1918–19 Yorkshire Cup


The 1918–19 Yorkshire Cup was the eleventh occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. This quickly arranged competition was won by the cup holder who would make it a hat trick of wins, taking up where they left off before the start of the World War. Huddersfield beat Dewsbury by the score of 14-8 in the final. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 21,500 and receipts were £1,309.
The shortened 1918–19 season began less than three months after the end of the hostilities and the armistice of Compiègne. The country was still suffering from the aftermath of the long and bitter struggle. The 1918–19 Northern Rugby Football Union Wartime Emergency League season had been operating since September 1918. This was cancelled, and the programme started tailing off in January 1919. The only club to be "lost" to the Yorkshire League was Keighley who closed down for the duration of the War and did not recommence playing until the start of the 1919-20 season. This season saw an invitation to junior/amateur club Featherstone Rovers which, with the temporary loss of Keighley, resulted in the total entries remaining the same as in the previous competition held before the outbreak of the war at thirteen. This in turn resulted in three byes in the first round.
This was Huddersfield's sixth appearance in what would be seven appearances in eight consecutive finals between 1909 and 1919, and who knows, but for the intervention of the First World War and suspension of the competition, it may have been more. It was also the third of the four consecutive wins.

Background

The Rugby Football League's Yorkshire Cup competition was a knock-out competition between 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, and even London December.

Competition and Results

Round 1

Involved 5 matches and 13 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Sat 12 Apr 1919Hull Kingston Rovers18-0HalifaxCraven Street
2Sat 12 Apr 1919Wakefield Trinity18-9Bradford NorthernBelle Vue
3Sat 26 Apr 1919Hull6-0LeedsBoulevard
4Sat 26 Apr 1919Hunslet5-16HuddersfieldParkside
5Sat 26 Apr 1919York0-2BramleyClarence Street1
6Batley0bye
7Dewsbury0bye
8Featherstone Rovers0bye2

Round 2 - Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 3 May 1919Dewsbury7-2BatleyCrown Flatt
2Sat 3 May 1919Hull31-4BramleyBoulevard
3Sat 3 May 1919Hull Kingston Rovers4-19HuddersfieldCraven Street
4Sat 3 May 1919Wakefield Trinity14-3Featherstone RoversBelle Vue2

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 10 May 1919Dewsbury3-2Wakefield TrinityCrown Flatt
2Sat 10 May 1919Huddersfield23-13HullFartown

Final

Teams and Scorers

Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = two points

The road to success