Summary
The 1955 Speedway National League was the 21st season and tenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 7 |
| Champions | Wimbledon Dons |
| National Trophy | Norwich Stars |
| Midland Cup | Birmingham Brummies |
| Highest average | Jack Young |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 2) 1955 Southern Area League |
Summary edit
The league consisted of seven teams after the Harringay Racers ceased competitive speedway racing at the end of 1954. Match line-ups were reduced from eight riders to seven riders. Wimbledon won their second successive National League Championship. West Ham closed at the end of the season, blaming poor attendances.[2][3][4][5]
Final table edit
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 34 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 30 |
| 3 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 23 |
| 4 | Bradford Tudors | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| 5 | Birmingham Brummies | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 20 |
| 6 | Norwich Stars | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 19 |
| 7 | West Ham Hammers | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 18 |
Top Ten Riders (League only) edit
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Jack Young | 
|
West Ham | 10.79 |
| 2 | Ronnie Moore | 
|
Wimbledon | 10.77 |
| 3 | Ove Fundin | 
|
Norwich | 10.00 |
| 4 | Barry Briggs |
|
Wimbledon | 9.79 |
| 5 | Brian Crutcher | 
|
Wembley | 9.34 |
| 6 | Arthur Wright |
|
Bradford | 9.14 |
| 7 | Peter Craven |
|
Belle Vue | 8.96 |
| 8 | Arthur Forrest |
|
Bradford | 8.91 |
| 9 | Ron Johnston |
|
Belle Vue | 8.61 |
| 10 | Ken Sharples |
|
Belle Vue | 8.43 |
National Trophy Stage Two edit
The 1955 National Trophy was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of two stages; stage one was for the second tier clubs, stage two was for the top tier clubs. Norwich won the second and final stage and were therefore declared the 1955 National Trophy champions.[6]
- For Stage One - see Stage One
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04/08 | Poole | 56-52 | Birmingham |
| 16/07 | Birmingham | 56-52 | Poole |
| 16/07 | Belle Vue | 61-47 | Wembley |
| 16/07 | Bradford Odsal | 52-56 | Wimbledon |
| 16/07 | Norwich | 69-39 | West Ham |
| 14/07 | Wembley | 67-41 | Belle Vue |
| 12/07 | West Ham | 49-58 | Norwich |
| 11/07 | Wimbledon | 76-31 | Bradford Odsal |
| 18/08 replay |
Poole | 69-39 | Birmingham |
| 17/08 replay |
Birmingham | 67-41 | Poole |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29/08 | Poole | 58-50 | Norwich |
| 27/08 | Norwich | 82-26 | Poole |
| 15/08 | Wimbledon | 61-47 | Wembley |
| 04/08 | Wembley | 63-45 | Wimbledon |
Final edit
First leg
| Wembley Lions Brian Crutcher 15 Eric Williams 9 Freddie Williams 6 Ken Adams 4 Jimmy Gooch 4 Tommy Price 3 Trevor Redmond 2 Eric French 0 | 43 – 64 | Norwich Stars Ove Fundin 16 Cyril Roger 11 Aub Lawson 10 Billy Bales 10 Harry Edwards 6 Phil Clarke 6 Fred Brand 4 Don Lawson 1 |
|---|---|---|
| [7] |
Second leg
| Norwich Stars Phil Clarke 15 Cyril Roger 9 Fred Brand 6 Harry Edwards 4 Reg Trott (guest) 5 Billy Bales 3 Don Lawson 2 Malcolm Flood 1 | 45 – 63 | Wembley Lions Tommy Price 13 Brian Crutcher 11 Trevor Redmond 11 Eric French 8 Jimmy Gooch 8 Freddie Williams 5 Ken Adams 4 Eric Williams 3 |
|---|---|---|
| [7] |
Norwich were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 109–106.
Midland Cup edit
Birmingham won the Midland Cup for a third consecutive year. It consisted of four teams, there was one team from division 1 and three teams from division 2.[8]
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | Leicester | 49–53, 29–73 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Leicester | Coventry | 66–36, 51–51 |
Final edit
First leg
| Birmingham Ron Mountford 15 Alan Hunt 13 Eric Boothroyd 13 Jim Tolley 12 Dennis Newton 6 Harry Bastable 6 Derrick Tailby 1 | 66–36 | Leicester Ken McKinlay 16 Len Williams 8 Charlie Barsby 4 Ron Phillips 4 Barry East 2 Derek Close 1 Gordon McGregor 1 |
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| Leicester Ken McKinlay 18 Len Williams 12 Gordon McGregor 12 Ron Phillips 6 Fred Brand 5 Barry East 4 Charlie Barsby 3 | 60–42 | Birmingham Junior Bainbridge 14 Jim Tolley 6 Alan Hunt 6 Eric Boothroyd 6 Harry Bastable 5 Dennis Newton 2 Derrick Tailby 3 |
|---|---|---|
Birmingham won on aggregate 108–96
Riders & final averages edit
Belle Vue
-
Peter Craven 8.96 -
Ron Johnston 8.61 - Ken Sharples 8.43
- Bob Duckworth 6.69
- Harry Edwards 5.05
- Peter Williams 4.93
- Fred Rogers 4.76
- Dick Fisher 4.70
- Tink Maynard 4.47
- Don Cuppleditch 4.45
- Frank Johnson 1.60
Birmingham
- Alan Hunt 7.94
- Ron Mountford 7.87
Doug Davies 7.08-
Graham Warren 5.31 - Eric Boothroyd 5.21
- Harry Bastable 5.11
- Jim Tolley 4.35
- Derrick Tailby 2.77
Bradford
- Arthur Wright 9.14
- Arthur Forrest 8.91
- Eddie Rigg 7.85
- Guy Allott 6.18
- Keith Milner 6.04
- Des Haswell 5.04
- Al Allison 4.28
- Ron Clarke 3.57
- Jack Hughes 3.27
- Nigel Boocock 2.24
Norwich
-
Ove Fundin 10.00 - Billy Bales 8.33
- Aub Lawson 7.38
- Phil Clarke 7.32
- Cyril Roger 6.51
- Harry Edwards 4.80
- Fred Brand 4.58
- Don Lawson 2.49
- Malcolm Flood 1.52
Wembley
- Brian Crutcher 9.34
- Tommy Price 7.31
-
Eric Williams 6.95 - Freddie Williams 6.91
- Trevor Redmond 6.13
-
Eric French 5.88 - Ken Adams 4.35
- Jimmy Gooch 4.00
West Ham
- Jack Young 10.79
- Split Waterman 7.46
- Gerry Hussey 6.87
- Bert Roger 5.79
- Alan Smith 5.51
- Wally Green 5.44
- Jack Biggs 4.93
-
Johnny Fitzpatrick 2.15 - Terry Courtnell 1.73
- Howdy Byford 0.73
Wimbledon
- Ronnie Moore 10.77
- Barry Briggs 9.79
- Peter Moore 7.76
- Ron How 7.63
- Cyril Maidment 5.54
- Les McGillivray 5.33
- Cyril Brine 5.16
- Alf Hagon 4.98
- Reg Trott 1.14
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Archive: National League 1955".
- ^ "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.
- ^ "1955 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1955 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Hunters triumph but trophy lost". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 October 1955. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.