The 1955–56

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 leagues's 61st season.

Season summary

Belle Vue Rangers dropped out of the competition shortly before the start of the season. There was no time to reschedule and so percentages were used. In 1955-56

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 ...

took part in the Independent Television Association Trophy. This was a series of televised floodlit matches played in London and shown on the newly launched ITV. It only lasted one year but the idea would be picked up again by the BBC in 1965. ITV Floodlit Competition winners were

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 ...

who beat

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 ...

43-18 in the final.

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 ...

won their fourth

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 10-9 in the play-off final.

had finished the regular season as league leaders. 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 ...

winners were St. Helens who beat Halifax 13-2 in the final.

won the Lancashire League, and Halifax won the Yorkshire League.

beat

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

26–9 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 Lancashi ...

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 Halifax beat

10–10 (replay 7–0) to win the

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

Championship

Play-offs

Challenge Cup

In the

tournament's final St. Helens faced Halifax. Played on 28 April 1956 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in front of a crowd of 79,341, St Helens won 13-2. This was Saints' first Challenge Cup final win in five Final appearances.

Alan Prescott George Alan Prescott (17 June 1927 – 20 September 1998) was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1960s. He played initially at , and then later at or . In 404 matches for St Helens. ...

, their prop forward was awarded 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 in ...

for man-of-the-match. The St Helens team was greeted enthusiastically upon their return to the North. After detraining at Liverpool the team's open-top coach ride to St Helens attracted an estimated 100,000 people despite pouring rain.

European Championship

This was the fifteenth European Championship and was won for the second time by the Other Nationalities.

Results

Final standings

References

Sources

1955-56 Rugby Football League season
at

.rlfans.com
The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Football League season, 1955-56 1955 in English rugby league 1956 in English rugby league Northern Rugby Football League seasons