1979–80 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy

1979–80 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
StructureFloodlit knockout championship
Teams22
WinnersHull F.C.
Runners-upHull Kingston Rovers
 

The 1979–80 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the fifteenth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year, for the last time, a new name appeared on the trophy when Hull F.C. won the trophy by beating Hull Kingston Rovers by the score of 13-3
The match was played at Boulevard, in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. The attendance was 18,500, and the receipts were £16,605
The attendance was a record for a BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, never to be beaten

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at twenty-two.
The format remained as a knock-out competition from the preliminary round through to the final.
The preliminary round involved twelve clubs, to reduce the numbers taking part in the competition proper to just sixteen.

Competition and results

[1][2]

Preliminary round

Involved six matches and 12 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Notes Ref
P Tue 4 Sep 1979 Bramley 5–21 Hunslet McLaren Field
P Tue 4 Sep 1979 Hull F.C. 8–1 Halifax Boulevard 1 [3]
P Wed 5 Sep 1979 Castleford 22–12 Wakefield Trinity Wheldon Road [4]
P Tue 11 Sep 1979 Whitehaven 5–29 Barrow Recreation Ground
P Wed 19 Sep 1979 Oldham 9–20 St Helens Watersheddings 1,355 [5]
P Wed 26 Sep 1979 Warrington 4–12 Leigh Wilderspool [6]

First round

Involved eight matches and 16 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Notes Ref
1 Tue 25 Sep 1979 Keighley 9–2 Dewsbury Lawkholme Lane
2 Sun 30 Sep 1979 Hull F.C. 34–2 Huddersfield Boulevard 2 [2][3][7]
3 Tue 2 Oct 1979 Widnes 27–13 Swinton Naughton Park 3 [8]
4 Tue 9 Oct 1979 St Helens 45–17 Rochdale Hornets Knowsley Road 3,000 3 4 [5]
5 Tue 9 Oct 1979 Salford 24–6 Wigan The Willows [9]
6 Tue 16 Oct 1979 Hull Kingston Rovers 25–12 Castleford Craven Park 3
7 Tue 23 Oct 1979 Hunslet 10–12 Leeds Mount Pleasant 3
8 Tue 30 Oct 1979 Leigh 20–4 Barrow Hilton Park 3

Second round

Involved four matches with eight clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Notes Ref
1 Tue 6 Nov 1979 Hull Kingston Rovers 41–15 Keighley Craven Park 3
2 Tue 13 Nov 1979 Leigh 14–5 Widnes Hilton Park 3 [8]
3 Tue 27 Nov 1979 Hull F.C. 16–9 Leeds Boulevard 3 [3]
4 Tue 20 Nov 1979 St Helens P–P Salford Knowsley Road [5]
R Fri 30 Nov 1979 St Helens 15–10 Salford Knowsley Road 4,500 [5]

Semi-finals

Involved two matches and four clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Notes Ref
1 Tue 4 Dec 1979 Hull F.C. 9–6 Leigh Boulevard 3 [3]
2 Tue 11 Dec 1979 Hull Kingston Rovers 10–7 St Helens Knowsley Road 7,766 3 [5]

Final

The attendance was a record for a BBC2 Floodlit Trophy final, never to be beaten.

18 December 1979
Hull 13 – 3 Hull Kingston Rovers
Tries: Evans, Dennison, Birdsall
Goals: Dennison (2)
 [10][11]
 Tries: Hubbard
The Boulevard, Hull
Attendance: 18,500
Referee: Billy Thompson (Huddersfield)

Teams

Hull F.C. No. Hull Kingston Rovers
Teams
Paul Woods 1 Ian Robinson
Graham Bray 2 Steve Hubbard
Graham Evans 3 Mike Smith
Phil Coupland 4 Bernard Watson
Steve Dennison 5 Clive Sullivan (c)
John Newlove 6 Dave Hall
Keith Hepworth 7 Allan Agar
Keith Tindall 8 Roy Holdstock
Ron Wileman 9 Graham Tyreman
Vince Farrar (c) 10 Brian Lockwood
Charlie Stone 11 Phil Lowe
Keith Boxall 12 Geoff Clarkson
Steve Norton 13 Phil Hogan
Subs
Graham Walters 14 Steve Hartley
Charlie Birdsall 15 John Millington
Arthur Bunting Coach Roger Millward

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

First round Second round Semi-finals Final
            
Hull FC 34
Huddersfield 2
Hull FC 16
Leeds 9
Hunslet 10
Leeds 12
Hull FC 9
Leigh 6
Leigh 20
Barrow 4
Leigh 14
Widnes 5
Widnes 27
Swinton 13
Hull FC 13
Hull Kingston Rovers 3
Hull Kingston Rovers 25
Castleford 12
Hull Kingston Rovers 41
Keighley 15
Keighley 9
Dewsbury 2
Hull Kingston Rovers 10
St. Helens 7
St. Helens 45
Rochdale Hornets 17
St. Helens 15
Salford 10
Salford 24
Wigan 6

Notes and comments

1 * the first BBC2 Floodlit Trophy match to end with a team scoring 1 point
2 * Played in daylight
3 * This match was televised
4 * At the time this was the third highest score

Postscript

To date, this was the last season for the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Competition, which had taken place annually only since its inauguration in the 1965-66 season.
Despite several minor disagreements between the BBC and the RFL, including over shirt sponsorship in the early 1970s, overall the competition had been a great success.
However financial cutbacks at the BBC lead to its cancellation after the 1979–80 competition.
Therefore, this season was to be the last. It was greatly missed by many, including those living in a non-Rugby League area

Records from the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Competition

[12][13]

Record Holder
In Final
Team
Most appearances 7 St. Helens
Most wins 4 Castleford
Highest Score 26-11 Hull Kingston Rovers St. Helens 1977
Widest margin 22-2 St. Helens 1977 Dewsbury 1975
Biggest Attendance 18500 Hull F.C. v Hull Kingston Rovers 1979
Highest receipts 16605 Hull F.C. v Hull Kingston Rovers 1979
Individual
Most tries 2 Roy Mathias St. Helens v Dewsbury 1975
2 Peter Glynn St. Helens v Hull Kingston Rovers 1977
2 Gerald "Ged" Dunn Hull Kingston Rovers v St. Helens 1977
2 Stuart Wright Widnes v St. Helens 1978
Most goals 4 Ron Willett Castleford v Leigh 1967
4 Kel Coslett St. Helens v Rochdale Hornets 1971
4 Dave Hall Hull Kingston Rovers v St. Helens 1977
Most points 8 The last 3 goal kickers
In Competition
Highest Score 51-0 St. Helens Dewsbury (1977)
Greatest winning margin 51-0 St. Helens Dewsbury (1977)
Highest Aggregate score 54-16 Leeds Hull F.C. (1973)
Other high scores 47-5 St. Helens Castleford (1978)
47-11 Leeds Bramley (1978
'45-17 St. Helens Rochdale Hornets (1979)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Rugby League Project".
  2. ^ a b "Wigan "Cherry and White" matches".
  3. ^ a b c d "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
  4. ^ "I'm Wakefield 'til I die..."
  5. ^ a b c d e "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  6. ^ "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014.
  7. ^ "Huddersfield Rugby League Heritage" (PDF).
  8. ^ a b "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  9. ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  10. ^ Saxton, Irvin (ed.). History of Rugby League: No.86 1979–1980. League Publications. p. 14.
  11. ^ Macklin, Keith (19 December 1979). "Hull's trophy triumph has taverns ringing". The Times. p. 9.
  12. ^ Robert Gate (1991). Guinness Rugby League Fact Book. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 978-085112949 5.
  13. ^ Spotter Series. Spotter book of Rugby League Facts. Dorset Publ.