1974–75 Player's No.6 Trophy

1974–75 Player's No.6 Trophy
StructureNational knockout championship
Teams32
WinnersBradford Northern
Runners-upWidnes

This was the fourth season for the League Cup, which was again known as the Players No.6 Trophy for sponsorship reasons.

Bradford Northern won the trophy by beating Widnes by the score of 3–2. The final was played at Wilderspool, Warrington. The attendance was 5,935 and receipts were £3305.

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at eighteen.
For the first time in the competition, there were no drawn matches.

Competition and results

[1][2][3]

First round

The first round consisted of the 30 Rugby Football League professional clubs, plus two amateur teams from the Castleford area, Lock Lane and Kippax White Swan.

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance Notes
1 27 September 1974 Salford 36–5 Castleford The Willows 4,755
2 28 September 1974 Barrow 5–14 York Craven Park 1,000
3 28 September 1974 Bramley 15–6 Hull F.C. McLaren Field 750 [4]
4 28 September 1974 Leeds 49–10 New Hunslet Headingley 4,068
5 28 September 1974 Wakefield Trinity 44–10 Leigh Belle Vue 1,984 [5]
6 28 September 1974 Whitehaven 32–6 Lock Lane Recreation Ground 537 [6]
7 29 September 1974 Blackpool Borough 17–20 Wigan Borough Park 1,595 [7]
8 29 September 1974 Bradford Northern 12–8 Dewsbury Odsal 5,287
9 29 September 1974 Doncaster 15–6 Kippax White Swan Bentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield 453 [8]
10 29 September 1974 Halifax 11–13 Keighley Thrum Hall 1,990
11 29 September 1974 Huyton 14–12 Huddersfield Alt Park, Huyton [9]
12 29 September 1974 Oldham 21–14 Workington Town Watersheddings 1,494
13 29 September 1974 Rochdale Hornets 12–16 Hull Kingston Rovers Athletic Grounds 3,160
14 29 September 1974 Swinton 7–6 St. Helens Station Road [10]
15 29 September 1974 Warrington 36–3 Batley Wilderspool 5,000 [11]
16 29 September 1974 Widnes 10–5 Featherstone Rovers Naughton Park 4,000 [12]

Second round

[13] Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance Notes
1 8 November 1974 Salford 14–9 Bramley The Willows 4,295
2 9 November 1974 Oldham 3–12 Bradford Northern Watersheddings 2,113
3 10 November 1974 Keighley 4–39 Leeds Lawkholme Lane 2,837 [4]
4 10 November 1974 Swinton 18–2 Wigan Station Road 4,420 [14]
5 10 November 1974 Warrington 33–6 Huyton Wilderspool 4,756 [11]
6 10 November 1974 Whitehaven 14–4 Doncaster Recreation Ground 800
7 10 November 1974 Widnes 35–13 Wakefield Trinity Naughton Park 4,000 [5][12]
8 10 November 1974 York 12–26 Hull Kingston Rovers Clarence Street 3,299

Quarter finals

[13] Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance Notes
1 6 December 1974 Whitehaven 5–0 Warrington Recreation Ground 2,000 [11]
2 7 December 1974 Hull Kingston Rovers 25–17 Salford Craven Park (1) 3,927
3 8 December 1974 Bradford Northern 17–7 Leeds Odsal 6,726
4 8 December 1974 Widnes 15–5 Swinton Naughton Park 5,500 [12]

Semi finals

[13] Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance Notes
1 4 January 1975 Widnes 16-14 Hull Kingston Rovers Naughton Park 4,000 [12]
2 11 January 1975 Whitehaven 6-18 Bradford Northern Recreation Ground 3,500

Final

The final took place on Saturday 25 January 1975, at Wilderspool, Warrington. The attendance was 5,935,[15] with gate receipts of £3,305.[16]

25 January 1975
Widnes 2 – 3 Bradford Northern
Goals: Dutton
 [17]
 Tries: Carlton
Wilderspool, Warrington
Attendance: 5,935
Referee: Fred Lindop (Wakefield)
Player of the Match: Barry Seabourne

Teams and scorers

[18]

Bradford Northern No. Widnes
Teams
Stuart Carlton 1 Ray Dutton
Richard Francis 2 Alan Prescott
Phil Ward 3 Dennis O'Neill
Les Gant 4 Mal Aspey
David Redfearn 5 Chris Anderson
Mick Blacker 6 Eric Hughes
Barry Seabourne 7 Reg Bowden
Kelvin Earl 8 Jim Mills
Francis Jarvis 9 Keith Elwell
Phil Jackson 10 Barry Sheridan
Graham Joyce 11 Mick Adams
Dennis Trotter 12 Bob Blackwood
Stan Fearnley 13 Doug Laughton
Ken Kelly 14 Terry Karalius
Pattinson 15 John Peek
Coach

Prize money

As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season was as follows:[19]

Finish Position Cash Prize No. receiving prize Total Cash
Winner £5,000 1 £5,000
Runner-up £2,500 1 £2,500
Semi-finalist £1,000 2 £2,000
Loser in Rd 3 £450 4 £1,800
Loser in Rd 2 £300 8 £2,400
Loser in Rd 1 £150 16 £2,400
Grand Total £16,100

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Rugby League Project".
  2. ^ Frank Butler and Patrick Collins (1975). News of the World Football Annual 1975–76 - 89th year. News of the World Ltd.
  3. ^ Jack Winstanley & Malcolm Ryding (1991). John Player Yearbook 1975–76. Queen Anne Press.
  4. ^ a b "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
  5. ^ a b "I'm Wakefield 'til I die..."
  6. ^ The John Player Yearbook 1975–76 gives the attendance as 1,000 but the Rothmans Rugby League Yearbooks give it as 537.
  7. ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  8. ^ The John Player Yearbook gives the attendance as 513, but Rothmans Rugby League Yearbooks give it as 453
  9. ^ "Huddersfield Rugby League Heritage" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  11. ^ a b c "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
  12. ^ a b c d "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  13. ^ a b c "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player round 2 onwards".
  14. ^ Swinton No 8 Brian Butler was sent off in the 36th minute for "interfering in a tackle by Green on David Hill" and Wigan hooker Colin Clarke was sent off in the 6th minute for dissent.
  15. ^ The John Player Yearbook gives the attendance as 5,915, but Rothmans Rugby League Yearbooks give it as 5,935
  16. ^ Fletcher & Howes (1992), p. 189.
  17. ^ Winstanley & Ryding (1975), pp. 231–235.
  18. ^ "Widnes Stat Attack archived results".
  19. ^ Fletcher & Howes (1992), p. 396.

References

  • Winstanley, Jack; Ryding, Malcolm (1975). John Player Rugby League Yearbook. 1975-76. London: Queen Anne Press. ISBN 978-0-362-00223-2.
  • Fletcher, Raymond; Howes, David, eds. (1992). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1992-93. London: Headline Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7472-7906-8.