The 1961 Provincial Speedway League was the second season of the Provincial League.[1]
League | Provincial League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 11 |
Champions | Poole Pirates |
Knockout Cup | Cradley Heathens |
Individual | Reg Reeves |
Highest average | Reg Reeves |
Division/s above | 1961 National League |
Eleven speedway teams took part. Liverpool, Yarmouth and Bristol had all folded at the end of the previous season and Bradford were unable to take their place in the league after the construction of their new track was delayed. Exeter, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Middlesbrough and Newcastle all re-opened their tracks and joined the league for the start of the season. Plymouth took on Bristol's riders and Bulldog nickname. Poole were champions, finishing seven points ahead of runners up Plymouth.[2][3][4]
Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Poole Pirates | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 31 |
2 | Plymouth Bulldogs | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 24 |
3 | Stoke Potters | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 24 |
4 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 23 |
5 | Rayleigh Rockets | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
6 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 21 |
7 | Sheffield Tigers | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
8 | Exeter Falcons | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
9 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 20 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 14 |
10 | Middlesbrough Bears | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 13 |
11 | Newcastle Diamonds | 20 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 10 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Reg Reeves | Rayleigh | 11.43 | |
2 | Bluey Scott | Plymouth | 11.08 | |
3 | Ken Middleditch | Poole | 10.55 | |
4 | Ross Gilbertson | Poole | 10.51 | |
5 | Tony Lewis | Poole | 10.32 |
The 1961 Provincial League Knockout Cup was the second edition of the Knockout Cup for the Provincial League teams. Cradley Heathens were the winners.[5]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
13/05 | Stoke | 53–41 | Middlesbrough |
19/05 | Rayleigh | 50–46 | Exeter |
Second round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
18/05 | Sheffield | 43–53 | Plymouth |
21/06 | Poole | 71–25 | Wolverhampton |
24/06 | Stoke | 46–50 | Cradley Heath |
17/07 | Edinburgh | 49–47 | Rayleigh |
Semifinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
29/07 | Cradley Heath | 55–41 | Poole |
12/08 | Edinburgh | 55–40 | Plymouth |
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
09/09 | Cradley Heath | 68–28 | Edinburgh |
23/09 | Edinburgh | 59–34 | Cradley Heath |
Reg Reeves won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Harringay Stadium on 16 September in front of 20,000 spectators. Defending champion Trevor Redmond suffered a broken chain in his last race when leading Reeves, which prevented him from winning the title again.[6]
Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Reg Reeves | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 |
2 | Trevor Redmond | 3 3 3 3 ef | 12 |
3 | Maury Mattingley | 3 2 1 3 3 | 12 |
4 | Jack Scott | 2 3 2 2 2 | 11 |
5 | Stan Stevens | 2 1 2 2 3 | 11 |
6 | Ivor Brown | 3 3 2 ef 3 | 11 |
7 | Harry Bastable | 1 2 3 2 2 | 10 |
8 | Graham Warren | 1 1 2 f 2 | 6 |
9 | Ken Middleditch | 0 1 1 1 2 | 5 |
10 | Len Silver | 2 2 0 0 1 | 5 |
11 | Pete Lansdale | 0 2 2 1 0 | 5 |
12 | Tony Lewis | exc 0 1 3 1 | 5 |
13 | Vic Ridgeon | 2 1 0 1 1 | 4 |
14 | Rick France | 1 0 0 2 0 | 3 |
15 | Eric Boothroyd | 2 0 1 1 0 | 3 |
16 | Peter Jarman | f 0 0 f 1 | 1 |
Cradley Heath
Edinburgh
Exeter
Middlesbrough
Newcastle
Plymouth
Poole
Rayleigh
Sheffield
Stoke
Wolverhampton