1952 Speedway National League

1952 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
No. of competitors10
ChampionsWembley Lions
National TrophyHarringay Racers
London CupHarringay Racers
Highest averageRonnie Moore
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
1952 Southern League

The 1952 National League Division One was the 18th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the seventh post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

Summary

Norwich Stars joined the league. Wembley Lions won their fourth consecutive title and their seventh overall. Birmingham recorded their highest league finish to date by taking the runner-up spot.[2][3][4]

While riding for Wimbledon, on 22 July 1952 the American Ernie Roccio was killed after crashing into the fence at high speed at West Ham Stadium, it has been reported that he died instantly but the newspaper report states he died in hospital.[5]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 36 28 1 7 57
2 Birmingham Brummies 36 23 0 13 46
3 Harringay Racers 36 21 3 12 45
4 West Ham Hammers 36 18 2 16 38
5 Wimbledon Dons 36 17 2 17 36
6 Belle Vue Aces 36 18 0 18 36
7 New Cross Rangers 36 15 1 20 31
8 Bristol Bulldogs 36 13 0 23 26
9 Bradford Tudors 36 11 1 24 23
10 Norwich Stars 36 10 2 24 22

Top Ten Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon 11.27
2 Jack Young Australia West Ham 10.88
3 Bob Leverenz Australia Norwich 10.29
4 Alan Hunt England Birmingham 10.00
5 Split Waterman England Harringay 9.96
6 Freddie Williams Wales Wembley 9.76
7 Tommy Price England Wembley 9.31
8 Cyril Brine England Wimbledon 9.00
9 Eddie Rigg England Bradford 8.82
10 Bert Roger England New Cross 8.79

National Trophy Stage Three

The 1952 National Trophy was the 15th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third-tier clubs, stage two was for the second-tier 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. Harringay won the third and final stage and were therefore declared the 1952 National Trophy champions.[6]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
19/07 Norwich 74-34 Poole
12/07 Birmingham 79-29 Bristol
04/07 Bristol 46-62 Birmingham
05/07 Bradford Odsal 67-40 West Ham
01/07 West Ham 66-42 Bradford Odsal

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
11/08 Birmingham 69-39 Belle Vue
26/07 Belle Vue 59-49 Birmingham
26/07 Bradford Odsal 58-50 Wembley
26/07 Poole 72-36 New Cross
23/07 New Cross 75-33 Poole
21/07 Wimbledon 57-51 Harringay
18/07 Harringay 57-50 Wimbledon
17/07 Wembley 66-41 Bradford Odsal

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
21/08 Wembley 59-49 Birmingham
16/08 Birmingham 69-39 Wembley
15/08 Harringay 57-51 New Cross
13/08 New Cross 43-64 Harringay

Final

First leg

Birmingham Brummies
Arthur Payne 17
Graham Warren 11
Eric Boothroyd 9
Ron Mountford 7
Ivor Davies 7
Cyril Page 5
Ron Mason 1
Cecil Hookham 0		57 – 51Harringay Racers
Ken Walsh 11
Jack Biggs 10
Ron How 8
Arthur Atkinson 7
Maury Dunn 5
Danny Dunton 4
Split Waterman 3
Jeff Lloyd 3
[7]

Second leg

Harringay Racers
Jack Biggs 17
Ron How 12
Jeff Lloyd 11
Maury Dunn 10
Arthur Atkinson 10
Ken Walsh 6
Danny Dunton 5
Split Waterman 3		72 – 35Birmingham Brummies
Arthur Payne 15
Eric Boothroyd 6
Nobby Stock 6
Ivor Davies 2
Howdy Byford 2
Cyril Page 1
Ron Mason 1
Cecil Hookham 0
[7]

Harringay were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123–92.

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
West Ham 63–45, 49–58 New Cross

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Wembley 49–59, 53–55 Wimbledon
Harringay 56–51, 54–53 West Ham

Final

First leg

Wimbledon
Ronnie Moore 12
Geoff Mardon 12
Cyril Brine 8
Reg Trott 6
Dennis Gray 6
Cyril Maidment 2
Barry Briggs 2
Mike Beddoe 0		48–57Harringay
Jack Biggs 11
Split Waterman 11
Maury Dunn 8
Jeff Lloyd 8
Ron How 7
Danny Dunton 6
Nobby Stock 4
Arthur Atkinson 2
[8]

Second leg

Harringay
Split Waterman 13
Jeff Lloyd 11
Maury Dunn 8
Ron How 8
Jack Biggs 7
Danny Dunton 4
Arthur Atkinson 3
Nobby Stock 2		56–52Wimbledon
Ronnie Moore 16
Cyril Brine 13
Geoff Mardon 12
Reg Trott 4
Barry Briggs 3
Dennis Gray 2
Cyril Maidment 2
Don Perry 1
[9]

Harringay won on aggregate 113–100

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Bradford

Bristol

Harringay

New Cross

Norwich

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. ^ "Speed Track Star Dies". Western Daily Press. 23 July 1952. Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "1952 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. ^ a b "1952 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  8. ^ "1952 fixtures and results" (PDF). British Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Norwich rider out for season". Daily Herald. 9 August 1952. Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.