The 1952–53

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

season was the 58th season of

rugby league football Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playing field, field measur ...

Season summary

St. Helens won their second

Rugby Football League Championship The Rugby Football League Championship First Division was the top division of rugby league in England between 1895 and 1996, when it was replaced by the Super League. History 1895–1904: Foundations The first season of rugby league (189 ...

when they beat Halifax 24-14 in the play-off final. They also ended the regular season as league leaders. The Challenge Cup Winners were

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

who beat St. Helens 15-10 in the final.

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

dropped out of the league. St. Helens won the Lancashire League, and Halifax won the Yorkshire League.

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

beat St. Helens 22–5 to win the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

, and

beat Batley 18–8 to win the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

Championship

Play-off

Challenge Cup

A club record 69,429 people watch the Challenge Cup 3rd Round tie at Odsal between Bradford Northern and Huddersfield. Larger crowds had watched matches at Odsal, but this was the largest involving the home side. In the Final,

beat St. Helens 15-10 at Wembley in front of a crowd of 89,588. This produced a record gate taking for a Challenge Cup final of £31,000. This was

’s sixth Cup Final win in seven Final appearances, including one win during the Second World War.

Peter Ramsden Peter Ramsden (9 May 1934 – 1 September 2002) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at club level for Huddersfield and York, as a or , i.e. number 3 or 4, 6, or 13, during the era ...

, their stand-off half, became the youngest player to win the

Lance Todd Trophy The Lance Todd Trophy is a trophy in rugby league, awarded to the annual Challenge Cup Final's man of the match. Introduced in 1945–46, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was killed i ...

for man-of-the-match at 19. the Huddersfield team also featured Australian

Pat Devery Patrick Charles Devery (9 August 1922 – 17 December 2017) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and coached in the 1950s. An Australian international representative half, he played in Austr ...

and New Zealand's Peter Henderson.

References

Sources

1952-53 Rugby Football League season
at

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

.rlfans.com
The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Football League season, 1952-53 1952 in English rugby league 1953 in English rugby league Northern Rugby Football League seasons