1903–04 Northern Rugby Football Union season
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The 1903â04 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the ninth season of rugby league football.
Second Division: 17
| 1903â04 Northern Rugby Football Union season | |
|---|---|
| League | Championship |
| Teams | First Division: 18 Second Division: 17 |
| First Division | |
| Champions | Bradford F.C. (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Salford |
| Top point-scorer |  James Lomas (Salford) (222) |
| Top try-scorer |  Andrew Hogg (Broughton Rangers) (34) |
| Second Division | |
| Champions | Wakefield Trinity |
| Promotion and relegation | |
| Promoted from Second Division | Wakefield Trinity St Helens |
| Joined the League | Pontefract |
Season summary
The League Champions were Bradford and the Challenge Cup Winners were Halifax.[1]
Keighley and Huddersfield were demoted from the top division and replaced by Wakefield Trinity (champions) and St. Helens.
As the top two teams had finished level on points and Points Difference had not been introduced as a tie breaker yet, despite having a worse points difference, Bradford contested a play-off with Salford, that Bradford won 5-0.
In the Second Division, Manningham and Stockport were replaced by Pontefract, reducing the competition to 17 teams. Birkenhead Wanderers dropped the Wanderers from their name.
The second promotion place had to be decided by a play-off as Points Difference had not yet been introduced as a tie breaker. St. Helens beat Holbeck 7-0.
There was no county league competition this season.
Tables
First Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bradford (C) |
34 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 303 | 96 | 3.156 | 52 | Championship Playoff |
| 2 |  Salford |
34 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 366 | 108 | 3.389 | 52 | |
| 3 |  Broughton Rangers |
34 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 306 | 142 | 2.155 | 46 | |
| 4 |  Hunslet |
34 | 22 | 1 | 11 | 250 | 157 | 1.592 | 45 | |
| 5 |  Oldham |
34 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 215 | 110 | 1.955 | 43 | |
| 6 |  Leeds |
34 | 19 | 5 | 10 | 211 | 145 | 1.455 | 43 | |
| 7 |  Warrington |
34 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 214 | 153 | 1.399 | 37 | |
| 8 |  Hull Kingston Rovers |
34 | 17 | 2 | 15 | 191 | 167 | 1.144 | 36 | |
| 9 |  Halifax |
34 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 125 | 148 | 0.845 | 31 | |
| 10 |  Wigan |
34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 177 | 174 | 1.017 | 28 | |
| 11 |  Swinton |
34 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 139 | 215 | 0.647 | 28 | |
| 12 |  Batley |
34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 139 | 241 | 0.577 | 27 | |
| 13 |  Hull F.C. |
34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 148 | 258 | 0.574 | 27 | |
| 14 |  Widnes |
34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 126 | 243 | 0.519 | 27 | |
| 15 |  Leigh |
34 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 174 | 250 | 0.696 | 25 | |
| 16 |  Runcorn |
34 | 11 | 2 | 21 | 151 | 245 | 0.616 | 24 | |
| 17 |  Keighley (R) |
34 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 129 | 319 | 0.404 | 21 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 18 |  Huddersfield (R) |
34 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 160 | 353 | 0.453 | 20 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Championship play-off
Bradford 5-0 Salford
Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PAv | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wakefield Trinity (C, P) |
32 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 389 | 57 | 6.825 | 55 | Promoted to First Division |
| 2 |  St. Helens (P) |
32 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 328 | 105 | 3.124 | 49 | Playoff |
| 3 |  Holbeck |
32 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 256 | 120 | 2.133 | 49 | |
| 4 |  Rochdale Hornets |
32 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 319 | 104 | 3.067 | 46 | |
| 5 |  York |
32 | 20 | 1 | 11 | 244 | 97 | 2.515 | 41 | |
| 6 |  Brighouse Rangers |
32 | 19 | 3 | 10 | 192 | 136 | 1.412 | 41 | |
| 7 |  Castleford |
32 | 18 | 3 | 11 | 185 | 194 | 0.954 | 39 | |
| 8 |  Bramley |
32 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 181 | 180 | 1.006 | 36 | |
| 9 |  Barrow |
32 | 16 | 3 | 13 | 219 | 162 | 1.352 | 35 | |
| 10 |  Pontefract |
32 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 174 | 150 | 1.160 | 34 | |
| 11 | Dewsbury |
32 | 12 | 3 | 17 | 185 | 205 | 0.902 | 27 | |
| 12 |  Millom |
32 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 185 | 209 | 0.885 | 26 | |
| 13 |  Lancaster |
32 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 129 | 291 | 0.443 | 18 | |
| 14 | Birkenhead |
32 | 7 | 0 | 25 | 75 | 334 | 0.225 | 14 | |
| 15 |  South Shields |
32 | 6 | 1 | 25 | 140 | 336 | 0.417 | 13 | |
| 16 |  Morecambe |
32 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 72 | 287 | 0.251 | 13 | |
| 17 | Normanton |
32 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 105 | 411 | 0.255 | 8 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Promotion play-off
St. Helens 7-0 Holbeck
Challenge Cup
Halifax beat Warrington 8-3 in the final at Salford's The Willows before a paying crowd of 17,041, plus 1,000 additional guests, to become the second team to record back-to-back Cup wins. Halifax wouldnât reach another final until 1921 nor win the Cup again until 1931.[2]
Internationals
On 5 April 1904, the first ever International Rugby League match took place between England and Other Nationalities. It was played at Central Park, Wigan, having originally been scheduled for New Year's Day in Oldham. England lost 3-9 in a twelve sided match, with the opposition made up of ten Welshmen and two Scots. The crowd numbered just 6,000.[3]
Teams
| England | Other Nationalities |
|---|---|
| Full back | Full back |
| W.B. Little | D. Smith |
| Three Quarters | Three Quarters |
| F. Spottiswoode | D. Thomas |
| G. Dickenson | T.D. Llewellyn |
| J. Lomas | D. Harris |
| J. Fish | D.J. Lewis |
| Half backs | Half backs |
| J. Baxter | E. Davies |
| J. Morely | P.J. Brady |
| Forwards | Forwards |
| A. Starks [c] | J. Rhapps |
| P. Tunney | J.G. Moffatt |
| J. Riley | G. Frater [c] |
| J.W. Bulmer | D. Thomas |
| J. Ferguson | H. Buckler |