1976 National League season
League | National League |
---|---|
Champions | Newcastle Diamonds |
No. of competitors | 18 |
Knockout Cup | Newcastle Diamonds |
Individual | Joe Owen |
Pairs | Ellesmere Port Gunners |
Fours | Newcastle Diamonds |
Highest average | Joe Owen |
Division/s above | 1976 British League |
The 1976 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom having been renamed from the previous season's moniker of New National League.[1][2][3]
Summary[]
The league was reduced from 20 teams down to 18, following the loss of three teams and gain of one. Birmingham Brummies moved up to the British League and Bradford Barons and Crewe Kings both closed down.[4] Sadly for Crewe the team would never return.[5] The additional team was the Oxford Cheetahs, who had returned to their traditional name following a three year period known as the Oxford Rebels. The Rebels team and promoters had moved to White City during the winter[6] but Oxford were saved by new promoters Harry Bastable and Tony Allsop after a committee of fans had created a "Save Our Stadium" campaign over the previous winter.[7][8]
Newcastle Diamonds comfortably won their first National League title, completing a cup double, and dropping only seven points.[9][10] The Owen brothers Joe Owen and Tom Owen topped the averages for the second consecutive year. Joe finished with an 11+ average and won the British League Division Two Riders Championship and Newcastle completed the league and cup double.
Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Newcastle Diamonds | 34 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 61 |
2 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 34 | 24 | 1 | 9 | 49 |
3 | Workington Comets | 34 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 41 |
4 | Canterbury Crusaders | 34 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 40 |
5 | Rye House Rockets | 34 | 17 | 2 | 15 | 36 |
6 | Crayford Kestrels | 34 | 17 | 1 | 16 | 35 |
7 | Coatbridge Tigers | 34 | 17 | 1 | 16 | 35 |
8 | Eastbourne Eagles | 34 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 34 |
9 | Peterborough Panthers | 34 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 34 |
10 | Berwick Bandits | 34 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 34 |
11 | Stoke Potters | 34 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 31 |
12 | Boston Barracudas | 34 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 31 |
13 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 34 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 31 |
14 | Oxford Cheetahs | 34 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 29 |
15 | Weymouth Wizards | 34 | 11 | 2 | 21 | 24 |
16 | Paisley Lions | 34 | 12 | 0 | 22 | 24 |
17 | Scunthorpe Saints | 34 | 11 | 1 | 22 | 23 |
18 | Teesside Tigers | 34 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 20 |
Top Five Riders[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Joe Owen | Newcastle Diamonds | 11.55 | |
2 | Tom Owen | Newcastle Diamonds | 10.28 | |
3 | Steve Weatherley | Eastbourne Eagles | 10.27 | |
4 | John Jackson | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 10.20 | |
5 | Laurie Etheridge | Crayford Kestrels | 9.96 |
National League Knockout Cup[]
The 1976 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the ninth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Newcastle Diamonds were the winners of the competition.[11]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
22/04 | Oxford | 48-30 | Weymouth |
20/04 | Weymouth | 40-38 | Oxford |
Second Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
01/06 | Ellesmere Port | 46-32 | Paisley |
27/05 | Stoke | 37-41 | Newcastle |
24/05 | Newcastle | 59-19 | Stoke |
23/05 | Mildenhall | 38-40 | Peterborough |
22/05 | Paisley | 36-42 | Ellesmere Port |
21/05 | Peterborough | 42-36 | Mildenhall |
17/05 | Scunthorpe | 43-35 | Berwick |
16/05 | Eastbourne | 41-37 | Oxford |
16/05 | Workington | 46-32 | Coatbridge |
14/05 | Coatbridge | 33-45 | Workington |
13/05 | Oxford | 47-31 | Eastbourne |
11/05 | Crayford | 46-32 | Boston |
09/05 | Boston | 48-30 | Crayford |
02/05 | Rye House | 45-32 | Canterbury |
01/05 | Berwick | 45-32 | Scunthorpe |
01/05 | Canterbury | 44-34 | Rye House |
23/04 | Coatbridge | 52-25 | Teesside |
22/04 | Teesside | 46-32 | Coatbridge |
Quarter Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
23/07 | Workington | 46-31 | Boston |
20/07 | Ellesmere Port | 50-28 | Rye House |
18/07 | Rye House | 38-39 | Ellesmere Port |
17/07 | Berwick | 48-30 | Oxford |
11/07 | Boston | 48-29 | Workington |
08/07 | Oxford | 40-38 | Berwick |
05/07 | Newcastle | 47-31 | Peterborough |
25/06 | Peterborough | 39-39 | Newcastle |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
05/09 | Boston | 42-35 | Berwick |
28/08 | Berwick | 49-29 | Boston |
17/08 | Ellesmere Port | 41-37 | Newcastle |
16/08 | Newcastle | 46-31 | Ellesmere Port |
Final[]
First leg
Berwick Bandits Mike Hiftle 10 Graham Jones 10 Dave Gifford 9 Willie Templeton 5 Eddie Argall 5 Robin Adlington 4 Wayne Brown 0 | 43 – 35 | Newcastle Diamonds Joe Owen 15 Tom Owen 14 Robbie Blackadder 3 Phil Michelidies 1 Andy Cusworth 1 Tim Swales 1 Ron Henderson R/R |
---|---|---|
[12] |
Second leg
Newcastle Diamonds Joe Owen 12 Tom Owen 12 Ron Henderson 6 Tim Swales 5 Andy Cusworth 5 Robbie Blackadder 4 Phil Michelidies 4 | 48 – 29 | Berwick Bandits Eddie Argall 11 Roger Wright (guest) 6 Dave Gifford 6 Graham Jones 4 Willie Templeton 2 Peter Waite 0 Mike Hiftle R/R |
---|---|---|
[12] |
Newcastle were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–72.
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ "Crewe Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Lawson,K (2018) “Rebels 1975 – The Last Season”. ISBN 978-0-244-99725-0
- ^ Oakes, P (2006). Speedway Star Almanac. Pinegen Ltd. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.
- ^ Lawson,K (2018) “The Cheetahs – The Resurrection”. ISBN 978-0-244-69934-5
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "1976 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1976 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- Speedway British League Division Two / National League