The 1929 English Dirt Track League was the inaugural season of speedway in the United Kingdom for Northern English teams.[1] There was also a Southern League called the 1929 Speedway Southern League that started during the same year.[2][3][4]
League | English Dirt Track League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 11 |
Champions | Leeds |
Knockout Cup | Preston |
Highest average | Syd Jackson |
Division/s other | 1929 Southern League |
The season was littered with mid-season withdrawals but eventually the Leeds were crowned champions. In 1930, the league was renamed the Northern League so the league existed for just one year. White City Speedway (Manchester) withdrew from the league after a dispute[5] and would have been crowned champions if they had not done so because they were leading the table at the time by four points, having won 18 of their 20 matches.[6]
Dennis Atkinson suffered critical injuries on 12 July 1929, following an accident at Cleveland Park Stadium riding in a Golden Helmet meeting. He died the following day.[7]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Leeds | 20 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 33 |
2 | Preston | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 28 |
3 | Halifax | 19 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 25 |
4 | Newcastle | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
5 | Salford | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
6 | Rochdale | 20 | 9 | 1 | 19 | 19 |
7 | Leicester Stadium | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
8 | Liverpool | 18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
9 | Sheffield | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 13 |
10 | Middlesbrough | 19 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 12 |
11 | Barnsley Lundwood | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 12 |
Withdrawals (Records expunged) :
Team | C.M.A. | ||
1 | Syd Jackson | Leicester | 10.71 |
2 | Joe Abbott | Burnley/Preston | 10.50 |
3 | Ham Burrill | Preston | 9.44 |
4 | Charlie Hornby | Warrington | 8.88 |
5 | Walter Creasor | Newcastle/Halifax | 8.50 |
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
03/08 | Barnsley Lundwood | 32–30 | Sheffield |
10/08 | Rochdale | 39–23 | Salford |
10/08 | Sheffield | 33–30 | Barnsley Lundwood |
13/08 | Middlesbrough | 25–38 | Newcastle |
16/08 | Manchester White City | 50–13 | Warrington |
21/08 | Liverpool | 16–47 | Preston |
22/08 | Halifax | 49–13 | Leeds |
22/08 | Leicester Stadium | 34–27 | Leicester Super |
22/08 | Preston | 44–19 | Liverpool |
23/08 | Newcastle | 38–24 | Middlesbrough |
23/08 | Warrington | 33–29 | Manchester White City |
24/08 | Leeds | 32–31 | Halifax |
24/08 | Leicester Super | 30–32 | Leicester Stadium |
24/08 | Nottingham | 35–23 | Wombwell |
26/08 | Salford | 37–26 | Rochdale |
29/08 | Wombwell | 38–24 | Nottingham |
Second round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
12/09 | Halifax | 35–25 | Wombwell |
14/09 | Rochdale | 30–33 | Leicester Stadium |
16/09 | Wombwell | 31–31 | Halifax |
18/09 | Sheffield | 35–28 | Preston |
19/09 | Leicester Stadium | 35–27 | Rochdale |
19/09 | Preston | 55–11 | Sheffield |
Manchester White City | w/o | Newcastle |
Semifinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
19/09 | Halifax | 44–19 | Newcastle |
20/09 | Newcastle | 37–25 | Halifax |
21/09 | Preston | 48–14 | Leicester Stadium |
03/10 | Leicester Stadium | 39–24 | Preston |
First leg
Preston Frank Charles 12 Joe Abbott 10 Ham Burrill 8 Frank Chiswell 8 Jack Chiswell 7 Claude Rye 3 | 48 – 15 | Halifax Walter Creasor 5 Bert Clayton 3 Geoff Taylor 2 Frank Smith 2 Geoff Kilburn 2 Jack Dudding 1 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Second leg
Halifax Cyril "Squib" Burton 7 George Reynard 6 Bert Clayton 4 Frank Smith 3 Arthur Atkinson 2 Jack Dudding 1 | 24 – 39 | Preston Frank Chiswell 12 Frank Charles 10 Joe Abbott 6 Ham Burrill 5 Claude Rye 4 Len Myerscough 2 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Preston were Knockout Cup winners, winning on aggregate 87–39.
Barnsley
Halifax
Leeds
Leicester
Liverpool
Manchester White City (withdrew)
Middlesbrough
Newcastle
Preston
Rochdale
Salford
Sheffield