1948 Speedway National League Division Three

The 1948 National League Division Three was the second season of British speedway's National League Division Three[1][2]

1948 Speedway National League Division Three
LeagueNational League Division Three
Season1948
ChampionsExeter Falcons
No. of competitors12
National Trophy (Div 3 final)Southampton Saints
Highest averageAlf Bottoms
Division/s aboveDivision One
Division Two

The league had expanded from 8 teams to 12. Reigning champions Eastbourne Eagles were forced to close due to a petrol ban at their stadium, so their team moved a few miles along the Sussex coast to Hastings. The new entrants Coventry Bees, Hull Angels, Poole Pirates and Yarmouth Bloaters all struggled to make an impact and finished in the bottom five positions. Exeter Falcons won their first title.[3]

Alf Bottoms of Southampton topped the averages.[4]

Eric Dunn of Hastings Saxons was a third speedway rider (with Reg Craven and Bill Wilson) to be killed during the season. 34-year-old Dunn was riding in a meeting (on 13 June) at the Arlington track when he fell and was hit by a rider behind. He died two days later in hospital (15 June).[5]

Final League table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Exeter Falcons 44 32 1 11 65
2 Cradley Heath Cubs 44 29 2 13 60
3 Southampton Saints 44 29 0 15 58
4 Tamworth Hounds 44 23 4 17 50
5 Hanley Potters 44 24 1 19 49
6 Hastings Saxons 44 22 0 22 44
7 Plymouth Devils 44 21 2 22 43
8 Coventry Bees 44 19 1 24 39
9 Hull Angels 44 19 0 25 38
10 Poole Pirates 44 17 0 27 34
11 Yarmouth Bloaters 44 13 1 30 27
12 Wombwell Colliers 44 10 1 33 21

Leading Averages
Rider Team C.M.A.
1 Alf Bottoms Southampton 11.29
2 Wally Green Hastings 11.23
3 Cyril Roger Exeter 9.93
4 Jock Grierson Hastings 9.77
5 Bert Roger Exeter 9.72

National Trophy

The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.[6] The Qualifying event for Division 3 teams saw Southampton Saints win the final and qualify for the Elimination event. The Elimination event for Division 2 teams saw Birmingham Brummies win the final and qualify for the Quarter Finals proper.

Qualifying Event First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
08/04Plymouth56-50Cradley Heath
17/04Cradley Heath66-42Plymouth
13/04Southampton89-19Wombwell
23/04Wombwell31-77Southampton
07/04Tamworth82-26Exeter
12/04Exeter81-27Tamworth

Qualifying Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
29/04Stoke Hanley64-43Coventry
01/05Coventry48-59Stoke Hanley
04/05Southampton77-31Tamworth
05/05Tamworth46-62Southampton
26/04Poole74-32Yarmouth
27/04Yarmouth47-67Poole
01/05Hull42-66Cradley Heath
07/05Cradley Heath78-29Hull

Qualifying Third Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
10/05Poole49-57Stoke Hanley
13/05Stoke Hanley64-44Poole
11/05Southampton85-23Cradley Heath
21/05Cradley Heath54-50Southampton

Qualifying Final Round

First leg

Southampton Saints
Alf Bottoms 18
Bob Oakley 15
Jimmy Squibb 10
Alf Kaines 9
Bert Croucher 8.5
George Bason 8
Tom Oakley 2
Cecil Bailey 2		74.5 – 33.5Hanley Potters
Gil Blake 11
Les Jenkins 6
Ray Harris 5
Dave Anderson 4
Vic Pitcher 3.5
Dick Howard 2
Ken Adams 2
Frank Evans 0
[7][8]

Second leg

Hanley Potters
Gil Blake 14
Ray Harris 9
Les Jenkins 6
Dick Howard 5
Dave Anderson 4
Vic Pitcher 3
Frank Evans 3
Ken Adams 1		43 – 64Southampton Saints
Alf Bottoms 17
Bob Oakley 14
Jimmy Squibb 9
Bert Croucher 8
Alf Kaines 7
Cecil Bailey 6
George Bason 3
Tom Oakley 0
[9][8]

Riders & final averages

Coventry

  • Vic Emms 7.92
  • Lionel Levy 7.43
  • Bob Fletcher 7.28
  • Bert Lacey 6.19
  • Ed Pye 6.18
  • George Smith 6.13
  • Ralph Horne 5.65
  • Bernard Tennant 5.36
  • John Yates 4.65
  • Fred Yates 4.62
  • Derrick Tailby 2.71

Cradley Heath

  • Gil Craven 9.52
  • Les Beaumont 8.82
  • Eric Irons 8.81
  • Alan Hunt 8.16
  • Jimmy Wright 7.78
  • Bill Kemp 7.52
  • Ken Sharples 6.98
  • Bill Clifton 5.64
  • Phil Malpass 5.49
  • Ray Beaumont 4.41
  • Ray Moreton 4.32
  • Jimmy Coy 4.22

Exeter

  • Cyril Roger 10.00
  • Bert Roger 9.98
  • Norman Clay 8.73
  • Arthur Pilgrim 8.26
  • Don Hardy 8.19
  • Stan Hodson 7.35
  • Bronco Slade 7.19
  • Hugh Geddes 6.49
  • Johnny Myson 5.24
  • Stan Lanfear 3.89

Hanley

  • Gil Blake 8.92
  • Les Jenkins 8.32
  • Dave Anderson 7.95
  • Ray Harris 7.17
  • Ken Adams 7.05
  • Dick Howard 5.61
  • Stan Bradbury 5.71
  • Vic Pitcher 5.62
  • Lindsay Mitchell 5.52
  • Frank Evans 5.14
  • Jack Dawson 5.00
  • Jock Gordon 4.00

Hastings

  • Wally Green 11.23
  • Jock Grierson 9.75
  • Bill Osborne 8.97
  • Frank Bettis 6.51
  • Ken Middleditch 6.00
  • Ken Tidbury 5.12
  • Ron Clark 5.01
  • Dan English 4.52
  • John Hayles 4.29
  • Peter Mold 4.13
  • Ken Smith 4.05
  • Eric Dunn 4.00
  • Bill Weston 2.29

Hull

  • Mick Mitchell 8.94
  • Dick Shepherd 7.35
  • George Craig 7.19
  • Al Allison 6.67
  • Johnny White 6.34
  • Bob Baker 6.08
  • Derek Glover 5.33
  • Norman Johnson 4.89
  • Alf Webster 3.25
  • Brian Gorman 3.17

Plymouth

  • Pete Lansdale 9.06
  • Len Read 8.77
  • Peter Robinson 8.59
  • Alex Gray 6.86
  • Ted Gibson 5.78
  • Bonny Waddell 5.27
  • Charlie Challis 5.14
  • Ivan Kessell 5.10
  • Billy Newell 4.63
  • Vic Gent 4.38
  • Wally Matthews 4.37

Poole

  • Joe Bowkiss 8.53
  • Allan Chambers 7.66
  • Alf Elliott 7.31
  • Sid Clarke 6.78
  • Fred Pawson 6.13
  • Charlie Hayden 5.90
  • Ginger Nicholls 5.20
  • George Butler 4.69
  • Frank Holcombe 4.18
  • Sid Hazzard 3.76

Southampton

  • Alf Bottoms 11.25
  • Jimmy Squibb 9.52
  • Cecil Bailey 8.58
  • Bob Oakley 8.05
  • Bert Croucher 7.01
  • Tom Oakley 6.41
  • Alf Kaines 5.87
  • George Bason 4.56
  • Sid Griffiths 4.00

Tamworth

  • Arthur Payne 8.67
  • Cyril Page 8.45
  • Harry Saunders 8.44
  • Basil Harris 8.08
  • Bill Dalton 7.53
  • Bill Harris 7.05
  • Steve Langton 6.79
  • Jack Baxter 6.67
  • Peter Orpwood 6.07
  • Charlie Oates 5.57
  • Cecil Hookham 5.00
  • Lionel Watling 3.87
  • Howard Chipman 2.67

Wombwell

  • Stan Hodson 8.
  • Harry Welch 7.38
  • Jack Baxter 6.98
  • Harry Saunders 6.76
  • Harwood Pike 6.60
  • Stan Beardsall 6.46
  • Son Mitchell 5.26
  • Len Tupling 4.80
  • Red Hamley 4.69
  • Charlie Oates 4.45
  • Ken Allick 4.38
  • Jeff Bishop 4.07
  • Ernest Palmer 3.09
  • Gerry Williams 2.46
  • Bert Thomas 2.08
  • Harry Modral 1.52

Yarmouth

  • Reg Morgan 7.40
  • Billy Bales 6.99
  • Sid Hipperson 6.93
  • Paddy Hammond 6.60
  • Fred Rogers 5.64
  • Bert Rawlinson 5.14
  • Arthur Bush 5.10
  • Roy Duke 5.05
  • Bill Carruthers 4.81
  • Ted Rawlinson 4.50
  • Phil Day 2.67
  • Bill Codling 2.55

See also

References
  1. "Home". speedwayresearcher.org.uk.
  2. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. "Major League Competitions". Speedway Archive.
  4. "National League Division 3 1948" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  5. "Speedway News". Eastbourne Gazette. 16 June 1948. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "1948 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. "Speedway Defeat". Staffordshire Sentinel. 26 May 1948. Retrieved 30 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Southampton 1948 results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  9. "Cup final defeat". Staffordshire Sentinel. 28 May 1948. Retrieved 30 October 2021 – 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.