1954 Speedway National League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1954 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
No. of competitors8
National TrophyWembley Lions
Highest averageRonnie Moore
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
1954 Southern League

The 1954 National League Division One was the 20th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the ninth post-war season of the highest tier of speedway.[1]

Summary[]

Bristol dropped out of the league and joined the National League Division Two. Wimbledon won their first National League Championship, beginning a run of 7 titles in 8 years, ending a similar run by Wembley Lions. [2][3][4]

Final table[]

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 28 21 2 5 44
2 Wembley Lions 28 20 0 8 40
3 Bradford Tudors 28 15 0 13 30
4 Norwich Stars 27 14 0 13 28
5 West Ham Hammers 28 11 1 16 23
6 Harringay Racers 28 10 1 17 21
7 Belle Vue Aces 27 9 0 18 18
8 Birmingham Brummies 28 9 0 19 18

Top Ten Riders (League only)[]

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon Dons 10.59
2 Jack Young Australia West Ham Hammers 10.55
3 Geoff Mardon New Zealand Wimbledon Dons 10.43
4 Eddie Rigg England Bradford Tudors 10.11
5 Arthur Forrest England Bradford Tudors 10.00
6 Brian Crutcher England Wembley Lions 9.98
7 Eric Williams Wales Wembley Lions 9.79
8 Barry Briggs New Zealand Wimbledon Dons 9.39
9 Freddie Williams Wales Wembley Lions 9.18
10 Split Waterman England Harringay Racers 9.07

National Trophy[]

The 1954 National Trophy was the 17th edition of the Knockout Cup.[5]

Qualifying First Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
01/05 Edinburgh 60-48 Leicester
01/05 Rayleigh 65-43 Motherwell
30/04 Bristol 59-49 Oxford
30/04 Leicester 59-48 Edinburgh
30/04 Motherwell 64-44 Rayleigh
29/04 Ipswich 71-35 Southampton
29/04 Oxford 40-68 Bristol
29/04 Plymouth 45-63 Poole
27/04 Southampton 72-36 Ipswich
26/04 Exeter 59-49 Swindon
26/04 Poole 69-38 Plymouth
24/04 Swindon 65-43 Exeter
11/05
replay		 Southampton 62-46 Ipswich
06/05
replay		 Ipswich 56-52 Southampton

Qualifying Second Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
25/05 Southampton 61-47 Coventry
22/05 Coventry 64-44 Southampton
22/05 Edinburgh 65-43 Rayleigh
22/05 Swindon 69-39 Wolverhampton
21/05 Bristol 61-47 Poole
21/05 Rayleigh 55-52 Edinburgh
21/05 Swindon w/o Wolverhampton
17/05 Poole 63-45 Bristol

Qualifying Final Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
14/06 Poole 67-41 Swindon
12/06 Edinburgh 50-57 Coventry
12/06 Swindon 53-55 Poole
05/06 Coventry 56-52 Edinburgh

First Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
05/07 Coventry 41-66 Bradford Odsal
03/07 Belle Vue 71-37 Poole
03/07 Bradford Odsal 84-24 Coventry
28/06 Poole 46-62 Belle Vue

Quarter Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
24/07 Belle Vue 61-47 Wimbledon
22/07 Wembley 70-37 West Ham
21/07 Harringay 54-54 Bradford Odsal
20/07 West Ham 50-58 Wembley
19/07 Wimbledon 76-32 Belle Vue
17/07 Bradford Odsal 78-30 Harringay
10/07 Birmingham 62-46 Norwich
08/07 Norwich 74-34 Birmingham

Semi Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
28/08 Bradford Odsal 63-45 Wembley
28/08 Norwich 64-44 Wimbledon
23/08 Wimbledon 51-57 Norwich
05/08 Wembley 63-44 Bradford Odsal

Final[]

First leg[]

Wembley Lions
Brian Crutcher 15
Eric Williams 12
Tommy Price 10
Freddie Williams 8
7
Trevor Redmond 5
Eric French 4
Jimmy Gooch 0		61 – 46Norwich Stars
Fred Brand 10
Cyril Roger 8
Aub Lawson 7
Bob Oakley 7
5
Phil Clarke 4
3
Billy Bales 2
[6]
Wembley Stadium

Second leg[]

Norwich Stars
14
Aub Lawson 11
Bob Oakley 8
Phil Clarke 6
4
Billy Bales 2
Cyril Roger 1
Fred Brand 0		46 – 62Wembley Lions
Brian Crutcher 14
Trevor Redmond 12
Freddie Williams 10
Eric Williams 8
Tommy Price 6
6
Eric French 5
Jimmy Gooch 1
[6]
The Firs Stadium

Wembley were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123–92.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. ^ "1953 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. ^ a b "1954 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
Retrieved from ""