The 1952–53 Rugby Football League season was the 58th season of rugby league football.
Season summary St. Helens won their second Rugby Football League Championship when they beat Halifax 24–14 in the play-off final. They also ended the regular season as league leaders.
The Challenge Cup Winners were Huddersfield who beat St. Helens 15–10 in the final.
Cardiff dropped out of the league.
St. Helens won the Lancashire League, and Halifax won the Yorkshire League. Leigh beat St. Helens 22–5 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Huddersfield beat Batley 18–8 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
Championship TeamPldWDLPFPAPts1St. Helens363222769273662Halifax362925620309603Bradford Northern362808700329564Huddersfield362727747366565Barrow362718585322556Leeds3624012690452487Leigh3623211556377488Oldham3622212599280469Warrington36201157334864110Whitehaven36193144654864111Wigan36192156734144012Hunslet36200164853584013Salford36200165084414014Swinton36180184414013615Hull36172174614513616Workington Town36162184534603417Keighley36161194655473318Wakefield Trinity36160204105953219Dewsbury36151204104403120Castleford36150213925023021Batley36142204055793022Rochdale Hornets36133204435362923Widnes36132213364782824Featherstone Rovers36121234155352525York36100263704962026Doncaster36100263776652027Belle Vue Rangers36100263017052028Hull Kingston Rovers3691263376461929Bramley3660302938981230Liverpool City3640322258378
Play-offs
Play-off
St HelensNumberHalifax Teams Glyn Moses1Tuss GriffithsSteve Llewellyn2Brian VierodDuggie Greenall3Tommy LynchDon Gullick4Martin CreeneyStan McCormick5Terry CookPeter Metcalfe6Ken DeanJohn Dickinson7Stan KieltyAlan Prescott8Mike CondonReg Blakemore9Alvin AckerleyGeorge Parr10Jack WilkinsonGeorge Parsons11Harry GreenwoodBill Bretherton12Albert FearnleyRay Cale13Des ClarksonJim SullivanCoach
Challenge Cup
A club record 69,429 people watch the Challenge Cup 3rd Round tie at Odsal between Bradford Northern and Huddersfield. Larger crowds had watched matches at Odsal, but this was the largest involving the home side.
In the Final, Huddersfield beat St. Helens 15–10 at Wembley in front of a crowd of 89,588. This produced a record gate taking for a Challenge Cup final of £31,000.
This was Huddersfield’s sixth Cup Final win in seven Final appearances, including one win during the Second World War. Peter Ramsden, their stand-off half, became the youngest player to win the Lance Todd Trophy for man-of-the-match at 19. the Huddersfield team also featured Australian Pat Devery and New Zealand's Peter Henderson.
County cups
References
Sources 1952-53 Rugby Football League season at Wigan.rlfans.com The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website