1938-1939

This campaign saw the complete disintegration of the famous back division of the middle thirties, and it was not until the closing months of the season that the management were able to show the foundations of the team of the future.

During the close season there was only one signing of note: Reg Wheatley, prop forward, from York. But immediately following the Lazenby Cup match with Hunslet, Stan Brogden was transferred to Hull and thus yet another link with the teams which did duty at Wembley in 1936 and at Elland Road in the previous April was broken. Jim Brough had virtually retired, since he had taken up a business appointment in South Africa; and other departures during the previous two years included I. Isaac, to York; L. Higson and Ernest Pollard to Bradford Northern; Gwyn Parker to Keighley; J. A. Casewell to Halifax; J.Woods to Wigan; John Hall and A. R. Ralph to Batley; Cliff Whitehead to Hunslet. And now, Broggie ! !

One would have imagined that a team shorn of so much talent would have languished in the middle of the League table, but that was far from the case. On December 31st we had met with only one defeat, and that was at Warrington where we went down by 7 points to 17. Indeed we headed the League until the end of January. Charlie Eaton had proved an excellent successor to Jim Brough, and Jack Kelly, a former Bramley O.B. Rugby Union player, was an able deputy. The only apparent weakness in the team was at centre, and this department was boosted in no uncertain fashion at the turn of the year. Gareth Price, the centre from Llanelly, made his debut against Batley on December 27th, in a game which brought us a narrow victory by 5 points to 4. Dicky Ralph, at scrum half, John Hall, hooker and Blackburn, all ex-Leeds players, gave us a severe jolt. Within four weeks two more talented players joined Leeds: Idwal Davies, the Welsh international centre, and Dennis Madden, who had worn the Fartown colours with such distinction. Although valuable ground was lost in the League Table during late February and early March it did appear likely that we should obtain a coveted position in the First Four, but, following our defeat in the R. L. Cup Semi-Final at Odsal, only one victory was gained out of the last five matches, and we finished in fifth position.

Our first round Yorkshire Cup victory over Featherstone Rovers at Post Office Road was most impressive, with Jubb, Hey and E. Harris giving sterling displays. Huddersfield, at Fartown, was a stiff 2nd Round obstacle, and we were well beaten although the final score was only 8-6. The normally reliable and dependable Eaton had a most unfortunate evening, with nothing going right for him, whilst a revitalised and remodelled Fartown pack paved the way to victory.

The 1st Round of the R.L. Challenge Cup Competition gave us an opportunity to gain revenge over Huddersfield, and our players gained a merited win by 9 points to 2. Dennis Madden had been transferred from Fartown just before the Cup register closed but he was unable to play for Leeds on this occasion as there had been an understanding to the effect that he should not play against his old club if the luck of the draw put Leeds and Huddersfield in opposition. Evans had to play at off-half on this occasion as Vic Hey was kept on the touchline with a pulled leg muscle, so Idwal Davies made his debut at centre in this extremely important match. Widnes were our visitors in the 2nd Round, and 36,000 spectators saw Madden score both Leeds tries in his first game at Headingley. A victory over Keighley, at Lawkholme Lane, by 2 points to nil, took us to Odsal to face Halifax in the Semi Final. Incidents in this game have been hotly debated ever since, but history records that Halifax won by 10 points to 4 and went on to Wembley to beat Salford in the Final. At Odsal, Leeds never fully recovered from a shock try scored by Bassett after seven minutes play. A scrummage on the Leeds 25 line gave a quick heel to Goodall, who left the fringe of the pack as though intent on making play for Todd and the big Halifax centres. But instead of passing, Goodall kicked over the pack towards the corner flag. and there, Bassett, who was prepared for the move, took the ball before it bounced to make a try, to which Lockwood could not add the goal points. Many have argued that Bassett was off-side before Goodall kicked, but there was merit in the unexpected nature of the move for which Leeds were unprepared. There were other incidents in the game which many Leeds fans still recall: an inside pass from Smith to Madden which was ruled forward, a pass dropped by Eric Harris with the line at his mercy, and the unfortunate recurring injury which reduced Hey?s attacking threat. The Leeds team on this occasion was: Eaton; E. Harris, F. Harris, Madden, Smith; Hey, Evans; Dyer, Murphy, Prosser, Jubb, Tattersfield, Watson.

One other memory of the season?s play keeps crowding in: the beautifully clean, yet devastating tackling of Cliff Evans, when he faced big Charlie Smith in the Halifax match at Headingley. Skill guts determination were the hallmark of this grand little player.