The 1908–09 Challenge Cup was the 13th staging of
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
's oldest knockout competition, the
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
.
The cup was won by
Wakefield Trinity
Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...
who beat
Hull F.C.
Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...
17-0 at
Headingley
Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...
,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
on 24 April 1909 in front of a crowd of 23,587. This was the first time Wakefield Trinity had won the cup as well as the club's first appearance in the final.
Before the competition proper started in February 1909, a three round qualifying competition had been held in December 1908 and January 1909, to whittle 32 clubs down to five to join the 26 senior clubs who were exempt from the qualifying rounds. The 32 clubs attempting to qualify included junior teams and most of the newly-formed Welsh senior teams who were in their first season in the Northern Union.
First round
The first round draw was made on 21 January 1909 with the ties played on 27 February 1909.
The single drawn match between Swinton and Rochdale was replayed on 3 March with Swinton winning 3–0.
Second round
The draw for the second round was made on 2 March with the ties played on 13 March.
Swinton were, again, involved in the only drawn tie, but this time they lost the replay 17–3 to Oldham on 16 March.
Third round
The third round produced one all-Yorkshire tie and three Lancashire v Yorkshire ties when the draw was made on 16 March, the ties to be played on 27 March.
The replayed tie was played on 31 March with Wigan prevailing 16–3.
Semi-finals
The semi-final games were played at neutral venues on 10 April, the draw being made on 29 March.
Final
The final was played at
Leeds' Headingley stadium
Headingley Stadium is a stadium complex in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, comprising two separate grounds; Headingley Cricket Ground and Headingley Rugby Stadium, linked by a two-sided stand housing common facilities. The grounds a ...
on Saturday 24 April 1909. The official attendance was given as 23,587 but several commentators assessed the attendance as nearer 30,000.
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File:1909 Challenge Cup Wakefield team.jpg, Wakefield Trinity
File:1909 Challenge Cup Hull team.jpg, Hull F.C.