1954–55 was the forty-second occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition had been held.
This year, the first time for many years save a new name on the trophy. Barrow changed codes to rugby league in 1897, were promoted into the league for season 1900–01 and have taken part in every one of the Lancashire Cup competitions since their inception in 1905, and now finally, almost 50 years later, they won the trophy by beating

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

in the final by the score of 12–2.
The match was played at Station Road,

Pendlebury Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies north-west of Manchester city centre, north-west of Salford and south-east of Bolton. Historically in Lancash ...

(

historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

in the county of

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 Lancashi ...

). The attendance was 25,204 and receipts were £4,603.

Background

This year saw the entry on new league members

Blackpool Borough Blackpool Borough was a rugby league club based in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, that played in the Rugby Football League from 1954 until 1993. The club moved to Wigan in 1987 and was renamed Springfield Borough; to Chorley in 1988 and was ...

, and this together with the invitation to juniors, Lancashire Amateurs brought the total number of clubs to a full complement of 16.
For the first time in the competition, there was no need to have any byes or “blank/dummy” fixtures.
The same pre-war fixture format was retained, but, as mentioned, for the first time without any bye or dummy” fixtures.
And for the first time since the outbreak of war in 1939, the two-legged fixtures were abolished, resulting in the competition being played on a knock-out basis.

Competition and results

Round 1

Involved 8 matches (with no bye or “blank” fixture) and 16 clubs

Round 2 - quarterfinals

Involved 4 matches (with no bye) and 8 clubs

Round 3 – semifinals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Final

Teams and scorers

Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points

The road to success

Notes and comments

1 * This season saw, for the first time ever, a full 16 clubs taking part and also a return to a knock-out tournament in ll rounds.
2 * The first Lancashire Cup match played by the new club

and on this, their first ground
3 * Lancashire Amateurs were a junior (or amateur) club from Lancashire
4 * The last game played by this founding club. At the end of the season they folded
5 * 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 Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, 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 nor ...

beat

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

3-2

References

External links

Saints Heritage Society1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.comHull&Proud Fixtures & Results 1896/1897Widnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In Review - 1896-97The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:1954 Lancashire Cup 1954 in English rugby league RFL Lancashire Cup