This was the fifteenth season of the competition. The League Cup was again known as the John Player Special Trophy this season for sponsorship reasons.
Wigan won the final, beating Hull Kingston Rovers by the score of 11-8. The match was played at Elland Road, Leeds. The attendance was 17,573 and receipts were £66714.
Background This season saw several changes in the entrants :- 1 Bridgend Blue Dragons and Southend Invicta both folded 2 and the invitation to two junior clubs continued This involved a decrease in entrants to thirty-six, in turn resulting in a 4 match, 8 club preliminary round to reduce the number of clubs taking part in the first round proper to thirty-two There were no drawn matches throughout the tournament
Competition and results
Preliminary round
Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs Game NoFixture DateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Sun 10 Nov 1985Carlisle6-24Rochdale HornetsBrunton Park7522Sun 10 Nov 1985Featherstone Rovers10-14WarringtonPost Office Road18033Sun 10 Nov 1985Keighley24-6Jubilee Hotel (Featherstone) Lawkholme Lane 100714Sun 10 Nov 1985West Hull10-24CastlefordBoulevard25002
Round 1 - First Round
Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs Game NoFixture DateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Sat 23 Nov 1985Halifax2-11Hull Kingston RoversThrum Hall41472Sun 24 Nov 1985Barrow5-2LeedsCraven Park48863Sun 24 Nov 1985Batley2-70LeighMount Pleasant154334Sun 24 Nov 1985Blackpool Borough22-24Wakefield TrinityBorough Park6835Sun 24 Nov 1985Bramley8-46OldhamMcLaren Field27386Sun 24 Nov 1985Doncaster22-20Runcorn HighfieldBentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield3757Sun 24 Nov 1985Fulham13-20WarringtonChiswick Poly Sports Grd14938Sun 24 Nov 1985Hunslet20-12Workington TownElland Road7269Sun 24 Nov 1985Keighley20-10Huddersfield BarracudasLawkholme Lane1264410Sun 24 Nov 1985St. Helens42-6DewsburyKnowsley Road536411Sun 24 Nov 1985Salford18-12Rochdale HornetsThe Willows284412Sun 24 Nov 1985Sheffield Eagles16-24Bradford NorthernOwlerton Stadium134213Sun 24 Nov 1985Whitehaven7-12WidnesRecreation Ground309714Sun 24 Nov 1985Wigan26-0Mansfield MarksmanCentral Park10040515Sun 24 Nov 1985York12-10CastlefordClarence Street376516Sun 27 Nov 1985Hull F.C.44-0SwintonBoulevard3797
Round 2 - Second Round
Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs Game NoFixture DateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Sat 30 Nov 1985Widnes30-6Bradford NorthernNaughton Park22222Sun 1 Dec 1985Hull F.C.30-10SalfordBoulevard56593Sun 1 Dec 1985Hull Kingston Rovers8-7OldhamCraven Park (1)70694Sun 1 Dec 1985Leigh48-6HunsletHilton Park32675Sun 1 Dec 1985St. Helens36-20DoncasterKnowsley Road40926Sun 1 Dec 1985Wakefield Trinity21-30WiganBelle Vue73607Sun 1 Dec 1985Warrington34-14BarrowWilderspool37058Sun 1 Dec 1985York21-16KeighleyClarence Street2511
Round 3 -Quarter Finals
Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Sat 7 Dec 1985Warrington22-26WiganWilderspool67372Sun 8 Dec 1985Hull Kingston Rovers24-16YorkCraven Park (1)62283Sun 8 Dec 1985Widnes31-35LeighNaughton Park61534Wed 11 Dec 1985St. Helens57-14HullKnowsley Road7536
Round 4 – Semi-Finals
Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs Game NoFixture DateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Sat 14 Dec 1985Wigan36-8LeighKnowsley Road105092Sat 21 Dec 1985Hull Kingston Rovers22-4St. HelensHeadingley3856
Final
Teams and scorers
Wigan№Hull Kingston Rovers Teams Steve Hampson1John LydiatRay Mordt2Garry ClarkDavid Stephenson3Mike SmithEllery Hanley4John DorahyHenderson Gill5David LawsSteve Ella6Gordon SmithMike Ford7Paul HarkinGreg Dowling8Peter JohnstonNicky Kiss9David WatkinsonShaun Wane10Asuquo "Zook" EmaGraeme West11Chris BurtonAndy Goodway12Andy KellyIan Potter13Gavin MillerShaun Edwards (for Henderson Gill on 74th minute)14Ian Robinson (for Peter Johnston 74 min)Nick Du Toit (for Ian Potter Half Time)15? Not usedColin Clarke and Alan McInnesCoachRoger Millward
Prize money As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season is as follows :- Finish PositionCash prizeNo. receiving prizeTotal cash Winner?1?Runner-up?1?semi-finalist?2?loser in Rd 3?4?loser in Rd 2?8?Loser in Rd 1?16?Loser in Prelim Round???Grand Total Note - the author is unable to trace the award amounts for this season. Can anyone help ?
The road to success This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures
Notes and comments 1 * Jubilee Hotel are a Junior (amateur) club from Featherstone 2 * West Hull are a Junior (amateur) club from Hull 3 * highest score, highest score by away team, and highest winning margin - all between professional clubs, to date 4 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject and Huddersfield Heritage give the score as 20-10 but Wigan official archives gives it as 20-18 5 * Mansfield Marksman have moved from Mansfield and are now playing at North Street, Alfreston 6 * Elland Road, Leeds, is the home ground of Leeds United A.F.C. with a capacity of 37,914 (The record attendance was 57,892 set on 15 March 1967 for a cup match Leeds v Sunderland). The ground was originally established in 1897 by Holbeck RLFC who played there until their demise after the conclusion of the 1903-04 season
See also 1985–86 Rugby Football League season 1985 Lancashire Cup 1985 Yorkshire Cup John Player Special Trophy Rugby league county cups
References
External links