Relative prestige of Pre Superleague trophies

[noobiefana]

Interested in your views on this lads. Many of you will have much more "on the ground" memory of this than me or know friends and family who were following the game in the 1970s and 1980s.

There were 5 top level events open to each senior club: Championship, County Cup, John Player Trophy, Challenge Cup and Premiership. How would you rate them from most prestigious to least prestigious back in the day?

 

I have my own ideas but really interested in knowing your views.

[M j M]

In my view : Challenge cup, championship, regal trophy, premiership, county cups. First two and second two probably pretty equally ranked but the prestige of wembley made it top dog.

[Clogiron]

Championship, Challenge Cup, John Player, Premiership/play off Trophy Floodlight Trophy, County Cup.

[doc]

For me it was Challenge Cup, Championship, Regal Trophy, Lance Cup, Premiership. Never saw the Floodlight Trophy. 

[sweaty craiq]

CC, league, lancs cup, regal trophy, premiership

 

premiership was always an afterthought and regal trophy played in the worst of the weather

[koli]

For me

Challenge Cup by a wide margin then Championship/Div1,Premiership,County Cup, Floodlight Cup,Regal/JP.

Soccer was pretty much the same with FA Cup ,the European Cup and both way ahead of Div1 Champion and League Cup trailing at the rear.

[Henson Park Old Firm]

[Tommygilf]

I think they should still hand out the Yorkshire and Lancashire cups for whichever side from those counties finishes highest.

[koli]

That used to be the fourth cup-the Lancashire and Yorkshire League leader.

[noobiefana]

On 29/06/2020 at 17:37, M j M said:

In my view : Challenge cup, championship, regal trophy, premiership, county cups. First two and second two probably pretty equally ranked but the prestige of wembley made it top dog.

 

Interesting that several of us place the John Player/Regal ahead of the Premiership. That's pretty much how I remembered it but I have compared the attendances at finals from 1975 through 1992 ( 18 years ) and it is as follows

 

John Player/Regal average atttendance 14,664

Premiership average attendance 23,439.

 

Big difference. Of course weather would generally be much better and moving to OT in the late 1980s helped but it only moved to OT because the potential was there.

[JonM]

12 hours ago, noobiefana said:

John Player/Regal average atttendance 14,664

Premiership average attendance 23,439.

 

I guess being usually played in January, and being on BBC TV, probably affected the crowd somewhat.

http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/regal-trophy/finals.html

I don't think the Premiership games were televised, but maybe I misremember.

There's a clear step change in attendance once we moved to the Premiership double header at Old Trafford.

http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/premiership-trophy/finals.html

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

On 30/06/2020 at 10:21, Tommygilf said:

I think they should still hand out the Yorkshire and Lancashire cups for whichever side from those counties finishes highest.

Oh yeah? I assume when we get to SL we get the 'Capital territory' Cup every year then do we? 

[noobiefana]

5 hours ago, JonM said:

 

I guess being usually played in January, and being on BBC TV, probably affected the crowd somewhat.

http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/regal-trophy/finals.html

I don't think the Premiership games were televised, but maybe I misremember.

There's a clear step change in attendance once we moved to the Premiership double header at Old Trafford.

http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/premiership-trophy/finals.html

All good points. TV coverage evidently important as was weather.

 

Average Final attendance is not a fail-safe way to measure the prestige of an event but over an extended period of time it gives a real indication.

 

The John Player/Regal began in 1971/72 and ran concurrently with the county cups until after 1992/93 when the cups were discontinued. So 22 seasons in which all Three knockout events ran.

 

Average final attendance at each over those 22 seasons.

 

John Player/Regal: 13,845

Lancashire Cup: 11,525

Yorkshire Cup: 10,559.