1947 Speedway National League Division Three

1947 Speedway National League Division Three
LeagueNational League Division Three
Season1947
No. of competitors8
ChampionsEastbourne Eagles
Highest averagePeter Robinson
Division/s aboveDivision One
Division Two

The 1947 National League Division Three was the inaugural season of British speedway's National League Division Three[1] Speedway in 1947 was restricted in terms of fixtures and attendances following the fallout from World War II.[2]

With several new teams joining British Speedway in 1947, a third league tier was created for the first time.[3] The new teams included the Cradley Heath Cubs, racing at Dudley Wood Stadium,[4] Hanley Potters following an eight-year absence from British speedway[5] and Exeter Falcons after a lease was signed by Motor Sports (Exeter) Ltd (led by Frank Buckland) with the landlords County Athletic Ground Company.[6]

Eastbourne Eagles won the title in their first season of league speedway.[7][8]

Peter Robinson of Southampton topped the averages.[9]

Final table

Pos Team P W D L F A Pts Diff
1 Eastbourne Eagles 28 18 0 10 1260 1057 36 +203
2 Cradley Heath Cubs 28 18 0 10 1215 1116 36 +99
3 Southampton Saints 28 17 1 10 1113 1197 35 -84
4 Exeter Falcons 28 15 0 13 1193.5 1131.5 30 +62
5 Tamworth Hounds 28 12 0 16 1159 1179 24 -20
6 Hanley Potters 28 12 0 16 1113 1197 24 -84
7 Wombwell Colliers 28 12 0 16 1100 1225 24 -125
8 Plymouth Devils 28 7 1 20 995 1330 15 -335

A fixtures

Home \ Away CH EAS EX HAN PLY SOT TAM WOM
Cradley Heath 50–34 50–34 49–34 54–30 47–37 44–40 46–36
Eastbourne 58–24 49–32 55–29 56–27 35–46 54–27 51–33
Exeter 57–26 50–32 62–20 55–28 43–41 56–28 50–31
Hanley 41–43 43–40 49–33 59–23 43–40 49–34 47–33
Plymouth 40–42 30–54 40–43 41–42 39–44 41–43 43–40
Southampton 53–30 39–44 47.5–36.5 55–27 49–34 55–29 57–27
Tamworth 41–43 40–44 48–36 54–30 44–38 41–42 48–35
Wombwell 47–37 46–37 48–35 44–38 54–30 37–47 50–34
Source: [10]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

B fixtures

Home \ Away CH EAS EX HAN PLY SOT TAM WOM
Cradley Heath 59–25 61–22 59–23 62–22 57–27 35–48 59–25
Eastbourne 55–28 50–33 48–32 52–29 48–34 44–39 52–30
Exeter 62–22 47–37 52–31 53–30 53–31 47–37 43–41
Hanley 37–47 36–46 54–23 63–20 57–26 35–49 45–36
Plymouth 45–33 47–37 44–40 47–36 42–42 44–40 54–29
Southampton 59–24 51–33 55–29 61–23 62–22 48–35 53–31
Tamworth 41–43 33–50 50–34 46–38 54–29 50–34 54–30
Wombwell 43–41 43–40 51–33 40–44 48–36 41–39 51–32
Source: [11]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Leading averages

Rider Team C.M.A.
1 Peter Robinson Southampton 10.57
2 Cyril Roger Exeter 10.34
3 Wally Green Eastbourne 10.20
4 Basil Harris Eastbourne 9.54
5 Bob Oakley Southampton 9.37

Riders & final averages

Cradley Heath

  • Geoff Bennett 9.36
  • Les Beaumont 8.40
  • Eric Irons 7.44
  • Jimmy Wright 7.04
  • Bob Fletcher 6.90
  • Alan Hunt 6.10
  • Ray Beaumont 5.88
  • Phil Malpass 5.03
  • Frank Evans 4.34

Eastbourne

  • Wally Green 10.20
  • Basil Harris 9.46
  • Jock Grierson 8.46
  • Jimmy Coy 7.25
  • Ken Tidbury 6.29
  • Harry Saunders 5.71
  • Ron Clarke 4.49
  • Alan Briggs 3.71
  • Bob Sivyer 3.20
  • Eric Dunn 3.20
  • Dennis Gray 3.00

Exeter

  • Cyril Roger 10.31
  • Don Hardy 7.86
  • Stan Hodson 6.92
  • Les Trim 6.62
  • Allan Chambers 6.36
  • Arthur Pilgrim 6.20
  • Johnny Myson 6.18
  • Sid Hazzard 6.08
  • Bronco Slade 5.90
  • Tom Crutcher 5.66
  • Bill Williams 3.80

Hanley

  • Dave Anderson 8.52
  • Vic Pitcher 8.44
  • Dick Howard 7.43
  • Ray Harris 6.79
  • Reg Gregory 6.15
  • Les Jenkins 6.04
  • Cyril Page 5.89
  • Gil Blake 5.30
  • George Fisher 5.23
  • Bert Danner 3.89

Plymouth

  • Ivan Kessell 7.81
  • Stan Lanfear 7.55
  • Alex Gray 6.84
  • Charlie Challis 6.56
  • Billy Newell 6.47
  • Les Covell 5.71
  • Len Read 5.10
  • Doug Bell 4.26
  • Jim Cashmore 4.20
  • Bill Deegan 4.16
  • Vic Gent 3.74
  • Jack Milross 3.71
  • Harold Sharpe 3.41
  • Bill Sale 3.14

Southampton

Tamworth

  • Steve Langton 8.00
  • Arthur Payne 7.79
  • Bill Harris 7.74
  • Vic Pitcher 7.33
  • Bill Dalton 6.67
  • Ted Gibson 6.50
  • Jack Baxter 6.64
  • Cyril Page 6.27
  • Charlie Oates 5.35
  • Jack Ladd 5.18
  • Fred Yates 4.89
  • Jack Kidd 4.00
  • Reg Challenger 2.29

Wombwell

  • Harwood Pike 8.78
  • Stan Hodson 8.15
  • Len Tupling 7.88
  • Bernard Tennant 7.11
  • Bert Lacey 6.50
  • Stan Beardsall 6.24
  • Alf Elliott 6.12
  • Red Hamley 6.03
  • Bert Thomas 5.72
  • Harry Modral 5.45
  • Sam Marsland 5.38
  • Ken Allick 5.33
  • Jeff Bishop 4.79
  • Gerry Williams 4.65
  • Reg Challenger 4.00

See also

References

  1. ^ "Speedway Researcher". www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk.
  2. ^ "Speedway must limit crowds". Daily Mirror. 27 March 1947. Retrieved 2 November 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. ^ "Speedway racing". Evening Despatch. 19 June 1947. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Hanley Speedway Thrills and Spills". Staffordshire Sentinel. 9 May 1947. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Speedway Racing". Western Morning News. 15 January 1947. Retrieved 23 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Major League Competitions". Speedway Archive.
  8. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  9. ^ "National League Division 3 1947" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  10. ^ "1947 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  11. ^ "1947 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 December 2024.