By the 1990s the top teams in the Pennine League were becoming far stronger than all the rest. The same thing was happening in the professional game. So in season 1992-3 the local Halifax management committee voted to scrap the end-of-season championship play-offs and replace them with a new Handicap Cup, to give lower division teams the opportunity to hold centre stage for a change.
In this first season Premier Division tams started on scratch, Division 1 teams on 15 points, Division 2 on 30 points, Division 3 on 45 points, and the rest (Division 4 and Sunday sides) on 60 points. The final would be at Thrum Hall on Easter Monday as a direct replacement for the Championship Final. The first final was Brighouse Celtic, with the maximum 60 points start, against Park Amateurs; it proved enough when Park won by 50 points to 18, but Celtic took the trophy.
The Championship Finals were reinstated the following season, but the Handicap Cup continued, still at Thrum Hall to start with but later at grounds such as Old Crossleyans at Broomfield and Old Rishworthians at Copley.
The handicapping formula was tinkered with over the years. For 1993-4 it was a point per position, based on the previous season’s Pennine League final table. Cooke Street Ram from Divsion 3 had 20 points start over Division 2 Sowerby Spartans in the Final, enough to give them the win. Premier division clubs were excluded in 1994-5, with Illingworth from Division 1 on scratch and the rest based on final league position as before. Sowerby Bridge Robins (formerly Cooke Street Ram) beat Wainstalls by 20 points to 6 in the Thrum Hall final, but Wainstalls with 17 points start took the trophy 23-20, their one try being the winner. The Robins were back for a third successive final in 1996, but had to give 25 points start to opponents Halifax Irish (in their first season) and missed out again.
1992-3 Brighouse Celtic 78 (with 60 points start) Park Amateurs 50
1993-4 Cooke Street Ram beat Sowerby Spartans
1994-5 Wainstalls beat Sowerby Bridge Robins
1995-6 Halifax Irish beat Sowerby Bridge Robins
1996-7 Brighouse Rangers beat Elland (Elland started on 8 pts and Brighouse 12)
1997-8 Sowerby Bridge Robins v Siddal
1998-9 Shelf Lions 37 Brighouse Rangers 18
1999-0 Boothtown Terriers 26 Shelf Lions 19 at Broomfield. (Boothtown had 1 point start)
2000-1
2001-2 Brighouse Rangers 42 Greetland 36 (with 22 start) at Copley
2002-3 Greetland 34 (with 19 start) Brighouse Rangers 16 (repeat final at Copley)
2003-4 Boothtown beat Calder Valley despite losing final 30-7 (25 points start)
2004-5
2005-6
2006-7
2007-8
2008-9
2009-10