1977 British League season
League | British League |
---|---|
Champions | White City Rebels |
No. of competitors | 19 |
Knockout Cup | King's Lynn Stars |
Individual | Ole Olsen |
Pairs | Ipswich Witches |
Highest average | Michael Lee |
Division/s below | 1977 National League |
The 1977 Gulf British League season was the 43rd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom[1] and the 13th season known as the British League.[2]
Summary[]
Newport had dropped down to the National League but their riders transferred to the Bristol Bulldogs so the league retained 19 teams. Cradley Heath reverted to their nickname of Heathens after four years of being called United.[3] The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a third season.[4]
White City Rebels won the title in only their second season of existence. The London team caused a surprise with their consistent form throughout the season with heavy scoring of Gordon Kennett leading the team. The success came from a group of five other riders hitting around a seven average to support Kennett. The five were Englishmen Mike Sampson, Steve Weatherley and Trevor Geer, Pole Marek Cieślak and Finn Kai Niemi.[5] Wolverhampton Wolves signed 18 year-old Danish rider Hans Nielsen.
Kevin Holden of Poole Pirates had started the season in great form for his new club, following his move from Exeter Falcons. He was hitting over a 9 point average but sadly was killed during the home match against Reading on 27 April. After sliding into the fence he ruptured a blood vessel of the heart.[6]
Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | White City Rebels | 36 | 27 | 1 | 8 | 55 |
2 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 25 | 3 | 8 | 53 |
3 | Reading Racers | 36 | 25 | 3 | 8 | 53 |
4 | Ipswich Witches | 36 | 25 | 1 | 10 | 51 |
5 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 19 | 3 | 14 | 41 |
6 | King's Lynn Stars | 36 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 40 |
7 | Cradley Heathens | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
8 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 39 |
9 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 36 |
10 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 36 |
11 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 35 |
12 | Bristol Bulldogs | 36 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 34 |
13 | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 34 |
14 | Hull Vikings | 36 | 15 | 0 | 21 | 30 |
15 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 14 | 0 | 22 | 28 |
16 | Hackney Hawks | 36 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 27 |
17 | Halifax Dukes | 36 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 24 |
18 | Birmingham Brummies | 36 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 16 |
19 | Leicester Lions | 36 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 12 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Top Ten Riders[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Michael Lee | King's Lynn Stars | 10.64 | |
2 | Ivan Mauger | Exeter Falcons | 10.62 | |
3 | Peter Collins | Belle Vue Aces | 10.49 | |
4 | Gordon Kennett | White City Rebels | 10.41 | |
5 | Ole Olsen | Coventry Bees | 10.40 | |
6 | Billy Sanders | Ipswich Witches | 10.39 | |
7 | Anders Michanek | Cradley Heathens | 10.35 | |
8 | Dave Jessup | Reading Racers | 10.27 | |
9 | Malcolm Simmons | Poole Pirates | 10.22 | |
10 | John Davis | Reading Racers | 9.84 |
British League Knockout Cup[]
The 1977 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 39th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. King's Lynn Stars were the winners.[7]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
18/05 | Poole | 41-37 | Reading |
25/04 | Exeter | 50-28 | Swindon |
25/04 | Reading | 43-35 | Poole |
15/04 | Wolverhampton | 51-27 | Leicester |
12/04 | Leicester | 40-38 | Wolverhampton |
Second Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
23/07 | Halifax | 38-40 | Reading |
22/07 | Wolverhampton | 41-37 | Kings Lynn |
28/06 | White City | 51-27 | Birmingham |
20/06 | Birmingham | 34-44 | White City |
18/06 | Coventry | 57-21 | Exeter |
18/06 | Kings Lynn | 55-23 | Wolverhampton |
17/06 | Bristol | 56-22 | Wimbledon |
16/06 | Wimbledon | 48-30 | Bristol |
13/06 | Exeter | 38-40 | Coventry |
09/06 | Sheffield | 46-32 | Hackney |
08/06 | Hull | 46-32 | Cradley Heath |
11/06 | Cradley Heath | 42-36 | Hull |
03/06 | Hackney | 49-29 | Sheffield |
02/06 | Ipswich | 38-40 | Belle Vue |
30/05 | Reading | 53-25 | Halifax |
Quarter Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
22/08 | Reading | 51-27 | Belle Vue |
08/08 | White City | 50-28 | Coventry |
06/08 | Kings Lynn | 42-36 | Hackney |
05/08 | Bristol | 52-26 | Hull |
03/08 | Coventry | 43-35 | White City |
03/08 | Hull | 49-29 | Bristol |
29/07 | Hackney | 34-44 | Kings Lynn |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
14/10 | Bristol | 42-36 | Reading |
10/10 | Reading | 47-31 | Bristol |
24/09 | Kings Lynn | 44-34 | White City |
21/09 | White City | 42-34 | Kings Lynn |
Final[]
First leg[]
Reading Racers John Davis 10 Dave Jessup 8 Hans Wassermann 7 Bengt Jansson 6 Doug Underwood 4 3 Ian Gledhill 2 | 40 - 38 | King's Lynn Stars Michael Lee 15 Terry Betts 12 Carl Glover 5 Ian Turner 5 Richard Hellsen 1 0 David Gagen 0 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Second leg[]
King's Lynn Stars Terry Betts 10 Michael Lee 7 Richard Hellsen 7 David Gagen 6 Ian Turner 6 3 Carl Glover 2 | 41 - 37 | Reading Racers Dave Jessup 15 John Davis 8 Bengt Jansson 6 Doug Underwood 4 3 Hans Wassermann 1 Ian Gledhill 0 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
King's Lynn Stars were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 79-77.
Teams[]
Belle Vue Aces[]
- Les Collins
- Peter Collins
- Phil Collins
- Alan Emerson
- Steve Lawson
- Chris Morton
- Chris Turner
- Alan Wilkinson
Birmingham Brummies[]
- Carl Askew
- Ian Clark
- Phil Collins
- Alan Grahame
- Andy Grahame
- Jan Terje Gravningen
- Richard Greer
- Finn Jensen
- Malcolm Shakespeare
- Lou Sansom
- Ray Wilson
Bristol Bulldogs[]
- Nigel Boocock
- Phil Collins
- Phil Crump
- Phil Herne
- Tom Leadbitter
- Tommy Pettersson
- Edgar Stangeland
- Ian Williams
- Sean Willmott
- Brian Woodward
Coventry Bees[]
- Mick Bell
- Alf Busk
- Gary Guglielmi
- Ole Olsen
- Alan Molyneux
- Tommy Nilsson
- Mitch Shirra
Cradley Heathens[]
- Steve Bastable
- Phil Collins
- Bruce Cribb
- Anders Michanek
- Dave Perks
- Bernt Persson
- Arthur Price
- Bob Valentine
Exeter Falcons[]
- Scott Autrey
- Phil Collins
- Mike Farrell
- Robert Henry
- Steve Koppe
- Ivan Mauger
- John Titman
- Václav Verner
Hackney Hawks[]
- Laurie Etheridge
- Karl Fiala
- Bob Garrad
- Vic Harding
- Trevor Hedge
- Robert Henry
- Dave Morton
- Barry Thomas
- Keith White
Halifax Dukes[]
- Ian Cartwright
- Tom Godal
- Henny Kroeze
- Mike Lohmann
- Graham Plant
- Chris Pusey
- Sean Willmott
Hull Vikings[]
- Frank Auffret
- Bobby Beaton
- Vic Harding
- Joe Owen
- Tom Owen
Ipswich Witches[]
- Colin Cook
- Tony Davey
- Kevin Jolly
- Mike Lanham
- John Louis
- Billy Sanders
King's Lynn Stars[]
- Terry Betts
- Billy Burton
- David Gagen
- Carl Glover
- Richard Hellsen
- Michael Lee
- Pete Smith
- Ian Turner
Leicester Lions[]
- Ray Bales
- John Boulger
- Reidar Eide
- Adi Funk
- Markku Helminen
- Garry Middleton
- Tommy Pettersson
- Bolesław Proch
- Ila Teromaa
- Pepe Teromaa
- Doug Underwood
Poole Pirates[]
- Roger Abel
- Eric Broadbelt
- Colin Gooddy
- Kevin Holden
- Richard May
- Neil Middleditch
- Mike Sampson
- Christer Sjösten
- Malcolm Simmons
- Pete Smith
- Martin Yeates
Reading Racers[]
- John Davis
- Ian Gledhill
- Bengt Jansson
- Dave Jessup
- Bolesław Proch
- Glyn Taylor
- Doug Underwood
- Hans Wassermann
Sheffield Tigers[]
- Billy Burton
- Carl Glover
- Arnold Haley
- Reg Wilson
- Doug Wyer
Swindon Robins[]
- Jan Andersson
- David Ashby
- Martin Ashby
- Geoff Bouchard
- Malcolm Holloway
- Bob Kilby
White City Rebels[]
- Roger Abel
- Marek Cieślak
- Ian Clark
- Paul Gachet
- Trevor Geer
- Gordon Kennett
- Kai Niemi
- Mike Sampson
- Steve Weatherley
- Paul Woods
Wimbledon Dons[]
- Edward Jancarz
- Roger Johns
- Colin Richardson
- Larry Ross
- Edgar Stangeland
- Graeme Stapleton
- Ian Williams
Wolverhampton Wolves[]
- Phil Collins
- Preben Eriksen
- Bert Harkins
- Brian Havelock
- Markku Helminen
- George Hunter
- Steve McDermott
- Jimmy McMillan
- Kelvin Mullarkey
- Hans Nielsen
- Sören Sjösten
- Finn Thomsen
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY.....1977". Poole Speedway. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "1977 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "Season 1977" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- British League
- 1977 in British motorsport
- 1977 in speedway