1951 Speedway National League Division Two

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1951 Speedway National League Division Two
LeagueNational League Division Two
ChampionsNorwich Stars
No. of competitors16
National Trophy
(Div 2 final)		Norwich Stars
Highest averageJack Young
Division/s aboveNational League (Div 1)
Division/s belowNational League (Div 3)

The 1951 National League Division Two was the sixth post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

Summary[]

The League was extended again with 18 teams starting the season. New entrants were Motherwell Eagles and there were again three teams promoted from Division Three - the champions Oxford Cheetahs,[1] third place finishers Leicester Hunters and Liverpool Chads (despite finishing 8th). Plymouth Devils moved back down in the opposite direction.[2]

Norwich Stars retained their title. However after the season had finished a fourth rider in five years was killed at their Firs Stadium. 21-year-old Bob Howes died after hitting the fence during a training practice race on 10 November 1951.[3][4]

Southampton Saints and Sheffield Tars resigned in mid-season and their records were expunged.

Final table[]

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Norwich Stars 30 24 0 6 48
2 Leicester Hunters 30 19 0 11 38
3 Edinburgh Monarchs 30 18 0 12 36
4 Coventry Bees 30 16 3 11 35
5 Walthamstow Wolves 30 17 0 13 34
6 Halifax Dukes 30 17 0 13 34
7 Motherwell Eagles 30 16 1 13 33
8 Ashfield Giants 30 16 0 14 32
9 Hanley Potters 30 15 0 15 30
10 Glasgow White City Tigers 30 14 1 15 29
11 Yarmouth Bloaters 30 13 1 16 27
12 Oxford Cheetahs 30 12 2 16 26
13 Liverpool Chads 30 12 1 17 25
14 Fleetwood Flyers 30 9 2 19 20
15 Cradley Heath Heathens 30 9 0 21 18
16 Newcastle Diamonds 30 7 1 22 15

Top Five Riders (League only)[]

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Jack Young Australia Edinburgh Monarchs 11.72
2 Bob Leverenz Australia Norwich Stars 10.84
3 Derick Close England Newcastle Diamonds/Motherwell Eagles 10.71
4 Scotland Glasgow White City Tigers 10.70
5 Arthur Forrest England Halifax Dukes 10.30

National Trophy Stage Two[]

  • For Stage One - see Stage One
  • For Stage Three - see Stage Three

The 1951 National Trophy was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third division clubs, stage two was for the second division clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Norwich won stage two and therefore qualified for stage three.[5]

Second Division Qualifying First Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
14/05 Exeter 60-47 Oxford
10/05 Oxford 80-28 Exeter
09/05 Fleetwood 64-44 Newcastle
04/05 Southampton 60-48 Walthamstow
30/04 Newcastle 71-36 Fleetwood
30/04 Walthamstow 77-31 Southampton

Second Division Qualifying Second Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
28/05 Cradley Heath 58-49 Coventry
26/05 Coventry 48-60 Cradley Heath
24/05 Oxford 61-47 Yarmouth
22/05 Yarmouth 63-44 Oxford
21/05 Newcastle 47-70 Norwich
19/05 Norwich 79-29 Newcastle
14/05 Walthamstow 81-26 Stoke Hanley
12/05 Edinburgh 77-29 Leicester
12/05 Stoke Hanley 59-49 Walthamstow
11/05 Leicester 46-62 Edinburgh
11/05 Motherwell 39-69 Halifax
09/05 Halifax 79-29 Motherwell
08/05 Glasgow Ashfield 70-38 Liverpool
07/05 Liverpool 62-46 Glasgow Ashfield
- Glasgow w/o Sheffield

Second Division Qualifying Quarter Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
05/06 Glasgow Ashfield 71-37 Cradley Heath
30/05 Glasgow White City 64-44 Norwich
26/05 Edinburgh 68-40 Halifax
23/05 Halifax 68-39 Edinburgh
26/05 Norwich 14-4 Glasgow White City
11/06 Walthamstow 73-35 Yarmouth
09/06 Norwich 81-27 Glasgow White City
29/05 Yarmouth 57-51 Walthamstow

Second Division Qualifying Semi Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
07/07 Norwich 67.5-40.5 Cradley Heath
11/06 Cradley Heath 83-25 Glasgow Ashfield
04/07 Halifax 71-37 Walthamstow
02/07 Walthamstow 74-34 Halifax

Second Division Qualifying Final[]

First leg

Norwich Stars
Phil Clarke 17
Bob Leverenz 16
Paddy Mills 11
Fred Pawson 10
Jack Freeman 10
Alec Hunter 9
Fred Rogers 6
Bill Codling 4		83 – 25Walthamstow Wolves
Benny King 7
Pete Lansdale 6
Harry Edwards 5
Jimmy Grant 3
Alby Smith 2
Sid Clarke 1
Jim Boyd 1
Reg Reeves 0
[6][7]
The Firs Stadium

Second leg

Walthamstow Wolves
Jim Boyd 12
Benny King 12
Archie Windmill 7
Reg Reeves 6
Harry Edwards 5
Pete Lansdale 4
Sid Clarke 2
Jimmy Grant 2		50 – 58Norwich Stars
Bob Leverenz 18
Fred Rogers 10
Phil Clarke 9
Jack Freeman 7
Fred Pawson 6
Alec Hunter 6
Paddy Mills 2
Bill Codling 0
[8][7]
Walthamstow Stadium

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The History of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
  2. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  3. ^ "Speedway death". Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail. 10 November 1951. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Norwich The Firs Stadium". National Speedway Museum. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. ^ "1951 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. ^ "Walthamstow Are Swamped". Weekly Dispatch (London). 29 July 1951. Retrieved 30 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ a b "Norwich 1951 results" (PDF). Speedway researcher. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Sport Summary". Daily News (London). 31 July 1951. Retrieved 30 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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