There appear to be no records in existence of the Leagues prior to the Second World War so these records have been extracted from the files of the “Mail” Hartlepool, the archives of Durham County RFU., the Durham County South District Junior RFU, Hartlepool B B O B RFC., Hartlepool Rovers FC., West Hartlepool RFC, the Robert Wood Collection held by the Museums Service in Hartlepool and from the memories and recollections of players and Committee members over the years. They remain a “work in progress”.....Chris McLoughlin.
1929/1930 - Pre-Lim West Hartlepool 111 v West Hartlepool S S O B
- Semi Final -West Hartlepool Elwick Rd OB 0 Hartlepool Rovers 111 23
West Hartlepool S S O B 11 Hartlepool O B 0
Final at Clarence Rd 19/4/30
Hartlepool Rovers 17 West Hartlepool S S O B 8
1930/31 |
Pd |
Won |
Drew |
Lost |
For |
Against |
Points |
Hartlepool Old Boys II |
13 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
116 |
31 |
26 |
Throston Wanderers A |
12 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
145 |
18 |
21 |
West Hartlepool III |
9 |
5 |
0 |
4 |
69 |
43 |
10 |
Throston Wanderers B |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
26 |
66 |
6 |
St Mary’s A |
11 |
3 |
0 |
8 |
33 |
81 |
6 |
St Mary’s B |
7 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
27 |
47 |
5 |
Hartlepool Rovers III |
10 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
34 |
64 |
4 |
Boys Brigade |
10 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
34 |
64 |
4 |
West Hpool EROB |
10 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
32 |
130 |
2 |
1931/1932 |
Final Tie |
Hartlepool Old Boys II 5 West Hartlepool E.R.O.B. 13.4.32 Friarage Field |
1932/1933 |
Final Tie |
Throston Wanderers 8 Horden 0 . 17.4.33 Clarence Rd Ref R W Watling |
1933/1934 |
Final Tie |
West Hartlepool S.S.O.B. 11 Horden 0. 7.4.33. friarage Field |
1934/1935 |
1st round |
Hartlepool Rovers II 3 Hartlepool B.B.O.B. 5 |
|
Semi finals |
West Hartlepool E.R.O.B. v West Hartlepool S.S.O.B. |
|
Final Tie |
Horden 14 Hartlepool B.B.O.B. 3. Friarage, 20th April 1935 |
1935/36 |
Semi final |
Hartlepool Rovers II 8 Hartlepool B.B.O.B. 4 |
|
Final |
Hartlepool Rovers 29 West Hartlepool S.S.O.B. 8. 30.4.36. Clarence Rd |
1936/1937 |
Semi final |
Hartlepool B.B.O.B. v Horden Horden v Hartlepool B.B.O.B. replay |
|
Final Tie |
Horden v West Hartlepool II Clarence Road, Easter Monday 29th April.Ref A Knox Note: Horden also won the West Shield v Rovers Juniors at Friarage on Monday 19th April (evening kick off) and the Lormor Cup (under 21) v Hartlepool B.B.O.B. at Friarage on 20th April 1937 (evening kick off) |
1937/1938 |
Final |
Hartlepool B.B.O.B. 21 Hartlepool Rovers II 0 Friarage Field Mrs Peacock EROB presented the Cup. |
1938/1939 |
Semi Final |
Hartlepool O.B. II v Hartlepool Rovers II |
|
Final |
Hartlepool B.B.O.B. 14 Hartlepool Rovers II 3 Friarage Field 13.4.39 H Metcalfe Referee Mrs Coleman (West) presented the Cup |
Competition not played between 1940 and 1946
1946/1947 |
Final |
Horden 3 Hartlepool Athletic 0 Grayfields 3rd May 1947 |
1947/1948 |
Preliminary round |
West Hartlepool II v Hartlepool Rovers II Hartlepool B.B.O.B. v Horden |
|
Final |
Horden v West II or Hartlepool Rovers II Horden shown as winners on plinth. According to the Hartlepool Mail the competition was scrapped due to drought conditions in September. That may have meant that Rovers and West could not fit in their semi final. |
1948/1949 |
Preliminary round |
Horden 0 Hartlepool Rovers II 11 |
|
Semi finals |
Hartlepool O.B. II v Hartlepool Rovers II West Hartlepool II 0 Hartlepool B.B.O.B. 6 Thursday 14/04/1949 |
|
Final |
Hartlepool Rovers II v Hartlepool B.B.O.B. Played after 16th April 1949 (no records available) |
1949/1950 |
1st round |
Hartlepool O.B. II v Hartlepool Athletic II Darlington G.S.O.B. v Hartlepool B.B.O.B. West Hartlepool II v West Hartlepool G.S.O.B. Horden v Hartlepool Rovers II |
|
Finals |
Hartlepool B.B.O.B. 6 Hartlepool Rovers II 5 New Friarage, 19th April 1950 |
Harold English Pyman (1876 – 1917), was a West Hartlepool ship-owner, and a rugby referee, later Secretary of the Referees Society and famed for being a martinet on the field. In 1904 he presented a trophy for competition among the junior clubs in the Hartlepool area. Only clubs based within the Hartlepool and District area were eligible to compete for the trophy, and the ‘area’ in question was defined as being within 8 miles of the Heugh Lighthouse on the Headland. Originally the competition was on a League basis only.
The Competition, quickly nicknamed The Pyman League, was a success among Junior Clubs and lower teams from the Senior Cubs. After a few seasons, the League Committee (with Mr Claude Harper as its first Secretary) commenced a programme of games between the Pyman League XV and sides such as the Champion Club of the season, Hartlepool Rovers, and the Tyneside League.
Following the restart of matters Rugby post War in 1920, the Competition was revived as part of the Hartlepool & District Union remit that year and the following six seasons saw the League at its greatest popularity extending to two divisions and talk of a third being run.
The heady days of the early 20s were not last and with a decline in popularity was followed by the League being suspended in 1926 by the Durham County RFU due to allegations of irregularities over the movement of players and an honorarium paid to the Secretary. Since then, the Pyman Cup has been played for on a knock-out competition basis with mid-week matches proving popular. In recent seasons, the Cup has been run as a 20 minutes each way /15 a side competition, however in 2023, which marks the 120th Anniversary of the Cup's foundation, it reverted to its traditional knockout format, 80 minutes each way.
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