1960-1961

Thou shalt not covet! Leeds must plead guilty to breaking the Tenth Commandment, five times R.L. Championship runners-up, for sixty years they had coveted that one piece of silverware which had always been denied them. Now, in 1961, there it was, proudly raised aloft by Lewis Jones, as ecstatic Leeds supporters, young and old alike, and some near to tears, swarmed across Odsal Stadium in their thousands. Rugby League Champions and Champions of Yorkshire! A day, and a year, to remember!

Six players were transferred during the season: Gordon Brown, senior professional, with more than ten years? yeoman service went to Keighley, where he was later joined by Jack Sewell; Walter Garside to Bramley; Jack Pycroft to Oldham: Barry Charlesworth to Featherstone Rovers; and Bernard Prior to Parkside, in a sensational record-breaking deal which brought Brian Shaw, Hunslet?s Test forward, to Headingley. Other players introduced included: Michael Cadywold, winger; Vic Sawyer, stand-off; Jack Brook, winger; and 16-year-old Trevor Oldroyd, stand-off.

Consistently successful in the League, Leeds surprisingly failed to measure up to the challenge of the Cup Competitions. Drawn at home in the 1st Round of the Yorkshire Cup we comfortably disposed of Hunslet, but found the 2nd Round visit to Crown Flatt a far tougher proposition, with Dewsbury earning a creditable draw through a Ledgard drop goal sixteen minutes from the end. Dewsbury led 11-8 at half-time in the Headingley replay, too, and showed no signs of weakening their grip in the second half, until hooker Lockwood limped to the bench for treatment. By the time he returned, Leeds had capitalised on scrum possession, with Thornett bursting on to a pass to storm in at the corner; and Rosenberg?s third try then virtually clinched the issue. Favoured with a home draw in the Semi-Final and favourites to beat Huddersfield, unpredictable Leeds slumped to defeat, with Jones, for once in a long while, out of touch with his goal-kicking.

In the R.L. Cup, with Wigan the 1st Round visitors to Headingley, it was almost like 1957 all over again. Certainly it was another grim tussle, with Leeds holding a 5-3 lead, thanks to a Hallas try and a goal from Jones, when Sayer, the Wigan hooker, was dis?missed for tripping, midway through the second half. Leeds, however, missed their chance, failing to take advantage of increased possession, and paid dearly for it when Wigan were awarded a penalty way out on the touchline. In 1957, from a far easier position, Ashton had missed. Not Griffiths! The ball sailed over from a magnificent kick, and Wigan lived to fight, and win, another day. Four days later at Central Park, a reshuffled Leeds team went down by 32 points to 7, our heaviest R.L. Cup defeat for 48 years.

Conceding only six league defeats in the season, the lowest in the club?s history, Leeds finished at the head of the table for the first time, but the critics were loath to give credit: … ?an easy fixture programme? … ?Leeds are in a false position?….they had to eat humble pie!

Certainly they could not deny Leeds the merit of a thrilling Semi-Final victory over St. Helens at Headingley, where every man played his part nobly, not least the two reserves, Vince Hattee and Eddie ?Vollenhoven shall not pass? Ratcliffe. We took the initiative from the start, Lewis Jones kicking a goal after only three minutes, and Rosenberg diving over four minutes later to register his 43rd try of the season, a post-war club record. St. Helens, however, gathered themselves, countering a smart try by Hattee with two goals from Rhodes, and the second half found Leeds penned in their own quarters, grimly hanging on to an 8-4 lead. Bravely as the forwards tried to break out, St. Helens maintained a vice-like grip, and centre Donovan went over in the corner, only for the try to be disallowed. And still the siege went on. At Headingley, in 1938, in similar circumstances, Eric Harris, the Toowoomba ghost, had stolen a pass and thwarted Swinton?s championship hopes with a memorable try. Now it was Rosenberg?s moment of glory! The breakout was sudden: slick passing between Simms, Evans and Hallas put Rosenberg in possession forty yards out. Sullivan turned from challenging Hallas to find his quarry beyond pursuit; the covering Watson dived in vain; full-back Rhodes had Rosenberg just where he wanted him, on the touchline, but going for a push rather than an all-out tackle, missed him completely, as Rosenberg slipped through the eye of the proverbial needle to score a try which will always be treasured in Headingley?s rich storehouse of memories.

Champions beyond dispute! There could be only one verdict after an unchanged team, brilliantly led by Lewis Jones, had risen to the occasion in glorious style and reduced Warrington to bewildered also-rans in the Odsal Final. Revelling in their previously unsuspected ability to keep the ball moving when challenged, the Leeds forwards were irresistible in the loose and dominant in the tight, with Simms heeling from three out of every four scrums; the backs, eager and resourceful, responded magnificently, combining well, running bravely, and tackling as though their lives depended on it. With teamwork the key to success, it would be invidious to single out individual players: suffice to say that there was not, a weak link in the chain that forged a famous victory, Four times we crossed the Warrington line, to put 18 points on the board, before they even opened their account. A Goodwin burst in the 16th minute put Fairbank over for the first try; the second came just before half-time, when Evans dived over from a play-the-ball, after Jones had been tackled a yard short; and two more from Hallas in the second half in a five-minute purple patch of attacking rugby, virtually sealed Warrington?s fate. They did make a belated rally, Gilfedder converting two tries from Challinor, but it was merely a forlorn gesture, and Jones had the last word, like a good captain should, cutting through with nonchalant ease to go between the posts. The conversion was a formality, the final whistle never sweeter. Sixty years! This had been worth waiting for!

Leeds: Thornett; Rosenberg, Hallas, Hattee, Ratcliffe; Jones, Evans; Robinson, Simms T. Whitehead, Fairbank, Goodwin. Shaw. ?

Warrington: Fraser; Bevan, Challinor, Pickavance, O?Grady; Greenhough, Edwards; Brindle, T. Whitehead, Fairbank, Goodwin. Shaw. ? Referee: Mr. R. Gelder (Wilmslow).