League | National League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 7 |
Champions | Southampton Saints |
National Trophy | Wimbledon Dons |
Highest average | Ronnie Moore |
Division/s below | 1962 Provincial League |
The 1962 National League was the 28th season and the seventeenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
Summary
[edit]With the withdrawal of New Cross Rangers and with Leicester Hunters moving down to the Provincial League, the entry list was 8 teams and so home and away fixtures were raced twice. Southampton Saints broke the domination of Wimbledon Dons by winning their first National League title.[2][3][4]
Ipswich Witches' season was a complete disaster. Their new signing Olle Nygren did not even start the season due to ill-health and then Jack Unstead was killed in the first recorded fatal crash at Foxhall Stadium, on 13 April 1962.[5] The club later withdrew from the league due to financial issues and their results were expunged.[6]
Final table
[edit]Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Southampton Saints | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 36 |
2 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 29 |
3 | Coventry Bees | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
4 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
5 | Norwich Stars | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
6 | Swindon Robins | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 20 |
7 | Oxford Cheetahs | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 8 |
- Ipswich Witches resigned in mid-season.
Top Ten Riders (League only)
[edit]Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Ronnie Moore | ![]() |
Wimbledon | 10.14 |
2 | Björn Knutson | ![]() |
Southampton | 9.89 |
3 | Olle Nygren | ![]() |
Swindon/Norwich | 9.86 |
4 | Peter Craven | ![]() |
Belle Vue | 9.75 |
5 | Barry Briggs | ![]() |
Southampton | 9.64 |
6 | Ove Fundin | ![]() |
Norwich | 9.30 |
7 | Ron How | ![]() |
Wimbledon | 9.30 |
8 | Peter Moore | ![]() |
Ipswich/Swindon | 9.02 |
9 | Bob Andrews | ![]() |
Wimbledon | 8.82 |
10 | Ron Mountford | ![]() |
Coventry | 8.74 |
National Trophy
[edit]The 1962 National Trophy was the 24th edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.[7]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
25/06 | Wimbledon | 49-35 | Belle Vue |
23/06 | Belle Vue | 46-38 | Wimbledon |
23/06 | Swindon | 51-33 | Ipswich |
22/06 | Ipswich | 42-40 | Swindon |
19/06 | Southampton | 56-28 | Coventry |
16/06 | Norwich | 33-51 | Oxford |
14/06 | Oxford | 47-37 | Norwich |
16/06 | Coventry | 41-43 | Southampton |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
23/08 | Oxford | 45-39 | Swindon |
18/08 | Swindon | 59-25 | Oxford |
14/08 | Southampton | 42-42 | Wimbledon |
13/08 | Wimbledon | 50-33 | Southampton |
Final
[edit]First leg
Wimbledon Dons Ronnie Moore 14 Ron How 14 Bob Andrews 11 Gerry Jackson 7 Cyril Brine 5 Leo McAuliffe 3 Jim Tebby 1 | 55 – 29 | Swindon Robins Mike Broadbank 9 Arne Carlsson 7 Ian Williams 4 Martin Ashby 3 Peter Moore 3 Brian Brett 2 Neil Street 1 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Second leg
Swindon Robins Martin Ashby 15 Mike Broadbank 7 Peter Moore 7 Arne Carlsson 6 Neil Street 5 Ian Williams 3 Brian Brett 2 | 45 – 39 | Wimbledon Dons Ronnie Moore 13 Ron How 12 Bob Andrews 9 Cyril Brine 3 Gerry Jackson 2 Jim Tebby 0 Leo McAuliffe 0 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 94–74.
Riders & final averages
[edit]Belle Vue
-
Peter Craven 9.75
-
Sören Sjösten 8.23
-
Cyril Maidment 7.95
-
Dick Fisher 7.33
-
Split Waterman 4.44
-
Bob Duckworth 4.00
-
Jim Yacoby 3.67
-
Bernard McArthur 3.60
-
Jack Kitchen 3.27
-
Peter Kelly 3.17
-
Bill Powell 2.50
-
Nick Nicholls 2.33
Coventry
-
Ron Mountford 8.74
-
Ken McKinlay 8.63
-
Nigel Boocock 8.20
-
Les Owen 7.61
-
Jim Lightfoot 6.33
-
Bryan Elliott 6.11
-
Les McGillivray 5.33
-
Rick France 4.47
-
Peter Brough 3.35
Ipswich (resigned mid season)
-
Peter Moore 8.73
-
Split Waterman 6.63
-
Colin Gooddy 6.06
-
Bob Dugard 6.00
-
Les McGillivray 5.85
-
Leif Larsson 5.17
-
Bengt Brannefors 4.44
-
Sandy McGillivray 2.24
Trevor Blokdyk 3.33
-
John Mills 1.33
-
Jack Unstead n/a
Norwich
-
Olle Nygren 9.80
-
Ove Fundin 9.30
-
Terry Betts 6.78
-
Jimmy Gooch 6.49
-
Reg Trott 6.07
-
John Debbage 5.56
-
Billy Bales 5.48
-
Trevor Hedge 4.67
-
Eric Williams 4.39
-
Derek Strutt 2.74
-
Ken Last 2.67
Oxford
-
Ronnie Genz 6.91
-
Jack Geran 6.88
-
Alf Hagon 5.84
-
Reg Duval 5.56
-
Colin Gooddy 5.20
-
Gordon McGregor 5.20
-
Per Tage Svensson 4.93
-
Jack Biggs 4.42
-
John Bishop 2.73
Southampton
-
Björn Knutson 9.89
-
Barry Briggs 9.64
-
Cyril Roger 7.49
-
Alby Golden 7.33
-
Peter Vandenberg 7.10
-
Reg Luckhurst 6.54
-
Dick Bradley 6.37
Swindon
-
Peter Moore 9.71
-
Mike Broadbank 8.27
-
Brian Meredith 8.00
-
Neil Street 6.94
-
Ian Williams 6.21
-
Arne Carlsson 6.00
-
Brian Brett 5.62
-
Tadeusz Teodorowicz 5.30
-
Martin Ashby 4.45
-
Buster Brown 2.67
Wimbledon
-
Ronnie Moore 10.14
-
Ron How 9.30
-
Bob Andrews 8.82
-
Gerald Jackson 7.03
-
Ernie Baker 6.50
-
Cyril Brine 6.00
-
Roy Trigg 5.14
-
Leo McAuliffe 4.82
-
Jim Tebby 3.35
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.
- ^ "Rider killed in Speedway crash". Birmingham Daily Post. 14 April 1962. Retrieved 1 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Close-Down at Ipswich". Daily Mirror. 27 July 1962. Retrieved 1 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1962 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1962 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.