1946 Speedway Northern League
League | Northern League |
---|---|
Champions | Middlesbrough Bears |
No. of competitors | 6 |
A.C.U Cup | Norwich Stars |
Highest average | Jeff Lloyd |
Division/s above | 1946 Speedway National League |
The 1946 Northern League was a season of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Northern British teams in 1946. With a National League in place and no Southern counterpart, it was effectively a second tier.[1]
Four of the six entrants were previously members of National League Division Two before war broke out. Glasgow and Birmingham were new entrants.[2]
Middlesbrough Bears won their first trophy.[3] The Bears only lost four league fixtures and had three riders in the leading averages; Frank Hodgson, Fred Curtis and Will Plant all contributed significantly during the season.[4]
During a fixture on 7 October at Brough Park the Birmingham Brummies Canadian rider Charlie Appleby crashed. A rider had fallen in front and in an effort to avoid the fallen rider, Appleby swerved and hit the machine instead. He was thrown into the air and suffered a fractured skull. He was taken to Newcastle Infirmary but died during the early hours of 8 October.[5]
Northern League Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Middlesbrough Bears | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 28 |
2 | Sheffield Tigers | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 23 |
3 | Norwich Stars | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 21 |
4 | Birmingham Brummies | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 19 |
5 | Newcastle Brough | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 17 |
6 | Glasgow Tigers | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 12 |
On account of the small number of teams in the league the ACU Cup was run in a league format. Norwich Stars came out on top on points difference.
A.C.U. Cup (Div 2) Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Norwich Stars | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
2 | Middlesbrough Bears | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
3 | Sheffield Tigers | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
4 | Birmingham Brummies | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
5 | Glasgow Tigers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
6 | Newcastle Brough | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
Top Five Riders (League only)[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Jeff Lloyd | Newcastle Brough | 10.38 | |
2 | Frank Hodgson | Middlesbrough Bears | 10.38 | |
3 | Norwich Stars | 10.15 | ||
4 | Tommy Allott | Sheffield Tigers | 10.00 | |
5 | Stan Williams | Sheffield Tigers | 9.75 |
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ The Speedway Researcher Speedway Researcher. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Northern League 1946" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ "Speedway crash". Lincolnshire Echo. 8 October 1946. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- 1946 in speedway
- 1946 in British motorsport