1965 British League season
League | British League |
---|---|
Season | 1965 |
Champions | West Ham Hammers |
No. of competitors | 18 |
Knockout Cup | West Ham Hammers |
Individual | Barry Briggs[1] |
Highest average | Nigel Boocock |
The 1965 British League season was the 31st season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom.[2] It was also the first known as the new British League which was formed in 1965, along with the British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA). The league was an amalgamation of the National League and the Provincial League.[3]
Summary[]
Middlesbrough Bears did not join the new league and Norwich Stars had closed for good. Halifax Dukes were new entrants.1929-1977 [4]
West Ham Hammers were the first ever British League winners. It was their first league success since 1937. The West Ham team included Scot Ken McKinlay who finished the season third in the averages at 10.72 and the Norwegian champion Sverre Harrfeldt who finished fifth in the averages. They were supported well by British internationals Norman Hunter and Malcolm Simmons. The West Ham team completed the double when winning the British League Knockout Cup. In the final they defeated Exeter Falcons 63-33.[5] Sadly the season was not a complete success because during a challenge match at West Ham Stadium a junior rider called David John Wills was killed in a race after crashing.[6] Wimbledon Dons headed by leading Swedish rider Olle Nygren fought West Ham throughout the season and only lost the league by a single point.
Final table[]
M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
1 | West Ham Hammers | 34 | 23 | 1 | 10 | 1430 | 1215 | 47 |
2 | Wimbledon Dons | 34 | 22 | 2 | 10 | 1396 | 1245 | 46 |
3 | Coventry Bees | 34 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 1384 | 1258 | 40 |
4 | Oxford Cheetahs | 34 | 19 | 2 | 13 | 1308 | 1340 | 40 |
5 | Halifax Dukes | 33 | 18 | 3 | 12 | 1322 | 1240 | 39 |
6 | Newport Wasps | 34 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 1360 | 1288 | 38 |
7 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 34 | 18 | 1 | 15 | 1429 | 1216 | 37 |
8 | Hackney Hawks | 34 | 18 | 1 | 15 | 1327.5 | 1319.5 | 37 |
9 | Exeter Falcons | 34 | 18 | 0 | 16 | 1325.5 | 1323.5 | 36 |
10 | Poole Pirates | 34 | 17 | 1 | 16 | 1378 | 1266 | 35 |
11 | Sheffield Tigers | 34 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 1300 | 1346 | 34 |
12 | Newcastle Diamonds | 34 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 1363 | 1282 | 33 |
13 | Glasgow Tigers | 34 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 1315 | 1329 | 31 |
14 | Belle Vue Aces | 34 | 15 | 0 | 19 | 1328 | 1312 | 30 |
15 | Swindon Robins | 34 | 13 | 2 | 19 | 1345 | 1300 | 28 |
16 | Cradley Heathens | 33 | 11 | 1 | 21 | 1132 | 1438 | 23 |
17 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 34 | 11 | 0 | 23 | 1173 | 1428 | 22 |
18 | Long Eaton Archers | 34 | 7 | 0 | 27 | 1107 | 1534 | 14 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Leading Riders by Averages[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Nigel Boocock | Coventry Bees | 11.09 | |
2 | Barry Briggs | Swindon Robins | 10.91 | |
3 | Ken McKinlay | West Ham Hammers | 10.72 | |
4 | Mike Broadbanks | Swindon Robins | 10.54 | |
5 | Sverre Harrfeldt | West Ham Hammers | 10.35 | |
6 | Olle Nygren | Wimbledon Dons | 10.31 | |
7 | Charlie Monk | Glasgow Tigers | 10.22 | |
8 | Ron How | Oxford Cheetahs | 10.16 | |
9 | Arne Pander | Oxford Cheetahs | 10.01 | |
10 | Jimmy Gooch | Oxford Cheetahs | 9.97 | |
11 | Cyril Maidment | Belle Vue Aces | 9.65 | |
12 | Ronnie Genz | Poole Pirates | 9.45 | |
13 | Eric Boocock | Halifax Dukes | 9.43 | |
14 | Norman Hunter | West Ham Hammers | 9.42 | |
15 | George Hunter | Edinburgh Monarchs | 9.35 | |
16 | Ivor Brown | Cradley Heathens | 9.27 | |
17 | Colin Gooddy | Exeter Falcons | 9.24 | |
18 | Reg Luckhurst | Wimbledon Dons | 9.14 | |
19 | Bill Andrew | Poole Pirates | 9.07 | |
20 | Dave Younghusband | Halifax Dukes | 9.06 |
Knockout Cup[]
West Ham Hammers won the Knockout Cup and completed the double of league and cup.
Teams[]
Belle Vue Aces[]
- Dick Fisher
- Cyril Maidment
- Sándor Lévai
- Leo McAuliffe
- Dent Oliver
- Taffy Owen
- Vic White
Coventry Bees[]
- Nigel Boocock
- Rick France
- Jim Lightfoot
- Ron Mountford
Cradley Heath[]
- Harry Bastable
- Ivor Brown
- John Hart
- Ivor Hughes
- Chris Julian
- George Major
- Leo McAuliffe
Edinburgh Monarchs[]
- Wayne Briggs
- Bert Harkins
- + (+ rode under the name Tyburn Gallows)
- George Hunter
- Bernt Persson
Exeter Falcons[]
- Alan Cowland
- Jack Geran
- Colin Gooddy
- Ivor Hughes
- Des Lukehurst
Glasgow Tigers[]
- Chris Julian
- Charlie Monk
- Nils Paulsen
- + (+ rode under the name Bernie Lagrosse)
Hackney Hawks[]
- Malcolm Brown
- Colin Pratt
- Reg Reeves
- Roy Trigg
Halifax Dukes[]
- Eric Boocock
- Eric Boothroyd
- Bryan Elliott
- Tommy Roper
- Dave Younghusband
Long Eaton Archers[]
- Terry Betts
- Howard Cole+ (+ rode under the name of Kid Brodie)
- Ray Cresp
- Ivor Hughes
- Peter Moore
- Tommy Roper
- + (+ rode under the name of Tich Read)
- Norman Storer
- Ray Wilson
Newcastle Diamonds[]
- Brian Brett
- Ivan Mauger
- Ken Sharples
Newport Wasps[]
- Jack Biggs
- Dick Bradley
- Peter Vandenberg
- Vic White
Oxford Cheetahs[]
- Danny Dunton
- Jimmy Gooch
- Ron How
- + (+ rode under the name Tyburn Gallows)
- Arne Pander
Poole Pirates[]
- Bill Andrew
- Bruce Cribb
- Ronnie Genz
- Alf Hagon
- Brian Leonard
- Geoff Mudge
- Pete Smith
Sheffield Tigers[]
1965
- Billy Bales
- Malcolm Brown
- John Dews
- Arnold Haley
- Taffy Owen
- Tommy Roper
Swindon Robins[]
- Martin Ashby
- Barry Briggs
- Mike Broadbank
- Bob Kilby
- Frank Shuter
West Ham Hammers[]
- Bob Dugard
- Sverre Harrfeldt
- Alf Hagon
- Norman Hunter
- Brian Leonard
- Ken McKinlay
- Malcolm Simmons
Wimbledon Dons[]
- Bob Dugard
- Trevor Hedge
- Reg Luckhurst
- Olle Nygren
Wolverhampton Wolves[]
- Jim Airey
- James Bond
- Bob Andrews
- Gordon Guasco
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ "British League Riders Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Custom House Years". customhousekid. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- British League
- 1965 in British motorsport
- 1965 in speedway