1939 Speedway National League

The 1939 National League Division One was an eleventh and unfinished season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2][3][4]

1939 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
ChampionsNone
No. of competitors7
National TrophyBelle Vue Aces &
Wembley Lions
London CupWimbledon Dons
Highest averageCordy Milne
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)

Summary

Southampton Saints had moved up from Division Two and Bristol Bulldogs moved back down after just one season.

Belle Vue Aces were leading the championship ahead of Wimbledon Dons when the league was abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II .

Table at the outbreak of war
Team PL W D L Pts
Belle Vue Aces 16 12 1 3 25
Wimbledon Dons 18 12 0 6 24
Wembley Lions 19 11 1 8 23
West Ham Hammers 19 9 0 10 18
Harringay Tigers 16 7 1 8 15
Southampton Saints 17 5 0 12 10
New Cross Rangers 19 4 1 14 9

Top Ten Riders at the outbreak of war
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Cordy Milne United States Southampton Saints 11.29
2 Wilbur Lamoreaux United States Wimbledon Dons 11.06
3 Bill Kitchen England Belle Vue Aces 10.88
4 Vic Duggan Australia Wimbledon Dons 10.67
5 Arthur Atkinson England West Ham Hammers 10.62
6 Lionel van Praag Australia Wembley Lions 10.62
7 Jack Milne United States New Cross Rangers 10.00
8 Jack Parker England Harringay Tigers 9.6
9 Eric Langton England Belle Vue Aces 9.5
10 Jimmy Gibb Canada West Ham Hammers 8.58

National Trophy

The 1939 National Trophy was the ninth edition of the Knockout Cup. Wembley and Belle Vue were declared joint winners following the abandonment of the final fixture due to the outbreak of the war.[5][6]

Qualifying rounds

Sheffield Tigers won the Division Two final and therefore secured a place in the quarter-finals.

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
22/07Belle Vue67-40Wimbledon
17/07Wimbledon51-56Belle Vue
26/07New Cross57-51Harringay
22/07Harringay52-54New Cross
13/07Wembley64-45West Ham
11/07West Ham62-46Wembley
20/07Sheffield61-46Southampton
26/07Southampton68-36Sheffield

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
26/08Belle Vue80-28New Cross
16/08New Cross44-64Belle Vue
31/08Wembley74-33Southampton
30/08Southampton62-46Wembley

Final
Date Team one Score Team two
16/09Wembleynot heldBelle Vue
21/09Belle Vuenot heldWembley

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon71–37, 42–64Harringay

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
West Ham56–50, 50–57New Cross
Wembley55–52, 49–59Wimbledon

Final

First leg

New Cross
Jack Milne 11
Ron Johnson 10
Ray Duggan 7
Joe Francis 6
Bill Longley 5
Stan Greatrex 4
Crocky Rawding 2
Goldy Restall 1		46–62Wimbledon
Wilbur Lamoreaux 15
Vic Duggan 13
Eric Collins 11
Geoff Pymar 10
Wally Lloyd 8
Nobby Key 2
Eric French 2
Norman Evans 1

Second leg

Wimbledon
Wilbur Lamoreaux 18
Eric Collins 14
Geoff Pymar 11
Vic Duggan 10
Nobby Key 7
Wally Lloyd 6
Norman Evans 5
Eric French 1		72–36New Cross
Jack Milne 13
Ron Johnson 9
Joe Francis 4
Bill Longley 2
Stan Greatrex 2
Goldy Restall 2
Crocky Rawding 2
Ray Duggan 2
[7]

Wimbledon won on aggregate 134–82

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Harringay

New Cross

Southampton

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  3. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  5. "1939 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. "1939 Cup". Speedway GB.
  7. "Speedway Comedy in Dons Cup Win". Daily Herald. 11 July 1939. Retrieved 16 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.