1951 Speedway National League

The 1951 National League Division One was the 17th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the sixth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. [1]

1951 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
ChampionsWembley Lions
No. of competitors9
National TrophyWimbledon Dons
London CupWembley Lions
Highest averageAub Lawson
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
National League (Div 3)

Summary

The entrants were the same as the previous season as were the top three positions at the end of the season. Wembley Lions won the National League for the sixth time.[2][3][4]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 32 25 0 7 50
2 Belle Vue Aces 32 19 1 12 39
3 Wimbledon Dons 32 17 1 14 35
4 West Ham Hammers 32 16 1 15 33
5 Birmingham Brummies 32 16 0 16 32
6 Bristol Bulldogs 32 15 1 16 31
7 Harringay Racers 32 15 1 16 31
8 New Cross Rangers 32 9 1 22 19
9 Bradford Tudors 32 9 0 23 18

Top Ten Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Aub Lawson Australia West Ham Hammers 10.31
2 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon Dons 9.91
3 Freddie Williams Wales Wembley Lions 9.76
4 Alan Hunt England Birmingham Brummies 9.75
5 Norman Parker England Wimbledon Dons 9.56
6 Eddie Rigg England Bradford Tudors 9.29
7 Malcolm Craven England West Ham Hammers 9.25
8 Split Waterman England Harringay Racers 9.07
9 Jack Parker England Belle Vue Aces 9.03
10 Geoff Pymar England Bristol Bulldogs 8.95

National Trophy Stage Three

The 1951 National Trophy was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third division clubs, stage two was for the second division clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Wimbledon won the third and final stage and were therefore declared the 1951 National Trophy champions.[5]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
10/08Bristol74-34Norwich
20/08Norwich75-33Bristol
07/08West Ham72-35Bradford Odsal
25/08Bradford Odsal43-65West Ham

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
05/09Belle Vue46-62Wembley
09/08Wembley52-55Belle Vue
11/08Birmingham55-53Wimbledon
20/08Wimbledon64-44Birmingham
25/08Norwich63-45Harringay
24/08Harringay65-42Norwich
04/09West Ham62-46New Cross
29/08New Cross65-43West Ham

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
04/10Wembley78-29New Cross
26/09New Cross53-55Wembley
03/09Wimbledon65-43Harringay
07/09Harringay40-68Wimbledon

Final

First leg

Wimbledon Dons
Ronnie Moore 15
Dennis Gray 15
Norman Parker 9
Cyril Brine 6
Ernie Roccio 3
Mike Erskine 3
Reg Trott 3
Jimmy Gibb 1
58 – 50Wembley Lions
Eric Williams 11
Tommy Price 8
Bob Oakley 7
Freddie Williams 7
Bruce Abernethy 5
George Wilks 6
Bill Kitchen 3
Jimmy Gooch 3
[6]

Second leg

Wembley Lions
Eric Williams 8
Bill Kitchen 6
Bob Oakley 6
Freddie Williams 5
George Wilks 5
Jimmy Gooch 5
Bruce Abernethy 4
Tommy Price 2
41 – 67Wimbledon Dons
Dennis Gray 18
Ronnie Moore 14
Ernie Roccio 13
Cyril Brine 11
Norman Parker 7
Jimmy Gibb 2
Reg Trott 1
Mike Erskine 1
[6]

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 125–91.

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon55–51, 44–64Wembley
Walthamstow53–55, 29–78West Ham

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
West Ham57–51, 42–65Harringay
New Cross45–63, 38–70Wembley

Final

First leg

Wembley
Eric Williams 12
Bruce Abernethy 9
Tommy Price 9
Bob Oakley 8
Freddie Williams 6
George Wilks 6
Bill Kitchen 5
Jimmy Gooch 3
59–49Harringay
Olle Nygren 17
Jack Biggs 15
Jeff Lloyd 6
Ron How 4
Maurice McDermott 2
Jimmy Squibb 2
Danny Dunton 2
Nobby Stock 1

Second leg

Harringay
Olle Nygren 16
Split Waterman 15
Jack Biggs 6
Ron How 4
Nobby Stock 3
Cliff Watson 3
Jeff Lloyd 2
Jimmy Squibb 0
49–59Wembley
Eric Williams 11
Bruce Abernethy 10
Freddie Williams 9
Tommy Price 8
Bob Oakley 7
Jimmy Gooch 6
George Wilks 4
Bill Kitchen 4
[7]

Wembley won on aggregate 118–98

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Bradford

Bristol

  • England Geoff Pymar 8.94
  • England Dick Bradley 8.80
  • England Jack Mountford 7.05
  • England Billy Hole 6.80
  • England Johnny Hole 5.90
  • Wales Chris Boss 5.28
  • England Eric Salmon 5.51
  • England Mike Beddoe 5.07
  • Australia Jack Summers 2.22

Harringay

New Cross

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References

  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 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 - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. "1951 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. "1951 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  7. "Wembley's Cup Final Win". Daily Herald. 15 September 1951. Retrieved 26 September 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
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