1937 Speedway National League

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1937 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
ChampionsWest Ham Hammers
No. of competitors7
National TrophyBelle Vue Aces
A.C.U CupBelle Vue Aces
Highest averageJack Milne
Division/s below1937 Provincial League

The 1937 National League Division One was the ninth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2][3]

Summary[]

The entrants were the same seven teams as the previous season.[4]

West Ham Hammers won their first national title despite finishing bottom the previous season. In the process they stopped Belle Vue Aces from claiming a fifth consecutive title win. Belle Vue did however go on to win the cup double winning the Knockout Cup for the fifth successive year and the A.C.U Cup for the fourth successive year.[5]

Roy Clarence Vigor (Reg Vigor) was fatally injured during a match at Wimbledon Stadium on 27 September. He hit a safety fence and his bike landed on top of him. He died in Nelson Hospital, Merton, three days later.[6][7] His death came just one month after the death of Stan Hart in the 1937 Provincial Speedway League.

Final table[]

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 West Ham Hammers 24 18 0 6 36
2 Wembley Lions 24 16 0 8 32
3 New Cross Rangers 24 16 0 8 32
4 Belle Vue Aces 24 13 0 11 26
5 Hackney Wick Wolves 24 10 0 14 20
6 Harringay Tigers 24 9 0 15 18
7 Wimbledon Dons 24 2 0 22 4

Top Ten Riders[]

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Jack Milne United States New Cross Rangers 11.09
2 Lionel van Praag Australia Wembley Lions 10.53
3 Eric Langton England Belle Vue Aces 10.18
4 Bluey Wilkinson Australia West Ham Hammers 10.14
5 Bill Kitchen England Belle Vue Aces 9.88
6 Jack Parker England Harringay Tigers 9.71
7 Cordy Milne United States Hackney Wick Wolves 9.38
8 Eric Chitty Canada West Ham Hammers 9.32
9 Joe Abbott England Belle Vue Aces 8.98
10 Frank Charles England Wembley Lions 8.96

National Trophy[]

The 1937 National Trophy was the seventh edition of the Knockout Cup.[8]

Qualifying Rounds[]

Southampton Saints won the Provincial final and therefore secured a place in the quarter finals.

Quarter Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
05/06 Harringay 41-65 New Cross
09/06 New Cross 76-31 Harringay
07/06 Wimbledon 39-68 Belle Vue
12/06 Belle Vue 80-28 Wimbledon
08/06 West Ham 58-46 Hackney Wick
11/06 Hackney Wick 60-48 West Ham
25/06
replay		 Hackney Wick 65-43 West Ham
29/06 Southampton 40-44 Wembley
29/06
replay		 West Ham 55-53 Hackney Wick

Semi Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
15/07 Wembley 50-58 New Cross
14/07 New Cross 59-48 Wembley
16/07 Hackney Wick 56-52 Belle Vue
17/07 Belle Vue 69-39 Hackney Wick

Final[]

First leg[]

Belle Vue Aces
Frank Varey 16
Bob Harrison 15
Bill Kitchen 15
Joe Abbott 11
Eric Langton 9
Wally Hull 4		70 – 38New Cross Rangers
Jack Milne 17
George Newton 6
Ron Johnson 6
Stan Greatrex 4
Joe Francis 4
Clem Mitchell 1
Norman Evans 0
Bill Longley 0
[9]
Hyde Road

Second leg[]

New Cross Stadium
Jack Milne 18
Joe Francis 14
Ron Johnson 10
George Newton 9
Clem Mitchell 7
Stan Greatrex 3
Norman Evans 1		62 – 45Belle Vue Aces
Eric Langton 14
Joe Abbott 10
Wally Hull 10
Frank Varey 5
Bill Kitchen 4
Oliver Langton 2
Bob Harrison 0
[9]
New Cross Stadium

Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 115-110.

A.C.U Cup[]

The 1937 Auto-Cycle Union Cup was the fourth edition of the Cup and was won by Belle Vue for the fourth time. The groups were decided on the number of heat points scored within matches, rather than match wins.[10]

First Round[]

Group 1

Team PL W D L Race Pts
Wembley Lions 6 6 0 0 319.5
New Cross Rangers 6 3 0 3 311.5
Harringay Tigers 6 3 0 3 269
Wimbledon Dons 6 0 0 6 240

Group 2

Team PL W D L Race Pts
Belle Vue Aces 4 1 0 3 202
West Ham Hammers 4 3 0 1 190
Hackney Wick Wolves 4 2 0 2 181

Final[]

Date Team One Team Two Score
07/10 Wembley Belle Vue 49–45
09/10 Belle Vue Wembley 61-35


See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  4. ^ "1937 league tables". Speedway GB.
  5. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Reg Vigor". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Wimbledon Speedway part one". Speedway Museum. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  8. ^ "1937 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  9. ^ a b "1937 National Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  10. ^ "1937 ACU Cup" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
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