1954 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
No. of competitors8
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
National TrophyWembley Lions
London CupWembley Lions
Midland CupBirmingham Brummies
Highest averageRonnie Moore
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
1954 Southern Area 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]

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 New Zealand Wimbledon 10.59
2 Jack Young Australia West Ham 10.55
3 Geoff Mardon New Zealand Wimbledon 10.43
4 Eddie Rigg England Bradford 10.11
5 Arthur Forrest England Bradford 10.00
6 Brian Crutcher England Wembley 9.98
7 Eric Williams Wales Wembley 9.79
8 Barry Briggs New Zealand Wimbledon 9.39
9 Freddie Williams Wales Wembley 9.18
10 Split Waterman England Harringay 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
01/05Edinburgh60-48Leicester
01/05Rayleigh65-43Motherwell
30/04Bristol59-49Oxford
30/04Leicester59-48Edinburgh
30/04Motherwell64-44Rayleigh
29/04Ipswich71-35Southampton
29/04Oxford40-68Bristol
29/04Plymouth45-63Poole
27/04Southampton72-36Ipswich
26/04Exeter59-49Swindon
26/04Poole69-38Plymouth
24/04Swindon65-43Exeter
11/05
replay		Southampton62-46Ipswich
06/05
replay		Ipswich56-52Southampton

Qualifying second round

Date Team one Score Team two
25/05Southampton61-47Coventry
22/05Coventry64-44Southampton
22/05Edinburgh65-43Rayleigh
22/05Swindon69-39Wolverhampton
21/05Bristol61-47Poole
21/05Rayleigh55-52Edinburgh
21/05Swindonw/oWolverhampton
17/05Poole63-45Bristol

Qualifying Final Round

Date Team one Score Team two
14/06Poole67-41Swindon
12/06Edinburgh50-57Coventry
12/06Swindon53-55Poole
05/06Coventry56-52Edinburgh

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
05/07Coventry41-66Bradford Odsal
03/07Belle Vue71-37Poole
03/07Bradford Odsal84-24Coventry
28/06Poole46-62Belle Vue

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
24/07Belle Vue61-47Wimbledon
22/07Wembley70-37West Ham
21/07Harringay54-54Bradford Odsal
20/07West Ham50-58Wembley
19/07Wimbledon76-32Belle Vue
17/07Bradford Odsal78-30Harringay
10/07Birmingham62-46Norwich
08/07Norwich74-34Birmingham

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
28/08Bradford Odsal63-45Wembley
28/08Norwich64-44Wimbledon
23/08Wimbledon51-57Norwich
05/08Wembley63-44Bradford 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 – 46Norwich 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 – 62Wembley 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
Wimbledon61–46, 56–52Wembley

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Harringay44–63, 48–60Wembley
Wimbledon69–38, 53–55West 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		69–38Wimbledon
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		47–61Wembley
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
OxfordLeicester56–28, 47–49

Semi final round

Team one Team two Score
OxfordCoventry61–35, 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		55–40Coventry
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		55–41Birmingham
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

Birmingham

Bradford

Harringay

Norwich

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. ↑ "1953 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. 1 2 "1954 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Wembley's Cup 9 times". Daily Herald. 31 August 1954. Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "Bees just failed in Midland Cup". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 18 October 1954. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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