The 1944–45 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the sixth (and would be the last) season of the rugby league’s Wartime Emergency League necessitated by the Second World War. As in the previous (fifth) Wartime season, the clubs each played a different number of games, but this season clubs re-joined the league and there were now 17 of the original clubs taking part in the Competition (but still only Oldham, St Helens and Wigan from west of the Pennines). The League remained as one single amalgamated Championship.

General Comments

Season summary

The 1944–45 season began on Saturday 2 September 1944. As in the previous season, there are still only the three Lancashire clubs who have not had to close down and withdrawn from the League. The Northern Rugby League continued with a single (now) 17 club single Competition. As the clubs are still playing different number of marches, the league positions and the title would be decided on a percentage basis. At the completion of the regular season Bradford Northern were on top of the league on the percentage success (with 34 points from 20 games and a percentage success of 85.00%) with Halifax second (27 points from 16 games @ 84.38%). Last season’s League Leaders

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

although with the same number of points as Bradford Northern had played more games and finished in third position with 34 points from 23 games – percentage success 73.91%

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

finished with one point more than Bradford Northern but had played 4 more games and finished fourth (with a record of played 24 points 35 points and 72.92%)

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

finished in a creditable 6th position in their first season back after an earlier withdrawal. St. Helens, for the third consecutive season, finished (this time joint with

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

.) bottom (16th out of the 17 clubs) with only 9 points from 23 games and with a points difference of (minus) -217. The two clubs had almost identical records – but St. Helens avoided the wooden spoon as they had a better points record than

(points difference (minus)-273). Bradford Northern beat Halifax 26-20 on aggregate in the two legged play-off final. and win the Championship. The Wartime Emergency League did not count as an official league championship. In the Final of the Rugby league Challenge Cup,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees 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 confl ...

beat Bradford Northern 13-9 on aggregate over two legs in front of an aggregate crowd of 26,541. The

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

County Cup, suspended for season 1940–41 remained so for the rest of the war and again Wigan competed in the Yorkshire Cup. In the Final of the Yorkshire County Cup, Halifax beat

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

by 14-3 on aggregate in two low scoring legs before an aggregate crowd of 20,800.

Change in Club participation

Previous withdrawals

The following clubs had withdrawn from the League, before this 1944–45 season's completion began:- : St Helens Recs – who folded before the war started. :

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

– who withdrew after the end of the first (1939–40) season finished and did not rejoin until the 1945–46 season. :

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

– As

. :

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

– As

. :

Liverpool Stanley Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the Liverpool City (1906) (rugby league), original Liverpool club of the same name. The c ...

– withdrew after the end of the second 1940–41 season finished and did not rejoin until the 1945–46 season. :

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

– As Liverpool Stanley. : Swinton – As Liverpool Stanley. :

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

– As Liverpool Stanley. :

Broughton Rangers Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one rugby clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton, Salford, but in 1933 moved to Gorton, Manchester ...

– withdrew early in the 1941–42 season and did not rejoin until the 1945–46 season. :

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, Staffor ...

- During the Second World War, the club was forced to leave its ground as the adjacent cable factory extended onto the land. The townsfolk of Leigh, acting on chairman James Hilton's inspiration, cleared some fields on the edge of the town, and built a new stadium, including moving and rebuilding the old grandstand from the original ground. In 1941–42, Leigh quit the wartime Lancashire league and would not return to the league until 1946–47 when they played as a temporary measure at the Athletic Ground, Holden Road before moving to Kirkhall Lane (which was later officially renamed Hilton Park after James Hilton). : Bramley – withdrew after the end of the third 1941–42 season finished and did not re-join until the 1945–46 season. :

– withdrew after the end of the third 1941–42 season finished and did not participate for two seasons, re-joining for the 1944–45 season.

New withdrawals

There were no more new withdrawals

Clubs Re-joining

– had withdrawn after the end of the third 1941–42 season finished and did not participate for two seasons, now re-joined for this 1944–45 season. : Barrow and

who had re-joined the previous season, continued.

Special Note

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

had a relatively successful time during the war years. Managed by Eddie Waring, and with the side boosted by the inclusion of a number of big-name guest players, the club won the Wartime Emergency League in 1941–42 and again the following season 1942–43 (though that championship was declared null and void when it was discovered they had played an ineligible player). They were also runners-up in the Championship in 1943–44, Challenge Cup winners in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

and Yorkshire Cup Final appearances in this season 1940–41 and winners in 1942–43.

Championship

Heading Abbreviations :RL = Single division; Pl = Games played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose; PF = Points for; PA = Points against; Diff = Points difference (+ or -); Pts = League points :% Pts = A percentage system was used to determine league positions due to clubs playing varying number of fixtures and against different opponents :League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.

Championship play-off

Championship Play-Off: :Semifinals: :* Bradford Northern 18 beat

15 (

Odsal Odsal is an area of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire. Odsal Stadium is currently the home of Bradford rugby league club and YorStox F1 and F2 stock cars. The Richard Dunn Sports Centre is named after the boxer who lived in Bradford at th ...

) :* Halifax 17 beat

11 (

Thrum Hall Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax R.L.F.C., Halifax for 112 years. The site on which the ground stood is now occupied by a supermarket. History In 1878, Halifa ...

) :Final (two legs): :*Halifax 9 beat Bradford Northern 2 (

) :* Bradford Northern 24 beat Halifax 11 (

) :* Bradford Northern won 26-20 on aggregate

Trophies

Challenge Cup

The Challenge Cup Competition had been suspended for season 1939–40, but after being re-introduced for the following season 1940–41 continued again this season. Each round including the final was played in two legs on a home and away basis Below are given some of the fixtures and results from this year’s Challenge Cup competition. In the Final of the Rugby league Challenge Cup,

beat Bradford Northern 13-9 on aggregate over two legs in front of an aggregate crowd of 26,541.

Lancashire Cup

The

County Cup, suspended for season 1940–41 remained so for the rest of the war and again Wigan competed in the Yorkshire Cup.

Yorkshire Cup

In the Final of the Yorkshire County Cup, Halifax beat

in two low scoring legs by 14-3 on aggregate before an aggregate crowd of 20,800.

Notes and comments

Note on the first peacetime league programme which would take place in 1945–46

With the ending of the hostilities in Europe in May 1945 and the Far East in September 1945, a full league programme commences. All of the clubs who took part in the last peacetime competition in 1938-39 re-joined the league with the exceptions of :- : St Helens Recs – who folded before the war started. :

– who had lost their ground and would not re-join for a further season until 1946–47

References

External links

Saints Heritage SocietyCherry and white

Hull&ProudWidnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In ReviewWarrington History
* othmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-91 by Raymond Fletcher and David Howes {{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Football League Season, 1944-45 1944 in English rugby league 1945 in English rugby league Northern Rugby Football League seasons