1938 Speedway National League Division Two

Summary

The 1938 National League Division Two was the inaugural season of British speedway's National League Division Two albeit a continuation of the Provincial League from the previous season in all but name.[1][2][3][4]

1938 Speedway National League Division Two
LeagueNational League Division Two
No. of competitors9
ChampionsHackney Wick Wolves
Provincial TrophyNorwich Stars
National Trophy
(Div 2 final)
Norwich Stars
Highest averageMax Grosskreutz
Division/s above1938 National League
(Division One)

The list of teams had several changes. Bristol Bulldogs had moved up to the National League and Hackney Wick Wolves had moved down to take their place. They also swapped licences and riders as well as divisions. Other new entrants were Lea Bridge Cubs, Newcastle, Sheffield and West Ham Hawks (West Ham's reserve team). Belle Vue Merseysiders who had replaced Liverpool in the previous season were also absent.[5]

Nottingham withdrew just after the start of the league season and were replaced by Leeds Lions.[6]

Hackney Wick Wolves won the title.

Final Table Division Two edit

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Hackney Wick Wolves 16 12 0 4 24
2 Norwich Stars 16 12 0 4 24
3 Southampton Saints 16 9 0 7 18
4 West Ham Hawks 16 8 2 6 18
5 Lea Bridge Cubs 16 8 0 8 16
6 Newcastle Diamonds 16 7 1 8 15
7 Sheffield 16 6 1 9 13
8 Birmingham Bulldogs 16 6 0 10 12
9 Leeds Lions 16 2 0 14 4

Leading averages (league only) edit

Rider Team Average
Max Grosskreutz Norwich 10.89
George Greenwood Leeds 10.77
Frank Goulden Southampton 10.19
Charlie Spinks West Ham 10.11
Frank Hodgson Hackney 10.06

Provincial Trophy edit

The 1938 Provincial Trophy was the third edition of the Trophy, which was won by Norwich Stars.[7]

First round

Team one Team two scores
Norwich Hackney 75–33, 44–62 (119–95 agg)
Birmingham Leeds 61–46, 58–48 (119–94 agg)
Sheffield Newcastle 68–38, 47–60 (115–98 agg)
Southampton West Ham Hawks 82–26, 43–63 (125–89 agg)

Semifinals

Team one Team two scores
Norwich Birmingham 72–34, 59–47 (131–81 agg)
Sheffield Southampton 58–49, 53–53 (111–102 agg)

Final edit

Team one Team two scores
Norwich Sheffield 74–32, 53–54 (127–86 agg)

National Trophy edit

The 1938 National Trophy was the eighth edition of the Knockout Cup.[8] Norwich Stars won the Division 2 Final round and therefore qualified for the quarter finals proper (the round when the tier one sides entered the competition).

First qualifying round edit

Date Team one Score Team two
17/05 Nottingham+ 60-48 Hackney Wick+
21/05 Hackney Wick+ 59-49 Nottingham+
18/05 Birmingham 77-26 Sheffield
19/05 Sheffield 51-56 Birmingham
23/05 Newcastle 53-55 Norwich
28/05 Norwich 75-33 Newcastle
04/06 Hackney Wick 72-36 Leeds
06/06 Leeds 36-72 Hackney Wick

+ Nottingham withdrew from league replaced by Leeds resulting in Hackney's result becoming void.

Second qualifying round edit

Date Team one Score Team two
15/06 Birmingham 57.5-49.5 Hackney Wick
18/06 Hackney Wick 66-42 Birmingham
15/06 Southampton 76-30 Norwich
18/06 Norwich 77-31 Southampton

Final edit

First leg

Norwich Stars
Max Grosskreutz 14
Bert Spencer 14
Wal Morton 14
Bill Bertwell 9
Jock Sweet 8
Dick Wise 7
Wilf Jay 5
Paul Goodchild 1
72 – 36Hackney Wick Wolves
Doug Wells 8
George Saunders 8
Frank Hodgson 7
Arch Windmill 4
Tommy Bateman 3
Jim Baylais 3
Ken Brett 3
Jack Tidbury 0
[9]

Second leg

Hackney Wick Wolves
Doug Wells 16
Frank Hodgson 10
Arch Windmill 10
George Saunders 9
Tommy Bateman 9
Jack Tidbury 3
Jim Baylais 1
Ken Brett 0
58 – 49Norwich Stars
Wal Morton 12
Bert Spencer 9
Bill Bertwell 8
Max Grosskreutz 6
Alan Smith 6
Jock Sweet 3
Wilf Jay 3
Dick Wise 2
[9]

Norwich were the National Trophy Div 2 winners, winning on aggregate 121-94.

Riders & final averages edit

Birmingham

  •   Tiger Hart 8.82
  •   Steve Langton 8.22
  •   Danny Lee 6.28
  •   Stan Lemon 6.19
  •   Jack Hyland 5.51
  •   Jeff Lloyd 5.39
  •   Bob Lovell 5.22
  •   Les Trim 5.17
  •   Keith Harvey 4.52
  •   Lionel Stanger 3.30
  •   Charlie Challis 3.20

Hackney

Lea Bridge

Leeds

Newcastle

Norwich

Sheffield

Southampton

West Ham

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Home". speedwayresearcher.org.uk.
  2. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  6. ^ Bamford, Robert & Jarvis, John (2001) Homes of British Speedway, Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-2210-3, p. 193-4
  7. ^ "1938 Provincial Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  8. ^ "1938 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  9. ^ a b "1938 National Trophy Provincial Final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 23 August 2021.