The 1938–39 Rugby Football League season was the 44th season of rugby league football.
Season summary
Salford won their fourth Championship when they defeated Castleford 8–6 in the play-off final. Salford had also ended the regular season as league leaders.
The Challenge Cup Winners were Halifax who defeated Salford 20–3 in the final.
Newcastle dropped out of the competition.
Salford won the Lancashire League, and Castleford won the Yorkshire League. Wigan beat Salford 10–7 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Huddersfield beat Hull F.C. 18–10 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
Championship
TeamPldWDLPts1Salford403037632Castleford402938613Halifax402839594Huddersfield4028210585Leeds4025411546Swinton4026113537Warrington4026014528Barrow4024313519Wigan40250155010Widnes40223154711Wakefield Trinity40205154512Hull40213164513Keighley40211184314Oldham40202184215Hunslet40194174216Bradford Northern40191203917Hull Kingston Rovers40183193918York40182203819Liverpool Stanley40181213720Broughton Rangers40181213721St. Helens40170233422Featherstone Rovers40132252823Batley40111282324St Helens Recs40110292225Bramley4085272126Leigh4073301727Dewsbury4052331228Rochdale Hornets4040368
Championship play-offs
Final
SalfordNumberCastleford Teams Sammy Miller1George LewisBarney Hudson2Bernard CunniffeAlbert Gear3Jimmy RobinsonGus Risman4Jim CrostonAlan Edwards5Reg LloydTom Kenny6Tom HardyBilly Watkins7Les AdamsDai Davies8William SteadBert Day9Harold HaleyJoe Bradbury10Tommy TaylorPaddy Dalton11John HoranHarold Thomas12Ted SadlerJack Feetham13Fred BrindleLance ToddCoachBilly RhodesSource:
Challenge Cup
Halifax beat Salford 20–3 in the final played at Wembley on Saturday 6 May 1939 in front of a crowd of 55,453. There would be no Challenge Cup competition in 1939–40.
This was Halifax’s fourth Cup Final win in five Final appearances.
This was Salford’s fifth Final appearance and second in consecutive years, having won the Cup the previous season
European Championship
The tri-nation tournament was played between November 1938 and April 1939 as single round robin games between England, France and Wales. This was the fourth Rugby League European Championship, and was won by France.
Match details
Date Venue Home team Score Away team 5 Nov 1938 Llanelli Wales 17 - 9 England 25 Feb 1939 St Helens England 9 - 12 France 2 Apr 1938 Bordeaux France 16 - 10 Wales
References
Sources 1938–39 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website