Please go to button 1-9 for a chronological list of photographs and information relating to the Pyman Cup Competition and the Lormor Cup,
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.
More detail »It was in the 1921-1922 season that a West Hartlepool business man, John Fawcett Lormor, presented a Cup for Competition by the 2nd Teams of the clubs that played in the Pyman League. Although the League has long gone, the Cup continues to this day, being played at Under 17 Level by Clubs throughout Durham County as this winners list attests.
John F Lormor was from Seaham Harbour (his surname being of possible Huguenot extraction) and his sporting interests were in training track runners, and promoting boxing at the local Tin Circus or Blood Tub off Lynn Street, a short distance from his business as a Newsagent etc. in nearby Whitby Street (the business relocated to Lynn Street in the 1960s). John Lormor was also prominent in work for the Blind in the area.
1922 |
Throston Wanderers 9 Seamens Inst 11 - 3 |
1923-1926 |
Seamen’s Institute Runners up 23 Tech Old Boys 4 - 0, 24 YMCA 40 - 0,25 ? 26 Old Boys Juniors 6-3 |
1927 – 1929 |
West Hartlepool III Runners up 27 Rovers 10- 7, 1928 ?, 29 Rovers 12 - 3 |
1930 |
Hartlepool Rovers III 43 Billingham 11 |
1931 |
Not known, Competition was played |
1932 |
1st Company Boys' Brigade runners up Elwick Road Old Boys |
1933 – 1934 |
West Hartlepool SSOB runners up Rovers 11 - 6, 1934 runners up EROB 34 - 0 |
1935 |
Hartlepool Rovers Juniors16 Elwick Road Old Boys 9 |
1936 |
Hartlepool BBOB runners up Elwick Road Old Boys |
1937 |
Horden 8 West Hartlepool 3 |
1938 |
West Hpool & Old Boys - Finalists |
1939 |
Not known, competition was played. |
1939 – 1948 |
Wartime and restarting the game, no records |
1948 |
Horden 16 Boys' Brigade 0 |
1949 |
Hartlepool Athletic 11 Horden 3 |
1950 |
West Hartlepool 8 - Hartlepool Rovers 0 |
1951 |
West Hartlepool |
1952 |
Hartlepool Rovers 20 West Hartlepool 0 |
1953 |
No competition - Restart as an under 18 Competition in 1954 |
1954 – 1959 |
West Hartlepool Grammar School. - Runners up, 54 Old Boys 11-5,55 Old Boys, 56, Old Boys, 57 Old Boys 11 - 8,58 Rovers Jnrs 17-3 after 3-3 draw.59 West Hartlepool or Stockton. |
1960 - 1961 |
Stockton 60, runners up West Hpool Grammar School , 61 Runners up Hartlepool Rovers |
1962 |
West Hartlepool GS 12 Stockton 3 |
1963 – 1965 |
Middlesbrough runners up Stockton, 64 Runners up? |
1966 |
West Hartlepool |
1967 |
Not known |
1968 |
Darlington 9 West Hartlepool TDSOB 3 |
1969 – 1972 |
Hartlepool Old Boys,runners up 69,70,71unknown 72 Rovers ? |
1973 |
West Hartlepool 15 Stockton 7 |
1974 |
Durham Police Cadets 8 Hartlepool Rovers 4 |
1975 |
Hartlepool Rovers 17 Old Boys 0 |
1976 |
Hartlepool Old Boys runners up ? |
1977 |
West Hartlepool 18 Hartlepol Rovers 10 |
1978 |
Stockton 11 Hartlepol Rovers 4 |
1979 |
West Hartlepool 4 Darlington 0 |
1980 |
Hartlepool Rovers 6 Stockton 0 |
1981 |
West Hartlepool 11 Stockton 4 |
1982 |
Sunderland |
1983 – 1984 |
Ryton Runners up 83 West 21 - 0, 84 West 10 - 7. (Cup run at an under 17s Comp from here) |
1985 |
Stockton 15 Chester le Street 0 |
1986 |
Durham City 12 Darlington Mowden Park 0 |
1987 – 1989 |
Stockton runners up 87 West 27 - 0, 88 North Durham 10 -6 , 89 North Durham 10 - 6?? |
1990 |
West Hartlepool 4 Blaydon 0 |
1991 |
Blaydon runner up Stockton |
1992 |
Stockton runner up Durham City |
1993 – 1994 |
Durham City runner up Stockton, 94 Runner up Stockton 21 - 20 |
1995 |
Houghton 15 Stockton 0 |
1996 |
West Hartlepool runner up Sunderland |
1997 – 1998 |
Westoe runner up West Harlepool, 98 Stockton 20 - 0 |
1999 |
Darlington 25 Durham City 0 |
2000 |
Darlington 38 West Hartlepool 18 |
2001 |
Stockton 50 Westoe 24 |
2002 |
Eightieth Anniversay Final - Grayfields, Hartlepool, 24th April, 2002 Gateshead 24 Stockton 12 |
2003 |
West Hartlepool 14 Darlington 3 |
2004 |
Houghton 9 Darlington Mowden Park 5 |
2005 |
West Hartlepool 34 Durham City 5 |
2006 |
Blaydon – Darlington shared |
2007 |
Billingham 12 Blaydon 7 |
2008 |
Blaydon 29 v Darlington 7 |
2009 |
Blaydon 31 Westoe 10 |
2010 |
Darlington Runner up? Plate Consett & District |
2011 |
Daerlington runner up ? Plate Consett & District |
2012 |
Ryton 29 v Westoe 3 |
2013 |
Blaydon 29 v Ryton 8 |
2014 |
Darlington Mowden Park 38 West Hartlepool 5 |
2015 |
Sunderland 63 v Bishop Auckland 19 |
|
Plate: Blaydon 27 Bishop Auckland 0 |
2016 |
Cup: Middlesbrough 10 v West Hartlepool 7 at Bishop Auckland |
|
Plate: Darlington 10 v Darlington Mowden Park 10 at Bishop Auckland |
2017 |
Cup: Durham City 51 v Yarm 0 at Catcote Road, Hartlepool |
Plate: Gateshead 24 v Sunderland 22 at Catcote Road, Hartlepool20 |
|
2018 |
Cup: Stockton 34 v Darlington Mowden Park 18 |
2019 Cup Darlington Mowden Park 31 Houghton 24 - No PLate Competition
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Images of some of the Pyman League Clubs in the years before the Great War, the posters are Sandwich Board items which wuld have pposted around the two towns on the morning of the game, advertising the days Rugby Fayre on the Friarage Field. Few pictures or medals appear to have survived from this time.
More detail »The advent of the First World War saw the playing of Rugby Football officially suspended, but in the Hartlepool area, Rugby did carry on through the war on a casual basis with minor clubs being formed in various street areas.
Minor Club football firmly revived in 1920 with the formation of the Hartlepool & District Rugby Union under the Chairmanship of Magnus Irvin (1874-1952) and Robin Pyman supported by Dr W Scott-Gibb.
The years following this revival saw the zenith of the Pyman League and within a few years, 25 sides were competing in two Divisions, at one point the local Press speculated that the League should expand to include Middlesbrough and Redcar 2nd XVs to create a 3 Division structure.However, by 1926 only 3 clubs entered for Division 1, feeling that the Competition of the Leagues was “too hot” for them according to the “Mail” reports. In addition, breaches of the Rules regarding Players Transfers (a problem for Pre-War days also!), and a gift or honorarium to the Secretary saw the Competition Suspended by the County Union, and since 1928/29 season is has been a knockout Competition.
All of this competitive Rugby plus the Lormor Cup, Gibb Shield, and West Shield along with all of the County Cup Competitions and a chronic shortage of pitches. Though dominated by clubs based on the Heugh, the pitch situation was eased by players travelling all the way to West Hartlepool Rec at Rift House for many games!
A glance at the Clubs and their “H.Qs” between Throston Bridge and the Fish Quay Gates shows was a hive of Rugby the Heugh must have been in the “Roaring Twenties”. Red Rose operated from the Union in High Street and later the Lawrenson in Northgate. YMCA was in Southgate, Seaman’s Mission on Town Wall with United Services in Mary Street. Boys Brigade and Old Boys Institute were both housed in the Old Mill with Brotherhood in Northgate Methodists and St Mary’s in Darlington Street. The Brunswick was the home of Heortensians and of course Rovers teams operated out of their Memorial HQ in Moor Terrace
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Images from the years when following the upheavals at the end of the 20s the competition was based on a knockout system, save for one season. In addition, the running of the Cup was taken over by the Durham County South District Junior Union in 1933, a situation that lasted until 1964
More detail »Following the introduction of “Colts” Rugby in 1964, the County District Union were disbanded. No arrangements had been made for the playing of the Pyman Cup, so the Cup was not put up for competition. In 1966, whilst sorting the shortage of pitches, the town Clubs agreed to reform the Hartlepool & District Union and took up the challenge of running the Cup. This gallery shows images from the years since the restart,
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