1941–42 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season

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1941–42 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season
League Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League
1941–42 Season
Champions Dewsbury
Runner-up Bradford Northern
< 1940–41 Seasons 1942–43 >

The 1941–42 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the third season of the rugby league’s Wartime Emergency League necessitated by the Second World War.
As in the previous (second) Wartime season, the clubs each played a different number of games and several clubs dropped out . In fact as only 17 of the original clubs remained (and only Oldham, St Helens and Wigan from west of the Pennines) the leagues were amalgamated into one single Championship.

General Comments

Season summary


The 1941–42 season began on Saturday 6 September 1941.
As there are now only three Lancashire clubs who have not had to close down and withdraw from the League, the Northern Rugby League decided to unite all the 17 remaining clubs into one single Competition. As the clubs are still playing different number of marches, the league positions and the title would be decided on a percentage basis..
At the completion of the regular season Dewsbury were on top of the league both on points scored (39 points) and percentage success (81.25%). Bradford Northern were second and the highest Lancashire team were sixth place Wigan.
Dewsbury went on to defeat Bradford Northern 13-0 in the play-off final.[1] and win the Championship (for the second consecutive season)
The Wartime Emergency Leagues did not count as an official league championship.
In the Challenge Cup Final the same two clubs as last season contested the tie, with the same result, Leeds beat Halifax 15-10 at Odsal.
The Lancashire Cup, suspended for season 1940–41 remained so for the rest of the war and again Wigan competed in the Yorkshire Cup.
Bradford Northern beat Halifax 24-0 at Fartown in front of a 5,989 (receipts were £635.0.0).
This was Bradford Northern second consecutive victory in this trophy

Change in Club participation

Previous withdrawals


The following clubs had withdrawn from the League, before this 1941–42 season began :-
St Helens Recs – who folded before the war started
Barrow – withdrew after the end of the first (1939–40) ‘season finished and did not rejoin until the 1943–44 season.
Hull Kingston Rovers – withdrew after the end of the first (1939–40) ‘season finished and did not rejoin until the 1945–46 season.
Rochdale Hornets – As Hull Kingston Rovers.
Widnes – As Hull Kingston Rovers.

New withdrawals


Broughton Rangers – withdrew prior to this season 1941–42 commencing and not re-joining until the 1945–46 season.
Leigh - During the Second World War, the club was forced to leave its ground as the adjacent cable factory extended onto the land. The townsfolk of Leigh, acting on chairman James Hilton's inspiration, cleared some fields on the edge of the town, and built a new stadium, including moving and rebuilding the old grandstand from the original ground. In 1941–42, Leigh quit the wartime Lancashire league and would not return to the league until 1946–47 when they played as a temporary measure at the Athletic Ground, Holden Road before moving to Kirkhall Lane (which was later officially renamed Hilton Park after James Hilton.
Liverpool Stanley – As Broughton Rangers.
Salford - Salford had continued to function, but it was a struggle. At the beginning of January 1941, the club decided to cease playing, due to poor gates. As Broughton Rangers, the club withdrew prior to this season 1941–42 commencing and not re-joining until the 1945–46 season. In November 1942, manager Lance Todd was killed in a car crash.
Swinton - As Broughton Rangers.
Warrington - During the War, it was difficult to play matches and therefore pay the bills. To help out the club committee decided that a Limited Company of 10,000 £1 shares was to be created. The Warrington Football Club Limited became a reality. But times were still hard and like Broughton Rangers, the club withdrew prior to this season 1941–42 commencing and not re-joining until the 1945–46 season.

Dewsbury had a relatively successful time during the war years. Managed by Eddie Waring, and with the side boosted by the inclusion of a number of big-name guest players, the club won the Wartime Emergency League in 1941–42 and again the following season 1942–43 (though that championship was declared null and void when it was discovered they had played an ineligible player). They were also runners-up in the Championship in 1943–44, Challenge Cup winners in 1943 and Yorkshire Cup final appearances in this season 1940–41 and winners in 1942–43.

Records


Bramley joined the ranks of the clubs with the unenviable record of losing every league match during the season.
Bramley withdrew from competitions for the following seasons.
A full list to date of all clubs with this record is as follows :-

Lost all league matches in a season
Club season League Cup Notes Ref
Bramley 1941–42 19 War Emergency League 4 Cup-ties [2]
Other clubs with the same equal record
Liverpool City 1906-07 30** League 2 Cup-ties ** [2]
Broughton Rangers 1940–41 10 War Lancashire League 1 Cup-tie [2]
Leigh 1940–41 13 War Lancashire League 1 Cup-tie [2]
Runcorn Highfield 1989-90 28 Division Two 3 Cup-ties [2]
Nottingham City 1991-92 26 Division Three 3 Cup-ties [2]
** Also lost to Pontefract, but this match was expunged from League records after Pontefract disbanded [2]
** Also drew against Bramley but this was expunged from the records as the return match was cancelled [2]

Championship

Team P W D L PF PA diff Pts % Note ref
1 Dewsbury 24 19 1 4 431 172 259 39
2 Bradford Northern 17 13 1 3 318 130 188 27
3 Halifax 17 13 0 4 262 139 123 26
4 Hull 18 12 0 6 265 146 119 24
5 Hunslet 18 10 0 8 212 177 35 20
6 Wigan 20 11 0 9 241 207 34 22
7 Oldham 20 11 0 9 209 209 0 22
8 Leeds 23 12 1 10 245 213 32 25
9 Huddersfield 23 12 0 11 355 276 79 24
10 Keighley 23 12 0 11 224 306 -82 24
11 Wakefield Trinity 19 9 0 10 195 215 -20 18
12 Featherstone Rovers 18 8 0 10 166 181 -15 16
13 St Helens 19 8 0 11 217 270 -53 16
14 Castleford 20 8 0 12 195 253 -58 16
15 York 22 6 0 16 231 386 -155 12
16 Batley 18 3 1 14 133 269 -136 7
17 Bramley 19 0 0 19 104 454 -350 0

Heading Abbreviations
RL = Single Division; Pl = Games Played: W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose; PF = Points For; PA = Points Against; Diff = Points Difference (+ or -); Pts = League Points
% Pts = A percentage system was used to determine league positions due to clubs playing varying number of fixtures and against different opponents
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.

Championship Play-Off

Semi-finals Championship Final
           
1 Dewsbury 32
4 Hull 18
Dewsbury 13
Bradford Northern 0
2 Bradford Northern 15
3 Halifax 8


The final was played at Headingley, the attendance was 18,000 and receipts £1,121.0.0

Trophies

Challenge Cup



Below are given some of the fixtures and results from this year’s Challenge Cup competition. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Swinton, who had not entered the League programme, took part in this competition.

Date Stage Home Team score Away Team Venue agg att rcts Note ref
1st Round
CC R1 1st leg Sat 25-04-1942 Hull 34-0 Bramley The Boulevard [5]
CC R1 1st leg Sat 25-04-1942 Wigan 6-4 Dewsbury Central Park [4]
CC R1 1st Leg Sat 25-04-1942 Keighley Lost to Bradford Northern Lawkholme Ln
CC R1 2nd leg Sat 02-05-1942 Bramley 8-17 Hull Barley Mow 8-51 [5]
CC R1 2nd leg Sat 02-05-1942 Dewsbury 12-14 Wigan Crown Flatt 16-20 [4]
CC R1 2nd Leg Sat 02-05-1942 Bradford Northern beat Keighley Odsal Won
2nd Round
CC R2 1st leg Sat 09-05-1942 Leeds 22-8 Hull Headingley [5]
CC R2 1st leg Sat 09-05-1942 Swinton 0-9 Wigan Station Rd [4]
CC R2 2nd leg Sat 16-05-1942 Hull 12-7 Leeds The Boulevard 20-29 [5]
CC R2 2nd leg Sat 16-05-1942 Wigan 12-17 Swinton Central Park 21-17 [4]
Semi-Final
CC SF 1st leg Sat 23-05-1942 Halifax 10-0 Wigan Thrum Hall [4]
CC SF 2nd leg Sat 30-05-1942 Wigan 16-16 Halifax Central Park 16-26 [4]
Final
CC F --?? Leeds 15-10 Halifax Odsal 15,250 £1,276.0.0
Leeds are winners of the Challenge Cup

In the Final of the Yorkshire County Cup, Leeds beat Halifax 15-10 at Odsal in front of a crowd of 15,250 and with receipts of £1,276.0.0.
This is the second year running that these two teams contested the Final, in each case Leeds winning.

Lancashire Cup


The Lancashire Cup, suspended for season 1940–41 remained so for the rest of the war and again Wigan competed in the Yorkshire Cup.

Yorkshire Cup


Below are given some of the fixtures and results from this year’s Yorkshire Cup competition.

Date Stage Home Team score Away Team Venue agg att rcts Note ref
1st Round
YC R1 1st leg Sat 25-10-1941 Hull 3-20 Huddersfield The Boulevard [5]
YC R1 1st leg Sat 25-10-1941 Keighley 2-14 Wigan Lawkholme Ln [4]
YC R1 2nd leg Sat 01-11-1941 Huddersfield 13-5 Hull Fartown 33-8 [5]
YC R1 2nd leg Sat 01-11-1941 Wigan 19-0 Keighley Central Park 33-2 [4]
2nd Round
YC R2 1st leg Sat 08-11-1941 Hunslet 3-8 Wigan Parkside [4]
YC R2 2nd leg Sat 15-11-1941 Wigan 10-4 Hunslet Central Park 18-7 [4]
Semi-Final
YC SF 1st leg Sat 22-11-1941 Halifax 11-8 Wigan Thrum Hall [4]
YC SF 2nd leg Sat 29-11-1941 Wigan 2-2 Halifax Central Park 10-13 [4]
Final
YC F --?? Bradford Northern 24-0 Halifax Fartown 5989 £635.0.0
Bradford Northern are winners of Yorkshire Cup

Notes and Comments

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See also

British rugby league system
1939–40 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season
1940–41 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season
1941–42 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season
1942–43 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season
1943–44 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season
1944–45 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season
The Great Schism – Rugby League View
The Great Schism – Rugby Union View
List of defunct rugby league clubs
Dewsbury

References


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External links

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