1979 National League season
League | National League |
---|---|
Champions | Mildenhall Fen Tigers |
No. of competitors | 19 |
Knockout Cup | Rye House Rockets |
Individual | Ian Gledhill |
Pairs | Milton Keynes Knights |
Fours | Ellesmere Port Gunners |
Highest average | Tom Owen |
Division/s above | 1979 British League |
The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.[1][2]
Summary[]
The league was reduced from 20 teams to 19 from the previous season. White City Rebels closure saw their riders move to Eastbourne Eagles who moved up to the British League. Barrow Furness Flyers dropped out and Nottingham Outlaws joined the league. Teesside Tigers changed their name to Middlesbrough Tigers. Scunthorpe Saints changed their name to Scunthorpe Stags.
Tom Owen of Newcastle topped the averages for the third consecutive year and Ian Gledhill, riding for Stoke won the Riders' Championship but both Newcastle and Stoke finished well behind Mildenhall Fen Tigers and Rye House Rockets in the league table.[3] In a season that would go down to the last match, Mildenhall won their first title in their history. The consistency of four riders, Ray Bales, , Melvyn Taylor and Robert Henry was the crucial factor to their success.[3]
There was a controversial end to the season when Rye House visited Mildenhall, needing a draw to win the title. Needing a 5-1 in the last heat to tie the match, Rocket Karl Fiala's exclusion prompted team-mate Bob Garrad to withdraw from the re-run in protest. Mildenhall went on to win at bottom club Scunthorpe Saints in the last match of the season to win the title by one point.[4][5][6]
Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 36 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 60 |
2 | Rye House Rockets | 36 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 59 |
3 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 24 | 1 | 11 | 49 |
4 | Berwick Bandits | 36 | 21 | 3 | 12 | 45 |
5 | Milton Keynes Knights | 36 | 21 | 0 | 15 | 42 |
6 | Newcastle Diamonds | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
7 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 38 |
8 | Peterborough Panthers | 36 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 38 |
9 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
10 | Canterbury Crusaders | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 36 |
11 | Middlesbrough Tigers | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 35 |
12 | Crayford Kestrels | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
13 | Stoke Potters | 36 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 32 |
14 | Nottingham Outlaws | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
15 | Workington Comets | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
16 | Boston Barracudas | 36 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 28 |
17 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 36 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 27 |
18 | Weymouth Wildcats | 36 | 9 | 1 | 26 | 19 |
19 | Scunthorpe Stags | 36 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 9 |
Top Five Riders[]
The top ten averages of the National League.[7]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Tom Owen | Newcastle Diamonds | 11.09 | |
2 | George Hunter | Oxford Cheetahs | 10.98 | |
3 | Dave Perks | Nottingham Outlaws | 10.13 | |
4 | Les Rumsey | Oxford Cheetahs | 9.92 | |
5 | Mike Sampson | Nottingham Outlaws | 9.62 | |
6 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 9.58 | ||
7 | Ray Bales | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 9.56 | |
8 | Andy Grahame | Milton Keynes Knights | 9.47 | |
9 | John Jackson | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 9.45 | |
10 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 9.38 |
National League Knockout Cup[]
The 1979 National League Knockout Cup was the 12th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Rye House Rockets were the winners of the competition.[8]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
29/04 | Rye House | 56-22 | Weymouth |
22/05 | Weymouth | 34-44 | Rye House |
20/04 | Edinburgh | 46-32 | Boston |
10/06 | Boston | 44-34 | Edinburgh |
Second Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
03/06 | Rye House | 54-24 | Glasgow |
08/06 | Glasgow | 47-31 | Rye House |
15/06 | Workington | 46-30 | Middlesbrough |
14/06 | Middlesbrough | 45-32 | Workington |
10/06 | Mildenhall | 53-25 | Ellesmere Port |
08/06 | Ellesmere Port | 41-37 | Mildenhall |
19/06 | Crayford | 44-34 | Edinburgh |
06/07 | Edinburgh | 39-39 | Crayford |
09/06 | Berwick | 60-18 | Scunthorpe |
04/06 | Scunthorpe | 38-40 | Berwick |
14/06 | Oxford | 45-33 | Peterborough |
08/06 | Peterborough | 34-44 | Oxford |
18/06 | Newcastle | 57-21 | Canterbury |
26/05 | Canterbury | 39-39 | Newcastle |
12/06 | Milton Keynes | 50-28 | Stoke |
09/06 | Stoke | 42-36 | Milton Keynes |
Quarter Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
15/07 | Rye House | 59-19 | Workington |
29/06 | Workington | 49-29 | Rye House |
25/07 | Mildenhall | 56-22 | Crayford |
10/07 | Crayford | 39-39 | Mildenhall |
? | Berwick | 51-27 | Oxford |
05/07 | Oxford | 44-34 | Berwick |
09/07 | Newcastle | 53-25 | Milton Keynes |
10/07 | Milton Keynes | 35-42 | Newcastle |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
27/08 | Rye House | 44-34 | Mildenhall |
26/08 | Mildenhall | 38-40 | Rye House |
22/09 | Berwick | 47-31 | Newcastle |
19/08 | Newcastle | 46-32 | Berwick |
Final[]
First leg
Rye House Rockets Bob Garrad 10 Karl Fiala 10 Kelvin Mullarkey 10 Ashley Pullen 9 Ted Hubbard 8 Peter Tarrant 6 Simon Aindow 1 | 54 – 24 | Berwick Bandits Wayne Brown 8 Nigel Close 6 Graham Jones 3 Mike Fullerton 3 Roger Wright 2 Phil Kynman 2 Rob Grant 0 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Second leg
Berwick Bandits Roger Wright 10 Wayne Brown 10 Nigel Close 8 Graham Jones 4 Mike Caroline 4 Rob Grant 4 Phil Kynman 0 | 40 – 38 | Rye House Rockets Karl Fiala 11 Bob Garrad 7 Kelvin Mullarkey 7 Ashley Pullen 5 Ted Hubbard 5 Peter Tarrant 3 Simon Aindow 0 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Rye House were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92–64.
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 95. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ^ a b "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 96. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ^ "1979 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1979 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- Speedway British League Division Two / National League