1956 Southern Area League

The 1956 Southern Area League was the third season of the regional third tier/division of speedway racing in the United Kingdom British teams. Brafield Flying Foxes were no longer competitors with Southern Rovers taking their place. Southern Rovers had no track and raced all their 'home' fixtures on away tracks.[1]

1956 Southern Area League
LeagueSouthern Area League
ChampionsRye House Roosters
No. of competitors4
Riders' ChampionLeo McAuliffe
Highest averageVic Ridgeon
Division/s aboveNational League Div 1
National League Div 2

Summary

Rye House Roosters were the champions for the second consecutive season.[2] Vic Ridgeon of Rye House topped the averages.[3]

Although the Southern Area League continued, it became the second tier division instead of the third tier division. There was not another third division of British speedway until 1996 when the Conference was inaugurated.

Final table
pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Rye House Roosters 12 8 1 3 17
2 Eastbourne Eagles 12 6 1 5 13
3 Southern Rovers 12 4 2 6 10
4 California Poppies 12 4 0 8 8

Riders' Championship

Leo McAuliffe won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Rye House Stadium on 30 September, after initially being postponed on the 9 September because of rain.[4][5]

Pos.RiderClubPts
1Leo McAuliffeEastbourne14
2Jim HeardEastbourne12+3
3Dave SlaterRye House12+2
4Pete MouldCalifornia12+1
5Gerry KingRye House8
6Brian BrettRye House8
7Jimmy GleedCalifornia7
8Vic RidgeonRye House7
9Ron WebbCalifornia5
10Eric EadonSouthern Rovers5
11Tom ReaderEastbourne5
12Neil Roberts (res)Southern Rovers5
13Bobby CroombsRye House4
14Ross GilbertsonCalifornia4
15Dave CollettEastbourne3
16Jim ChalkleyRye House2
17Ron WaltonCalifornia2
18Colin Gooddy (res)Southern Rovers1

Riders & final averages

California

  • Pete Mold 9.67
  • Gil Goldfinch 9.50
  • Ross Gilbertson 8.86
  • Ron Sharp 8.57
  • Jimmy Gleed 6.93
  • Ron Walton 4.91
  • Phil Sheppard 4.47
  • Roy Gutteridge 3.50
  • John Day 3.33
  • Ron Webb 2.88

Eastbourne

  • Leo McAuliffe 8.57
  • Jimmy Heard 7.14
  • Tom Reader 7.00
  • Gerry Bridson 5.87
  • Dave Collett 5.33
  • Bob Bunney 4.80
  • Jim Preddy 2.00

Rye House

  • Al Sparrey 9.67
  • Vic Ridgeon 9.50
  • Bobby Croombs 8.60
  • Dave Slater 9.67
  • Brian Brett 7.56
  • Gerry King 7.20
  • Jim Chalkley 5.80
  • Les Searle 2.00

Southern Rovers

  • Eric Hockaday 9.47
  • Tommy Sweetman 9.09
  • Colin Gooddy 8.52
  • Brian Meredith 7.33
  • Eric Eadon 7.11
  • Brian Miller 5.33
  • Tony Eadon 4.31
  • Mike Lawrence 4.24
  • Neil Roberts 4.00
  • Hank Bird 3.08

See also

References
  1. "Major League Competitions". Speedway Archive.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Southern Area League 1956" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  4. "Surprises at the last speedway meeting". Eastbourne Gazette. 10 October 1956. Retrieved 10 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Southern Area League Riders Championship". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
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