1959–60 Northern Rugby Football League season
# 1959–60 Northern Rugby Football League season

The 1959–60 Rugby Football League season was the 65th season of rugby league football played in England. The championship, which involved thirty teams, started in August 1959 and culminated in a finals play-off series in May 1960 which resulted in a championship final between Wigan and Wakefield Trinity.

## Season summary

* League Champions: Wigan (27–3 v Wakefield Trinity)
* Challenge Cup Winners: Wakefield Trinity (38–5 v Hull)

A number of clubs complained to the Rugby Football League over BBC televising rugby league matches live on TV, stating that it was affecting attendances.

St. Helens won the Lancashire League, and Wakefield Trinity won the Yorkshire League. Warrington beat St. Helens 5–4 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Featherstone Rovers beat Hull F.C. 15–14 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.

## Championship

Final Standings

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | St. Helens | 38 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 947 | 343 | +604 | 69 |
| 2 | Wakefield Trinity | 38 | 32 | 0 | 6 | 831 | 348 | +483 | 64 |
| 3 | Hull | 38 | 28 | 1 | 9 | 758 | 474 | +284 | 57 |
| 4 | Wigan | 38 | 27 | 2 | 9 | 828 | 390 | +438 | 56 |
| 5 | Featherstone Rovers | 38 | 27 | 0 | 11 | 730 | 437 | +293 | 54 |
| 6 | Whitehaven | 38 | 22 | 3 | 13 | 594 | 533 | +61 | 47 |
| 7 | Warrington | 38 | 22 | 2 | 14 | 650 | 482 | +168 | 46 |
| 8 | Swinton | 38 | 22 | 2 | 14 | 654 | 503 | +151 | 46 |
| 9 | Oldham | 38 | 22 | 1 | 15 | 744 | 461 | +283 | 45 |
| 10 | Hunslet | 38 | 21 | 3 | 14 | 595 | 488 | +107 | 45 |
| 11 | Leigh | 38 | 20 | 4 | 14 | 600 | 502 | +98 | 44 |
| 12 | Huddersfield | 38 | 21 | 1 | 16 | 603 | 510 | +93 | 43 |
| 13 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 38 | 20 | 1 | 17 | 517 | 575 | −58 | 41 |
| 14 | Leeds | 38 | 20 | 0 | 18 | 641 | 573 | +68 | 40 |
| 15 | Salford | 38 | 19 | 2 | 17 | 629 | 583 | +46 | 40 |
| 16 | Batley | 38 | 18 | 3 | 17 | 476 | 506 | −30 | 39 |
| 17 | Widnes | 38 | 18 | 1 | 19 | 598 | 519 | +79 | 37 |
| 18 | Castleford | 38 | 18 | 0 | 20 | 561 | 630 | −69 | 36 |
| 19 | Workington Town | 38 | 18 | 0 | 20 | 448 | 530 | −82 | 36 |
| 20 | Keighley | 38 | 17 | 1 | 20 | 575 | 659 | −84 | 35 |
| 21 | York | 38 | 17 | 0 | 21 | 579 | 698 | −119 | 34 |
| 22 | Halifax | 38 | 15 | 2 | 21 | 627 | 561 | +66 | 32 |
| 23 | Rochdale Hornets | 38 | 15 | 0 | 23 | 435 | 519 | −84 | 30 |
| 24 | Barrow | 38 | 13 | 1 | 24 | 422 | 562 | −140 | 27 |
| 25 | Bramley | 38 | 10 | 2 | 26 | 393 | 673 | −280 | 22 |
| 26 | Bradford Northern | 38 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 450 | 645 | −195 | 21 |
| 27 | Liverpool City | 38 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 383 | 720 | −337 | 21 |
| 28 | Blackpool Borough | 38 | 9 | 1 | 28 | 400 | 819 | −419 | 19 |
| 29 | Dewsbury | 38 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 337 | 982 | −645 | 9 |
| 30 | Doncaster | 38 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 284 | 1,084 | −800 | 5 |

### Play-offs

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Championship final | Championship final | Championship final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | St. Helens | 9 | | | |
| 4 | Wigan | 19 | | | |
| 4 | Wigan | 19 | Wigan | Wigan | 27 |
| | | | Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 3 |
| 2 | Wakefield Trinity | 24 | Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 3 |
| 3 | Hull | 4 | | | |

**Final**

The Championship Final was played between Joe Egan' Wigan outfit against Wakefield Trinity at 3 o'clock on a warm afternoon on Saturday, 21 May 1960 at Odsal Stadium, Bradford. A crowd of 83,190 turned out for the game which was refereed by Eric Clay (Leeds).

* Wigan: 27

Tries (5): Billy Boston (2), Eric Ashton (2), Bill Sayer Goals: Fred Griffiths (6)

* Wakefield Trinity: 3

Try: Fred Smith

## Challenge Cup

The 1959–60 Challenge Cup tournament ended in a final between Wakefield Trinity and Hull F.C. The match was played at Wembley Stadium before a crowd of 79,773, with Wakefield Trinity winning 38 – 5. Despite being on the losing team, Hull's hooker, Tommy Harris was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for his man-of-the-match performance.

Neil Fox of Wakefield Trinity scored a Cup Final record 20 points (two tries and seven goals) in the final for Wakefield, a feat that would not be repeated for another 39 years 1999.

* 14 May 1960

| Wakefield Trinity | 38 – 5 | Hull |
| - | - | - |
| Tries: Smith, Skene 2, Fox 2, Rollin, Holliday 2 Goals: Fox 7 | | Tries: Cowan Goals: Evans |

* Wembley, London Attendance: 79,773 Referee: Half time 7-5 Player of the Match: Harris

| 1 | Gerry Round |
| - | - |
| 2 | Fred Smith |
| 3 | Alan Skene |
| 4 | Neil Fox |
| 5 | John Etty |
| 6 | Kenneth Rollin |
| 7 | Keith Holliday |
| 8 | Jack Wilkinson |
| 9 | Geoffrey Oakes |
| 10 | Don Vines |
| 11 | Leslie Chamberlain |
| 12 | Albert Firth |
| 13 | Derek Turner |
| Coach: |
| 1 | Jack Kershaw |
| 2 | Gordon Harrison |
| 3 | Stan Cowan |
| 4 | Nan Halafihi |
| 5 | Dave Johnson |
| 6 | Frank Broadhurst |
| 7 | Tommy Finn |
| 8 | Michael Scott |
| 9 | Tommy Harris |
| 10 | Sam Evans |
| 11 | Tom Sutton |
| 12 | Mike Smith |
| 13 | Johnny Whiteley |
| Coach: |

## Kangaroo Tour

September until December also saw the appearance of the Australian team in England on their 1959–60 Kangaroo Tour. Other than the three test Ashes series against Great Britain (won 2–1 by Australia), the Kangaroos played 21 matches against club and county representative sides.

The Kangaroos were coached by "The Little Master" Clive Churchill and were captained by Welsh born Balmain Tigers fullback Keith Barnes.

As of 2017, this remains the last time that Great Britain or England won The Ashes on home soil.

| game | Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 12 September | Australia def. Leeds 44–20 | Headingley, Leeds | 14,629 |
| 2 | 15 September | Australia def. Rochdale Hornets 27–14 | Athletic Grounds, Rochdale | 10,155 |
| 3 | 18 September | Australia def. Warrington 30–24 | Wilderspool, Warrington | 17,112 |
| 4 | 23 September | Lancashire def. Australia 30–22 | Knowsley Road, St. Helens | 15,743 |
| 5 | 26 September | Australia def. Salford 22–20 | The Willows, Salford | 11,008 |
| 6 | 28 September | Yorkshire def. Australia 47–15 | Clarence Street, York | 7,338 |
| 7 | 1 October | Australia def. Widnes 45–15 | Naughton Park, Widnes | 9,381 |
| 8 | 3 October | Australia def. Oldham 25–14 | Watersheddings, Oldham | 17,630 |
| 9 | 7 October | Leigh def. Australia 18–17 | Hilton Park, Leigh | 11,932 |
| 10 | 10 October | Australia def. St. Helens 15–2 | Knowsley Road, St. Helens | 29,156 |
| 11 | 17 October | Australia def. Great Britain 22–14 | Station Road, Swinton | 35,224 |
| 12 | 22 October | Australia def. Whitehaven / Workington Town XIII 13–8 | Recreation Ground, Whitehaven | 7,463 |
| 13 | 24 October | Barrow def. Australia 12–9 | Craven Park, Barrow | 8,488 |
| 14 | 26 October | Australia def. Hull F.C. / Hull Kingston Rovers XIII 29–9 | The Boulevard, Hull | 15,944 |
| 15 | 4 November | Australia def. Bradford Northern 28–9 | Odsal, Bradford | 4,126 |
| 16 | 7 November | Australia def. Halifax 17–5 | Thrum Hall, Halifax | 8,274 |
| 17 | 11 November | Featherstone Rovers def. Australia 23–15 | Post Office Road, Featherstone | 7,671 |
| 18 | 14 November | Wigan def. Australia 16–9 | Central Park, Wigan | 24,466 |
| 19 | 21 November | Great Britain def. Australia 11–10 | Headingley, Leeds | 30,301 |
| 20 | 25 November | Australia def. Swinton 25–24 | Station Road, Swinton | 5,021 |
| 21 | 28 November | Wakefield Trinity def. Australia 20–10 | Belle Vue, Wakefield | 17,615 |
| 22 | 2 December | Australia def. Huddersfield 21–7 | Fartown, Huddersfield | 2,349 |
| 23 | 5 December | Australia def. Hunslet 12–11 | Parkside, Hunslet | 8,061 |
| 24 | 12 December | Great Britain def. Australia 18–12 | Central Park, Wigan | 26,089 |

## Sources

* 1959–60 Northern Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com
