The 1956 Yorkshire Cup Final was held today and Hunslet’s opponents at Headingley were Wakefield Trinity. The papers had Hunslet as favourites due to their weight advantage in the scrums and referred to Trinity’s pack as ‘The Light Brigade’. True to form the Hunslet forwards battered Trinity in the first half. Arthur Talbot got a penalty goal and Frank Child a try but Trinity had replied with two tries by winger Smith ands two goals by Mortimer – 10-5 to Wakefield at half-time. The decisive moment of the game came in the early minutes of the second-half. Hunslet’s 18 stone plus prop Don Hatfield was in the process of “crushing the life out of two game Wakefield defenders over the line” but as he reached down for the try he lost the ball. This seemed to lift the tiring Wakefield players who went on to score three further tries. Hunslet weren’t out of the match as Talbot and Child were tackled from behind while looking all over try scorers and Gordan Waite got over the line but the referee ruled a double movement. As Wakefield’s players received their medals at the end, Hunslet’s Arthur Clues must have looked on ruefully as young try scorer Fred Smith was given his after his first cup-tie whereas Arthur was a veteran of 70 ties with Leeds and Hunslet without a winners medal.
The papers today in 1930 carried the story of the only woman known to have been sent off at Parkside. In the previous Saturday’s match Addison, the Oldham full-back, was thrown into touch and as he was getting up he was hit on the head by an umbrella wielding woman. The referee ran across and dismissed her from the pitch side and she was led to the exit by the police.
Players representing the club today were….
Isaac Summerhill played for the Stripes against the Whites in an 1886 County Trial. His side won by 3 tries to nil at Headingley but he wasn’t selected for the full county side.
In 1897 James Deacon followed Isaac in playing for the same side against the same opposition at Halifax but was on the losing side (5-14).
James Deacon
Albert Lunn had made the side in 1900 as Yorkshire took on Cheshire at Wakefield. In an easy 40-0 win Albert kicked a conversion, the only goal of his professional career while with Hunslet (he did get another one after moving to Leeds).
Albert Lunn
And in 1928 Cumberland’s Johnny Coulson faced two team mates in Glamorgan and Monmouthshire’s Les White and Dai Jenkins at Whitehaven. The Welsh backs were expected to be the difference between the sides but when hooker Les gave them plenty of possession from the scrums in the second-half they failed to shine and Cumberland deservedly won 15-5.
