1932 Speedway National League

1932 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
No. of competitors9
ChampionsWembley Lions
National TrophyWembley Lions
National Association TrophyStamford Bridge Pensioners
London CupWembley Lions
Highest averageDicky Case

The National League was formed in 1932 combining teams from the Northern League and Southern League.[1] It was the fourth season of speedway in the United Kingdom.[2][3]

Summary

From the teams that finished the 1931 Northern League, Leeds Lions and Preston closed down, leaving only Belle Vue Aces and Sheffield. From the 1931 Southern League, High Beech and Lea Bridge had closed Plymouth Tigers were new competitors.

In the first half of the season, the teams competed for the National Association Trophy in a league format won by Stamford Bridge Pensioners. During this phase Southampton Saints moved to Lea Bridge and rode as Clapton Saints and at the end of the phase Sheffield dropped out.

In the second half of the season Wembley Lions won the inaugural National League title. Dicky Case of the Wimbledon Dons finished with the highest average.

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 16 13 0 3 26
2 Crystal Palace Glaziers 16 11 1 4 23
3 Belle Vue Aces 16 9 1 6 19
4 Stamford Bridge Pensioners 16 8 1 7 17
5 Wimbledon Dons 16 8 1 7 17
6 West Ham Hammers 16 7 0 9 14
7 Coventry 16 6 0 10 12
8 Clapton Saints 16 4 0 12 8
9 Plymouth Tigers 16 4 0 12 8

Fixtures & results

Home \ Away BV CLA COV CP PLY SB WEM WH WIM
Belle Vue 38–16 38–15 32–22 35–15 31–23 29–25 35–18 26–26
Clapton 21–32 24–27 28–26 36–18 31–23 20–34 21–31 35–19
Coventry 32.5–21.5 28–25 22–31 34–18 29–25 22–29 30–24 24–29
Crystal Palace 30–24 35–19 31–22 31–20 27–27 30–24 25–27 34–20
Plymouth 23–25 33–20 31–22 19–35 30–22 16–35 32–18 22–29
Stamford Bridge 30–22 39–15 37–16 25–29 39–15 29–25 31–22 34–19
Wembley 41–13 33–20 30–24 29–25 27–24 30–24 33–20 29–25
West Ham 29–25 29–22 35–18 25–26 34–20 20–33 14–40 28–25
Wimbledon 27–26 35–17 35–19 23–31 33.5–20.5 28–26 23–31 31–23
Source: [4]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top Ten Riders

Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Dicky Case Australia Wimbledon 10.42
2 Ginger Lees England Wembley 10.40
3 Wal Phillips England Stamford Bridge 10.33
4 Syd Jackson England Coventry 10.13
5 Ron Johnson Australia Crystal Palace 9.60
6 Vic Huxley Australia Wimbledon 9.50
7 Eric Langton England Belle Vue 9.33
8 Nobby Key England Crystal Palace 8.89
9 Jack Parker England Clapton 8.80
10 Frank Arthur Australia Stamford Bridge 8.64

National Trophy

The 1932 National Trophy was the second edition of the Knockout Cup.[5]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
06/07 Clapton 57-35 Plymouth
05/07 Plymouth 44-50 Clapton

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
27/07 Clapton 50-44 Coventry
28/07 Coventry 55-41 Clapton
30/07 Crystal Palace 51-43 Wimbledon
13/08 Stamford Bridge 46-45 Wembley
04/08 Wembley 54-42 Stamford Bridge
26/07 West Ham 51-42 Belle Vue
15/08 Wimbledon 54-42 Crystal Palace
23/07 Belle Vue 64-32 West Ham

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
10/09 Belle Vue 56-37 Wimbledon
03/09 Coventry 38-56 Wembley
08/09 Wembley 63-33 Coventry
19/09 Wimbledon 50-46 Belle Vue

Final

First leg

Wembley Lions
Ginger Lees 12
George Greenwood 12
Wally Kilmister 11
Jack Ormston 7
Norman Evans 7
Harry Whitfield 7
Lionel Van Praag 6
Gordon Byers 4		66 – 29Belle Vue Aces
Eric Gregory 7
Bob Harrison 6
Eric Langton 6
Frank Varey 3
Joe Abbott 3
Harold Hastings 2
Max Grosskreutz 1
Jack Dixon 1
Dusty Haigh 0
Larry Boulton 0
[6]

Second leg

Belle Vue Aces
Frank Varey 12
Eric Langton 12
Max Grosskreutz 9
Eric Gregory 7
Joe Abbott 6
Dusty Haigh 6
Bob Harrison 5
Harold Hastings 1		58 – 37Wembley Lions
Lionel Van Praag 7
Jack Ormston 6
Harry Whitfield 6
Ginger Lees 5
George Greenwood 5
Wally Kilmister 4
Norman Evans 1
Gordon Byers 1
Charlie Shelton 1
Colin Watson 1
[6]

Wembley were declared National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 103-87.

National Association Trophy

The National Association Trophy was won by Stamford Bridge.[7]

Final table

Team PL W D L Pts
Stamford Bridge Pensioners 18 16 0 2 32
Wembley Lions 18 14 0 4 28
Crystal Palace Glaziers 18 12 0 6 24
Belle Vue Aces 18 11 0 7 22
West Ham Hammers 18 11 0 7 22
Wimbledon Dons 18 11 0 7 22
Clapton Saints 18 5 0 13 10
Coventry 18 5 0 13 10
Sheffield 18 3 0 15 6
Plymouth Tigers 18 2 0 16 4

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon 53–38 , 37–57 Stamford Bridge
Clapton 42–48, 42–54 Crystal Palace
West Ham bye
Wembley bye

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
West Ham 47–49, 41.5–46.5 Stamford Bridge
Wembley 65–30, 37–56 Crystal Palace

Final

First leg

Stamford Bridge
Wal Phillips 12
Frank Arthur 11
Jack Chapman 7
Dick Smythe 6
Bill Stanley 5
Gus Kuhn 4
Jack Bishop 2
Charlie Blacklock 1
Frank Bond 0		48–47Wembley
Jack Ormston 8
Lionel Van Praag 8
Ginger Lees 8
Norman Evans 6
Gordon Byers 5
Wally Kilmister 5
Colin Watson 4
Charlie Shelton 3

Second leg

Wembley
Ginger Lees 10
Harry Whitfield 9
Jack Ormston 7
Norman Evans 7
Gordon Byers 7
Colin Watson 6
Wally Kilmister 4
Charlie Shelton 1
Lionel Van Praag 1		52–44Stamford Bridge
Wal Phillips 12
rank Arthur 11
Dick Smythe 9
Jack Chapman 5
Gus Kuhn 3
Ted Bravery 3
Bill Stanley 1
Charlie Blacklock 0
[8]

Wembley won on aggregate 99–92


Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Clapton

Coventry

Crystal Palace

Plymouth

Stamford Bridge

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References

  1. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  2. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  3. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. ^ "1932 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  5. ^ "1932 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. ^ a b "1932 National Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  7. ^ "1932 National Association Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  8. ^ "London Speedway Cup". Daily News (London). 30 September 1932. Retrieved 16 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.