Summary
The 1937 Provincial Speedway League was the second season of the Provincial League. Seven speedway teams started the season. From the previous season's finishers, Plymouth Panthers had dropped out but Leicester, Birmingham (Hall Green) and Norwich Stars joined up. Leicester withdrew mid-season and their record was expunged. Liverpool Merseysiders also withdrew mid-season but their entry was taken over by Belle Vue. Bristol Bulldogs were the champions and moved up to the National League for the following season.[1][2][3]
| League | Provincial League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 6 |
| Champions | Bristol Bulldogs |
| Provincial Trophy | Nottingham |
| National Trophy (provincial final) | Southampton Saints |
| Coronation Cup | Nottingham |
| Highest average | Frank Goulden |
| Division/s above | 1937 National League |
Due to the brevity of the season, teams also competed for the Provincial Trophy in a league format. Leicester had already folded before the competition started and as with the league, Belle Vue replaced Liverpool Merseysiders. Nottingham won the Provincial Trophy and completed a double by winning the Provincial League Coronation Cup.[4]
Stan Hart was killed during a match at Hall Green Stadium between Birmingham and Belle Vue on 25 August. He fell during a heat and was hit by a rider behind.[5][6]
Final table edit
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Bristol Bulldogs | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 30 |
| 2 | Southampton Saints | 20 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 26 |
| 3 | Nottingham | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
| 4 | Liverpool Merseysiders+ Belle Vue Merseysiders+ |
20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 16* |
| 5 | Norwich Stars | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 16 |
| 6 | Birmingham Bulldogs | 20 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 10 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
+ Liverpool scored 10 points from 11 matches, Belle Vue scored 6 from 9
Withdrawal (Record expunged) : Leicester Hounds
Leading averages (league only) edit
| Rider | Team | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Goulden | Southampton | 10.46 |
| George Greenwood | Nottingham | 9.55 |
| Bert Jones | Southampton | 9.21 |
| Bill Rogers | Bristol | 9.15 |
| Billy Dallison | Southampton | 9.15 |
Provincial Trophy final table edit
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Nottingham | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 2 | Bristol Bulldogs | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 3 | Southampton Saints | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Liverpool Merseysiders+ Belle Vue Merseysiders+ |
10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| 5 | Birmingham (Hall Green) | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 6 | Norwich Stars | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
+ Liverpool scored 2 points from 6 matches, Belle Vue scored 6 from 4
National Trophy edit
The 1937 National Trophy was the seventh edition of the Knockout Cup.[7] Southampton Saints won the Provincial Final round and therefore qualified for the quarter finals proper (the round when the tier one sides entered the competition).
Provincial League first qualifying round edit
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/05 | Liverpool | 57-26 | Norwich |
| 01/05 | Norwich | 30-51 | Liverpool |
Provincial League second qualifying round edit
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/04 | Bristol | 48-36 | Nottingham |
| 20/04 | Nottingham | rain | Bristol |
| 04/05 | Nottingham | 46-37 | Bristol |
| 31/05 | Liverpool | 39-45 | Southampton |
| 25/05 | Southampton | 55-28 | Liverpool |
Final edit
First leg
| Bristol Bulldogs Roy Dook 7 Fred Leavis 7 Bill Rogers 6 Harry Shepherd 5 George Saunders 5 Rol Stobart 4 Bill Maddern 4 Jack Dalton 3 | 41 – 42 | Southampton Saints Billy Dallison 9 Bert Jones 9 Syd Griffiths 8 Frank Goulden 7 Ivor Creek 3 Jack Riddle 3 Cyril Anderson 3 Vic Collins 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Second leg
| Southampton Saints Billy Dallison 12 Syd Griffiths 12 Bert Jones 9 Ivor Creek 7 Frank Goulden 4 Vic Collins 3 Cyril Anderson 2 Jack Riddle 2 | 51 – 32 | Bristol Bulldogs Roy Dook 7 Harry Shepherd 6 Rol Stobart 5 Bill Rogers 5 Fred Leavis 4 George Saunders 4 Bill Maddern 1 Jack Dalton 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Southampton were the National Trophy Provincial Final winners, winning on aggregate 93-73.
Coronation Cup edit
The 1937 Coronation Cup was a one-off competition to mark the Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth. Nottingham won the Cup.[9]
First round
| Team one | Team two | scores |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol | Norwich | 53–29, 47–35 (100–64 agg) |
| Southampton | Liverpool | 41–42, 48–35 (89–77 agg) |
Semifinals
| Team one | Team two | scores |
|---|---|---|
| Nottingham | Bristol | 55–29, 37–47 (92–76 agg) |
| Southampton | Birmingham | 80–28, 40–41 (120–69 agg) |
Final edit
| Team one | Team two | scores |
|---|---|---|
| Nottingham | Southampton | 61–23, 37–46 (98–69 agg) |
Riders & final averages edit
Birmingham
-
Malcolm Craven 8.00 - Les Bowden 7.88
- Tiger Hart 7.41
-
Steve Langton 7.42 - Danny Lee 7.38
- Bob Lovell 6.17
- Jack Tidbury 5.33
- Les Gregory 5.00
- Bill Stanley 4.77
Keith Harvey 4.15- Jack Hyland 3.00
- Charlie Challis 2.20
Bristol
- Bill Rogers 9.15
- Roy Dook 9.01
- Harry Shepherd 9.00
- Rol Stobbart 8.73
- Reg Vigor 8.67
- Fred Leavis 7.25
- Bill Maddern 6.75
- Reg Lambourne 5.92
- Jack Dalton 6.40
- Reg Gore 5.50
- George Saunders 5.42
Liverpool/Belle Vue
- Jack Hargreaves 8.88/8.88
- Thomas Arthur Price 7.73/7.63
- Stan Hart 7.00/7.61
- Eric Blain 6.97/6.57
- Oliver Hart 6.86/6.92
- Ernie Price 6.00/6.89
- Charlie Oates 6.00/4.57
- Alan Butler 4.43/5.31
- Jack Gordon x/3.73
- Len Eyre 5.00/4.14
- Eric Butler 4.27/3.65
Norwich
- Wal Morton 8.87
- Bert Spencer 8.64
- Dick Wise 7.79
- Wilf Jay 6.65
- Alex Peel 5.69
- Paul Goodchild 5.39
- Chun Moore 5.14
-
Jock Sweet 4.87 - Charlie Dugard 4.62
- Jim Millward 4.34
- Bill Birtwell 4.00
- Alan Brooks Smith 3.89
- Charlie Lish 3.73
Nottingham
- George Greenwood 9.55
- Ted Bravery 8.43
- Fred Strecker 8.40
- Frank Hodgson 8.21
- Tommy Allott 7.95
- Tommy Bateman 7.53
- George Dykes 6.36
- Sam Marsland 6.25
- Fred Tuck 6.21
- Billy Lamont 5.69
- Don Hemingway 1.60
Southampton
- Frank Goulden 10.46
- Bert Jones 9.21
- Billy Dallison 9.15
-
Syd Griffiths 9.01 - Jack Riddle 8.38
-
Jack Hobson 6.14 - Ivor Creek 4.85
- Cyril Anderson 4.94
- Jim Boyd 3.50
- Vic Collins 3.29
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "Birmingham (Hall Green Stadium) 1937". Speedway Museum. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "Stan Hart". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "1937 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1937 National Trophy Provincial Final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Coronation Cup 1937". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 16 August 2021.