1956 Speedway National League

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1956 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
No. of competitors7
National TrophyWimbledon Dons
Highest averageBarry Briggs
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
1956 Southern League

The 1956 National League Division One was the 22nd season and eleventh post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

Summary[]

The league consisted of seven teams after the West Ham Hammers ceased competitive speedway racing at the end of 1955. Poole Pirates came up from the second tier to replace them. Match line-ups were increased to eight riders after a single season with seven riders. Wimbledon won their third successive National League Championship.[2][3][4]

Norwich Stars rider Malcolm Flood died on 2 April, at Poole. The 25-year-old rider suffered fatal injuries despite an earlier warning from the race steward that he was riding too erratically into the bends.[5]

Final table[]

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 24 17 1 6 35
2 Wembley Lions 24 14 1 9 29
3 Birmingham Brummies 24 12 1 11 25
4 Norwich Stars 24 10 4 10 24
5 Belle Vue Aces 24 11 1 12 23
6 Poole Pirates 24 9 2 13 20
7 Bradford Tudors 24 6 0 18 12

Top Ten Riders (League only)[]

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Barry Briggs New Zealand Wimbledon Dons 10.53
2 Ove Fundin Sweden Norwich Stars 10.34
3 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon Dons 10.32
4 Brian Crutcher England Wembley Lions 10.16
5 Alan Hunt England Birmingham Brummies 9.53
6 Peter Moore Australia Wimbledon Dons 9.20
7 Peter Craven England Belle Vue Aces 9.07
8 Jack Biggs Australia Poole Pirates 8.71
9 Dick Fisher England Belle Vue Aces 8.40
10 Ron Johnston New Zealand Belle Vue Aces 8.38

National Trophy Stage Two[]

The 1956 National Trophy was the 19th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of two stages; stage one was for the second tier clubs, stage two was for the top tier clubs. Wimbledon won the second and final stage and were therefore declared the 1956 National Trophy champions.[6]

  • For Stage One - see Stage One

First Round[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
26/07 Wembley 60-47 Birmingham
24/07 Southampton 64-44 Norwich
21/07 Belle Vue 72-36 Poole
21/07 Birmingham 61-47 Wembley
21/07 Bradford Odsal 38-70 Wimbledon
21/07 Norwich 77-31 Southampton
16/07 Poole 54-54 Belle Vue
16/07 Wimbledon 79-29 Bradford Odsal

Semi Finals[]

Date Team One Score Team Two
01/09 Belle Vue 83-25 Birmingham
17/08 Birmingham 64-44 Belle Vue
13/08 Wimbledon 68-40 Norwich
04/08 Norwich 56-52 Wimbledon

Final[]

First leg[]

Belle Vue Aces
Peter Craven 17
Dick Fisher 17
9
Bob Duckworth 8
Ron Johnston 6
Ken Sharples 5
3
3		68 – 39Wimbledon Dons
Peter Moore 10
Ronnie Moore 8
Barry Briggs 8
Ron How 4
Cyril Maidment 4
Alf Hagon 3
Bob Andrews 3
Cyril Brine 0
[7]
Hyde Road Stadium

Second leg[]

Wimbledon Dons
Ronnie Moore 16
Peter Moore 14
Barry Briggs 11
Cyril Maidment 9
Cyril Brine 9
Ron How 6
Alf Hagon 3
Bob Andrewss 1		69 – 39Belle Vue Aces
Peter Craven 12
Ron Johnston 8
5
4
Bob Duckworth 3
Ken Sharples 3
3
Dick Fisher 1
[7]
Wimbledon Stadium

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 108–107.

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. ^ "Speedway rider died after warning". Birmingham Daily Post. 10 April 1956. Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "1956 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. ^ a b "1956 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
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