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This was the fourteenth season for the League Cup, which was again known as the John Player Special Trophy for sponsorship purposes.

Hull Kingston Rovers claimed the trophy by beating their local rivals Hull F.C. by the score of 12–0 in the final. The match was played at Boothferry Park, Kingston upon Hull and the attendance was 25,326. Gate receipts were £69555.

Background

This season saw several changes in the entrants:

1. Cardiff City Blue Dragons were renamed Bridgend Blue Dragons and Kent Invicta were renamed Southend Invicta
   


2. 
   Mansfield Marksman and Sheffield Eagles joined the league and also the competition


3. 
   Huyton changed their name to Runcorn Highfield and moved from Alt Park, Huyton to Canal Street, Runcorn
   


4. and the re-introduction of the invitation to two junior clubs.

This involved an increase in entrants to thirty-eight, in turn resulting in a six-match, 12-club preliminary round to reduce the number of clubs taking part in the first round proper to thirty-two.

Competition and results^[1][2]

Preliminary round^[3]

Involved six matches and 12 clubs

Round 1 – First round^[3]

Involved 16 matches and 32 clubs

Round 2 – Second round^[10]

Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs

Round 2 – Second round replays

Involved one match and two clubs

Round 3 – Quarter finals^[10]

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Round 4 – Semi-finals^[10]

Involved two matches and four clubs

Final

Teams and scorers^[11][12][13]

Scoring - Try = four (4) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = one (1) point

Prize money

As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season is as follows :-

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

Notes and comments

1. * Myson are a Junior (amateur) club from Hull.


2. * Bradford Dudley Hill are a Junior (amateur) club from Bradford.


3. * Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991^[11] and 1991-92,^[12] and RUGBYLEAGUEproject^[1] gives score as 24-10 but Wigan official archives^[2] gives it as 24-8

4 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject^[1] and Wakefield till I die^[4] give the score as 17-6 but Wigan official archives^[2] gives it as 17-8

5 * This fixture not shown on Wigan official archives^[3]

6 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject^[1] give score as 32-5 but Wigan official archives^[2] gives it as 32-6

7 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject^[1] give score as 4-42 but Wigan official archives ^[2] gives it as 4-34

8 * venue possibly Crystal Palace NSC or Chiswick Poly Sports Ground

9 * The highest winning margin to date between professional clubs

10 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject^[1] and Hull official archives^[5] give score as 26-14 but Wigan official archives^[2] gives it as 23-14

11 * Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991^[11] and 1991-92,^[12] RUGBYLEAGUEproject^[1] and Wigan official archives^[2] give the venue as Boothferry Park but Hull official archives^[5] gives it as The Boulevard Boothferry Park was the home of Hull City A.F.C.

12 * The attendance at this final was a new record, which would never be beaten in the competition

13 * Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991^[11] and 1991-92,^[12] RUGBYLEAGUEproject^[1] and Wigan official archives^[2] give the venue as Boothferry Park but Hull official archives^[5] gives it as The Boulevard Boothferry Park was the home of Hull City A.F.C.

14 * Boothferry Park was the home ground of Hull City from 31 August 1946 until December 2002. The final capacity was 15,160 although the record attendance was 55,019 set on 26 February 1949 in an FA Cup quarter-final when Hull City played host to Manchester United

General information

The council of the Rugby Football League voted to introduce a new competition, to be similar to The Football Association and Scottish Football Association's "League Cup". It was to be a similar knock-out structure to, and to be secondary to, the Challenge Cup. As this was being formulated, sports sponsorship was becoming more prevalent and as a result John Player and Sons, a division of Imperial Tobacco Company, became sponsors, and the competition never became widely known as the "League Cup".
The competition ran from 1971–72 until 1995–96 and was initially intended for the professional clubs plus the two amateur BARLA National Cup finalists. In later seasons the entries were expanded to take in other amateur and French teams. The competition was dropped due to "fixture congestion" when Rugby League became a summer sport.
The Rugby League season always (until the onset of "Summer Rugby" in 1996) ran from around August-time through to around May-time and this competition always took place early in the season, in the autumn, with the final usually taking place in late January.
The competition was variably known, by its sponsorship name, as the Player's No.6 Trophy (1971–1977), the John Player Trophy (1977–1983), the John Player Special Trophy (1983–1989), and the Regal Trophy in 1989.

See also

• 1984–85 Rugby Football League season


• 1984 Lancashire Cup


• 1984 Yorkshire Cup


• John Player Special Trophy


• Rugby league county cups

References

External links

• Saints Heritage Society


• 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.com


• Hull&Proud Fixtures & Results 1896/1897


• Widnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In Review - 1896-97


• The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org


• Huddersfield R L Heritage


• Wakefield until I die