1948 Speedway National League Division Two

1948 Speedway National League Division Two
LeagueNational League Division Two
No. of competitors9
ChampionsBristol Bulldogs
National Trophy (Div 2 final)Birmingham Brummies
Highest averageFred Tuck
Division/s aboveNational League (Div 1)
Division/s belowNational League (Div 3)

The 1948 National League Division Two was the third post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Edinburgh Monarchs were new participants as the league was extended to 9 teams.[1]

Bristol Bulldogs were crowned champions, whilst Wigan Warriors were replaced by Fleetwood Flyers after just 3 away matches with their entire team transferring.[2]

32-year-old Bill Wilson of the Middlesbrough Bears was fatally injured, on 3 July at Norwich and died two days later in hospital.[3][4]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Bristol Bulldogs 32 23 0 9 46
2 Birmingham Brummies 32 20 1 11 41
3 Middlesbrough Bears 32 18 2 12 38
4 Sheffield Tigers 32 17 1 14 35
5 Norwich Stars 32 17 0 15 34
6 Glasgow White City Tigers 32 14 3 15 31
7 Newcastle Diamonds 32 11 0 21 22
8 Fleetwood Flyers 32 10 1 21 21
9 Edinburgh Monarchs 32 10 0 22 20

Fixtures & results

A fixtures

Home \ Away BIR BRI ED FLE GLA MID NEW NOR SHE
Birmingham 39–44 59–25 40–44 53–31 42–42 50–34 51–33 57–27
Bristol 65–19 64–20 49–35 53–31 49–35 57–27 60–24 61–23
Edinburgh 43–41 38–46 45–39 39–44 45–39 29–55 39–45 47–36
Fleetwood 38–46 41–42 34–49 48–36 37–47 44–39 31–53 39–45
Glasgow 48–36 36–48 49–35 49–34 37–47 47–35 41–42 55–29
Middlesbrough 65–18 50–33 57–27 65–19 61–22 59–25 57–27 51–33
Newcastle 49–35 37–47 53–31 38–45 37–46 39–45 50–34 39–44
Norwich 50–34 56–28 56–28 45–37 53–31 39–45 54–30 62–21
Sheffield 50–34 43–40 60–23 48–36 55–28 45–39 46–38 45–39
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

B fixtures

Home \ Away BIR BRI ED FLE GLA MID NEW NOR SHE
Birmingham 62–22 58–26 62–22 65–19 64–19 66–18 58–26 58–26
Bristol 52–32 64–19 57–27 65–18 56–28 67–17 49–35 55–29
Edinburgh 33–51 53–31 42–41 52–32 56–27 45–39 33–51 39–44
Fleetwood 40–44 51–33 50–34 40–44 48–36 52–32 53–31 53–31
Glasgow 39–45 46–38 63–21 42–42 55–29 54–30 60–24 42–42
Middlesbrough 39–45 38–45 66–18 51–33 42–42 56–28 51–33 47–37
Newcastle 48–36 51–33 58–26 43–41 50–34 38–46 52–32 43–41
Norwich 40–44 34–50 52–32 53–30 66–18 39–45 54–30 46–38
Sheffield 38–45 51–32 64–20 54–30 34–50 57–27 66–18 53–31
Source: [6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Anniversary Cup (Div 2)

The Anniversary Cup for Division Two was run in a league format. Birmingham Brummies came out on top.

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Birmingham Brummies 16 12 0 4 24
2 Sheffield Tigers 16 9 0 7 16
3 Bristol Bulldogs 16 8 0 8 16
4 Glasgow White City Tigers 16 8 0 8 16
5 Middlesbrough Bears 16 8 0 8 16
6 Norwich Stars 16 7 1 8 15
7 Fleetwood Flyers 16 7 1 8 15
8 Newcastle Diamonds 16 6 0 10 12
9 Edinburgh Monarchs 16 6 0 10 12

Top Five Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Fred Tuck England Bristol 10.20
2 Frank Hodgson England Middlesbrough 9.84
3 Graham Warren Australia Birmingham 9.84
4 Wilf Plant England Middlesbrough/Fleetwood 9.24
5 Jack Hunt New Zealand Newcastle 9.22

National Trophy

The 1948 Trophy (sponsored by the Daily Mail) was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.[7] The Qualifying event for Division 3 teams saw Southampton Saints win the final and qualify for the Elimination event. The Elimination event for Division 2 teams saw Birmingham Brummies win the final and qualify for the Quarter Finals proper.

Elimination Event First Round

Date Team One Score Team Two
19/06 Birmingham 79-29 Southampton
15/06 Southampton 41-66 Birmingham
16/06 Glasgow White City 70-38 Edinburgh
19/06 Edinburgh 62-46 Glasgow White City

Elimination Second Round

Date Team One Score Team Two
17/06 Sheffield 55-53 Norwich
19/06 Norwich 76-32 Sheffield
03/07 Birmingham 80-28 Glasgow White City
23/06 Glasgow White City 45.5-61.5 Birmingham
18/06 Bristol 65-43 Fleetwood
22/06 Fleetwood 69-39 Bristol
14/06 Newcastle 41-65 Middlesbrough
17/06 Middlesbrough 67-40 Newcastle

Elimination Third Round

Date Team One Score Team Two
26/07 Birmingham 75-33 Fleetwood
13/07 Fleetwood 49-59 Birmingham
03/07 Norwich 66-41 Middlesbrough
01/07 Middlesbrough 53-54 Norwich

Elimination Final

First leg

Norwich Stars
Aussie Powell 15
Paddy Mills 12
Ted Bravery 9
Geoff Revett 9
Sid Littlewood 9
Phil Clarke 7
Jack Freeman 3
Reg Morgan 0		64 – 43Birmingham Brummies
Graham Warren 15
Charlie May 10
Doug McLachlan 6
Geoff Bennett 5
Buck Whitby 4
Arthur Payne 2
Stan Dell 1
Brian Wilson 0
[8][9]

Second leg

Birmingham Brummies
Graham Warren 15
Arthur Payne 14
Stan Dell 13
Doug McLachlan 9
Brian Wilson 9
Geoff Bennett 8
Charlie May 6
Buck Whitby 5		79 – 28Norwich Stars
Paddy Mills 10
Ossie Powell 5
Phil Clarke 5
Geoff Revett 3
Ted Bravery 2
Sid Littlewood 2
Jack Freeman 1
Reg Morgan 0
[10][9]

Riders & final averages

Birmingham

Bristol

Edinburgh

Fleetwood

  • England Wilf Plant 9.47
  • England Dick Geary] 9.03
  • England Norman Hargreaves 7.46
  • England Jack Gordon 6.06
  • England Cyril Cooper 5.68
  • England Reg Lambourne 5.18
  • England Ron Hart 4.70
  • England Ernie Appleby 4.54
  • England Percy Brine 4.14
  • Australia Dick Seers 2.40
  • England Jack Winstanley 1.60

Glasgow

Middlesbrough

Newcastle

Norwich

Sheffield

See also

References

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Norwich the Firs Stadium". National Speedway Museum. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Still unconscious". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 5 July 1948. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "1948 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  6. ^ "1948 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  7. ^ "1948 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  8. ^ "Norwich feat". Weekly Dispatch (London). 1 August 1948. Retrieved 28 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ a b "Norwich 1948 results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Speedway win for Blues". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 3 August 1948. Retrieved 28 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.