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1908–09 Northern Rugby Football Union season

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Rugby league season
1908–09 Northern Rugby Football Union season
LeagueChampionship
Teams31
1908–09 Season
Champions Wigan (1st title)
League Leaders Wigan
Runners-up Oldham
Joined LeagueAberdare
Barry
Mid-Rhondda
Treherbert
Top point-scorer(s)England James Lomas ( Salford) (272)
Top try-scorer(s)England Joe Miller ( Wigan)
Wales Frank Williams ( Halifax) (44)
← 1907–091909–10 →

The 1908–09 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the 14th season of rugby league football in the United Kingdom.

The governing body, the Northern Union (NU) decided to admit four extra clubs, all from Wales; Aberdare, Barry, Mid-Rhondda and Treherbert, to expand the Northern Rugby League to 31 clubs. With six Welsh clubs in the league the NU also established a Welsh League along the same lines as the existing Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues.

Wigan won their first Championship this season beating Oldham 7-3 in the play-off final. Wigan also ended the regular season as the league leaders. Oldham's appearance in the Championship final was the first time that a team from outside the top two in the league had reached the final.

Wigan won the Lancashire League. Halifax won the Yorkshire League. The Welsh League was won by Ebbw Vale.

Northern Rugby League

The organisation of the Northern Rugby League, the senior competition for the clubs of the Northern Union, did not involve all the clubs playing all the others. The requirement was that clubs would play all the others from their own league (Yorkshire, Lancashire or Wales) home and away. In addition, at least four fixtures against clubs from other leagues also had to be played, any over this minimum were voluntary. This system meant that clubs played differing numbers of games and therefore the league table was based on win percentage (Win percentage was calculated by adding twice the number of wins to the number of draws and dividing this total by the number of games played to give a percentage between 0 and 100%). This fixture system meant a minimum of 28 games for the Yorkshire clubs and 26 for the Lancashire clubs. The Welsh clubs undertook to play eight games against the other Welsh teams and then an equal number of additional matches against English clubs, a minimum of 16 games.

The Welsh clubs had mixed fortunes, Merthyr Tydfil and Ebbw Vale, for whom this was the second season in the league, finished 8th (18 matches) and 14th (24 matches) respectively. The four new teams, Mid-Rhondda, Treherbert, Barry and Aberdare all finished in the bottom eight finishing 24th (18 matches), 28th (18 matches), 29th (18 matches) and 31st (17 matches) respectively. Aberdare failed to fulfil their last Northern league fixture, away at Wakefield. The disappointing results and the attendant lack of income and support made 1908–09 the only season in the Northern Union for three of thee Welsh teams, as Mid-Rhondda, Aberdare and Barry either left or were expelled from the Northern Union at the end of the season.

The joint top try-scorers were Joe Miller of Wigan and Frank Williams of Halifax with 49 each. James Lomas of Salford was the season's top scorer with 272 points (88 goals and 32 tries), Lomas's 88 goals also made him the leading goal scorer.

Northern Rugby League final table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA Pts Pct Qualification
1 Wigan 32 28 0 4 706 207 56 87.50 Play-off semi-finals
2 Halifax 34 28 1 5 526 174 57 83.82
3 Oldham 32 26 0 6 488 176 52 81.25
4 Batley 32 23 3 6 412 176 49 76.56
5 Huddersfield 34 21 3 10 504 292 45 66.17
6 Wakefield Trinity 31 20 1 10 471 318 41 66.12
7 Salford 32 20 1 11 455 309 41 64.06
8 Merthyr Tydfil 18 11 1 6 184 156 23 63.88
9 Broughton Rangers 32 19 1 12 420 330 39 60.93
10 Warrington 32 18 2 12 473 266 38 59.37
11 Runcorn 28 16 1 11 271 191 33 58.92
12 Hunslet 32 18 1 13 361 299 37 57.81
13 Hull 34 19 1 14 487 366 39 57.35
14 Ebbw Vale 24 12 1 11 249 269 25 52.08
15 Leeds 32 15 1 16 398 355 31 48.43
16 Hull Kingston Rovers 32 14 1 17 429 423 29 45.31
17 St. Helens 28 11 3 14 312 421 25 44.64
18 York 32 13 1 18 394 510 27 42.18
19 Dewsbury 30 12 1 17 350 324 25 41.66
20 Keighley 30 12 1 17 338 355 25 41.66
21 Leigh 28 11 0 17 214 308 22 39.28
22 Swinton 32 11 1 20 258 440 23 35.93
23 Bradford Northern 32 11 0 21 324 451 22 34.37
24 Mid-Rhondda 18 5 1 12 111 214 11 30.55
25 Rochdale Hornets 30 8 2 20 195 384 18 30.00
26 Barrow 32 9 1 22 245 507 19 29.69
27 Widnes 28 6 3 19 197 359 15 26.78
28 Treherbert 18 4 1 13 81 212 9 25.00
29 Barry 18 3 0 15 76 445 6 16.66
30 Bramley 26 3 0 23 162 582 6 11.53
31 Aberdare 17 1 0 16 134 406 2 5.88
Source:

Play-offs

Semi-finals Championship final
      
1 Wigan 18
4 Batley 2
Wigan 7
Oldham 3
2 Halifax 3(2)
3 Oldham 3(8)

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played on 17 April 1909, Wigan beat Batley 18–2 while Halifax and Oldham drew 3–3. Oldham replayed Halifax on 21 April winning 8–2.

Final

Northern Rugby League Championship Final
1 May 1909
Wigan 7 – 3 Oldham
Tries: Ramsdale
Goals: Leytham (2)
 Report
 Tries: Jardine
The Willows
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: J. C. Lumley (Leeds)

The Championship final was played on a rainy afternoon of 1 May 1909 before a crowd of around 12,000 at The Willows in Salford. In the third minute, Wigan took the lead through a penalty goal by Jim Leytham. Oldham however scored the first try when Bill Jardine crossed in the fifteenth minute. Wigan's Dick Ramsdale took his side back into the lead with a try in the thirtieth minute. Leytham converted to give Wigan a 7-3 lead at half time. No further points were scored during the match. Contemporary observers considered the match to have been a disappointing spectacle.

Championship Final teams
Wigan Number Oldham
Fullback
Jim Sharrock 1 Alf Wood
Threequarter backs
Jim Leytham 2 George Tyson
Bert Jenkins 3 Sid Deane
Lance Todd 4 Tom Llewellyn
Joe Miller 5 George Smith
Halfbacks
Johnny Thomas 6 Billy Dixon
Ned Jones 7 Arthur Anlezark
Forwards
Jack Barton 8 Bert Avery
Walter Cheetham 9 Joe Ferguson
Howell de Francis 10 Bill Jardine
Dick Ramsdale 11 Joe Owens
Dick Silcock 12 Arthur Smith
Tom Whittaker 13 Harry Topham
Source:

County leagues

The Yorkshire and Lancashire county leagues had been re-established the previous season. Team results from championship games played against clubs from the same county counted towards the county league. Halifax won the Yorkshire league and Wigan the Lancashire league.

Yorkshire League
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA Pts
1 Halifax 24 21 1 2 373 112 43
2 Batley 24 17 3 4 275 132 37
3 Wakefield Trinity 24 16 1 7 396 236 33
4 Hunslet 24 15 1 8 291 213 31
5 Huddersfield 24 14 2 8 328 211 30
6 Hull 24 12 1 11 353 270 25
7 Hull Kingston Rovers 24 10 1 13 321 348 21
8 Leeds 24 10 1 13 264 295 21
9 Keighley 24 9 1 14 249 300 19
10 Dewsbury 24 8 1 15 247 269 17
11 York 24 8 1 15 246 384 17
12 Bradford Northern 24 6 0 18 180 359 12
13 Bramley 24 3 0 21 147 541 6
Source:
Lancashire League
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA Pts
1 Wigan 22 19 0 3 424 145 38
2 Oldham 22 18 0 4 310 130 36
3 Salford 22 14 1 7 297 206 28
4 Broughton Rangers 22 13 1 8 319 233 27
5 Warrington 22 12 1 9 345 190 25
6 Runcorn 22 11 1 10 189 167 23
7 Swinton 22 8 1 13 164 255 17
8 St Helens 22 7 3 12 173 321 17
9 Leigh 22 8 0 14 168 253 16
10 Rochdale Hornets 22 6 2 14 145 257 14
11 Widnes 22 4 3 15 123 255 11
12 Barrow 22 5 1 16 117 362 11
Source:

Bribery case

In November 1908, Edward Crofton, a Wigan coal dealer, was jailed for two months with hard labour for attempting to bribe two Wigan players, Lance Todd and Massa Johnston, to throw the club's game against Hunslet. The prosecution case was that, in September, Crofton had waited in a Wigan pub for the two players to come in and when they did arrive, he offered them £5 each and a share of the winnings from betting on Hunslet to beat Wigan the following Saturday. The two players did not take the suggestion seriously, thinking it was a joke, and left the pub. The following evening, the players were again in the pub and Crofton repeated the offer, increasing the amount offered to each player to £20. Again the players thought it was a joke but reported the matter to the club. The defendant maintained that the first meeting never took place and that the second occasion was simply a joke remark on his part and that he had never actually offered either player any money. As another Wigan player had testified that Crofton had been in the pub on the first occasion, the magistrates did not believe Crofton and unanimously convicted him of the offence.

Welsh league

Main article: Welsh League

The Welsh league was new for this season and worked on different principles from the county leagues. Instead of games between Welsh teams scoring for both the Northern league and the Welsh league, separate fixtures were played for each league resulting in each club's fixture list including four fixtures against each of the other Welsh clubs (two in the Northern league and two in the Welsh league). Not all the Welsh league matches were played as some of the clubs got into financial difficulties. Ebbw Vale won the Welsh league when they won their game against Mid-Rhondda at the beginning of April. Ebbw Vale beat a Rest of Welsh League side 20–0 in a season finale.

Welsh League
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA Pct
1 Ebbw Vale 8 7 0 1 135 21 87.50%
2 Treherbert 8 4 1 3 64 105 56.25%
3 Mid-Rhondda 9 5 0 4 70 48 55.55%
4 Merthyr Tydfil 10 5 0 5 101 73 50.00%
5 Barry 6 1 1 4 20 102 25.00%
6 Aberdare 7 1 0 6 64 108 14.28%

Challenge Cup

Main article: 1909 Challenge Cup

Wakefield Trinity beat Hull F.C. 17-0 in the final at Headingley, Leeds on 24 April 1909 to win their first Cup in their first final. This was Hull's second successive defeat in a Challenge Cup final, having failed to score a point in either final.

County Cups

Main articles: 1908–09 Yorkshire Cup and 1908–09 Lancashire Cup

Halifax won the Yorkshire Cup beating Hunslet 9–5 in the final. Wigan won the Lancashire Cup beating Oldham 10–9 in the final.

International tour

Main article: 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain

The Australia national rugby league team toured the United Kingdom and during the tour played all the Northern Union clubs except Bramley and Barry.

References

  1. Saxton, Irvin, ed. (1981). History of Rugby League. No 14 1908-09. League Publications. p. 1.
  2. ^ Vamplew, Wray (1988). Pay up and play the game : professional sport in Britain, 1875-1914. Cambridge University Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0521355971.
  3. "Northern Rugby Football Union". The Daily News. No. 19464. 1 August 1908. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. Saxton, Irvin, ed. (1981). History of Rugby League. No 14 1908-09. League Publications. p. 3.
  5. Fletcher, Raymond & Howes, David (1982). Rothman's Rugby League 1982-83 Yearbook. Rothmans Publications. pp. 387–388. ISBN 0907574157.
  6. Saxton, Irvin, ed. (1981). History of Rugby League. No 14 1908-09. League Publications. p. 23.
  7. Saxton, Irvin, ed. (1981). History of Rugby League. No 14 1908-09. League Publications. p. 23.
  8. "The Northern Union. League Championship Settled". St Helens Examiner. No. 1673. 8 May 1909. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Nearing The End". Empire News. No. 1312. 18 April 1909. p. 11 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Replayed Semi-Final". Leicester Daily Post. No. 6936. 22 April 1909. p. 6 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "1908-1909 Championship Final". wigan.rlfans.com. Cherryandwhite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  12. "Oldham Fail Again". Empire News. No. 1314. 2 May 1909. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ^ "Northern Union League". Athletic News. No. 1753. 3 May 1909. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Championship final". Leeds Mercury. No. 21690. 21 April 1909. p. 6 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. Saxton, Irvin, ed. (1981). History of Rugby League. No 14 1908-09. League Publications. p. 5.
  16. Saxton, Irvin, ed. (1981). History of Rugby League. No 14 1908-09. League Publications. p. 6.
  17. "Wigan Sensation. Charge Of Attempted Bribery". Sporting Chronicle. No. 11, 852. 12 November 1908. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. "Prison For Trying To Bribe Footballers". Weekly Dispatch. No. 5588. 15 November 1908. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. "Northern Union Notes. The Welsh League". Athletic News. No. 1718. 7 September 1908. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. "Welsh League Champions". Athletic News. No. 1749. 5 April 1909. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. "The Northern Union Game. Champions v. Rest of Welsh League". Merthyr Express. No. 2212. 3 May 1909. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  22. "A complete history of Hull FC's Challenge Cup finals". Hull Daily Mail. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.

Notes

Rugby Football League seasons
Rugby Football League era
(1895–1996)
1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96
Super League era
(1996–present)
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
2021 2022 2023 2024
Wigan squad – 1908–09 Championship Final winners
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