1947–48 Challenge Cup

The 1947–48 Challenge Cup was the 47th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup.^[1]

1947–48 Challenge Cup

Duration	5 Rounds
Number of teams	32
Broadcast partners	BBC TV
Winners	Wigan
Runners-up	Bradford Northern
Lance Todd Trophy	Frank Whitcombe
← 1946–47 1948–49 →

The final was contested by Wigan and Bradford Northern at Wembley Stadium, and was the first ever rugby league match to be televised. Wigan won the match 8–3, with Bradford's Frank Whitcombe receiving the Lance Todd Trophy – the first time the trophy had been awarded to a player on the losing team.

First round

Date	Team One	Score One	Team Two	Score Two
07 Feb	Barrow	18	Halifax	4
07 Feb	Batley	0	Dewsbury	2
07 Feb	Bramley	3	Vine Tavern	3
07 Feb	Featherstone Rovers	3	Leigh	18
07 Feb	Huddersfield	6	Bradford Northern	2
07 Feb	Hull FC	23	Swinton	2
07 Feb	Hull Kingston Rovers	12	Oldham	5
07 Feb	Keighley	11	Risehow & Gillhead	0
07 Feb	Leeds	23	York	9
07 Feb	Liverpool	0	Belle Vue Rangers	9
07 Feb	Rochdale Hornets	13	Pemberton Rovers	0
07 Feb	St Helens	48	Buslingthorpe	0
07 Feb	Salford	2	Wakefield Trinity	13
07 Feb	Warrington	10	Workington Town	0
07 Feb	Widnes	5	Hunslet	3
07 Feb	Wigan	27	Castleford	0
12 Feb	Pemberton Rovers	0	Rochdale Hornets	11
14 Feb	Belle Vue Rangers	10	Liverpool	8
14 Feb	Bradford Northern	15	Huddersfield	2
14 Feb	Buslingthorpe	2	St Helens	13
14 Feb	Castleford	7	Wigan	19
14 Feb	Dewsbury	10	Batley	4
14 Feb	Halifax	17	Barrow	4
14 Feb	Hunslet	5	Widnes	3
14 Feb	Leigh	10	Featherstone Rovers	6
14 Feb	Oldham	22	Hull Kingston Rovers	4
14 Feb	Risehow & Gillhead	10	Keighley	2
14 Feb	Swinton	12	Hull FC	2
14 Feb	Vine Tavern	6	Bramley	17
14 Feb	Wakefield Trinity	20	Salford	15
14 Feb	Workington Town	0	Warrington	7
14 Feb	York	0	Leeds	13
19 Feb	Widnes	0	Hunslet	3
21 Feb	Bramley	10	Vine Tavern	2

Second round

Date	Team One	Score One	Team Two	Score Two
28 Feb	Barrow	2	Keighley	6
28 Feb	Dewsbury	2	Hunslet	2
28 Feb	Hull FC	22	Bramley	0
28 Feb	Oldham	5	St Helens	0
28 Feb	Rochdale Hornets	3	Belle Vue Rangers	2
28 Feb	Wakefield Trinity	3	Bradford Northern	3
28 Feb	Warrington	8	Leigh	2
28 Feb	Wigan	17	Leeds	3
06 Mar	Bradford Northern	9	Wakefield Trinity	2
06 Mar	Hunslet	11	Dewsbury	0

Quarter-finals

Date	Team One	Score One	Team Two	Score Two
13 Mar	Bradford Northern	30	Oldham	0
13 Mar	Hunslet	5	Hull FC	0
13 Mar	Keighley	4	Rochdale Hornets	6
13 Mar	Warrington	10	Wigan	13

Semi-finals

Hunslet	7 – 14	Bradford Northern

3 April 1948

Headingley, Leeds

---

Rochdale Hornets	0 – 11	Wigan
	Report

3 April 1948

Station Road, Swinton

Final

Wigan	8 – 3	Bradford Northern
Try: Hilton, Barton Goal: Ward	Report	Try: Edwards

1 May 1948

Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 91,465 Referee: George Phillips (Widnes)[2] Player of the Match: Frank Whitcombe[3]

FB 1 Martin Ryan RW 2 Gordon Ratcliffe RC 3 Ted Ward LC 4 Ernie Ashcroft LW 5 Jack Hilton SO 6 Cecil Mountford SH 7 Tommy Bradshaw PR 8 Ken Gee HK 9 Joe Egan (c) PR 10 Frank Barton SR 11 Les White SR 12 Billy Blan LF 13 Bill Hudson Coach: Jim Sullivan

FB 1 Billy Leake RW 2 Eric Batten RC 3 Des Case LC 4 Ernest Ward (c) LW 5 Alan Edwards SO 6 Willie Davies SH 7 Donald Ward PR 8 Frank Whitcombe HK 9 Vic Darlison PR 10 Herbert Smith SR 11 Barry Tyler SR 12 Trevor Foster LF 13 Ken Traill Coach: Dai Rees

Coverage

The final was broadcast live on BBC television, with George Duckworth providing commentary,^[4] and was the first time a rugby league match had ever been televised.^[5] The match was only broadcast to viewers in the London area, as the first television transmitter in the North of England was not completed until 1951.^[6]

References

1. "Challenge Cup 1947/48". Rugby League Project.
2. "1st May 1948: Wigan 8 Bradford Northern 3 (1948 Challenge Cup Final)". cherryandwhite.co.uk. RLFANS.COM. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
3. "Wigan's Challenge Cup Victory: Bradford Beat Themselves in Game of Many Errors Wigan 8, Bradford 3". The Manchester Guardian. 3 May 1948. p. 6.
4. "Rugby League Challenge Cup Final: Bradford Northern v. Wigan". BBC Genome. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
5. "Key Dates & Anniversaries". The Rugby Football League. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
6. "From the archive, 10 October 1951: The North gets its first television transmitter". The Guardian. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2023.

External links

• Challenge Cup official website
• Challenge Cup 1947/48 results at Rugby League Project