1948 Speedway National League

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1948 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
ChampionsNew Cross Rangers
No. of competitors7
National TrophyWembley Lions
Anniversary CupHarringay Racers
Highest averageVic Duggan
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
National League (Div 3)

The 1948 National League Division One was the 14th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the third post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]

Summary[]

The entrant list was the same as the previous season. New Cross Rangers won the National League for the second time.[3][4]

Fatalities[]

1948 proved to be the worst season so far in regard to fatalities. During the 1947 season two riders had died on the same day but 1948 saw three riders killed during the season. It started with 37-year-old Reg Craven, on his debut for Yarmouth Bloaters. Craven crashed with two Poole Pirates riders at Poole (on 26 April) during a National Trophy match and died eight days later (4 May) from a fractured skull in hospital.[5] Billy Wilson of Norwich Stars and Eric Dunn of Hastings Saxons from the lower divisions were also killed.

Final League table[]

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 New Cross Rangers 24 17 0 7 34
2 Harringay Racers 24 16 0 8 32
3 West Ham Hammers 24 14 1 9 29
4 Wembley Lions 24 12 1 11 25
5 Belle Vue Aces 24 12 1 11 25
6 Wimbledon Dons 24 5 2 17 12
7 Odsal Boomerangs 24 5 1 18 11

Anniversary Cup table[]

On account of the small number of teams in the league the Anniversary Cup was run in a league format. Harringay Racers finished on top.

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Harringay Racers 12 9 0 3 18
2 Belle Vue Aces 12 7 0 5 14
3 Odsal Boomerangs 12 7 0 5 14
4 New Cross Rangers 12 6 0 6 12
5 West Ham Hammers 12 6 0 6 12
6 Wembley Lions 12 5 0 7 10
7 Wimbledon Dons 12 2 0 10 4

Top Ten Riders (League only)[]

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Vic Duggan Australia Harringay Racers 11.42
2 Ron Johnson Australia New Cross Rangers 10.33
3 Wilbur Lamoreaux United States Wembley Lions 9.71
4 George Wilks England Wembley Lions 9.65
5 Max Grosskreutz Australia Odsal Boomerangs 9.63
6 Aub Lawson Australia West Ham Hammers 9.59
7 Alec Statham England Wimbledon Dons 9.48
8 Jack Parker England Belle Vue Aces 9.35
9 Eric Chitty Canada West Ham Hammers 9.21
10 Norman Parker England Wimbledon Dons 9.09

National Trophy[]

The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.[6]

Qualifying and Elimination events[]

The Qualifying event for Division 3 teams saw Southampton Saints win the final and qualify for the Elimination event. The Elimination event for Division 2 teams saw Birmingham Brummies win the final and qualify for the Quarter Finals proper.

Quarter Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
27/08 Harringay 67-40 Wimbledon
26/08 Wembley 64-42 Belle Vue
21/08 Birmingham 85-23 West Ham
21/08 Bradford 62-46 New Cross
19/08 New Cross 77-30 Bradford
17/08 West Ham 67-41 Birmingham
16/08 Wimbledon 53-55 Harringay
04/09 Belle Vue 64-44 Wembley

Semi Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
18/09 Birmingham 69-39 New Cross
10/09 Harringay 52-56 Wembley
09/09 Wembley 73-35 Harringay
09/09 New Cross 83-25 Birmingham

Final[]

First leg[]

Wembley Lions
Tommy Price 13
Bill Gilbert 13
Bill Kitchen 11
Wilbur Lamoreaux 7
Split Waterman 7
6
Freddie Williams 5
2		64 – 44New Cross Rangers
Ron Johnson 12
Jeff Lloyd 11
Eric French 6
Geoff Pymar 5
4
Bill Longley 3
Frank Lawrence 3
0
[7]
Wembley Stadium

Second leg[]

New Cross Rangers
Ron Johnson 18
Jeff Lloyd 10
Frank Lawrence 7
Eric French 5
5
Geoff Pymar 4
Bill Longley 2
1		52 – 56Wembley Lions
Bill Gilbert 15
Wilbur Lamoreaux 9
Bill Kitchen 7
Split Waterman 7
6
Tommy Price 5
Freddie Williams 4
3
[7]
New Cross Stadium

Wembley were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 120–96.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  4. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  5. ^ "Died from crash on speedway". Gloucestershire Echo. 4 May 1948. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "1948 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. ^ a b "1947 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
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