1946 Speedway National League

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1946 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
ChampionsWembley Lions
No. of competitors6
National TrophyBelle Vue Aces
A.C.U CupBelle Vue Aces
Highest averageEric Langton
Division/s belowNorthern League

The 1946 National League was the 12th season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain and the first post-war season.[1][2]

The league had been abandoned seven years previously due to the outbreak of World War II. Record attendances were attracted with Wembley Lions attracting an average of 50,000 and the league as a whole a total of six and a half million.[3] From the abandoned 1939 season, Southampton Saints and Harringay Tigers were no longer racing whilst Odsal Boomerangs brought National League speedway to Bradford for the first time.[4][5]

Wembley Lions won their second National League title.

On 6 July, a crowd of 34,0000 at Odsal Stadium witnessed Odsal Boomerangs lose to Belle Vue Aces. During the match Albert 'Aussie' Rosenfeld, son of Albert Rosenfeld hit the fence and was taken to St Luke's Hospital, Bradford, with a suspected fractured skull.[6] He died 10 days later, on 16 July 1946.[7]

National League Final table[]

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 20 18 0 2 36
2 Belle Vue Aces 20 12 1 7 25
3 Odsal Boomerangs 20 9 1 10 19
4 Wimbledon Dons 20 8 1 11 17
5 New Cross Rangers 20 6 1 13 13
6 West Ham Hammers 20 4 2 14 10

On account of the small number of teams in the league the ACU Cup was run in a league format. Belle Vue Aces came out on top.

A.C.U. Cup Final table[]

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Belle Vue Aces 10 8 0 2 16
2 Wembley Lions 10 6 1 3 13
3 New Cross Rangers 10 6 0 4 12
4 Odsal Boomerangs 10 4 1 5 9
5 Wimbledon Dons 10 4 0 6 8
6 West Ham Hammers 10 1 0 9 2

Such was the dearth of new riders caused by the war that all of the top ten riders were established pre-war riders and none were below the age of 32.

Top Ten Riders (League only)[]

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Eric Langton England Belle Vue Aces 11.13
2 Jack Parker England Belle Vue Aces 11.00
3 Bill Kitchen England Wembley Lions 10.75
4 Ron Johnson Australia New Cross Rangers 10.69
5 Eric Chitty Canada West Ham Hammers 10.30
6 Norman Parker England Wimbledon Dons 10.12
7 Tommy Price England Wembley Lions 10.00
8 Alec Statham England Odsal Boomerangs 9.72
9 Ron Clarke England Odsal Boomerangs 9.50
10 Bill Longley Australia Odsal Boomerangs 9.20

National Trophy[]

The 1946 National Trophy was the tenth edition (if including the 1939 abandoned competition) or ninth edition (if not including) of the Knockout Cup.[8] Teams from the lower 1946 Speedway Northern League competed in the event.

First Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
04/05 Birmingham 56–48 Norwich
27/04 Norwich 53–51 Birmingham

Second Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
25/05 Birmingham 61–45 Middlesbrough
16/05 Middlesbrough 58–50 Birmingham
29/04 Newcastle 49–56 Middlesbrough
25/04 Middlesbrough 55–51 Newcastle
25/04 Sheffield 61–47 Glasgow White City
24/04 Glasgow White City 61–47 Sheffield
09/05
replay		 Sheffield 63–44 Glasgow White City
08/05
replay		 Glasgow White City 62–45 Sheffield

Quarter Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
22/06 Birmingham 31–77 Wembley
13/06 Wembley 80–27 Birmingham
20/07 Bradford Odsal 72–36 Sheffield
04/07 Sheffield 48–60 Bradford Odsal
02/07 West Ham 55–52 Wimbledon
01/07 Wimbledon 63–44 West Ham
08/06 Belle Vue 58–49 New Cross
12/06 New Cross 50–57 Belle Vue

Semi Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
25/07 Wembley 50–57 Belle Vue
13/07 Belle Vue 60–48 Wembley
19/08 Wimbledon 62–46 Bradford Odsal
03/08 Bradford Odsal 53–55 Wimbledon

Final[]

First leg[]

Wimbledon Dons
Norman Parker 13
Lloyd Goffe 10
Oliver Hart 9
9
Arch Windmill 6
6
5
Cyril Brine 1		61 – 46Belle Vue Aces
Jack Parker 13
Bill Pitcher 10
Wally Lloyd 10
Eric Langton 8
2
2
1
Dent Oliver 0
[9]
Wimbledon Stadium

Second leg[]

Belle Vue Aces
Wally Lloyd 18
Jack Parker 14
Bill Pitcher 11
Eric Langton 8
6
Dent Oliver 3
Louis Lawson 2
1		63 – 45Wimbledon Dons
Norman Parker 11
Oliver Hart 10
7
7
Lloyd Goffe 3
3
Cyril Brine 2
Arch Windmill 2
[9]
Hyde Road Stadium

Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 109–106.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. ^ Dalling, P. (2011). The Golden Age Of Speedway. The History Press. ISBN 0-7524-5831-0
  4. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  5. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Speedway's biggest 34,000". Bradford Observer. 8 July 1946. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Injured speedway rider dies". Hull Daily Mail. 16 July 1946. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "1946 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  9. ^ a b "1946 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
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