1908–09 Lancashire Cup
# 1908–09 Lancashire Cup

The 1908–09 Lancashire Cup was the fourth year for this regional rugby league competition and saw a final between two previous cup winners. The cup was won by Wigan who beat Oldham in the final at Wheater's Field, Broughton, Salford, by a score of 10–9. The attendance for the final was 20,000 and receipts £600.

## First round

With 12 clubs in the competition, the first round was arranged to draw eight teams in four fixtures with the remaining four teams receiving a bye to the second round. The draw was made in July 1908 and resulted in Barrow, Leigh, Rochdale Hornets and Swinton having a bye. The four ties were all played on 7 November 1908.

Lancashire Cup first round :

| Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| - | - | - | - |
| Oldham | 20–50 | Salford | Watersheddings |
| Runcorn | 5–5 | Broughton Rangers | Canal Street |
| St. Helens | 6–21 | Warrington | Knowsley Road |
| Widnes | 2–14 | Wigan | Lowerhouse Lane |
| Source: ||||

A replay for the Broughton Rangers and Runcorn fixture was played on Monday 9 November at Broughton's Wheater's Field and ended in an 8-all draw. A second replay was arranged for Wednesday 11 November at a neutral venue, Oldham's Watersheddings. Runcorn won this second replay 10–7.

## Second round

The draw for the second round was made on 10 November with the ties played on 21 November 1908.

Lancashire Cup second round :

| Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| - | - | - | - |
| Barrow | 3–5 | Runcorn | Cavendish Park |
| Leigh | 3–3 | Wigan | Mather Lane |
| Oldham | 28–30 | Rochdale Hornets | Watersheddings |
| Swinton | 2–6 | Warrington | Chorley Road |
| Source: ||||

The replay between Wigan and Leigh was arranged for 23 November 1908 at Wigan's Central Park. Wigan won the match 11–5 but after the game, Leigh lodged a complaint with the Northern Union that during the game, a Wigan player had left the pitch without the referee's consent in breach of the rules of the game. The Lancashire committee considered the complaint the following day and agreed that Wigan had breached the rules. The result was therefore voided and the tie ordered to be replayed the following Monday, 30 November. The replayed tie was won 17–3 by Wigan.

## Semi-finals

The draw was made on 25 November, at the same meeting which considered the Wigan v Leigh incident. The ties were played on 5 December 1908.

Lancashire Cup Semi-finals :

| Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| - | - | - | - |
| Oldham | 26–70 | Runcorn | Watersheddings |
| Wigan | 15–10 | Warrington | Central Park |
| Source: ||||

## Final

The final was played at Wheater's Field on 19 December 1908. Wigan beat Oldham 10–9. The attendance of almost 21,000 was a record for the competition and the official receipts totalled £600/4/9.

* 19 December 1908 14:45 GMT (UTC±00:00)

| Wigan | 10–9 | Oldham |
| - | - | - |
| Tries: Johnston Thomas Goals: Sharrock Leytham | Report | Tries: Cook Goals: Wood (3) |

* Wheater's Field Attendance: 21,000 Referee: F. Renton

Lancashire Cup final teams :

| Wigan | Number | Oldham |
| - | - | - |
| Fullback |||
| Jim Sharrock | 1 | Alf Wood |
| Threequarter backs |||
| Jim Leytham | 2 | George Tyson |
| Bert Jenkins | 3 | George Smith |
| Lance Todd | 4 | Tom Llewellyn |
| Joe Miller | 5 | George Cook |
| Halfbacks |||
| Johnny Thomas | 6 | Tom White |
| Fred Gleave | 7 | William Dixon |
| Forwards |||
| Jack Barton | 8 | Albert Avery |
| Walter Cheetham | 9 | Joe Ferguson |
| Massa Johnston | 10 | Bill Longworth |
| Dick Ramsdale | 11 | Bill Nansen |
| Dick Silcock | 12 | Arthur Smith |
| Thomas Whittaker | 13 | James Wright |
| Source: |||
