Wigan 20-16 Hunslet — 1964/65 Challenge Cup Final

Wembley Stadium, London · Attendance: 89,016

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

1964/65 Challenge Cup Final: Wigan 20-16 Hunslet, at Wembley Stadium, London.

Sourcing caveat: Exact goal-kicker names/tallies for Wigan and the precise number of goals for Langton could not be fully confirmed; some try minutes are approximate. Second-attempt research (30 Aug 2026): both full lineups below came from a South Leeds Life nostalgia piece on this final, which quotes the two teams in full (Wikipedia's rendered infobox again would not yield player names through this environment's fetch tool, and raw wikitext is blocked outright for en.wikipedia.org here, as for every entry in this file's 1963/64-1969/70 range). The South Leeds Life order matches this file's existing scorer/goal-kicker details exactly — Langton (goal-kicker) and Griffiths/Shelton (try scorers) for Hunslet, Ashby (Lance Todd), Holden/Lake/Gilfedder (try scorers) for Wigan — which is a strong cross-check on accuracy. Positions are not given player-by-player on that page and are inferred from the standard 1-13 rugby league squad-numbering convention of the era, consistent with every other same-era entry in this file. This is the first final in this file's range played after substitutes were introduced for the 1964/65 season, and the same source names two subs per side; whether either actually came on is not stated, so they're recorded here simply as the named replacements.

Scorers

Wigan	Tries: Holden (18'); Trevor Lake (2 tries); Laurie Gilfedder
Hunslet	Tries: Geoff Shelton (just before half-time); John Griffiths (late in the match) Goals: Billy Langton (penalty goals, exact number not confirmed)

Teams

Wigan			Hunslet
1	Ray Ashby	Fullback	Billy Langton	1
2	Billy Boston	Wing	John Griffiths	2
3	Eric Ashton (c)	Centre	Geoff Shelton	3
4	David Holden	Centre	Preece	4
5	Trevor Lake	Wing	Lee	5
6	Ray Hill	Stand-off	Brian Gabbitas	6
7	Alan Parr	Scrum-half	Marchant	7
8	George Gardiner	Prop	Dennis Hartley	8
9	Colin Clarke	Hooker	Prior	9
10	Bob McTigue	Prop	Eyre	10
11	Bill Stevens	Second-row	Ramsey	11
12	Brian Evans	Second-row	Gunney	12
13	Laurie Gilfedder	Loose forward	Ward	13
Substitutes
14	Danny O'Loughlin		Render	14
15	Peter Lyon		Baldwinson	15

Match officials

Referee	Joe Manley
Lance Todd Trophy	Shared — Ray Ashby (Wigan) and Brian Gabbitas (Hunslet), the first time the Lance Todd Trophy was ever shared

Match report

Wigan edged out underdogs Hunslet 20-16 in a high-scoring, closely fought final watched by 89,016. Hunslet made a nervous start with early handling errors but battled back, with Geoff Shelton and John Griffiths scoring tries either side of a spell where Billy Langton's penalty-kicking kept them in touch. Wigan's Holden, Trevor Lake (twice) and Laurie Gilfedder crossed for the eventual winners. Referee Joe Manley controversially disallowed a Hunslet try when Dennis Hartley appeared to put John Griffiths over in the corner. The match's competitiveness was reflected in a unique piece of Challenge Cup history: the Lance Todd Trophy was shared between Wigan's Ray Ashby and Hunslet's Brian Gabbitas, the first of only a very few shared awards. For much of the competition's early history the final rotated around northern club and representative grounds such as Headingley, Fartown, Central Park and the Athletic Ground, Rochdale, before Wembley Stadium became the final's permanent home from 1928/29 onward (with a short break during Wembley's 2000-2007 reconstruction, when finals were staged at Murrayfield, Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium instead). Since 1946/47, the competition's individual award, the Lance Todd Trophy, has been presented to the final's outstanding player, voted for by a panel of media representatives at the final whistle — on several notable occasions the trophy has gone to a player on the losing side, an unusual honour that reflects the award's focus on individual performance rather than simply reflecting the final scoreline. This was the 64th Challenge Cup final played, and, under the name “Wigan,” the 7th Challenge Cup title for the club.

Round by round

Jump to round:

Round 1

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Crosfields 4–27 Blackpool Borough	Borough Park	—	1965-02-06
Dewsbury 2–11 Wakefield Trinity	Crown Flatt	—	1965-02-06
Doncaster 4–5 Whitehaven	Tattersfield	—	1965-02-06
Featherstone Rovers 24–7 York	Post Office Road	—	1965-02-06
Halifax 17–12 Rochdale Hornets	Thrum Hall	—	1965-02-06
Huddersfield 5–20 Bramley	Fartown	—	1965-02-06
Hull KR 5–7 Batley	Craven Park	—	1965-02-06
Hunslet 12–4 Oldham	Parkside	—	1965-02-06
Keighley 8–11 Salford	Lawkholme Lane	—	1965-02-06
Leeds 19–6 Liverpool City	Headingley	—	1965-02-06
Leigh 6–7 Bradford Northern	Hilton Park	—	1965-02-06
St Helens 22–9 Castleford	Knowsley Road	—	1965-02-06
Swinton 48–5 Dewsbury Celtic	Station Road	—	1965-02-06
Warrington 7–4 Hull	Wilderspool	—	1965-02-06
Widnes 2–2 Workington Town	Naughton Park	—	1965-02-06
Wigan 16–0 Barrow	Central Park	—	1965-02-06
Workington Town 2–0 Widnes	Derwent Park	—	1965-02-10

Round 2

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Blackpool Borough 5–2 Whitehaven	Borough Park	—	1965-02-27
Bradford Northern 7–10 Wakefield Trinity	Odsal	—	1965-02-27
Featherstone Rovers 2–9 Swinton	Post Office Road	—	1965-02-27
Hunslet 24–4 Batley	Parkside	—	1965-02-27
Leeds 13–9 Bramley	Headingley	—	1965-02-27
Warrington 16–2 Salford	Wilderspool	—	1965-02-27
Wigan 7–2 St Helens	Central Park	—	1965-02-27
Workington Town 18–5 Halifax	Derwent Park	—	1965-02-27

Round 3

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Hunslet 7–5 Leeds	Parkside	—	1965-03-13
Wakefield Trinity 4–0 Blackpool Borough	Belle Vue	—	1965-03-13
Warrington 10–11 Swinton	Wilderspool	—	1965-03-13
Workington Town 4–10 Wigan	Derwent Park	—	1965-03-13

Semi Final

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Wigan 25–10 Swinton	Knowsley Road, St Helens	26658	1965-04-03
Hunslet 8–0 Wakefield Trinity	Headingley, Leeds	21262	1965-04-10

Final

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Wigan 20–16 Hunslet	Wembley Stadium, London	89016	1965-05-08

Early rounds feature amateur and community clubs alongside professional ones; team names are linked only where this site has a team page for that exact club, matching the same safety-first approach used for the Final's own results table.

Sources

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