1955–56 Yorkshire Cup


1955–56 was the forty-eighth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.
This year's final was a repeat of last years' final and between cup holder Halifax and last season runner-up Hull F.C. with the same outcome.
Halifax won the trophy by beating Hull F.C. by the score of 10-10 in a replayed final.
The original final, which ended in a 10-10 draw, was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 23,520 and receipts were £4,385.
The replay was played 11 days later at Odsal in the City of Bradford, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 14,000 and receipts were £2,439.
This was the second of Halifax's two successive victories, both against Hull FC, for whom it was their third successive cup final defeat.

Background

This season there were no junior/amateur clubs taking part, no new entrants and no "leavers" and so the total of entries remained the same at sixteen.
This in turn resulted in no byes in the first round.
This season saw a continuation of the simple knock-out formulas, there was to be no return to the two-legged ties.

Competition and results

Round 1

Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Sat 27 Aug 1955Batley13-25Hull F.C.Mount Pleasant
2Sat 27 Aug 1955Bradford Northern27-23HunsletOdsal
3Sat 27 Aug 1955Bramley16-13DoncasterBarley Mow
4Sat 27 Aug 1955Castleford29-8DewsburyWheldon Road
5Sat 27 Aug 1955Featherstone Rovers26-9HuddersfieldPost Office Road9,000
6Sat 27 Aug 1955Hull Kingston Rovers21-13KeighleyCraven Park (1)
7Sat 27 Aug 1955Leeds13-31Wakefield TrinityHeadingley
8Wed 31 Aug 1955York5-13HalifaxClarence Street

Round 2 - quarterfinals

Involved 4 matches and 8 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Mon 5 Sep 1955Hull F.C.12-5Featherstone RoversBoulevard
2Fri 9 Sep 1955Bramley5-12Bradford NorthernBarley Mow
3Wed 14 Sep 1955Castleford17-0Hull Kingston RoversWheldon Road
4Thu 15 Sep 1955Wakefield Trinity4-21HalifaxBelle Vue

Round 3 – semifinals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 20 Sep 1955Hull F.C.23-16Bradford NorthernBoulevard
2Wed 28 Sep 1955Castleford8-24HalifaxWheldon Road

Final

HalifaxHull F.C.
Teams
Tuss Griffiths1Jack Watkinson
Arthur Daniels2Keith Bowman
Tommy Lynch3Carl Turner
Geoff Palmer4Bill Riches
Dai Bevan5Ivor Watts
Ken Dean6Rowley Moat
Stan Kielty7Tommy Finn
John Thorley8Mick Scott (c)
Alvin Ackerley (c)9Tommy Harris
Jack Wilkinson10Bob Coverdale
Derrick Schofield11Harry Markham
John Henderson12Bill Drake
Albert Fearnley13Johnny Whiteley
??CoachRoy Francis

Replay

HalifaxHull F.C.
Teams
Tuss Griffiths1Colin Hutton
Arthur Daniels2Keith Bowman
Tommy Lynch3William "Bill" Riches
Geoff Palmer4Carl R. Turner
Dai Bevan5Ivor Watts
Ken Dean6Rowley Moat
Stan Kielty7Tommy Finn
John Thorley8Mick Scott (c)
Alvin Ackerley (c)9Tommy Harris
Jack Wilkinson10Bob Coverdale
Derrick Schofield11Harry Markham
Les Pearce12Bill Drake
Albert Fearnley13Johnny Whiteley
CoachRoy Francis