WITH the summer game set for its 27th year heading into 2023, people can now sometimes forget that rugby league did indeed exist for 101 years prior.
Back in the 1895-96 First Division season, 22 Northern English teams from both sides of the Pennines broke away from the Rugby Football Union to create and compete in their own competition, which would later become the foundation for the 13-man code.
The inaugural championship ran from September 1895 until April 1896, before the league was split into two separate county competitions until 1901 with the First Division’s last year in existence coming in 1995.
Since the creation of Super League in 1996, only four teams have ever won the Premiership which then became the Grand Final in 1998 following a play-off system for the first time.
From 1985 to 2022, who have been the champions? (winners in a Grand Final, or, if there was no Grand Final, the top of the table that year)
1895–96 – Manningham
1896–1901 – County Championships
1901–02 – Broughton Rangers
1902–03 – Halifax
1903–04 – Bradford FC
1904–05 – Oldham
1905–06 – Leigh
1906–07 – Halifax
1907–08 – Hunslet
1908–09 – Wigan
1909–10 – Oldham
1910–11 – Oldham
1911–12 – Huddersfield
1912–13 – Huddersfield
1913–14 – Salford
1914–15 – Huddersfield
1915–1918: Official competition suspended due to First World War
1918–19 County Championship
1919–20 – Hull FC
1920–21 – Hull FC
1921–22 – Wigan
1922–23 – Hull KR
1923–24 – Batley
1924–25 – Hull KR
1925–26 – Wigan
1926–27 – Swinton
1927–28 – Swinton
1928–29 – Huddersfield
1929–30 – Huddersfield
1930–31 – Swinton
1931–32 – St Helens
1932–33 – Salford
1933–34 – Wigan
1934–35 – Swinton
1935–36 – Hull FC
1936–37 – Salford
1937–38 – Hunslet
1938–39 – Salford
1939–1945 Official competition suspended due to Second World War
1945–46 – Wigan
1946–47 – Wigan
1947–48 – Warrington
1948–49 – Huddersfield
1949–50 – Wigan
1950–51 – Workington
1951–52 – Wigan
1952–53 – St Helens
1953–54 – Warrington
1954–55 – Warrington
1955–56 – Hull FC
1956–57 – Oldham
1957–58 – Hull FC
1958–59 – St Helens
1959–60 – Wigan
1960–61 – Leeds
1961–62 – Huddersfield
1962–63 – Swinton
1963–64 – Swinton
1964–65 – Halifax
1965–66 – St Helens
1966–67 – Wakefield Trinity
1967–68 – Wakefield Trinity
1968–69 -Leeds
1969–70 – St Helens
1970–71 -St Helens
1971–72 – Leeds
1972–73 – Dewsbury
1973–74 – Salford
1974–75 – St Helens
1975–76 – Salford
1976–77 – Featherstone Rovers
1977–78 – Widnes
1978–79 – Hull KR
1979–80 Bradford Northern
1980–81 – Bradford Northern
1981–82 – Leigh
1982–83 – Hull FC
1983–84 – Hull KR
1984–85 – Hull KR
1985–86 – Halifax
1986–87 – Wigan
1987–88 – Widnes
1988–89 – Widnes
1989–90 – Wigan
1990–91 – Wigan
1991–92 – Wigan
1992–93 – Wigan
1993–94 – Wigan
1994–95 – Wigan
1995–96 – Wigan
Super League
1996 – St Helens
1997 – Bradford
1998 – Wigan
1999 – St Helens
2000 – St Helens
2001 – Bradford
2002 – St Helens
2003 – Bradford
2004 – Leeds
2005 – Bradford
2006 – St Helens
2007 – Leeds
2008 – Leeds
2009 – Leeds
2010 – Wigan
2011 – Leeds
2012 – Leeds
2013 – Wigan
2014 – St Helens
2015 – Leeds
2016 – Wigan
2017 – Leeds
2018 – Wigan
2019 – St Helens
2020 – St Helens
2021 – St Helens
2022 – St Helens
