1968 British League Division Two season
League | British League Division Two |
---|---|
Champions | Belle Vue Colts |
No. of competitors | 10 |
Knockout Cup | Canterbury Crusaders |
Individual | Graham Plant |
Highest average | Mick Handley Mike Cake |
Division/s above | British League (Div 1) |
The 1968 British League Division Two season was the inaugural season of a second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]
Summary[]
The formation of a new division 2 was a success and attracted five new clubs to league speedway, the Nelson Admirals from Nelson in Lancashire, the Crayford Highwaymen from east London, the Canterbury Crusaders from Kent, the Berwick Bandits from Scotland and the Reading Racers. Additionally three other clubs, Middlesbrough, Plymouth and Rayleigh returned to league action having previously competed in the old defunct Provincial League and Weymouth returned after a 13 year absence.[3][4]
Belle Vue Aces, members of the first division, fielded a reserve side known as Belle Vue Colts and won the first league title.[5] Colt's riders Taffy Owen, Ken Eyre, Eric Broadbelt and John Woodcock all scored heavily and ended with impressive averages.[6] Canterbury in their first season of existence won the division 2 Knockout Cup beating another new team Reading in the final.[4]
Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Belle Vue Colts | 18 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 28 |
2 | Nelson Admirals | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 22 |
3 | Middlesbrough Teessiders | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 21 |
4 | Plymouth Devils | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 20 |
5 | Rayleigh Rockets | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 19 |
6 | Crayford Highwaymen | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 17 |
7 | Canterbury Crusaders | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 17 |
8 | Reading Racers | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 14 |
9 | Weymouth Eagles | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 12 |
10 | Berwick Bandits | 18 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 10 |
Top Five Riders[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1= | Mick Handley | Crayford Highwaymen | 10.22 | |
1= | Mike Cake | Plymouth Devils | 10.22 | |
3 | Plymouth Devils | 9.91 | ||
4 | Nelson Admirals | 9.82 | ||
5 | Taffy Owen | Belle Vue Colts | 9.59 |
British League Division Two Knockout Cup[]
The 1968 British League Division Two Knockout Cup was the first edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams and coincided with the newly formed league.[7]
Previously the tier two and tier three teams had competed in the National Trophy until 1964, and although they held their own finals during some years it only served as qualification for the main competition. Canterbury Crusaders were the winners of the competition.[8]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
26/08 | Reading | 52-44 | Rayleigh |
Quarter Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
10/08 | Canterbury | 56-37 | Crayford |
22/08 | Middlesbrough | 53-41 | Nelson |
26/08 | Reading | 52-44 | Plymouth |
24/08 | Berwick | 45-51 | Belle Vue |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
30/09 | Reading | 56-40 | Belle Vue |
07/09 | Canterbury | 64-31 | Middlesbrough |
Final[]
First leg[]
Canterbury Crusaders Peter Murray 14 Barry Crowson 14 Martyn Piddock 13 John Hibben 10 Graham Miles 7 Ken Vale 2 Pat Flanagan 0 | 60 – 36 | Reading Racers Vic White 11 John Poyser 8 Ian Champion 6 Stuart Wallace 4 Phil Pratt 3 Ted Spittles 2 Dene Davies 2 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Second leg[]
Reading Racers John Poyser 17 Vic White 11 Ted Spittles 9 Stuart Wallace 3 Dene Davies 2 Phil Pratt 1 Ian Champion 1 | 44 – 52 | Canterbury Crusaders Peter Murray 14 Barry Crowson 12 John Hibben 8 Graham Miles 6 Ken Vale 6 Martyn Piddock 5 Dave Grimley (guest) 1 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Canterbury were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 112–80.
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Book Extract:Tears and Glory The Winged Wheel Story". Speedway Plus. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "1968 British League Division Two Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "Season 1968" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- Speedway British League Division Two / National League