1948 Speedway National League Division Two
League | National League Division Two |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 9 |
Champions | Bristol Bulldogs |
National Trophy (Div 2 final) | Birmingham Brummies |
Highest average | Fred Tuck |
Division/s above | National League (Div 1) |
Division/s below | National 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
[edit]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 |
- Wigan Warriors were replaced by Fleetwood Flyers after 3 away matches
The Anniversary Cup for Division Two was run in a league format. Birmingham Brummies came out on top.
Anniversary Cup (Div 2) Final table
[edit]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)
[edit]Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fred Tuck | ![]() |
Bristol | 10.20 |
2 | Frank Hodgson | ![]() |
Middlesbrough | 9.84 |
3 | Graham Warren | ![]() |
Birmingham | 9.84 |
4 | Wilf Plant | ![]() |
Middlesbrough/Fleetwood | 9.24 |
5 | Jack Hunt | ![]() |
Newcastle | 9.22 |
National Trophy
[edit]The 1948 Trophy (sponsored by the Daily Mail) was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.[5] 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
[edit]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 – 43 | Birmingham 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 |
---|---|---|
[6][7] |
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 – 28 | Norwich 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 |
---|---|---|
[8][7] |
Riders & final averages
[edit]Birmingham
-
Graham Warren 9.84
-
Stan Dell 8.57
-
Doug McLachlan 8.26
-
Geoff Bennett 7.91
-
Arthur Payne 7.53
-
Brian Wilson 6.79
-
Charlie May 6.55
-
Buck Whitby 5.94
-
Roy Dook 5.46
-
Dick Tolley 5.39
Bristol
-
Fred Tuck 10.20
-
Billy Hole 8.95
-
Nobby Stock 8.60
-
Mike Beddoe 8.45
-
Roger Wise 7.94
-
Jack Mountford 7.83
-
Eric Salmon 7.40
-
Cyril Quick 5.38
-
Johnny Hole 4.37
-
Ginger Nicholls 3.25
-
Graham Hole 1.67
Edinburgh
-
Bill Maddern 7.15
-
Dick Campbell 6.68
-
Clem Mitchell 6.00
-
Eddie Lack 6.00
-
Danny Lee 5.50
-
Dennis Parker 5.32
-
Keith Cox 4.96
-
Bill Baird 4.74
-
Bert Shearer 3.75
-
Nobby Downham 3.30
-
Don Cuppleditch 2.55
Fleetwood
-
Wilf Plant 9.47
-
Dick Geary] 9.03
-
Norman Hargreaves 7.46
-
Jack Gordon 6.06
-
Cyril Cooper 5.68
-
Reg Lambourne 5.18
-
Ron Hart 4.70
-
Ernie Appleby 4.54
-
Percy Brine 4.14
-
Dick Seers 2.40
-
Jack Winstanley 1.60
Glasgow
-
Joe Crowther 8.13
-
Bat Byrnes 7.80
-
Will Lowther 7.59
-
Buck Ryan 7.20
-
Harold Fairhurst 6.21
-
Norman Lindsay 5.98
-
Junior Bainbridge 5.57
-
Gruff Garland 5.00
-
Nobby Downham 4.87
-
Gordon McGregor 3.83
-
Angus McGuire 1.50
Middlesbrough
-
Frank Hodgson 9.84
-
Wilf Plant 8.88
-
Jack Hodgson 8.77
-
Geoff Godwin 7.77
-
Benny King 6.91
-
Billy Wilson 6.23
-
Derick Close 6.22
-
Tip Mills 5.94
-
Herby King 5.45
-
Frank Bettis 4.53
-
Joe Arthur 4.00
-
George Farmer 3.75
-
Dick Tolley 3.56
Newcastle
-
Jack Hunt 9.22
-
Wilf Jay 8.72
-
Charlie Spinks 8.17
-
Norman Evans 7.41
-
Ken Le Breton 6.80
-
Alec Grant 6.66
-
Keith Gurtner 4.80
-
Rol Stobbart 4.14
-
Maurice Stobbart 3.82
-
Ed Pye 3.52
-
Peter Lloyd 3.41
-
Fred Rogers 3.17
-
Danny Calder 3.09
Norwich
-
Bert Spencer 8.61
-
Paddy Mills (Horace Burke) 8.47
-
Phil Clarke 8.10
-
Ted Bravery 6.79
-
Fred Rogers 6.63
-
Sid Hipperson 6.50
-
Ossie Powell 6.35
-
Jack Freeman 6.04
-
Syd Littlewood 5.49
-
Geoff Revett 4.91
-
Paddy Hammond 4.00
Sheffield
-
Bruce Semmens 9.09
-
Tommy Bateman 8.33
-
Tommy Allott 7.31
-
Len Williams 7.16
-
Jack Bibby 6.94
-
Stan Williams 6.77
-
Danny Lee 4.71
-
Ken Sharples 4.55
-
John Duncan White 4.21
-
Bryan Gorman 2.60
Henry Long 3.50
-
Alf Parker 1.56
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Norwich the Firs Stadium". National Speedway Museum. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Still unconscious". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 5 July 1948. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1948 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ "Norwich feat". Weekly Dispatch (London). 1 August 1948. Retrieved 28 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "Norwich 1948 results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Speedway win for Blues". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 3 August 1948. Retrieved 28 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.