The 1951–52 Rugby Football League season was the 57th season of rugby league football.
Season summary
Wigan won their eighth Championship when they beat Bradford Northern 13–6 in the play-off final. Bradford had ended the regular season as the league leaders.
The Challenge Cup Winners were Workington Town who beat Featherstone Rovers 18–10 in the final.
Liverpool Stanley was renamed Liverpool City, and Cardiff, and Doncaster joined the league.
Wigan won the Lancashire League, and Huddersfield won the Yorkshire League.
Championship Final standings TeamPldWDLPts1Bradford Northern362817572Wigan362718553Hull362619534Huddersfield3626010525Oldham3625110516Warrington3624111497Leigh3623211488Workington Town3623013469Hunslet36221134510Barrow36212134411Doncaster36211144312Widnes36202144213Leeds36192154014Swinton36183153915Salford36182163816Wakefield Trinity36190173817Batley36181173718Dewsbury36180183619Whitehaven36164163620St. Helens36162183421Halifax36162183422Featherstone Rovers36142203023Belle Vue Rangers36123212724York36123212725Hull Kingston Rovers36101252126Rochdale Hornets36101252127Bramley36101252128Castleford3681271729Keighley3681271730Cardiff3650311031Liverpool City3640328 Play-offs Source: wigan.rlfans.com .
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0. Pld = Games played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = League points.
Play-offs
WiganNumberBradford Northern Teams Martin Ryan1Joseph PhillipsJack Hilton2Bob HawesJack Broome3Joe MageenGeorge Roughley4Norman HastingsBrian Nordgren5Jack McLeanJack Cunliffe6Len HaleyJohnny Alty7Gwylfa JonesKen Gee8Bill ShreeveRonnie Mather9Norman HaleyGeorge Woosey10Brian RadfordNat Silcock Jr.11Barry TylerJack Large12Trevor FosterHarry Street13Ken TraillJim SullivanCoachDai Rees
Challenge Cup
Workington Town beat Featherstone Rovers 18–10 in the Challenge Cup Final played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 19 April 1952 in front of a crowd of 72,093. Workington full-back and captain-coach Gus Risman became the oldest player to appear in a Cup final at age 41. Three Australians, Tony Paskins, John Mudge and Bevan Wilson came up with decisive plays to help relative newcomers Workington to victory. It was the club's first Cup Final win in their first Final appearance. Billy Ivison, Workington Town's loose forward, was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for man-of-the-match.
County cups
Wigan beat Leigh 14–6 to win the Lancashire Cup, and Wakefield Trinity beat Keighley 17–3 to win the Yorkshire Cup.
European Championship
This was the twelfth competition and was won for the fourth time by France on points difference.European Championship 1951-52 at rugbyleagueproject.org
Results
Final standings Team Played Won Drew Lost For Against Diff Points 3 2 0 1 76 42 +34 4 3 2 0 1 79 71 +8 4 Other nationalities 3 2 0 1 57 56 +1 4 3 0 0 3 34 77 −43 0
References
Sources 1951-52 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website