1956–57 Northern Rugby Football League season
{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox rugby football league season
| title = 1956–57 Rugby Football League season
| league = Northern Rugby Football League
| logo =
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| season_champs = {{leagueicon|oldham|16}} Oldham
| season_champ_name = Champions
| league_leaders = {{leagueicon|oldham|16}} Oldham
| league_leaders_name = League Leaders
| second_place =
| premiership_win =
| premiership_win_name=
| MVP =
| MVP_link =
| top_scorer = {{leagueicon|leeds|16}} Lewis Jones 496
| top_scorer_link =
| top try scorer = {{leagueicon|wigan|16}} Billy Boston 60
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| prevseason_link = 1955–56 Northern Rugby Football League season
| prevseason_year = 1955–56
| nextseason_link = 1957–58 Northern Rugby Football League season
| nextseason_year = 1957–58
}}
The 1956–57 Rugby Football League season was the 62nd season of rugby league football.
Season summary
Oldham finished the regular season as the league leaders and then won their fourth Rugby Football League Championship when they beat Hull F.C. 15-14 in the play-off final.
The Challenge Cup winners were Leeds who beat Barrow 9-7 in the final.{{cite web|url=http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=378|title=1956-57 season summary|access-date=2009-08-08}}
Oldham won the Lancashire League, and Leeds won the Yorkshire League. Oldham beat St. Helens 10–3 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Wakefield Trinity beat Hunslet 23–5 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
Lewis Jones' record total of 496 points was only bettered in 2024 by Max Jowitt, who scored 500 in Wakefield Trinity's successful Championship campaign.
Championship
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||
| width=20 abbr="Position" |
!width=175 |Team !width=20 abbr="Played" |Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" |W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" |D !width=20 abbr="Lost" |L !width=20 abbr="Points" |Pts | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center style="background:#ccffcc;color:"
|1 | Oldham | 38 | 33 | 0 | 5 | 66 |
| align=center style="background:#ccffcc;color:"
|2 | Hull | 38 | 29 | 2 | 7 | 60 |
| align=center style="background:#ccffcc;color:"
|3 | Barrow | 38 | 29 | 0 | 9 | 58 |
| align=center style="background:#ccffcc;color:"
|4 | Leeds | 38 | 28 | 0 | 10 | 56 |
| align=center style="background:"
|5 | St. Helens | 38 | 25 | 3 | 10 | 53 |
| align=center style="background:"
|6 | Wigan | 38 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 52 |
| align=center style="background:"
|7 | Hunslet | 38 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 52 |
| align=center style="background:"
|8 | Wakefield Trinity | 38 | 23 | 1 | 14 | 47 |
| align=center style="background:"
|9 | Huddersfield | 38 | 23 | 0 | 15 | 46 |
| align=center style="background:"
|10 | Warrington | 38 | 21 | 1 | 16 | 43 |
| align=center style="background:"
|11 | York | 38 | 21 | 0 | 17 | 42 |
| align=center style="background:"
|12 | Halifax | 38 | 21 | 0 | 17 | 42 |
| align=center style="background:"
|13 | Salford | 38 | 19 | 2 | 17 | 40 |
| align=center style="background:"
|14 | Workington Town | 38 | 20 | 0 | 18 | 40 |
| align=center style="background:"
|15 | Featherstone Rovers | 38 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 38 |
| align=center style="background:"
|16 | Rochdale Hornets | 38 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 38 |
| align=center style="background:"
|17 | Leigh | 38 | 18 | 1 | 19 | 37 |
| align=center style="background:"
|18 | Whitehaven | 38 | 18 | 1 | 19 | 37 |
| align=center style="background:"
|19 | Swinton | 38 | 18 | 0 | 20 | 36 |
| align=center style="background:"
|20 | Keighley | 38 | 17 | 1 | 20 | 35 |
| align=center style="background:"
|21 | Bradford Northern | 38 | 17 | 0 | 21 | 34 |
| align=center style="background:"
|22 | Bramley | 38 | 14 | 2 | 22 | 30 |
| align=center style="background:"
|23 | Widnes | 38 | 15 | 0 | 23 | 30 |
| align=center style="background:"
|24 | Blackpool Borough | 38 | 14 | 0 | 24 | 28 |
| align=center style="background:"
|25 | Castleford | 38 | 11 | 2 | 25 | 24 |
| align=center style="background:"
|26 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 38 | 11 | 2 | 25 | 24 |
| align=center style="background:"
|27 | Liverpool City | 38 | 9 | 1 | 28 | 19 |
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|28 | Batley | 38 | 8 | 0 | 30 | 16 |
| align=center style="background:"
|29 | Dewsbury | 38 | 5 | 1 | 32 | 11 |
| align=center style="background:"
|30 | Doncaster | 38 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 6 |
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"
|bgcolor="#ccffcc" width="20" | |Play-offs |
=Play-offs=
{{4TeamBracket
| RD1=Semi-finals
| RD2=Championship final
| RD1-seed1=1
| RD1-team1=Oldham
| RD1-score1=22
| RD1-seed2=4
| RD1-team2= Leeds
| RD1-score2=12
| RD1-seed3=2
| RD1-team3=Barrow
| RD1-score3=14
| RD1-seed4=3
| RD1-team4=Hull
| RD1-score4=45
| RD2-team1=Oldham
| RD2-score1=15
| RD2-team2=Hull
| RD2-score2=14
}}
==Final==
{{Rugbyleaguebox
|date = 18 May 1957
|time =
|team1 = Oldham
|score = 15 – 14
|team2 = Hull
|try1 = Etty (2), Ayres
|goal1 = Ganley (3)
|drop1 =
|try2 = Cowan, Turner
|goal2 = Hutton (4)
|drop2 =
|stadium = Odsal Stadium, Bradford
|attendance = 62,233
|referee = M. Coates (Pudsey)
|manofmatch =
|report = {{cite web |title=Hull 14-15 Oldham - 18.05.1957 |url=https://stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com/matchdetails.php?tselect=119643 |website=Rugby League Records |access-date=1 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Oldham v Hull FC |url=https://orl-heritagetrust.org.uk/game/oldham-v-hull-fc-2478/ |website=Oldham Rugby League Heritage Trust |access-date=1 May 2025}}
}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 85%" | ||
| width=240 abbr=winner|Oldham
!width=50 abbr="Number"|Number !width=240 abbr=runner-up|Hull | ||
|---|---|---|
| Teams | ||
| Bernard Ganley | 1 | Colin Hutton |
| Dick Cracknell | 2 | Stan Cowan |
| Alan Davies | 3 | Geoff Dannatt |
| Dennis Ayres | 4 | Carl Turner |
| John Etty | 5 | Ivor Watts |
| Frank Daley | 6 | Rowley Moat |
| Frank Pitchford | 7 | Tommy Finn |
| Ken Jackson | 8 | Mick Scott |
| Jack Keith | 9 | Tommy Harris |
| Don Vines | 10 | Jim Drake |
| Charlie Winslade | 11 | Cyril Sykes |
| Sid Little | 12 | Bill Drake |
| Derek Turner | 13 | Johnny Whiteley |
| {{0}} | ||
| Coach | Roy Francis |
Challenge Cup
{{main|1956–57 Challenge Cup}}
Leeds beat Barrow 9-7 in the Challenge Cup Final played at Wembley Stadium before a crowd of 76,318.
This was Leeds’ eighth Challenge Cup Final win in ten Final appearances.{{cite web|url=http://www.therfl.co.uk/challengecup/page.php?areaid=65 |title=RFL Challenge Cup Roll of Honour |access-date=2009-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403144113/http://www.therfl.co.uk/challengecup/page.php?areaid=65 |archive-date=2009-04-03 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.therhinos.co.uk/club/history/golden_boy.php |title=Leeds Cup Winning Line-up |access-date=2009-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925142202/http://www.therhinos.co.uk/club/history/golden_boy.php |archive-date=2009-09-25 |url-status=dead }} Jeff Stevenson, their scrum half back, was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for his man-of-the-match performance.
Kangaroo Tour
{{main|1956–57 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France}}
October until December also saw the appearance of the Australian team in England on their 1956–57 Kangaroo Tour. Other than the three test Ashes series against Great Britain (won 2–1 by Australia), The Kangaroos played 16 matches against club and county representative sides.[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/tours/kangaroos-tour-1956-57/summary.html 1956–57 Kangaroo Tour at Rugby League Project]
The Kangaroos were captain-coached by St George Dragons hooker Ken Kearney.
| class="wikitable"
! game !! Date !! Result !! Venue !! Attendance | ||||
| 1 | 10 October | {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia def. Liverpool City 40–12 | Knotty Ash Stadium, Liverpool | 4,712 |
| 2 | 13 October | {{leagueicon|Leeds|16}} Leeds def. {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia 18–13 | Headingley, Leeds | 24,459 |
| 3 | 15 October | {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 37–14 | The Boulevard, Hull | 17,172 |
| 4 | 18 October | {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia def. {{leagueicon|Barrow|16}} Barrow 25–11 | Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness | 9,988 |
| 5 | 20 October | {{leagueicon|Whitehaven|16}} Whitehaven def. {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia 14–11 | Recreation Ground, Whitehaven | 10,840 |
| 6 | 24 October | {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia def. {{leagueicon|Bradford|16}} Bradford Northern 23–11 | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | 2,743 |
| 7 | 27 October | {{leagueicon|Warrington|16}} Warrington def. {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia 21–17 | Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington | 15,613 |
| 8 | 29 October | {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia def. {{leagueicon|England|16}} English League XIII 19–15 | Hilton Park, Leigh | 7,811 |
| 9 | 3 November | {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia def. {{leagueicon|york rlfc|16}} York 20–18 | Clarence Street, York | 6,842 |
| 10 | 7 November | {{leagueicon|Oldham|16}} Oldham def. {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia 15–2 | The Watersheddings, Oldham | 8,458 |
| 11 | 10 November | {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia def. {{leagueicon|Huddersfield|16}} Huddersfield 20–10 | Fartown Ground, Huddersfield | 12,127 |
| bgcolor=Gold
|12 | 17 November | {{rl|GBR}} def. {{rl|AUS}} 21–10 | Central Park, Wigan | 22,473 |
| 13 | 21 November | {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia def. {{leagueicon|Hunslet|16}} Hunslet 27–11 | Parkside, Hunslet | 4,451 |
| 14 | 24 November | {{leagueicon|St Helens|16}} St Helens def. {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia 44–2 | Knowsley Road, St Helens | 15,579 |
| bgcolor=Gold
|15 | 1 December | {{rl|AUS}} def. {{rl|GBR}} 22–9 | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | 23,634 |
| 16 | 5 December | {{leagueicon|Halifax|16}} Halifax def. {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia 6–3 | Thrum Hall, Halifax | 2,254 |
| 17 | 8 December | {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia def. {{leagueicon|Wigan|16}} Wigan 32–4 | Central Park, Wigan | 15,854 |
| 18 | 10 December | {{leagueicon|Wakefield|16}} Wakefield Trinity def. {{leagueicon|Australia|16}} Australia 17–12 | Belle Vue, Wakefield | 3,381 |
| bgcolor=Gold
|19 | 15 December | {{rl|GBR}} def. {{rl|AUS}} 19–0 | Station Road, Swinton | 17,542 |
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- [http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=378 1956-57 Rugby Football League season] at Wigan.rlfans.com
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090403144113/http://www.therfl.co.uk/challengecup/page.php?areaid=65 The Challenge Cup] at The Rugby Football League website
{{Rugby Football League seasons}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Football League season, 1956-57}}
Category:1956 in English rugby league