The 1951–52 Lancashire Cup was the thirty-ninth occasion on which rugby league's Lancashire Cup competition was held. It was won by Wigan who defeated Leigh in the final.
Background
Overall, the number of teams entering this year's competition remained the same as last year's total of 14. The same pre-war fixture format was retained. This season saw no bye but one "blank" or "dummy" fixture in the first round. There was also one bye but no "blank" fixture" in the second round. As last season, all the first round matches of the competition will be played on the basis of two legged, home and away, ties – and the remainder of the rounds remaining on straight forward knock-out basis.
Competition and results
Round 1 – first leg Involved 7 matches (with no bye and one "blank" fixture) and 14 clubs.
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Sat 01 Sep 1951Barrow52–5Liverpool CityCraven Park2Sat 01 Sep 1951Rochdale Hornets7–8OldhamAthletic Grounds3Sat 01 Sep 1951St. Helens4–8Belle Vue RangersKnowsley Road15,0004Sat 01 Sep 1951Salford7–14LeighThe Willows5Sat 01 Sep 1951Swinton16–28WiganStation Road6Sat 01 Sep 1951Warrington6–16Workington TownWilderspool7Sat 01 Sep 1951Widnes14–6WhitehavenNaughton Park8 blankblank
Round 1 – second leg Involved 7 matches (with no bye and one "blank" fixture) and 14 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg.
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Thu 06 Sep 1951Liverpool City5–30BarrowMill Yard, Knotty Ash10–822Tue 04 Sep 1951Oldham21–5Rochdale HornetsWatersheddings29–123Thu 06 Sep 1951Belle Vue Rangers2–2St. HelensBelle Vue Stadium10–65,0004Wed 12 Sep 1951Leigh15–9SalfordKirkhall Lane29–165Wed 12 Sep 1951Wigan15–5SwintonCentral Park43–216Mon 03 Sep 1951Workington Town20–3WarringtonBorough Park36–97Wed 05 Sep 1951Whitehaven11–9WidnesRecreation Ground14–238 blankblank
Round 2 – quarterfinals Involved 3 matches (with one bye) and 7 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Mon 24 Sep 1951Oldham17–9WidnesWatersheddings2Wed 26 Sep −1951Belle Vue Rangers12–2Workington TownBelle Vue Stadium3Thu 27 Sep 1951Barrow12–16LeighCraven Park4 Wiganbye
Round 3 – semifinals Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Mon 15 Oct 1951Wigan22–9Belle Vue RangersCentral Park2Tue 16 Oct 1951Oldham10–14LeighWatersheddings
Final Wigan won the trophy by beating Leigh by the score of 14–6. The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 33,230 and receipts were £5,432. This was the sixth (and last) in Wigan's record breaking run of six consecutive Lancashire Cup victories. Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef Saturday 27 October 1951Wigan14–6LeighStation Road33,230£5,4321
Teams and scorers
WiganNo.Leigh Teams Jack Cunliffe1Jimmy LedgardGordon Ratcliffe2Bill KindonGeorge Roughley3Trevor AllanErnie Ashcroft4Norman HarrisBrian Nordgren5Frank MorganJack Broome6Edward KerwickJohnny Alty7Ken BaxterKen Gee8Harry EddenRonald Mather9Joe Egan (c)Frank Barton10Jeff BurkeNat Silcock, Jr.11Charlie PawseyJack Large 12Walt TabernHarry Street13Peter FosterCoachJoe Egan 14score63HT0 Scorers Tries Brian Nordgren (2)THarris (1)Jack Broome (1)TMorgan (1)Jack Large (1)T Goals Ken Gee (1)GRefereeAlbert Dobson, Pontefract Scoring – Try = three (3) points – Goal = two (2) points – Drop goal = two (2) points
The road to success All the first round ties were played on a two leg (home and away) basis.
The first club named in each of the first round ties played the first leg at home.
the scores shown in the first round are the aggregate score over the two legs.
Notes and comments 1 * Station Road was the home ground of Swinton from 1929 to 1932 and at its peak was one of the finest rugby league grounds in the country and it boasted a capacity of 60,000. The actual record attendance was for the Challenge Cup semi-final on 7 April 1951 when 44,621 watched Wigan beat Warrington 3–2
See also 1951–52 Northern Rugby Football League season Rugby league county cups
References
External links Saints Heritage Society 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.com Hull&Proud Fixtures & Results 1896/1897 Widnes Vikings – One team, one passion Season In Review – 1896–97 The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org