Club Historian Bill Dalton looks back on the Black & Whites 1956 Rugby League Championship Final success over Halifax at Maine Road, some 65 years ago this week!
The date of May 12th not only holds a special place in Hull FC supporters’ hearts for the 1991 Premiership Final, but older fans will remember it also for the club’s Rugby League Championship victory, 65 years ago in 1956.
The 1955-56 season was the culmination of ten years hard slog in recovery after World War Two. Under the coaching of legend Roy Francis, Hull had steadily gained in stature through the decade.
Although Leeds, again, brought Hull’s Challenge Cup hopes to a premature end at The Boulevard by 4-9, “Gods little Acre” saw Hull drop only three points; a loss to Barrow and a Draw with Swinton.
Indeed, Swinton were the only team to take three points off Hull as Barrow were defeated away to cement fourth place in the league. To some amazement from the Rugby League world outside of Humberside, Hull wiped the floor with current Champions Warrington at Wilderspool by 17-0, and were the first Yorkshire team to succeed there since January 1939. It was reckoned by many to be the finest performance staged by that Hull team.
The Championship Final at Maine Road had probably the most dramatic finale imaginable when Hull were awarded a penalty for offside at the play-the-ball out on their right wing with barely two minutes to go.
From a difficult touchline angle, full-back Colin Hutton insisted to captain Mick Scott to let him kick for goal and then calmly landed the penalty to secure the Championship trophy by the narrowest of margins, 10-9.
Despite Halifax enjoying favouritism through already having accounted for Hull in the Yorkshire Cup Final (although both had won their home games in the league fixtures), Hull enjoyed the better of the first-half play on a fine and sunny, but breezy, afternoon.
Tommy Harris as ever ensured a good supply of possession from the scrums but Hull’s lead was only 5-0 at the break. Tommy had supported a break by Johnny Whiteley to score under the posts in the 30th minute, Colin Hutton obliging with the conversion.
Tommy Finn extended the lead to 8-0 in the 48th minute with an interception try in the corner. Halifax got themselves on the board only two minutes later with a try from Geoff Palmer, followed by further efforts from Arthur Daniels (57 minutes) and winger Johnny Freeman (72 Minutes) to lead 9-8.
Fortuitously for the Airlie Birds, Halifax were without their full-ack and goal-kicker Tysul Griffiths who had never failed to kick a goal in every match he played that season. His understudy, Peter Briers, missed all three conversion kicks, although, to be fair, they were all wide out.
In the 78th minute, Brian Darlington – who had been off the field earlier with a leg injury – was tackled some five yards from the try line. It was at that moment when that great character, referee Charlie Appleton, spotted several Halifax players offside.
Initially, captain Mick Scott was inclined to take a quick tap penalty in an attempt to go for the try, but he remembered that Colin Hutton had implored him to give him any penalty kicks in the Halifax half as Hull had the wind in their favour.
‘Scotty’ duly threw the ball to Colin Hutton, and with the Boulevard faithful afraid to watch, the ball sailed between the uprights from wide out, just creeping inside the far post. Hull were Champions!
HULL:
C.Hutton (2 Goals); B.Darlington, B.Cooper, J.Watkinson, K.Bowman; C.Turner, T.Finn (1 Try); M.Scott, T.Harris (1 Try), R.Coverdale, H.Markham, W.Drake, J.Whiteley.
HALIFAX:
P.Briers; A.Daniels (1 Try), T.Lynch, G.Palmer (1 Try), J.Freeman (1 Try): K.Dean, S.Kielty; J.Thorley, A.Ackerley, J.Wilkinson, J.Henderson, D.Schofield, K.Traill.
Attendance: 36,675
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