1968 British League season
League | British League |
---|---|
Season | 1968 |
Champions | Coventry Bees |
No. of competitors | 19 |
Knockout Cup | Wimbledon Dons |
Individual | Barry Briggs |
Highest average | Ivan Mauger |
Division/s below | British League (Div 2) |
The 1968 British League season was the 34th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the fourth season known as the British League.[1][2]
Summary[]
Edinburgh relocated to become the Coatbridge Monarchs. The Long Eaton team closed its doors, but a new team in Leicester returned to Speedway to join the League.[3]
Coventry Bees secured their first title on points difference and after they scored points in the last heat of their last match away at King's Lynn. The title win came after two consecutive years as being runner-up. Coventry's Nigel Boocock was again one of the league's leading riders with his average going well above ten for the fifth consecutive year. He was well supported by Ron Mountford and Czechoslovakian star Antonín Kasper Sr..[4] Wimnledon Dons who could only manage a mid table finish went on to win the British League Knockout Cup.
Final table[]
M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
1 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 1436 | 1369 | 44 |
2 | Hackney Hawks | 36 | 21 | 2 | 13 | 1421 | 1383 | 44 |
3 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 20 | 1 | 15 | 1556.5 | 1248.5 | 41 |
4 | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 20 | 1 | 15 | 1463.5 | 1337.5 | 41 |
5 | Newcastle Diamonds | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 1454 | 1350 | 40 |
6 | West Ham Hammers | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 1454 | 1348 | 39 |
7 | Halifax Dukes | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 1424 | 1379 | 39 |
8 | Coatbridge Monarchs | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 1404 | 1397 | 37 |
9 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 1411 | 1384 | 36 |
10 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 1387 | 1417 | 36 |
11 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 1448 | 1353 | 35 |
12 | Leicester Lions | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 1373 | 1430 | 35 |
13 | Newport Wasps | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 1348 | 1457 | 35 |
14 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 36 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 1373 | 1430 | 34 |
15 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 1319 | 1487 | 34 |
16 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 1388 | 1413 | 32 |
17 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 1327 | 1478 | 28 |
18 | King's Lynn Stars | 36 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 1330 | 1473 | 27 |
19 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 1312 | 1495 | 27 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Leading Riders[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Ivan Mauger | Newcastle Diamonds | 11.37 | |
2 | Barry Briggs | Swindon Robins | 10.87 | |
3 | Nigel Boocock | Coventry Bees | 10.74 | |
4 | Martin Ashby | Exeter Falcons | 10.72 | |
5 | Anders Michanek | Leicester Lions | 10.19 | |
6 | Eric Boocock | Halifax Dukes | 10.17 | |
7 | Charlie Monk | Sheffield Tigers | 10.07 | |
8 | Sverre Harrfeldt | West Ham Hammers | 9.78 | |
9 | Torbjörn Harrysson | Newport Wasps | 9.82 | |
10 | Norman Hunter | West Ham Hammers | 9.71 | |
11 | Ron Mountford | Coventry Bees | 9.62 | |
12 | Hasse Holmqvist | Wolverhampton Wolves | 9.58 | |
13 | Colin Pratt | Hackney Hawks | 9.58 | |
14 | Terry Betts | King's Lynn Stars | 9.45 | |
15 | Malcolm Simmons | King's Lynn Stars | 9.40 | |
16 | Ole Olsen | Newcastle Diamonds | 9.39 | |
17 | Ray Wilson | Leicester Lions | 9.37 | |
18 | Olle Nygren | Wimbledon Dons | 9.39 | |
19 | Bernt Persson | Coatbridge Monarchs | 9.28 | |
20 | Jim Airey | Wolverhampton Wolves | 9.24 |
British League Knockout Cup[]
The 1968 British League Knockout Cup was the 30th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Wimbledon were the winners.[5]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
27/04 | Coatbridge | 66-42 | Glasgow |
27/04 | Halifax | 57-51 | Exeter |
16/04 | West Ham | 55-52 | Hackney |
Second Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
01/06 | Belle Vue | 64-44 | West Ham |
14/05 | Leicester | 52-56 | Coventry |
20/05 | Newcastle | 77-30 | Coatbridge |
23/05 | Sheffield | 71-37 | Cradley Heath |
25/05 | Swindon | 58-50 | Oxford |
23/05 | Wimbledon | 60-48 | Kings Lynn |
22/05 | Poole | 56-52 | Newport |
17/05 | Wolverhampton | 60-47 | Halifax |
Third Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
17/08 | Belle Vue | 65-42 | Sheffield |
26/07 | Poole | 54-54 | Swindon |
27/06 | Wimbledon | 64-44 | Newcastle |
28/06 | Wolverhampton | 58-50 | Coventry |
23/08 replay |
Swindon | 60-47 | Poole |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
20/09 | Wolverhampton | 67-40 | Belle Vue |
12/09 | Wimbledon | 80-28 | Swindon |
Final[]
First leg[]
Wolverhampton Wolves Hasse Holmqvist 15 Jim Airey 14 Peter Vandenberg 8 James Bond 6 6 3 Mick Handley 1 0 | 53 - 55 | Wimbledon Dons Olle Nygren 14 Trevor Hedge 12 Reg Luckhurst 10 Bob Dugard 9 Alan Cowland 4 3 3 Garry Middleton 0 |
---|---|---|
[6] |
Second leg[]
Wimbledon Dons Trevor Hedge 17 Olle Nygren 14 Reg Luckhurst 12 Garry Middleton 8 Alan Cowland 6 Bob Dugard 2 2 2 | 63 - 45 | Wolverhampton Wolves Hasse Holmqvist 12 James Bond 10 Peter Vandenberg 8 Jim Airey 7 Mick Handley 5 3 0 0 |
---|---|---|
[6] |
Wimbledon Dons were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 118-98.
Teams[]
Belle Vue Aces[]
- Eric Broadbelt
- Ken Eyre
- Sándor Lévai
- Cyril Maidment
- Taffy Owen
- Chris Pusey
- Tommy Roper
- Sören Sjösten
Coatbridge Monarchs[]
- Brian Collins
- Reidar Eide
- Bert Harkins
- George Hunter
- Bernt Persson
Coventry Bees[]
- Nigel Boocock
- Rick France
- Antonín Kasper Sr.
- Tony Lomas
- Ron Mountford
Cradley Heath[]
- Bob Andrews
- Ivor Brown
- Chris Julian
- Roy Trigg
Exeter Falcons[]
- Martin Ashby
- Mike Cake
- Wayne Briggs
- Neil Street
Glasgow Tigers[]
- Åke Andersson
- Bobby Beaton
- Bo Josefsson
- Jimmy McMillan
Hackney Hawks[]
- Jack Biggs
- Malcolm Brown
- Laurie Etheridge
- Bengt Jansson
- Des Lukehurst
- Colin Pratt
Halifax Dukes[]
- Eric Boocock
- Eric Boothroyd
- Dave Younghusband
King's Lynn Stars[]
- Terry Betts
- Howard Cole+ (+ rode under the name of Kid Brodie)
- Malcolm Simmons
Leicester Lions[]
- John Boulger
- Dene Davies
- John Hart
- Tom Leadbitter
- George Major
- Anders Michanek
- Roger Mills
- Graham Plant
- Norman Storer
- Vic White
- Ray Wilson
Newcastle Diamonds[]
- Murray Burt
- Ivan Mauger
- Ole Olsen
- Gary Peterson
Newport Wasps[]
- Jimmy Gooch
- Torbjörn Harrysson
Oxford Cheetahs[]
- Mick Bell
- Ronnie Genz
- Colin Gooddy
- Leo McAuliffe
- Arne Pander
- Rick Timmo
Poole Pirates[]
- Bill Andrew
- Bruce Cribb
- Odd Fossengen
- Geoff Mudge
- Göte Nordin
- Arne Pander
- Pete Smith
Sheffield Tigers[]
- Billy Bales
- John Dews
- Arnold Haley
- Charlie Monk
Swindon Robins[]
- Barry Briggs
- Mike Broadbank
- Bob Kilby
- Frank Shuter
West Ham Hammers[]
- George Barclay
- Sverre Harrfeldt
- + (+ rode under the name Tyburn Gallows)
- Norman Hunter
- Brian Leonard
- Ken McKinlay
Wimbledon Dons[]
- Alan Cowland
- Bob Dugard
- Trevor Hedge
- Reg Luckhurst
- Garry Middleton
- Olle Nygren
- + (+ rode under the name Bernie Lagrosse)
Wolverhampton Wolves[]
- Jim Airey
- Geoff Ambrose
- James Bond
- Murray Burt
- Mick Handley
- Hasse Holmqvist
- Peter Vandenberg
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "1968 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "Season 1968" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- British League
- 1968 in British motorsport
- 1968 in speedway