1939–40 Yorkshire Cup


The 1939–40 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. The competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final taking place in December
Due to the start of the Second World War, the competition was delayed until early 1940.
1939–40 was the thirty-second occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.
This season's competition is classed as a "Wartime Emergency Competition" and therefore the results did not count as an official competition win. However, this aside, there was a new winner for this season's trophy,
Featherstone Rovers winning the trophy by beating Wakefield Trinity by the score of 12-9
The match was played at Odsal in the City of Bradford, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 7,077 and receipts were £403
Unlike the 1939–40 Lancashire Cup, the Yorkshire cup was played on a straightforward knock-out basis, and not on a two-legged basis.

Preamble to changes

Prior to the declaration of war on 3 September 1939, most clubs had played two or three fixtures.
During the following week, the Northern Rugby League decided, after publicity from the Government, to suspend the championship. They almost immediately inaugurated two regional, Wartime Emergency Leagues, with the winner of each league meeting in a play-off final to decide the overall winner.
The Challenge Cup and both County Cups were suspended. There was to be no Yorkshire Cup competition in 1939.
But later in the season both County Cups were resurrected.
The Yorkshire Cup started on Saturday 25 May/1 June and was played on consecutive weekends.
Each and every match was played on a knock-out basis.

Background

, Bramley and Keighley, did not appear to enter this year's competition. All had competed in the league programme, and all competed again next season
The number of teams entering this year’s competition therefore decreased by three reducing the total number of entrants to twelve.
This in turn resulted in four byes in the first round.

Competition and Results

Round 1

Involved 4 matches and 12 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Sat 25 May 1940Dewsbury23-14YorkCrown Flatt
2Sat 1 Jun 1940Bradford Northern22-3LeedsOdsal
3Sat 1 Jun 1940Castleford17-10HunsletWheldon Road
4Sat 1 Jun 1940Featherstone Rovers18-2HalifaxPost Office Road
5Huddersfieldbye1
6Hullbye1
7Hull Kingston Roversbye1
8Wakefield Trinitybye1

Round 2 - Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 8 Jun 1940Castleford6-12Hull Kingston RoversWheldon Road
2Sat 8 Jun 1940Featherstone Rovers21-6Bradford NorthernPost Office Road
3Sat 8 Jun 1940Huddersfield9-23DewsburyFartown
4Sat 8 Jun 1940Wakefield Trinity27-3HullBelle Vue

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 15 Jun 1940Featherstone Rovers15-11DewsburyPost Office Road
2Sat 15 Jun 1940Hull Kingston Rovers5-5Wakefield TrinityCraven Park

Semi-Final - Replays

Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
RWed 19 Jun 1940Wakefield Trinity8-7Hull Kingston RoversBelle Vue

Final

Teams and Scorers

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

The road to success