1979 was the fifteenth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year, for the last time, a new name appeared on the trophy when Hull F.C. won the trophy by beating Hull KR by the score of 13-3
The match was played at Boulevard, in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. The attendance was 18,500, and the receipts were £16,605
The attendance was a record for a BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, never to be beaten
Contents
Background
This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at twenty-two.
The format remained as a knock-out competition from the preliminary round through to the final.
The preliminary round involved twelve clubs, to reduce the numbers taking part in the competition proper to just sixteen.
Preliminary Round
Involved 6 matches and 12 Clubs
Round 1 - First Round
Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Round 2 -Quarter Finals
Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Round 2 -Quarter Finals - Replay
Involved 1 matches and 2 Clubs
Round 3 – Semi-Finals
Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Teams and Scorers
Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points
The road to success
This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures
Postscript
To date, this was the last season for the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Competition, which had taken place annually only since its inauguration in the 1965-66 season.
Despite several minor disagreements between the BBC and the RFL, including over shirt sponsorship in the early 1970s, overall the competition had been a great success.
However financial cutbacks at the BBC lead to its cancellation after the 1979-80 competition.
Therefore this season (1969–70) was to be the last. It was greatly missed by many, including those living in a non-Rugby League area
Entrants and number of cup wins
This table list all the semi-professional clubs which have entered the competition and the number (and dates) of their cup final wins, cup final runner-up spots, and losing semi-final aooearances.
General information for those unfamiliar
The Rugby League BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was a knock-out competition sposored by the BBC and between rugby league clubs, entrance to which was conditional upon the club having floodlights. Most matches were played on an evening, and those of which the second half was televised, were played on a Tuesday evening.
Despite the competition being named as 'Floodlit', many matches took place during the afternoonns and not under floodlights, and several of the entrants, including Barrow and Bramley did not have adequate lighting. And, when in 1973, due to the world oil crisis, the government restricted the use of floodlights in sport, all the matches, including the Trophy final, had to be played in the afternoon rather than at night.
The Rugby League season always (until the onset of "Summer Rugby" in 1996) ran from around August-time through to around May-time and this competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final taking place in December (The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused by inclement weather)