The 1936–37 Challenge Cup was the 37th tournament of rugby league's oldest trophy, the Challenge Cup. 32 clubs entered the competition which was won by Widnes who beat Keighley 18–5 in the final at Wembley Stadium on 8 May 1937. This was Widnes' second win in the competition and, to date, Keighley's only appearance in the final.
First round The first round draw was made on 13 January 1937. 16 ties were drawn that were played on 13 February 1937.
HomeScoreAwayMatch informationRefereeAttendanceReceipts Bramley 0–6 Dewsbury L Greenwood 3,400 £167 Goole 2–14 Broughton Rangers J Orford 2,500 £100 Hunslet 2–5 Keighley A E Harding 10,300 £553 Leigh 0–28 Liverpool Stanley A Brown 3,000 £144 Oldham 4–15 Wigan A S Dobson 18,000 £1075 Rochdale Hornets 0–10 Hull F.C. A Hill 7,200 £396 St. Helens 4–11 Huddersfield F Peel 7,000 £285 Salford 4–10 Warrington J E Taylor 26,700 £1,647 Halifax 8–2 Barrow J Edden 9,000 £650 Hull Kingston Rovers 13–5 St Helens Recreation J W Webb 7,000 £288 Bradford Northern 39–0 Streatham and Mitcham B Timility 10,000 not given Swinton 9–5 Newcastle L Thorpe 4,238 £190 Wakefield Trinity 2–0 Leeds F Fairhurst 18,600 £1,109 Widnes 39–2 Higginshaw B Laughlin 4,000 £241 York 18–4 Featherstone Rovers A Holbrook 3,797 £188 Batley 2–2 Castleford P Cowell 10,400 £550 Source:
First round replay The replay between Castleford and Batley was played on the Wednesday 17 February 1937.
HomeScoreAwayMatch informationRefereeAttendanceReceipts Castleford 8–4 Batley P Cowell 10,875 £522/10/- Source:
Second round The draw for the second round was made on 15 February 1937 with the eight ties schedules 27 February. Only six ties were played that day as heavy snow forced the postponement of the game at Bradford and the match between Widnes and Dewsbury was abandoned at half-time with the score 8–0 to Widnes.
HomeScoreAwayMatch informationRefereeAttendanceReceipts Keighley 11–5 Broughton Rangers A Holbrook 9,000 £454 Castleford 5–5 Wigan Warriors A E Harding 21,000 £1,192 Halifax 4–5 Wakefield Trinity P Cowell 20,000 £1,189 Bradford Northern 2–12 Huddersfield F Fairhurst 19,387 £1,340 Widnes 8–0 Dewsbury A Hill 7,000 £320 Hull Kingston Rovers 2–7 Liverpool Stanley J Orford 15,000 539 Swinton 10–8 Hull F.C. A S Dobson 10,348 £542 York 4–5 Warrington J W Webb 12,124 £718 Source:
Second round replays The replay between Castleford and Wigan was played on the Wednesday 3 March 1937 and the rescheduled Widnes v Dewsbury game was played on Thursday 4 March. HomeScoreAwayMatch informationRefereeAttendanceReceipts Castleford 6–13 Wigan F Peel 26,000 £1,200 Widnes 12–7 Dewsbury A Hill 8,000 £383 Source:
Third round The third round draw was made on 1 March, ties were due to be played on 13 March, but the weather played a part again and the match between Huddersfield and Wigan was postponed and played on 17 March. HomeScoreAwayMatch informationRefereeAttendanceReceipts Liverpool Stanley 2–7 Keighley F Peel 9,000 £499 Huddersfield 7–8 Wigan Warriors A Holbrook 17,000 £1,100 Wakefield Trinity 5–0 Warrington A E Harding 22,075 £1,237 Widnes 7–2 Swinton J E Taylor 11,220 £612 Source:
Semi-finals The draw for the semi-finals was delayed until the third round tie between Huddersfield and Wigan had been played and was made on 18 March. The semi-finals were played at neutral venues on Saturday 3 April.
First team drawnScoreSecond team drawnMatch informationVenueRefereeAttendanceReceipts Widnes 12–9 Wigan Wilderspool, Warrington F Peel 29,260 £1,973 Wakefield Trinity 0–0 Keighley Headingley, Leeds A E Harding 39,998 £2,793 Source:
Semi-final replay Wakefield and Keighley met to replay their tie at Fartown Huddersfield on 7 April.
First team drawnScoreSecond team drawnMatch informationVenueRefereeAttendanceReceipts Wakefield Trinity 3–5 Keighley Fartown, Huddersfield A E Harding 14,400 £1,072 Source:
Final
Widnes and Keighley met in the final at Wembley Stadium on 8 May 1937. Widnes went 5–0 up within the first ten minutes as Tommy Shannon scored a try which Peter Topping converted. Just before the half-hour mark, Widnes scored another try as Tommy McCue over to give Widnes an 8–0 lead which remained the score at half-time. Immediately after the second half kicked off, Keighley were awarded a penalty which Joseph Sherburn kicked to reduce Widnes' lead to six points. Some Keighley pressure came to nothing and Ken Barber intercepted a pass to score Widnes' third try which Topping converted. Five minutes later Widnes' put the game beyond Keighley's reach as captain Nat Silcock scored their fourth try. Topping missed the conversion but made amends by kicking a penalty after an hours play. With the score 18–2 with minutes left to play, Keighley scored their only try as Reg Lloyd went over making the final score 18–5 to Widnes. The attendance or the game was 47,699 and the gate receipts totalled £6,579.
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