1956–57 was the forty-fourth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held. Oldham won the trophy by beating St. Helens by the score of 10-3 The match was played at Central Park, Wigan, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The excellent attendance was 39,544 and receipts were £6,274 This was the first of Oldham's three consecutive triumphs. 1958 would be the last time they would win the trophy, although they did later appear 4 times as runners-up (in 1966, 1969, 1987 and 1989
Background
With the invitation to junior club “County Amateurs”, the number of clubs remained the same at 15. The same pre-war fixture format was retained, and due to the number of clubs this resulted in one bye in the first round.
Competition and results
Round 1 Involved 7 matches (with one bye but no “blank” fixture) and 15 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Sat 01 Sep 1956Blackpool Borough15-12WhitehavenSt Anne's Road Greyhound Stadium 2Sat 01 Sep 1956Liverpool City24-7County AmateursMill Yard, Knotty Ash1 3Sat 01 Sep 1956St. Helens27-7SwintonKnowsley Road17,0004Sat 01 Sep 1956Salford17-9Workington TownThe Willows5Sat 01 Sep 1956Warrington31-8Rochdale HornetsWilderspool6Sat 01 Sep 1956Widnes7-17BarrowNaughton Park7Sat 01 Sep 1956Wigan16-18OldhamCentral Park8 Leighbye
Round 2 - quarterfinals Involved 3 matches (with no bye) and 8 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Tue 11 Sep 1956St. Helens34-3Liverpool CityKnowsley Road9,0002Tue 11 Sep 1956Salford0-31OldhamThe Willows3Wed 12 Sep 1956Leigh25-3Blackpool BoroughKirkhall Lane4Thu 13 Sep 1956Warrington5-2BarrowWilderspool
Round 3 – semifinals Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Wed 19 Sep 1956Leigh9-18OldhamKirkhall Lane2Thu 20 Sep 1956Warrington9-17St. HelensWilderspool26,000
Final Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef Saturday 20 October 1956Oldham10-3St. HelensCentral Park39,544£6,2742
Teams and scorers
OldhamNo.St. Helens teams Bernard Ganley1Glyn MosesRichard Cracknell2Steve LlewellynDennis Ayres3Doug GreenallAlan Davies4Bill Finnan John Etty5Frank CarltonFrank Stirrup (c)6Austin RhodesFrank Pitchford7John DickinsonKen Jackson8Alan PrescottJack Keith9Len McIntyreDon Vines10Nat Silcock, Jr.Sid Little11George ParsonsCharlie Winslade12Josh Gaskell Derek Turner13Vince Karalius 10score37HT3 Scorers Tries John Etty (1)T Goals GG Drop Goals DGReferee Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points
The road to success
Notes and comments 1 * County Amateurs were a Junior (amateur) club from ?? 2 * Central Park was the home ground of Wigan with a final capacity of 18,000, although the record attendance was 47,747 for Wigan v St Helens 27 March 1959
See also 1956–57 Northern Rugby Football League season Rugby league county cups
References
External links Saints Heritage Society 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.com Hull&Proud Fixtures & Results 1896/1897 Widnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In Review - 1896-97 The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org