1950 Speedway National League

1950 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
No. of competitors9
ChampionsWembley Lions
National TrophyWimbledon Dons
London CupWembley Lions
Highest averageGraham Warren
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
National League (Div 3)

The 1950 National League Division One was the 16th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the fifth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

Summary

Bristol Bulldogs joined the league. Wembley Lions won the National League for the fifth time.[2][3][4]

The Odsal Boomerangs became the Odsal Tudors during the season, the name change came at the end of July, possibly as a consequence of the events of 1 July. On 1 July 1950, 47-year-old Joe Abbott was killed instantly following a crash at Odsal Stadium in a league match against West Ham Hammers. After falling and hitting the safety fence he was hit by a rider behind. Jock Shead, a second rider was killed on the same night in a division 2 fixture.[5]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 32 24 0 8 48
2 Belle Vue Aces 32 19 0 13 38
3 Wimbledon Dons 32 17 1 14 35
4 New Cross Rangers 32 16 1 15 33
5 West Ham Hammers 32 16 0 16 32
6 Bradford Tudors 32 16 0 16 32
7 Bristol Bulldogs 32 15 0 17 30
8 Birmingham Brummies 32 12 0 20 24
9 Harringay Racers 32 8 0 24 16

Top Ten Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Graham Warren Australia Birmingham 10.55
2 Norman Parker England Wimbledon 10.17
3 Tommy Price England Wembley 9.79
4 Jack Parker England Belle Vue 9.42
5 Vic Duggan Australia Harringay 9.30
6 Alec Statham England Wimbledon 9.21
7 Cyril Roger England New Cross 9.21
8 Louis Lawson England Belle Vue 9.19
9 Bert Roger England New Cross 9.04
10 Eric French England New Cross 8.81

National Trophy Stage Three

The 1950 National Trophy was the 13th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third division clubs, stage two was for the second division clubs and stage three was for the top-tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Wimbledon Dons won the third and final stage and were therefore declared the 1950 National Trophy champions.[6]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
29/07 Belle Vue 80-28 New Cross
26/07 New Cross 48-60 Belle Vue
01/08 Halifax 50-58 Harringay
28/07 Harringay 68-39 Halifax

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
12/08 Belle Vue 55-52 Wimbledon
14/08 Wimbledon 67-41 Belle Vue
10/08 Wembley 53-51 Birmingham
05/08 Birmingham 79-29 Wembley
12/08 Bradford 80-28 Bristol
11/08 Bristol 66-42 Bradford
11/08 Harringay 62-46 West Ham
08/08 West Ham 62-46 Harringay
01/09
replay		 Harringay 49-59 West Ham
29/08
replay		 West Ham 59-49 Harringay

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
12/09 West Ham 56-51 Bradford
09/09 Bradford 70-38 West Ham
28/08 Wimbledon 61-47 Birmingham
26/08 Birmingham 42-66 Wimbledon

Final

First leg

Bradford Tudors
Ron Clarke 16
Jack Biggs 14
Oliver Hart 10
Dick Seers 8
Ronnie Peace 6
Ernie Price 6
Norman Price 1		61 – 47Wimbledon Dons
Dennis Gray 9
Ronnie Moore 9
Cyril Brine 7
Mike Erskine 6
Ernie Roccio 6
Norman Parker4
Jim Gregory 4
Alec Statham 2
[7]

Second leg

Wimbledon Dons
Dennis Gray 15
Cyril Brine 13
Norman Parker 11
Reg Trott 9
Ernie Roccio 8
Alec Statham 7
Ronnie Moore 7
Mike Erskine 2		72 – 36Bradford Tudors
Ron Clarke 12
Jack Biggs 8
Dick Seers 4
Ernie Price 4
Norman Price 3
Ken Brown 3
Oliver Hart 2
Ron Peace 1
[8]

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 119–97, the trophy was presented by Vera Lynn.[7]

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
New Cross 45–62, 33–74 Wimbledon
West Ham 66–42, 46–62 Walthamstow

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Wembley 58–50, 51–56 Harringay
Wimbledon 56–50, 54–54 West Ham

Final

First leg

Wembley
Tommy Price 13
Freddie Williams 12
George Wilks 8
Bob Oakley 7
Bill Gilbert 7
Eric Williams 6
Bruce Abernethy 2
Bill Kitchen 1		56–51Wimbledon
Ronnie Moore 13
Ernie Roccio 11
Norman Parker 9
Cyril Brine 6
Mike Erskine 5
Alec Statham 3
Dennis Gray 2
Jim Gregory 2

Second leg

Wimbledon
Cyril Brine 13
Ernie Roccio 10
Norman Parker 10
Mike Erskine 9
Ronnie Moore 6
Dennis Gray 3
Reg Trott 3
Alec Statham 2		56–52Wembley
Bob Oakley 14
Tommy Price 10
Freddie Williams 9
Bruce Abernethy 7
Bill Gilbert 6
George Wilks 4
Bill Kitchen 2
Eric Williams 0
[9]

Wembley won on aggregate 108–107

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Bradford

Bristol

Harringay

New Cross

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. ^ "Twod Riders Killed". Weekly Dispatch (London). 2 July 1950. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "1950 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. ^ a b "1950 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Odsal beaten in speedway final". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 26 September 1950. Retrieved 26 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Speedway Fans boo cup result". South Western Star. 15 September 1950. Retrieved 24 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.