1977 National League season
League | National League |
---|---|
Champions | Eastbourne Eagles |
No. of competitors | 19 |
Knockout Cup | Eastbourne Eagles |
Individual | Colin Richardson |
Pairs | Boston Barracudas |
Fours | Peterborough Panthers |
Highest average | Tom Owen |
Division/s above | 1977 British League |
The 1977 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.[1][2]
Summary[]
Newport had moved down from the British League. Their riders were transferred to Bristol Bulldogs but they acquired new riders and were renamed Newport Dragons. Paisley Lions dropped out so the league had 19 teams, the same as the previous season. Part way through the season, Coatbridge Tigers relocated and changed name to Glasgow Tigers.
Eastbourne Eagles won the National League title, completing a league and cup double.[3][4] Eastbournes's star rider was Colin Richardson, who won the Riders' Championship and averaged 10.70 for the season. He was backed up by Mike Sampson, who also surpassed a 10 average and Dave Kennett (8.37 average) and a member of Eastbourne's 1971 winning team.[5]
Joe Owen, the leading rider of 1976 had moved from champions Newcastle Diamonds to join British League side Hull Vikings. Newcastle were unable to compensate for the loss and finished in 6th place, despite Joe's brother Tom Owen finishing top of the averages.[5]
Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Eastbourne Eagles | 36 | 29 | 0 | 7 | 58 |
2 | Rye House Rockets | 36 | 24 | 3 | 9 | 51 |
3 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 36 | 22 | 2 | 12 | 46 |
4 | Canterbury Crusaders | 36 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 46 |
5 | Peterborough Panthers | 36 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 44 |
6 | Newcastle Diamonds | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 43 |
7 | Boston Barracudas | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
8 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 36 | 16 | 4 | 16 | 36 |
9 | Teesside Tigers | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 35 |
10 | Crayford Kestrels | 36 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 34 |
11 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
12 | Newport Dragons | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
13 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 15 | 1 | 20 | 31 |
14 | Scunthorpe Saints | 36 | 15 | 1 | 20 | 31 |
15 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 36 | 15 | 0 | 21 | 30 |
16 | Workington Comets | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
17 | Weymouth Wizards | 36 | 11 | 3 | 22 | 25 |
18 | Berwick Bandits | 36 | 11 | 1 | 24 | 23 |
19 | Stoke Potters | 36 | 9 | 0 | 27 | 18 |
Top Five Riders[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Tom Owen | Newcastle Diamonds | 11.01 | |
2 | Colin Richardson | Eastbourne Eagles | 10.70 | |
3 | Martin Yeates | Oxford Cheetahs | 10.59 | |
4 | John Jackson | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 10.22 | |
5 | Mike Sampson | Eastbourne Eagles | 10.18 |
National League Knockout Cup[]
The 1977 National League Knockout Cup was the tenth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.[6]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
03/04 | Eastbourne | 55-23 | Canterbury |
23/04 | Canterbury | 26-52 | Eastbourne |
14/04 | Oxford | 44-34 | Rye House |
17/04 | Rye House | 44-34 | Oxford |
22/04 | Edinburgh | 48-30 | Scunthorpe |
25/04 | Scunthorpe | 43-34 | Edinburgh |
02/06 replay |
Oxford | 45-32 | Rye House |
29/05 replay |
Rye House | 42-36 | Oxford |
Second Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
15/05 | Eastbourne | 54-23 | Crayford |
03/05 | Crayford | 35-43 | Eastbourne |
22/05 | Newcastle | 49-29 | Glasgow |
29/04 | Glasgow | 47-30 | Newcastle |
17/05 | Ellesmere Port | 46-32 | Workington |
03/06 | Workington | 42-36 | Ellesmere Port |
12/06 | Oxford | 50-28 | Newport |
23/06 | Newport | 41-37 | Oxford |
28/05 | Berwick | 46-32 | Teesside |
02/06 | Teesside | 44-34 | Berwick |
27/05 | Edinburgh | 44-34 | Stoke |
21/05 | Stoke | 40-38 | Edinburgh |
22/05 | Boston | 43-34 | Weymouth |
24/05 | Weymouth | 35-43 | Boston |
20/05 | Peterborough | 44-34 | Mildenhall |
22/05 | Mildenhall | 38-40 | Peterborough |
Quarter Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
10/07 | Eastbourne | 54-24 | Newcastle |
08/08 | Newcastle | 34-43 | Eastbourne |
26/07 | Ellesmere Port | 46½-31½ | Oxford |
14/07 | Oxford | 37-41 | Ellesmere Port |
25/06 | Berwick | 46-32 | Edinburgh |
15/07 | Edinburgh | 41-37 | Berwick |
17/07 | Boston | 45-33 | Peterborough |
01/07 | Peterborough | 40-38 | Boston |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
25/09 | Eastbourne | 57-21 | Ellesmere Port |
02/09 | Ellesmere Port | 50-28 | Eastbourne |
27/08 | Berwick | 45-33 | Boston |
19/08 | Boston | 38-40 | Berwick |
Final[]
First leg
Berwick Bandits Willie Templeton 9 Graham Jones 9 Dave Gifford 7 Mike Hiftle 6 Wayne Brown 5 Robin Adlington 4 Colin Caffrey 1 | 41 – 37 | Eastbourne Eagles Colin Richardson 13 Mike Sampson 11 Steve Naylor 7 Eric Dugard 5 Paul Woods 1 Roger Abel 0 Dave Kennett 0 |
---|---|---|
[7] |
Second leg
Eastbourne Eagles Colin Richardson 12 Mike Sampson 11 Steve Naylor 9 Eric Dugard 9 Dave Kennett 7 Roger Abel 7 Paul Woods 6 | 61 – 16 | Berwick Bandits Brendan Shileto (guest) 6 Graham Jones 5 Willie Templeton 2 Mike Hiftle 2 Ian Darling 1 Dave Gifford 0 Colin Caffrey 0 |
---|---|---|
[7] |
Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 98–57.
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "1977 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1977 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- Speedway British League Division Two / National League