1954 Speedway National League
The 1954 National League Division One was the 20th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the ninth post-war season of the highest tier of speedway.[1]
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| Champions | Wimbledon Dons |
| No. of competitors | 8 |
| National Trophy | Wembley Lions |
| London Cup | Wembley Lions |
| Midland Cup | Birmingham Brummies |
| Highest average | Ronnie Moore |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 2) 1954 Southern Area League |
Summary
Bristol dropped out of the league and joined the National League Division Two. Wimbledon won their first National League Championship, beginning a run of 7 titles in 8 years, ending a similar run by Wembley Lions. [2][3][4]
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wimbledon Dons | 28 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 44 |
| 2 | Wembley Lions | 28 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 40 |
| 3 | Bradford Tudors | 28 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 30 |
| 4 | Norwich Stars | 27 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 28 |
| 5 | West Ham Hammers | 28 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 23 |
| 6 | Harringay Racers | 28 | 10 | 1 | 17 | 21 |
| 7 | Belle Vue Aces | 27 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 18 |
| 8 | Birmingham Brummies | 28 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 18 |
Top Ten Riders (League only)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Ronnie Moore |  |
Wimbledon Dons | 10.59 |
| 2 | Jack Young | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
West Ham Hammers | 10.55 |
| 3 | Geoff Mardon | |
Wimbledon Dons | 10.43 |
| 4 | Eddie Rigg |  |
Bradford Tudors | 10.11 |
| 5 | Arthur Forrest | |
Bradford Tudors | 10.00 |
| 6 | Brian Crutcher | |
Wembley Lions | 9.98 |
| 7 | Eric Williams |  |
Wembley Lions | 9.79 |
| 8 | Barry Briggs | |
Wimbledon Dons | 9.39 |
| 9 | Freddie Williams | |
Wembley Lions | 9.18 |
| 10 | Split Waterman | |
Harringay Racers | 9.07 |
National Trophy
The 1954 National Trophy was the 17th edition of the Knockout Cup.[5]
Qualifying first round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/05 | Edinburgh | 60-48 | Leicester |
| 01/05 | Rayleigh | 65-43 | Motherwell |
| 30/04 | Bristol | 59-49 | Oxford |
| 30/04 | Leicester | 59-48 | Edinburgh |
| 30/04 | Motherwell | 64-44 | Rayleigh |
| 29/04 | Ipswich | 71-35 | Southampton |
| 29/04 | Oxford | 40-68 | Bristol |
| 29/04 | Plymouth | 45-63 | Poole |
| 27/04 | Southampton | 72-36 | Ipswich |
| 26/04 | Exeter | 59-49 | Swindon |
| 26/04 | Poole | 69-38 | Plymouth |
| 24/04 | Swindon | 65-43 | Exeter |
| 11/05 replay | Southampton | 62-46 | Ipswich |
| 06/05 replay | Ipswich | 56-52 | Southampton |
Qualifying second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/05 | Southampton | 61-47 | Coventry |
| 22/05 | Coventry | 64-44 | Southampton |
| 22/05 | Edinburgh | 65-43 | Rayleigh |
| 22/05 | Swindon | 69-39 | Wolverhampton |
| 21/05 | Bristol | 61-47 | Poole |
| 21/05 | Rayleigh | 55-52 | Edinburgh |
| 21/05 | Swindon | w/o | Wolverhampton |
| 17/05 | Poole | 63-45 | Bristol |
Qualifying Final Round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14/06 | Poole | 67-41 | Swindon |
| 12/06 | Edinburgh | 50-57 | Coventry |
| 12/06 | Swindon | 53-55 | Poole |
| 05/06 | Coventry | 56-52 | Edinburgh |
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05/07 | Coventry | 41-66 | Bradford Odsal |
| 03/07 | Belle Vue | 71-37 | Poole |
| 03/07 | Bradford Odsal | 84-24 | Coventry |
| 28/06 | Poole | 46-62 | Belle Vue |
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24/07 | Belle Vue | 61-47 | Wimbledon |
| 22/07 | Wembley | 70-37 | West Ham |
| 21/07 | Harringay | 54-54 | Bradford Odsal |
| 20/07 | West Ham | 50-58 | Wembley |
| 19/07 | Wimbledon | 76-32 | Belle Vue |
| 17/07 | Bradford Odsal | 78-30 | Harringay |
| 10/07 | Birmingham | 62-46 | Norwich |
| 08/07 | Norwich | 74-34 | Birmingham |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28/08 | Bradford Odsal | 63-45 | Wembley |
| 28/08 | Norwich | 64-44 | Wimbledon |
| 23/08 | Wimbledon | 51-57 | Norwich |
| 05/08 | Wembley | 63-44 | Bradford Odsal |
Final
First leg
| Wembley Lions Brian Crutcher 15 Eric Williams 12 Tommy Price 10 Freddie Williams 8 Fred Lang 7 Trevor Redmond 5 Eric French 4 Jimmy Gooch 0 | 61 – 46 | Norwich Stars Fred Brand 10 Cyril Roger 8 Aub Lawson 7 Bob Oakley 7 Fred Rogers 5 Phil Clarke 4 Merv Neil 3 Billy Bales 2 |
|---|---|---|
| [6] |
Second leg
| Norwich Stars Merv Neil 14 Aub Lawson 11 Bob Oakley 8 Phil Clarke 6 Fred Rogers 4 Billy Bales 2 Cyril Roger 1 Fred Brand 0 | 46 – 62 | Wembley Lions Brian Crutcher 14 Trevor Redmond 12 Freddie Williams 10 Eric Williams 8 Tommy Price 6 Fred Lang 6 Eric French 5 Jimmy Gooch 1 |
|---|---|---|
| [6] |
Wembley were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123–92.
London Cup
First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|
| Wimbledon | 61–46, 56–52 | Wembley |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|
| Harringay | 44–63, 48–60 | Wembley |
| Wimbledon | 69–38, 53–55 | West Ham |
Final
First leg
| Wembley Freddie Williams 17 Tommy Price 12 Eric Williams 12 Brian Crutcher 10 Trevor Redmond 8 Eric French 6 Fred Lang 3 Jimmy Gooch 1 | 69–38 | Wimbledon Peter Moore 11 Ronnie Moore 11 Geoff Mardon 4 Cyril Maidment 4 Don Perry 3 Reg Trott 3 Barry Briggs 2 Cyril Brine 0 |
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| Wimbledon Geoff Mardon 13 Ronnie Moore 8 Peter Moore 7 Barry Briggs 6 Cyril Brine 6 Cyril Maidment 5 Reg Trott 1 Bill Longley 1 | 47–61 | Wembley Brian Crutcher 18 Eric Williams 15 Freddie Williams 8 Eric French 8 Jimmy Gooch 5 Trevor Redmond 5 Tommy Price 2 Fred Lang 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [7] |
Wembley won on aggregate 130–85
Midland Cup
Birmingham won the Midland Cup, which consisted of four teams. There was one team from division 1 and three teams from division 2.
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | Leicester | 56–28, 47–49 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | Coventry | 61–35, 34–62 |
Final
First leg
| Birmingham Ron Mountford 12 Alan Hunt 11 Doug Davies 11 Hec Mayhead 7 Jim Tolley 6 Eric Boothroyd 6 Harry Bastable 2 Vic Hall 0 | 55–40 | Coventry Charlie New 11 Tommy Miller 9 Jim Lightfoot 5 Johnnie Reason 4 Reg Duval 4 Derrick Tailby 4 Vic Emms 2 Bob Mark 1 |
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| Coventry Charlie New 11 Tommy Miller 9 Bob Mark 8 Johnnie Reason 7 Les Tolley 7 Derrick Tailby 6 Vic Emms 6 Jim Lightfoot 1 | 55–41 | Birmingham Alan Hunt 12 Doug Davies 11 Jim Tolley 6 Eric Boothroyd 6 Vic Hall 3 Harry Bastable 1 Alan Pearce 1 Cyril Page 1 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Birmingham won on aggregate 96–95
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
- Peter Craven 8.47
- Ron Johnston 8.41
-
Rune Sörmander 7.60 - Ken Sharples 7.27
- Harry Edwards 5.66
- Don Cuppleditch 5.20
- Jack Parker 4.58
- Bob Duckworth 4.25
- Dick Fisher 3.93
-
Willie Wilson 3.28 - Bob Fletcher 2.86
- Peter Williams 1.71
Birmingham
- Alan Hunt 8.68
- Ron Mountford 7.39
- Eric Boothroyd 6.54
- Arthur Payne 5.60
- Jim Tolley 5.14
- Ivor Davies 3.72
- Les Jenkins 3.69
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Doug Davies 3.68- Hec Mayhead 3.33
- Harry Bastable 3.04
- Ron Barrett 1.84
- Dennis Bennett 1.43
Bradford
- Eddie Rigg 10.11
- Arthur Forrest 10.00
- Arthur Wright 8.83
- Ron Clarke 5.76
- Keith Milner 5.70
- Dent Oliver 5.43
- Al Allison 5.08
- Dick Seers 3.71
- Guy Allott 3.11
- Wal Morton 2.00
Harringay
- Split Waterman 9.07
- Jack Biggs 7.42
- Ron How 7.20
- Ken Walsh 5.43
- Danny Dunton 5.17
- Frank Lawrence 4.98
- Allan Quinn 4.82
- Alf Hagon 4.79
- Jeff Lloyd 4.73
Norwich
- Billy Bales 6.90
- Aub Lawson 8.87
- Fred Rogers 7.58
- Cyril Roger 7.81
- Bob Oakley 6.52
- Phil Clarke 6.51
- Merv Neil 6.46
- Fred Brand 6.48
- Roy Craighead 5.20
- Fred Pawson 3.43
- Barry East 2.55
Wembley
- Brian Crutcher 9.98
- Eric Williams 9.79
- Freddie Williams 9.18
- Trevor Redmond 7.93
- Tommy Price 7.02
- Jimmy Gooch 6.29
-
Eric French 6.26 - Fred Lang 3.66
- George Wilks 2.67
West Ham
- Jack Young 10.55
- Gerry Hussey 8.16
- Wally Green 7.35
- Bert Roger 5.64
- Howdy Byford 5.32
- Pat Clark 5.03
- Alan Smith 4.70
- Malcom Craven 4.77
- Keith Gurtner 4.26
- Terry Courtnell 3.17
Wimbledon
- Ronnie Moore 10.59
- Geoff Mardon 10.43
- Barry Briggs 9.39
- Olle Nygren 9.00
- Peter Moore 7.08
- Dom Perry 6.64
- Cyril Brine 6.47
- Bill Longley 6.09
- Cyril Maidment 5.87
- Reg Trott 4.68
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- "1953 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- "1954 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- "Wembley's Cup 9 times". Daily Herald. 31 August 1954. Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Bees just failed in Midland Cup". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 18 October 1954. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
United Kingdom Speedway Seasons | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tier One League Top division |
|  |
| Tier Two League Second division |
| |
| Tier Three League Third division | ||
| Champions | ||
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