The Rugby Football League Championship First Division was the top division of rugby league in England between 1895 and 1996, when it was replaced by the Super League.
The first season of rugby league (1895–96) saw all the breakaway clubs play in a single league competition. The addition of new teams and the problems of travelling led to the league being split in two for the following season; into the Yorkshire League and the Lancashire League. This arrangement lasted until the 1901–02 season, when the top clubs from each league resigned and formed a single new competition. The following season the remaining clubs in the Yorkshire and Lancashire Leagues were re-organised to form a second division.
1905–1970: Restructureedit
In 1905–06 the two divisions were re-combined into a single competition. Clubs played all the teams in their own county on a home-and-away basis, results counting towards the re-formed Yorkshire and Lancashire Leagues. They also organised inter-county fixtures on an individual basis; all results were collated into a single table for the Championship. In order to even up the competition a top-four play-off series was used to determine the Championship.
Apart from the interventions of the two world wars, this system was retained until the 1962–63 season, when the league briefly returned to a two divisional system. This lasted only two years, and in the 1964–65 season they returned to one large division subdivided into county leagues. The play-offs were expanded to the top 16 teams and the Harry Sunderland Trophy was introduced as the man-of-the-match award for the decider.
1970–1995: Premiership and reintroducing Second Divisionedit
In the 1973–74 season they once again went back to two divisions. The play-off and the Yorkshire and Lancashire League were abandoned, and a new play-off type competition, the Premiership, was introduced however the team finishing top of the Championship were crowned champions. During this period in the late 1980s and early 1990s Wigan dominated both the Championship and Challenge Cup.
rugby, football, league, championship, first, division, confused, with, championship, also, list, british, rugby, league, champions, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, s. Not to be confused with RFL Championship See also List of British rugby league champions This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Rugby Football League Championship First Division news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Rugby Football League Championship First Division was the top division of rugby league in England between 1895 and 1996 when it was replaced by the Super League RFL Championship First DivisionSportRugby leagueInstituted1895Inaugural season1895 96Ceased1996Replaced bySuper LeagueCountries England WalesMost titlesWigan 23 titles Relegation toRFL Second Division Contents 1 History 1 1 1895 1904 Foundations 1 2 1905 1970 Restructure 1 3 1970 1995 Premiership and reintroducing Second Division 2 Champions 2 1 Winning records by clubHistory edit1895 1904 Foundations edit Main article History of rugby league The first season of rugby league 1895 96 saw all the breakaway clubs play in a single league competition The addition of new teams and the problems of travelling led to the league being split in two for the following season into the Yorkshire League and the Lancashire League This arrangement lasted until the 1901 02 season when the top clubs from each league resigned and formed a single new competition The following season the remaining clubs in the Yorkshire and Lancashire Leagues were re organised to form a second division 1905 1970 Restructure edit In 1905 06 the two divisions were re combined into a single competition Clubs played all the teams in their own county on a home and away basis results counting towards the re formed Yorkshire and Lancashire Leagues They also organised inter county fixtures on an individual basis all results were collated into a single table for the Championship In order to even up the competition a top four play off series was used to determine the Championship Apart from the interventions of the two world wars this system was retained until the 1962 63 season when the league briefly returned to a two divisional system This lasted only two years and in the 1964 65 season they returned to one large division subdivided into county leagues The play offs were expanded to the top 16 teams and the Harry Sunderland Trophy was introduced as the man of the match award for the decider 1970 1995 Premiership and reintroducing Second Division edit In the 1973 74 season they once again went back to two divisions The play off and the Yorkshire and Lancashire League were abandoned and a new play off type competition the Premiership was introduced however the team finishing top of the Championship were crowned champions During this period in the late 1980s and early 1990s Wigan dominated both the Championship and Challenge Cup Champions editMain article List of British rugby league champions See also Rugby Football League Championship Final Winning records by club edit Club Winners Runners up Winning seasons1 nbsp Wigan 17 9 1908 09 1921 22 1925 26 1933 34 1945 46 1946 47 1949 50 1951 52 1959 60 1986 87 1989 90 1990 91 1991 92 1992 93 1993 94 1994 95 1995 962 nbsp St Helens 7 11 1931 32 1952 53 1958 59 1965 66 1969 70 1970 71 1974 75 nbsp Huddersfield 6 1911 12 1912 13 1914 15 1928 29 1929 30 1948 49 1961 623 nbsp Salford 6 5 1913 14 1932 33 1936 37 1938 39 1973 74 1975 76 nbsp Hull F C 4 1919 20 1920 21 1935 36 1955 56 1957 58 1982 83 nbsp Swinton 2 1926 27 1927 28 1930 31 1934 35 1962 63 1963 644 nbsp Hull Kingston Rovers 5 3 1922 23 1924 25 1978 79 1983 84 1984 855 nbsp Oldham 4 5 1904 05 1909 10 1910 11 1956 57 nbsp Halifax 1902 03 1906 07 1964 65 1985 866 nbsp Leeds 3 10 1960 61 1968 69 1971 72 nbsp Warrington 7 1947 48 1953 54 1954 55 nbsp Widnes 4 1977 78 1987 88 1988 897 nbsp Bradford 2 4 1979 80 1980 81 nbsp Hunslet 2 1907 08 1937 38 nbsp Wakefield Trinity 1966 67 1967 68 nbsp Leigh 0 1905 06 1981 828 nbsp Featherstone Rovers 1 2 1976 77Bradford F C 1 1903 04 nbsp Workington Town 1950 51 nbsp Dewsbury 1972 73Manningham 0 1895 96Broughton Rangers 1901 02 nbsp Batley 1923 249 nbsp Castleford 0 2 St Helens Recs 1 Denotes club now defunct Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rugby Football League Championship First Division amp oldid 1180144182, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
