1944 Yorkshire Cup
| 1944–45 Yorkshire Cup | |
|---|---|
| Structure | Regional knockout championship |
| Teams | 17 |
| Winners | Hunslet |
| Runners-up | Halifax |
1944 Yorkshire Cup
The Yorkshire Cup competition was a knock-out competition between (mainly professional) 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 (in the form of Acton & Willesden. The competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final taking place in (or just before) December (The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused during, and immediately after, the two World Wars)
The Second World War was continuing and the Yorkshire Cup remained in the early part of the 1944–45 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season calendar
1944 was the thirty-seventh occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.
Halifax won the trophy by beating Hunslet in a two-legged final by an aggregate score of 14-3
Hunslet played the first leg match at home (at Parkside, Hunslet, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire) and lost 3-12. The attendance was 11,213 and receipts were £744.
Halifax were at home (at Thrum Hall) for the second leg match and duly won 2-0. The attendance at the second leg match was 9,800 and receipts £745.
Hull Kingston Rovers – The club dropped out of the wartime Lancashire league after the ‘first (1939–40) season. They did not return to league competition until 1945–46 peacetime season.
Bramley – withdrew after the third wartime season (1941–42) had finished and did not rejoin until the 1945–46 season.
Castleford – withdrew after the third wartime season (1941–42) had finished and did not participate for two seasons, re-joining for this 1944–45 season.
Hunslet – withdrew after the third wartime season (1941–42) had finished and did not participate for one season, and re-joined in time for the 1943–44 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season
Wigan - This club entered the Yorkshire Cup competition for the fifth successive season
Oldham - The club, as Wigan, also entered the Yorkshire Cup competition and for the fifth successive season
St. Helens - The club, as Wigan and Oldham, also entered the Yorkshire Cup competition and for their third successive season
Barrow – withdrew after the end of the first (1939–40) season finished and did not rejoin the league, including the Yorkshire Cup until the 1943–44 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League 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.
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