1973 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy


1973 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the ninth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year there was another new name on the trophy when
Bramley won the trophy by beating Widnes by the score of 15-7.
The match was played at Naughton Park, Widnes, Cheshire. The attendance was 4,542 and receipts were £1538.
Bramley perennial strugglers, had been expected to just make up the numbers against high-flying Widnes, but instead they showed what self-belief, commitment and hard work could do. The result was totally unexpected and is still one of the greatest shocks in Rugby League history. Bramley had joined the Rugby League for the 1896-97 season, the second season in its existence, and in the 77 years since, this was the first trophy the club had ever won. It would also be the only trophy before leaving the league at the end of the 1999 season. This was also the second consecutive season in which Widnes had finished as runners-up in the BBC Floodlit Trophy.

Background

This was the year in which the Arab-Israeli war created an oil crisis, which together with the miner's work to rule, caused the Brish Government to ban the use of floodlights in sport on 13 November. This in turn resulted in many of the matches in the Floodlit Trophy, including the final, being played in the afternoon rather than at night.
This season saw three new clubs join the tournament. These were Bramley, Dewsbury and Whitehaven which increased the number of entrants by three, to a new high total of twenty-one.
The format remained the same as the last season with the preliminary round played on a two-legged home and away basis and the rest of the tournament being played on a knock-out basis. The preliminary round now involved ten clubs, to reduce the numbers taking part in the competition proper to just sixteen.

Competition and Results

Preliminary Round - First Leg

Involved 5 matches and 10 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
-
P1Mon 20 Aug 1973Barrow6-12St. HelensCraven Park2,819
P1Tue 21 Aug 1973Castleford32-10HuddersfieldWheldon Road1,195
P1Wed 22 Aug 1973Leeds31-2Hull F.C.Headingley3,577
P1Wed 5 Sep 1973Rochdale Hornets15-14SwintonAthletic Grounds1,552
P1Tue 11 Sep 1973Oldham12-14WiganWatersheddings1,459

Competition and Results

Preliminary Round - Second Leg

Involved 5 matches and the same 10 Clubs in reverse fixtures
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
-
P2Mon 27 Aug 1973St. Helens20-8BarrowKnowsley Road32-143,0001
P2Wed 19 Sep 1973Huddersfield0-18CastlefordFartown10-50696
P2Tue 4 Sep 1973Hull F.C.14-23LeedsBoulevard16-541,5002
P2Wed 26 Sep 1973Swinton5-6Rochdale HornetsStation Road19-211,874
P2Tue 18 Sep 1973Wigan9-16OldhamCentral Park23-283,469

Round 1 - First Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 2 Oct 1973Leeds7-6KeighleyHeadingley2,7883
2Tue 9 Oct 1973Leigh10-13WidnesHilton Park3,0003
3Wed 10 Oct 1973Oldham0-4Rochdale HornetsWatersheddings1,555
4Wed 10 Oct 1973Wakefield Trinity9-10BramleyBelle Vue1,3934
5Tue 16 Oct 1973St. Helens35-5WhitehavenKnowsley Road2,1083 5 6
6Tue 23 Oct 1973Salford26-4WarringtonThe Willows4,3893 7
7Wed 24 Oct 1973Hull Kingston Rovers28-8DewsburyCraven Park 2,9128
8Tue 30 Oct 1973Castleford26-10HalifaxWheldon Road8313

Round 2 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 6 Nov 1973St. Helens15-7Rochdale HornetsKnowsley Road3,1503
2Tue 13 Nov 1973Bramley13-2CastlefordMcLaren Field1,1103 9
3Tue 20 Nov 1973Salford11-15WidnesThe Willows2,4223
4Tue 27 Nov 1973Hull Kingston Rovers12-10LeedsCraven Park 1,3433

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 4 Dec 1973Bramley13-12St. HelensMcLaren Field1,7003
2Tue 11 Dec 1973Hull Kingston Rovers8-13WidnesCraven Park 1,5503

Final

Teams and Scorers

Bramley№Widnes
teams
Arthur "Ollie" Keegan1Ray Dutton
Peter Goodchild2Dennis O'Neill
Keith Bollon3Eric Hughes
K. John Hughes4Mal Aspey
Jack Austin5Dave Macko
Trevor Briggs6Tommy Warburton
Bernard "Bernie"/"Barney" Ward7Reg Bowden
David Briggs8Brian Hogan
Roy Firth9Keith Elwell
Anthony J./Antony J. "Tony" Cheshire10Nicholas "Nick" Nelson
David Sampson11Barry Sheridan
Graham Idle12Bob Blackwood
Johnny Wolford13Doug Laughton
Dennis/Denis Ashman 14?
Kenneth "Ken" Huxley 15John Foran
Arthur "Ollie" KeeganCoachVince Karalius
-
15score7
5HT4
Scorers
Tries
P. Goodchild TDave Macko
Jack Austin T
David Sampson T
Goals
Barney Ward GRay Dutton
John Wolford G
RefereeD. Gerald "Gerry" Kershaw

Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = two points

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

General information for those unfamiliar

The Rugby League BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was a knock-out competition sponsored by the BBC and between rugby league clubs, entrance to which was conditional upon the club having floodlights. Most matches were played on an evening, and those of which the second half was televised, were played on a Tuesday evening.

Despite the competition being named as 'Floodlit', many matches took place during the afternoons and not under floodlights, and several of the entrants, including Barrow and Bramley did not have adequate lighting. And, when in 1973, due to the world oil crisis, the government restricted the use of floodlights in sport, all the matches, including the Trophy final, had to be played in the afternoon rather than at night.

The Rugby League season always 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 taking place in December