The Woodhouse Cup league competition began in 1885 under the auspices of the West Yorkshire Chess Association. Before that date, there are lots of recorded matches and tournaments, but nothing you could call an organised league. Even the county chess associations were still in their formative years.

Leeds Chess Club members were instrumental in setting up the Yorkshire Chess Association and to this day three out of the four YCA divisions are named after Leeds Chess Club members: the Woodhouse Cup, the IM Brown Shield and the (more recent) AG Sunderland Cup.

There are lots of seasons to cover, but here are the results and stats from a random selection, which will be added to as and when time allows.