1931 Speedway Southern League

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1931 Speedway Southern League
LeagueSouthern League
ChampionsWembley Lions
No. of competitors11
National TrophyWembley Lions
Highest averageTommy Croombs
Division/s other1931 Northern League

The 1931 Southern League was the third season of speedway in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams, and its final season before amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Leagues.[1] The Northern teams also had their third season known as the 1931 Speedway Northern League.[2][3][4]

Summary[]

Both Birmingham teams based at Perry Barr and Hall Green had left as had Coventry who returned mid-season to replace Leicester who were liquidated in April. Harringay Canaries resigned in June to be replaced by Belle Vue who then rode both in the Northern and Southern Leagues. Nottingham closed in July but they were not replaced and their results stood. The league season was the longest in the short history of the competition as teams met each other four times instead of twice.

The Wembley Lions won their second consecutive title[5] finishing three points clear of 1929 champions Stamford Bridge. The league suffered a fatality during the match between Belle Vue and Wembley at Hyde Road. James Allen (known as Indian Allen) was thrown from his bike and hit his head on a fence, trying to avoid a rider who had fallen in front of him. He died three days later in hospital on 12 September 1931.[6]

Final table[]

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 37 28 1 8 57
2 Stamford Bridge Pensioners 38 27 0 11 54
3 West Ham Hammers 38 23 0 15 46
4 Crystal Palace Glaziers 38 22 0 16 44
5 Wimbledon Dons 38 19 1 18 39
6 High Beech 38 19 1 18 39
7 Southampton Saints 38 18 0 20 36
8 Harringay Canaries + Belle Vue 38 14 0 24 28*
9 Lea Bridge 38 11 0 27 22
10 Leicester Stadium + Coventry 37 8 1 28 17**
11 Nottingham 20 8 0 12 16 
* Harringay scored 12 points from 14 matches, Belle Vue scored 16 from 24
** Leicester scored 1 point from 8 matches, Coventry scored 16 from 30

Top Five Riders[]

Team C.M.A.
1 Tommy Croombs West Ham Hammers 10.41
2 Dicky Case Wimbledon Dons 10.14
3 Jack Parker Southampton Saints 10.02
4 Frank Arthur Stamford Bridge Pensioners 9.97
5 Vic Huxley Harringay Canaries/Wimbledon Dons 9.87

National Trophy[]

The 1931 National Trophy was the first edition of the Knockout Cup. It was contested between teams from the Southern and Northern Leagues.[7]

First Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
11/05 Wimbledon 67-26 Hall Green
12/05 West Ham 51-45 Southampton
13/05 Lea Bridge 59-33 Nottingham
14/05 Exeter 34-59 High Beech
14/05 Leicester Stadium 39.5-54.5 Stamford Bridge
15/05 Hall Green 42.5-49.5 Wimbledon
16/05 High Beech 61-33 Exeter
16/05 Southampton 42-49 West Ham
16/05 Stamford Bridge 59-35 Leicester Stadium
21/05 Nottingham 46-47 Lea Bridge

Second Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
25/05 Belle Vue 73-22 Wombwell
25/05 York 42-53 Leicester Super
26/05 Glasgow White City 43-52 Preston
28/05 Sheffield 54-40 Leeds
30/05 Leeds 39-52 Sheffield
30/05 Leicester Super 69-26 York
30/05 Wombwell 27-64 Belle Vue
04/06 Preston 70-26 Glasgow White City
08/06 Wimbledon 60-36 Crystal Palace
09/06 Harringay ? Stamford Bridge
09/06 West Ham 44-52 Wembley
10/06 Lea Bridge 52-38 High Beech
11/06 Wembley 56-37 West Ham
13/06 Crystal Palace 48-48 Wimbledon
13/06 High Beech 55-39 Lea Bridge

Quarter Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
02/07 Preston 65-31 High Beech
11/07 Belle Vue 50-46 Wimbledon
11/07 Sheffield 41-55 Wembley
16/07 Leicester Super 44-50 Stamford Bridge
18/07 High Beech 48-42 Preston
23/07 Wembley 70-25 Sheffield
27/07 Wimbledon 55-41 Belle Vue
19/08 Stamford Bridge 61-31 Leicester Super

Semi Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
10/09 Preston 43-51 Stamford Bridge
17/09 Wembley 48-47 Wimbledon
21/09 Wimbledon 46-49 Wembley
26/09 Stamford Bridge 66-30 Preston

Final[]

First leg[]

Wembley Lions
Lionel Van Praag 12
George Greenwood 11
Colin Watson 9
Wally Kilmister 9
Harry Whitfield 9
Jack Ormston 8
Norman Evans 7
Jack Jackson 6		71 – 24Stamford Bridge Pensioners
Frank Arthur 10
Dick Smythe 5
Percy Dunn 3
Mick Murphy 3
Bill Stanley 2
Cliff Watson 1
Dick Wise 0
Frank Duckett 0
Hal Herbert 0
[8]
Empire Stadium

Second leg[]

Stamford Bridge Pensioners
Frank Arthur 12
Arthur Warwick 11
Bill Stanley 8
Cliff Watson 3
Dick Smythe 2
Percy Dunn 2
Hal Herbert 2
Gus Kuhn 1
Mick Murphy 1		45 – 49Wembley Lions
Wally Kilmister 9
Lionel Van Praag 8
Colin Watson 8
Jack Ormston 6
George Greenwood 5
Harry Whitfield 5
Norman Evans 4
Charlie Shelton 3
Jack Jackson 1
Col Stewart 0
[8]
Stamford Bridge

Wembley were declared National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 120-69.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  2. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  3. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Speedway Teams UK 1929-1934". Cyber Motorcycle. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. ^ Speedway Researcher
  6. ^ "Indian Allen". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  7. ^ "1931 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  8. ^ a b "1931 National Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
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