1963 Provincial Speedway League
LeagueProvincial League
ChampionsWolverhampton Wolves
No. of competitors13
Knockout CupCradley Heathens
IndividualIvan Mauger
Highest averageGeorge Hunter
Division/s above1963 National League

The 1963 Provincial Speedway League was the fourth season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom.[1] Thirteen speedway teams took part.

Season summary

Thirteen teams competed again as in 1962, despite the loss of four teams. At the start of the year Neath had folded, and their place was taken by the new track at St Austell. After finishing at the bottom of the table the previous year, Bradford and Leicester were no longer running due to financial difficulties and Plymouth had also withdrawn. Long Eaton returned to competitive racing after 12 years,[2] a new track opened at Hackney, and Rayleigh returned under new ownership after a missing the 1962 season. New Cross Rangers would have made it 14 teams after returning but closed down in August, never to re-open.[3][4]

Wolverhampton won the league but there was controversy at the end of the year when Wolverhampton refused to move up to the National League, which was dwindling in numbers. This would lead to the Provincial League running outside of the jurisdiction of the Speedway Control Board for the 1964 season.[5][6]

Final table

Pos Team M W D L Pts
1 Wolverhampton Wolves 24 15 1 8 31
2 Stoke Potters 24 14 1 9 29
3 Poole Pirates 24 14 0 10 28
4 Sheffield Tigers 24 14 0 10 28
5 St Austell Gulls 24 13 2 9 28
6 Newcastle Diamonds 24 13 1 10 27
7 Exeter Falcons 24 12 1 11 25
8 Edinburgh Monarchs 24 12 1 11 25
9 Cradley Heath Heathens 24 11 1 12 23
10 Hackney Hawks 24 10 1 13 21
11 Middlesbrough Bears 24 9 2 13 20
12 Long Eaton Archers 24 7 2 15 16
13 Rayleigh Rockets 24 5 1 18 11

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Top Five Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 George Hunter Scotland Edinburgh 11.09
2 Ivan Mauger New Zealand Newcastle 10.42
3 Ivor Brown England Cradley 10.30
4 Jimmy Squibb England New Cross/Exeter 10.30
5 Clive Featherby England Sheffield 10.05

Provincial League Knockout Cup

The 1963 Provincial League Knockout Cup was the fourth edition of the Knockout Cup for the Provincial League teams. Cradley Heathens were the winners.[7]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
30/04New Cross58–37St Austell
03/06Rayleigh35–61Stoke
18/06Long Eaton43–52Newcastle
20/06Middlesbrough58–38Wolverhampton
20/06Sheffield57–39Exeter
03/07Poole50–46Edinburgh

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
08/07Newcastle65–31Middlesbrough
10/07Hackney54–42New Cross
10/07Poole44–52Sheffield
05/08Cradley Heath55–41Stoke

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
12/08Newcastle60–36Hackney
31/08Cradley Heath61–35Sheffield

Final

Date Team one Score Team two
30/09Newcastle50–45Cradley Heath
02/10Cradley Heath64–32Newcastle

Riders' Championship

Ivan Mauger won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Hyde Road on 28 September.[8]

Pos.RiderPtsTotal
1New Zealand Ivan Mauger3,2,3,311+3
2England Jack Kitchen3,2,3,311+2
3Scotland Ross Gilbertson1,3,3,29+3+1
4Scotland George Hunter1,2,3,39+4+0
5Australia Ray Cresp3,1,2,39+2
6England Clive Featherby3,2,2,29+1
7England Maury Mattingley2,3,2,29+0
8Scotland Doug Templeton3,2,3,08
9England Ivor Brown2,1,2,38
10Australia Geoff Mudge1,3,2,17
11England Eric Boocock2,1,1,37
12England Jimmy Squibb2,3,0,16
13England Rick France2,3,0,05
14England Ron Bagley3,0,1,15
15Australia Charlie Monk0,0,3,25
16England Colin Pratt2,2,0,04
17England Cliff Cox1,0,2,13
18England Les McGillivray1,0,0,23
19England George Major0,1,0,23
20New Zealand Trevor Redmond0,1,1,3
21England John Hart0,2,0,02
22England Ken Adams0,0,1,12
23England Maury McDermott1,0,1,02
24England Norman Hunter0,1,1,02

Riders & final averages

Cradley Heath

Edinburgh

Exeter

  • England Len Silver 9.58
  • England Alan Cowland 8.40
  • England Cliff Cox 8.29
  • England Francis Cann 7.79
  • England Pete Lansdale 6.94
  • England Howdy Byford 5.88
  • England Dennis Day 5.29
  • England Pat Flanagan 4.73
  • Scotland George Summers 4.00
  • England Gordon Bailey 3.29

Hackney

Long Eaton

Middlesbrough

Newcastle

New Cross (withdrew mid-season)

Poole

Rayleigh

  • England Les McGillivray 8.47
  • England Maury McDermott 7.76
  • England Stan Clark 6.15
  • England Vic Ridgeon 5.97
  • England Derek Strutt 5.75
  • England Harry Edwards 5.74
  • England Roy Bowers 4.62
  • England Sandy McGillivray 3.20
  • England John Mills 2.73

St Austell

Sheffield

Stoke

Wolverhampton

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Championship History". Poole Speedway. 2008. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  2. ↑ "Speedway back after 12 years". Nottingham Evening Post. 2 March 1963. Retrieved 16 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  4. ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  6. ↑ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "1963 Provincial League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Squibb & Cox not in hunt". Express and Echo. 30 September 1963. Retrieved 13 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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