League | National League Division One |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 9 |
Champions | Belle Vue Aces |
National Trophy | Belle Vue Aces |
A.C.U Cup | Belle Vue Aces |
London Cup | New Cross Lambs |
Highest average | Eric Langton |
The 1934 National League Division One was the sixth season of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. It was also the first time that a second division/tier of racing was introduced following the creation of a reserves league.[1][2][3][4]
Summary
[edit]Birmingham Bulldogs (formerly Hall Green) and Lea Bridge rejoined the league. Sheffield dropped out and most of their team relocated to Lea Bridge. Clapton Saints, who rode at Lea Bridge's stadium in the previous season relocated and raced as Harringay Tigers for the first time. Crystal Palace relocated to New Cross. Coventry and Nottingham also dropped out.
Lea Bridge closed down in late July and were replaced by a new side at Walthamstow who took on their last 10 fixtures.
Belle Vue Aces won their second consecutive double of national title and Knockout Cup. They also completed the treble by winning the A.C.U Cup. Eric Langton of Belle Vue Aces finished with the highest average.
National League Final table
[edit]Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Belle Vue Aces | 32 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 54 |
2 | Wembley Lions | 32 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 52 |
3 | New Cross Lambs | 32 | 21 | 0 | 11 | 42 |
4 | West Ham Hammers | 32 | 16 | 1 | 15 | 33 |
5 | Wimbledon Dons | 32 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 32 |
6 | Harringay Tigers | 32 | 14 | 1 | 17 | 29 |
7 | Birmingham Bulldogs | 32 | 9 | 0 | 23 | 18 |
8 | Plymouth Tigers | 32 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 18 |
9 | Lea Bridge + Walthamstow Wolves | 32 | 5 | 0 | 27 | 10* |
- Lea Bridge scored 8 points from 22 matches, Walthamstow scored 2 from 10
Top Ten Riders
[edit]Rider | Nat | Team | Points | C.M.A. | |
1 | Eric Langton | ![]() |
Belle Vue | 186.5 | 10.32 |
2 | Vic Huxley | ![]() |
Wimbledon | 132 | 10.31 |
3 | Jack Parker | ![]() |
Harringay | 230 | 10.07 |
4 | Tom Farndon | ![]() |
New Cross | 240.5 | 10.06 |
5 | Ginger Lees | ![]() |
Wembley | 230 | 9.96 |
6 | Dicky Case | ![]() |
Lea Bridge/Walthamstow | 208 | 9.48 |
7 | Bluey Wilkinson | ![]() |
West Ham | 210 | 9.08 |
8 | Joe Abbott | ![]() |
Belle Vue | 168 | 9.05 |
9 | Bill Kitchen | ![]() |
Belle Vue | 182 | 8.97 |
10 | Tiger Stevenson | ![]() |
West Ham | 179 | 8.92 |
In the 1934 season, a league for reserves and junior riders was introduced. This wasn't continued in 1935. West Ham Reserves won the reserve league dropping just one point in 12 matches.
Reserve League Final table
[edit]Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | West Ham Reserves | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 23 |
2 | Wembley Reserves | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
3 | Harringay Reserves | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
4 | Wimbledon Reserves | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
5 | Birmingham Reserves | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
6 | Belle Vue Reserves | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 6 |
7 | New Cross Reserves | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
National Trophy
[edit]The 1934 National Trophy was the fourth edition of the Knockout Cup.[5]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
29/05 | Plymouth | 49-57 | Lea Bridge |
Quarterfinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
26/06 | Birmingham | 36-69 | Belle Vue |
23/06 | Belle Vue | 81-27 | Birmingham |
25/06 | Wimbledon | 67-38 | Lea Bridge |
29/06 | Lea Bridge | 60-47 | Wimbledon |
28/06 | Wembley | 59-49 | Harringay |
30/06 | Harringay | 33-74 | Wembley |
26/06 | West Ham | 48.5-59.5 | New Cross |
27/06 | New Cross | 69-36 | West Ham |
Semifinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
28/07 | Belle Vue | 48-30 | Wimbledon |
30/07 | Wimbledon | 32-75 | Belle Vue |
25/07 | New Cross | 42-62 | Wembley |
26/07 | Wembley | 67.5-40.5 | New Cross |
Final
[edit]First leg
Belle Vue Aces Max Grosskreutz 16 Eric Langton 15 Joe Abbott 12 Bill Kitchen 12 Frank Charles 11 Frank Varey 5 | 71 – 36 | Wembley Lions Ginger Lees 10 Wally Kilmister 9 Gordon Byers 8 Lionel Van Praag 6 Colin Watson 2 George Greenwood 1 |
---|---|---|
[6] |
Second leg
Wembley Lions Wally Kilmister 11 Ginger Lees 8 Gordon Byers 7 Lionel Van Praag 5 Harry Whitfield 2 Colin Watson 1 | 34 – 74 | Belle Vue Aces Eric Langton 18 Max Grosskreutz 18 Joe Abbott 16 Frank Charles 9 Bill Kitchen 7 Frank Varey 6 |
---|---|---|
[6] |
Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 164-87.
A.C.U Cup
[edit]The 1934 Auto-Cycle Union Cup was the first edition of the Cup.[7]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
14/08 | Birmingham | 49-59 | Wembley |
Quarterfinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
11/09 | Plymouth | 44–62 | Harringay |
12/09 | New Cross | 62–44 | Wimbledon |
15/09 | Belle Vue | 79–29 | Wembley |
18/09 | West Ham | 66–37 | Walthamstow |
Semifinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
29/09 | Harringay | 45–62 | Belle Vue |
09/10 | West Ham | 58-49 | New Cross |
Final
[edit]Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
15/10 | Belle Vue | 56–51 | West Ham |
London Cup
[edit]First round
Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|
Wembley | 60–47, 57–48 | Wimbledon |
Harringay | 44–63, 41–66 | New Cross |
Semi final round
Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|
Wembley | 57–51, 46–62 | West Ham |
New Cross | 69–38, 65–41 | Walthamstow |
Final
[edit]First leg
New Cross Ron Johnson 16 Tom Farndon 15 Nobby Key 13 Stan Greatrex 9 George Newton 5 Joe Francis 4 Roy Dook 0 Harry Shepherd 0 | 62–44 | West Ham Bluey Wilkinson 13 Stan Dell 10 Arthur Atkinson 9 Tommy Croombs 7 Broncho Dixon 4 Rol Stobart 1 Arthur Warwick 0 Wal Morton 0 |
---|---|---|
Second leg
West Ham Bluey Wilkinson 17 Tommy Croombs 14 Arthur Atkinson 9 Broncho Dixon 6 Arthur Warwick 5 Stan Dell 2 Rol Stobart 0 | 53–52 | New Cross Nobby Key 13 Ron Johnson 11 Joe Francis 10 Tom Farndon 8 Stan Greatrex 6 Harry Shepherd 2 George Newton 1 Roy Dook 1 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
New Cross won on aggregate 114–97
Riders & final averages
[edit]Belle Vue
-
Eric Langton 10.32
-
Joe Abbott 9.05
-
Bill Kitchen 8.97
-
Frank Charles 8.54
-
Max Grosskreutz 8.00
-
Oliver Langton 5.71
-
Frank Varey 5.11
-
Bob Harrison 4.94
Birmingham
-
Jack Ormston 8.33
-
Bill Pitcher 6.69
-
Les Wotton 6.51
-
Wally Lloyd 6.13
-
Jack Chapman 5.55
-
Billy Dallison 5.22
-
Arthur Tims 4.92
-
Tommy Gamble 4.10
-
Fred Strecker 3.30
-
Dick Wise 2.10
Harringay
-
Jack Parker 10.06
-
Norman Parker 8.27
-
Frank Arthur 7.19
-
Norman Evans 5.95
-
Cliff Parkinson 5.89
-
Charlie Blacklock 5.02
-
Roy Barrowclough 5.00
-
Billy Dallison 4.95
-
Phil Bishop 4.44
Lea Bridge/Walthamstow
-
Dicky Case 9.78/9.48
-
Dusty Haigh 7.94/6.87
-
Squib Burton 5.88/5.77
-
Wally Hull 4.44/4.43
-
Eric Blain 3.31/3.66
-
Chun Moore 3.00/3.18
-
Clem Thomas 2.96/3.10
-
Jack Bibby 2.86/3.02
-
Steve Langton 1.10
New Cross
-
Tom Farndon 10.06
-
Ron Johnson 8.00
-
Nobby Key 7.87
-
Joe Francis 7.02
-
Stan Greatrex 6.80
-
George Newton 4.55
-
Harry Shepherd 3.13
-
Roy Dook 3.27
Plymouth
-
Jack Sharp 7.89
-
Bill Clibbett 5.71
-
Bert Spencer 5.18
-
Frank Pearce 4.79
-
Leopold Killmeyer 4.75
-
Ted Bravery 4.71
-
Tiger Hart 4.67
-
Mick Murphy (John Glass) 4.59
-
Bill Stanley 4.16
Wembley
-
Ginger Lees 9.96
-
Wally Kilmister 8.63
-
Colin Watson 7.72
-
Lionel Van Praag 7.28
-
Gordon Byers 7.19
-
Harry Whitfield 6.58
-
George Greenwood 5.75
-
Les Bowden 3.00
West Ham
-
Bluey Wilkinson 9.08
-
Tommy Croombs 8.46
-
Broncho Dixon 7.25
-
Arthur Atkinson 5.85
-
Tiger Stevenson 6.44
-
Arthur Warwick 4.71
-
Stan Dell 4.50
-
Eric Gregory 4.29
-
Tommy Allott 3.71
-
Rol Stobbart 3.43
-
Wal Morton 2.43
-
Tiger Lewis 1.04
Wimbledon
-
Vic Huxley 10.31
-
Claude Rye 7.19
-
Wal Phillips 7.14
-
Geoff Pymar 6.70
-
Gus Kuhn 6.46
-
Syd Jackson 6.41
-
Wally Little 4.48
-
Alf Sawford 3.62
-
Fred Leavis 2.95
-
Bill Rogers 2.40
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "1934 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1934 National Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "1934 ACU Cup" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "New Cross win London Cup". Daily Herald. 26 September 1934. Retrieved 16 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.