League Cup (rugby league)

League Cup
Sport	Rugby league football
Formerly known as	Player's №6 Trophy John Player Trophy John Player Special Trophy Regal Trophy
Instituted	1971
Ceased	1996
Countries	United Kingdom (RFL)  France
Last winners	Wigan (1996)
Most titles	Wigan (8 titles)

The League Cup was a knock-out competition for British rugby league football clubs between 1971 and 1996.

It was initially for professional clubs with the exception of two amateur teams who were finalists of the BARLA National Cup. However, in the latter seasons the cup was expanded to include leading amateur and French teams, the latter as a precursor to their inclusion in the Challenge Cup. The rounds were played during the early part of the season, with the final taking place usually in January. The tournament was regarded as much less prestigious than the Challenge Cup, and it was abandoned when Rugby League moved to be a summer sport.

Although officially called the League Cup, the name of the competition was always referred to by its sponsorship name. The initial sponsors were the tobacco manufacturer John Player & Sons with Regal taking over in 1989 until the competitions end. Over the years, the competition was known as the Player's №6 Trophy (1971–77), the John Player Trophy (1977–83) and the John Player Special Trophy (1983–89), before finally becoming the Regal Trophy in 1989.

List of finals

Year	Season	Winners	Score	Runner-up	Venue	Date
Player's №6 Trophy
1971–72	1971–72 season	Halifax	22–11	Wakefield Trinity	Odsal, Bradford	Saturday 22 January 1972
1972–73	1972–73 season	Leeds	12–7	Salford	Fartown Ground, Huddersfield	Saturday 24 March 1973
1973–74	1973–74 season	Warrington	27–16	Rochdale Hornets	Central Park, Wigan	Saturday 9 February 1974
1974–75	1974–75 season	Bradford Northern	3–2	Widnes	Wilderspool, Warrington	Saturday 25 January 1975
1975–76	1975–76 season	Widnes	19–13	Hull	Headingley, Leeds	Saturday 24 January 1976
1976–77	1976–77 season	Castleford	25–15	Blackpool Borough	The Willows, Salford	Saturday 22 January 1977
1977–78	1977–78 season	Warrington	9–4	Widnes	Knowsley Road, St. Helens	Saturday 28 January 1978
John Player Trophy
1978–79	1978–79 season	Widnes	16–4	Warrington	Knowsley Road, St. Helens	Saturday 28 April 1979
1979–80	1979–80 season	Bradford Northern	6–0	Widnes	Station Road, Swinton	Saturday 5 January 1980
1980–81	1980–81 season	Warrington	12–5	Barrow	Central Park, Wigan	Saturday 24 January 1981
1981–82	1981–82 season	Hull	12–4	Hull Kingston Rovers	Headingley, Leeds	Saturday 23 January 1982
1982–83	1982–83 season	Wigan	15–4	Leeds	Elland Road, Leeds	Saturday 22 January 1983
John Player Special Trophy
1983–84	1983–84 season	Leeds	18–10	Widnes	Central Park, Wigan	Saturday 14 January 1984
1984–85	1984–85 season	Hull Kingston Rovers	12–0	Hull	Boothferry Park, Hull	Saturday 26 January 1985
1985–86	1985–86 season	Wigan	11–8	Hull Kingston Rovers	Elland Road, Leeds	Saturday 11 January 1986
1986–87	1986–87 season	Wigan	18–4	Warrington	Burnden Park, Bolton	Saturday 10 January 1987
1987–88	1987–88 season	St. Helens	15–14	Leeds	Central Park, Wigan	Saturday 9 January 1988
1988–89	1988–89 season	Wigan	12–6	Widnes	Burnden Park, Bolton	Saturday 7 January 1989
Regal Trophy
1989–90	1989–90 season	Wigan	24–12	Halifax	Headingley, Leeds	Saturday 13 January 1990
1990–91	1990–91 season	Warrington	12–2	Bradford Northern	Headingley,Leeds	Saturday 12 January 1991
1991–92	1991–92 season	Widnes	24–0	Leeds	Central Park, Wigan	Saturday 11 January 1992
1992–93	1992–93 season	Wigan	15–8	Bradford Northern	Elland Road, Leeds	Saturday 23 January 1993
1993–94	1993–94 season	Castleford	33–2	Wigan	Headingley, Leeds	Saturday 22 January 1994
1994–95	1994–95 season	Wigan	40–10	Warrington	McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield	Saturday 28 January 1995
1995–96	1995–96 season	Wigan	25–16	St. Helens	McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield	Saturday 13 January 1996