9. "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  10. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
  11. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-100. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
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