1930-1931

1st June, 2017 By Phil Daly

1930-1931

This was a memorable season. For the first time in the history of the Club two trophies were proudly brought to Headingley: the Yorkshire Challenge Cup and the Yorkshire Championship Cup. In addition, we gained second place in the Northern League Table, and finished as Runners-Up for the League Championship for the third consecutive year.

But Jeff Moores, captain once again, not only led his team to many glorious victories. He brought with him to this country, in September 1930, a young Australian winger who was to become famed throughout the Rugby World and was to be known for all time as ?The Toowoomba ghost?. Eric Harris will always have a very special place in the hearts and memories of those who watched Leeds in the thirties. His record tells a wonderful story in itself (383 appearances and 391 tries in nine glorious seasons), but figures cannot possibly indicate the thrilling manner in which many of those tries were scored, nor can they express the clutching bewilderment of many an accomplished opponent. Jeff Moores brought this young stripling to Leeds, and then by his skill and courage ?made him? on the field into one many consider the finest winger of all time.

The management found themselves in an embarrassing position towards the end of the season on the arrival of ?Chimpy? Busch, Australian Test half-back. Negotiations had been opened many months earlier when there was apparently a need to strengthen this position, but ?Juicy? Adams had now fully developed and was giving superlative displays week by week. Busch remained with the Club until 1935 but was never quite the success anticipated. Other signings included John Cox, a forward from Bradford Northern; R.H. Cracknell who returned to the Club from Swinton, but was shortly to be transferred once again; Harry Dyer, a promising young forward from a local intermediate side, who was to develop later into a real Leeds stalwart for a number of years; Bob Smith, a young forward, from Wigan Highfield; Les Grainge, a winger from Otley R.U.; whilst H. Goulthorpe had now returned from the Army and was proving a capable reserve back.

Several old favourites were transferred to York: Arthur Lloyd, Bill Davis, Mel Rosser and Dan Pascoe, along with a promising young winger, Harold Thomas. Castleford recruited ?Candy? Evans and Tommy Askin.

The League programme opened disastrously once again with four defeats in the first half dozen matches, so that Jeff Moores, the Captain, faced a critical situation when he made his first appearance of the season in Eric Harris? debut match versus Featherstone Rovers on September 27th. That game was the beginning of better things, as the victory obtained set the team going on another long spell without defeat, seventeen matches in all, twelve in the League and five in the Yorkshire Cup. This spell equalled the existing record for Leeds, and was finally broken at Belle Vue, Wakefield, on Boxing Day, when we met with defeat by ten points to six. Following a period of indifferent performances our players rallied strongly to conclude their League engagements with nine more consecutive victories which took us to second place in the final table. A well-deserved victory over Wigan at Headingley in the Semi-Final took us to Wigan to meet Swinton, but the Championship Cup was not to be ours. Bad luck dogged us before the game in that Eric Harris and ?Juicy? Adams were unfit, though their deputies Grainge and Fawcett performed creditably. Then during the course of the game Joe Thompson had the misfortune to hit the upright twice in five minutes with excellent efforts, whilst Jim Brough, who otherwise had an excellent match, made one obvious error which led to a Swinton try.

No one could question our right to the Yorkshire Cup, as our opponents never crossed the Leeds line during the whole of the Competition. The 2nd Round game with Halifax at Headingley was a very dour engagement, but the replay at Thrum Hall definitely established our right to go forward to a Semi-Final, with Adams obviously the man of the match. The team which defeated Huddersfield in the Final was: Brough; Harris, Moores, Jones, O?Rourke; Williams, Adams; Thompson, Demaine, Thomas, Cracknell, Douglas, Gill.

The 1st Round Victory at Leigh in the R.L. Cup was a good performance and many felt that this fine attacking combination at Headingley was destined to grace the Wembley turf and to show Rugby League football at Its very best. But the 2nd Round match at Weaste was played in absolutely atrocious conditions so that our players never had an opportunity to exploit their undoubted skill. However, a Rugby League Cup triumph which all at Headingley yearned and worked for, was not long to be delayed, though Wembley was not to be the venue.

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