Well that was amazing. Many thanks also Worthing.

I reckon the crowd would be about 15-20,000 unless tickets were very cheap. It's not 1954 anymore.

Thanks Worthing Wire. Great to see that. I'd love to see them in those jerseys again.

Try and get hold of a copy of 'There Were a Lot More Than That: Odsal 1954' by Robert Gate (published in the mid-nineties I think). Excellent book, if only for the pictures.

Could British RL ever see a final like that again? Would be fantastic if one day we could

There is some great footage, complete with commentary and the roar of the crowd on the official history of RL DVD. To my knowledge, that game still holds the UK record sports attendance and for a long time, the world record.

Cheers Moljol

Eddeh, Eddeh. Did you know, there are 102,569 people her today and that Wigun would have brought over 103,000 people her todhair.

Brilliant book if you are a Wire fan. Some really good stories about the day. Apparently they were expecting about 65,000.

Don't we pretty much fill Wembley and Old Trafford? Sadly there aren't any bigger sports arenas in the UK, so unless someone builds a bigger one that's still safe we won't. Prices would probably have to come down too, although if it's built to safely hold more than 100,000 people there will almost certainly be some awful views available for a pittance.

Sadly, I don't think that the capacity of available stadiums is the issue, it's more to do with a diminishing level of interest. This year there might be a drop off because of the economoc climate, together with both teams having recently been to finals.

I don't know what inspired the '54 crowd, perhaps a combination of a major sporting event being played relatively locally and a feel good factor moving on from WW2?

Fascinating accounts from folk who were there here:

[urlhttp://www.rugbyleagueoralhistory.co.uk/subjects/view/the-1954-odsal-challenge-cup-final-replay[/url