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1949 Speedway National League 
Summary
The 1949 National League Division One was the 15th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the fourth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
| League | National League Division One |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 8 |
| Champions | Wembley Lions |
| National Trophy | Belle Vue Aces |
| London Cup | Wembley Lions |
| Highest average | Vic Duggan |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 2) National League (Div 3) |
Summary edit
Birmingham Brummies joined the league and the Anniversary (League) Cup was discontinued or the teams would have met each other six times in the league. Wembley Lions won the National League for the fourth time.[2][3][4]
Final table edit
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wembley Lions | 42 | 28 | 1 | 13 | 57 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 42 | 24 | 0 | 18 | 48 |
| 3 | New Cross Rangers | 42 | 24 | 0 | 18 | 48 |
| 4 | West Ham Hammers | 42 | 23 | 0 | 19 | 46 |
| 5 | Odsal Boomerangs | 42 | 22 | 1 | 19 | 45 |
| 6 | Harringay Racers | 42 | 18 | 0 | 24 | 36 |
| 7 | Birmingham Brummies | 42 | 16 | 1 | 25 | 32 |
| 8 | Wimbledon Dons | 42 | 11 | 1 | 30 | 23 |
Top Ten Riders (League only) edit
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Vic Duggan | 
|
Harringay | 10.65 |
| 2 | Graham Warren |
|
Birmingham | 10.21 |
| 3 | Jack Parker | 
|
Belle Vue | 10.12 |
| 4 | Wilbur Lamoreaux | 
|
Birmingham | 9.86 |
| 5 | Dent Oliver |
|
Belle Vue | 9.60 |
| 6 | Aub Lawson |
|
West Ham | 9.57 |
| 7 | Norman Parker |
|
Wimbledon | 9.35 |
| 8 | Bill Gilbert |
|
Wembley | 9.24 |
| 9 | Tommy Price |
|
Wembley | 9.10 |
| 10 | Ron Clarke |
|
Odsal | 8.79 |
National Trophy Stage Three edit
The 1949 National Trophy was the 12th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third division clubs, stage two was for the second division clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Belle Vue Aces won the third and final stage and were therefore declared the 1949 National Trophy champions.[5]
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29/07 | Harringay | 60-47 | Bradford Odsal |
| 23/07 | Bradford Odsal | 80-28 | Harringay |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20/08 | Bradford Odsal | 70-38 | Birmingham |
| 19/08 | Bristol | 47-60 | New Cross |
| 18/08 | Wembley | 56-52 | West Ham |
| 17/08 | New Cross | 55-53 | Bristol |
| 16/08 | West Ham | 64-44 | Wembley |
| 13/08 | Birmingham | 51-57 | Bradford Odsal |
| 15/08 | Wimbledon | 58-50 | Belle Vue |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17/09 | Belle Vue | 66-42 | Bradford Odsal |
| 10/09 | Bradford Odsal | 54-54 | Belle Vue |
| 07/09 | New Cross | 55-53 | West Ham |
| 06/09 | West Ham | 64-44 | New Cross |
Final edit
First leg
| Belle Vue Aces Ron Mason 17 Jack Parker 16 Bruce Semmens 11 Louis Lawson 10 Dent Oliver 7 Charles Cullum 8 Bob Harrison 5 George Smith 5 | 78 – 30 | West Ham Hammers Aub Lawson 14 Malcolm Craven 6 Fred Curtis 3 Howdy Byford 3 Cliff Watson 2 Trevor Davies 2 Reg Fearman 0 Wally Green 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [6] |
Second leg
| West Ham Hammers Aub Lawson 15 Malcolm Craven 9 Cliff Watson 5 Fred Curtis 4 Howdy Byford 4 Wally Green 4 Reg Fearman 4 Frank Bettis 0 | 46 – 62 | Belle Vue Aces Louis Lawson 16 Jack Parker 15 Charles Cullum 10 Dent Oliver 6 Ron Mason 5 Bruce Semmens 5 Ken Sharples 3 Bob Harrison 2 |
|---|---|---|
| [6] |
Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 140–76.
London Cup edit
First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|
| New Cross | 57–50, 56–51 | Wimbledon |
| Walthamstow | 55–52, 48–60 | Harringay |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|
| West Ham | 65–43, 70–38 | New Cross |
| Wembley | 65–43, 57–51 | Harringay |
Final edit
First leg
| Wembley Bill Kitchen 14 Bill Gilbert 11 Tommy Price 9 Split Waterman 8 George Wilks 7 | 58–50 | West Ham Aub Lawson 18 Cliff Watson 8 Malcolm Craven 7 Wally Green 7 |
|---|---|---|
| [7] |
Second leg
| West Ham Aub Lawson 9 Howdy Byford 8 Cliff Watson 7 Kid Curtis 6 Malcolm Craven 6 | 42–66 | Wembley Tommy Price 17 Bill Kitchen 16 George Wilks 11 Split Waterman 7 Freddie Williams 6 Bob Wells 6 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Wembley won on aggregate 124–92
Riders & final averages edit
Belle Vue
-
Jack Parker 10.12 - Dent Oliver 9.60
- Louis Lawson 7.95
- Bruce Semmens 6.17
- Ken Sharples 5.96
- Bob Harrison 5.75
-
Charles Cullum 5.72 - George Smith 5.68
-
Jack Chignell 5.41 - Ron Mason 5.36
- Jim Boyd 4.10
Henry Long 3.43
Birmingham
- Graham Warren 10.21
- Wilbur Lamoreaux 9.86
- Doug McLachlan 7.02
- Geoff Bennett 6.14
- Arthur Payne 5.94
- Dennis Hitchings 4.40
- Stan Dell 4.18
- Buck Whitby 3.09
- Dick Tolley 3.02
- Bill Humphries 2.91
- Brian Wilson 2.24
Harringay
- Vic Duggan 10.65
- Ray Duggan 6.83
- Geoff Pymar 6.63
- Nobby Stock 5.77
- Danny Dunton 5.03
- Arthur Bush 4.97
- Lloyd Goffe 4.68
- Jimmy Grant 4.06
- Sid Clark 3.79
- Joe Bowkis 3.11
New Cross
- Ron Johnson 8.60
- Bill Longley 8.02
- Cyril Roger 7.86
-
Eric French 7.58 - Jeff Lloyd 7.19
- Bert Roger 6.47
- Bob Baker 6.12
- Ray Moore 5.77
- Frank Lawrence 5.17
- Don Gray 3.58
Odsal
- Ron Clarke 8.79
- Jack Biggs 8.73
- Oliver Hart 8.31
- Joe Abbott 7.93
- Ernie Price 7.74
- Eddie Rigg 6.68
- Bob Lovell 3.61
- Norman Price 3.58
- Dyson Harper 1.16
Wembley
- Bill Gilbert 9.24
- Tommy Price 9.10
- Split Waterman 8.20
-
Freddie Williams 7.40 - George Wilks 5.80
- Bill Kitchen 7.60
- Bob Wells 6.59
-
Bruce Abernethy 5.05 - Alf Bottoms 5.69
- Jack Gates 2.82
- Den Cosby 2.67
- George Saunders 2.60
- Buster Brown 2.57
West Ham
- Aub Lawson 9.57
- Cliff Watson 8.00
- Malcolm Craven 7.98
- George Wilks 6.71
Eric Chitty 6.09- Howdy Byford 5.30
- Wally Green 4.53
- Kid Curtis 3.84
- Frank Bettis 3.93
- Reg Fearman 1.71
Wimbledon
- Norman Parker 9.35
- Alec Statham 7.71
- Mike Erskine 7.10
- Cyril Brine 7.04
- Jimmie Gibb 6.98
- Dick Harris 4.00
- Bill Pitcher 3.17
- Reg Trott 2.87
- Les Wotton 2.75
- Jack Wright 2.67
- Huck Fynn 2.18
- Wal Morton 2.00
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "1949 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1949 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Byford beats Price". Daily News (London). 7 October 1949. Retrieved 24 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Wembley triumph in final of London Speedway Cup". Daily Herald. 12 October 1949. Retrieved 24 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.