1962 Speedway National League
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| Champions | Southampton Saints |
| No. of competitors | 7 |
| National Trophy | Wimbledon Dons |
| Highest average | Ronnie Moore |
| Division/s below | 1962 Provincial League |
The 1962 National League was the 28th season and the seventeenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
Summary
With the withdrawal of New Cross Rangers and with Leicester Hunters moving down to the Provincial League, the entry list was 8 teams and so home and away fixtures were raced twice. Southampton Saints broke the domination of Wimbledon Dons by winning their first National League title.[2][3][4]
Ipswich Witches' season was a complete disaster. Their new signing Olle Nygren did not even start the season due to ill-health and then Jack Unstead was killed in the first recorded fatal crash at Foxhall Stadium, on 13 April 1962.[5] The club later withdrew from the league due to financial issues and their results were expunged.[6]
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Southampton Saints | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 36 |
| 2 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 29 |
| 3 | Coventry Bees | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
| 4 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| 5 | Norwich Stars | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| 6 | Swindon Robins | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 20 |
| 7 | Oxford Cheetahs | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 8 |
- Ipswich Witches resigned in mid-season.
Top Ten Riders (League only)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Ronnie Moore | 
|
Wimbledon | 10.14 |
| 2 | Björn Knutson | 
|
Southampton | 9.89 |
| 3 | Olle Nygren |
|
Swindon/Norwich | 9.86 |
| 4 | Peter Craven | 
|
Belle Vue | 9.75 |
| 5 | Barry Briggs |
|
Southampton | 9.64 |
| 6 | Ove Fundin |
|
Norwich | 9.30 |
| 7 | Ron How |
|
Wimbledon | 9.30 |
| 8 | Peter Moore | 
|
Ipswich/Swindon | 9.02 |
| 9 | Bob Andrews |
|
Wimbledon | 8.82 |
| 10 | Ron Mountford |
|
Coventry | 8.74 |
National Trophy
The 1962 National Trophy was the 24th edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.[7]
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/06 | Wimbledon | 49-35 | Belle Vue |
| 23/06 | Belle Vue | 46-38 | Wimbledon |
| 23/06 | Swindon | 51-33 | Ipswich |
| 22/06 | Ipswich | 42-40 | Swindon |
| 19/06 | Southampton | 56-28 | Coventry |
| 16/06 | Norwich | 33-51 | Oxford |
| 14/06 | Oxford | 47-37 | Norwich |
| 16/06 | Coventry | 41-43 | Southampton |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/08 | Oxford | 45-39 | Swindon |
| 18/08 | Swindon | 59-25 | Oxford |
| 14/08 | Southampton | 42-42 | Wimbledon |
| 13/08 | Wimbledon | 50-33 | Southampton |
Final
First leg
| Wimbledon Dons Ronnie Moore 14 Ron How 14 Bob Andrews 11 Gerry Jackson 7 Cyril Brine 5 Leo McAuliffe 3 Jim Tebby 1 | 55 – 29 | Swindon Robins Mike Broadbank 9 Arne Carlsson 7 Ian Williams 4 Martin Ashby 3 Peter Moore 3 Brian Brett 2 Neil Street 1 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Second leg
| Swindon Robins Martin Ashby 15 Mike Broadbank 7 Peter Moore 7 Arne Carlsson 6 Neil Street 5 Ian Williams 3 Brian Brett 2 | 45 – 39 | Wimbledon Dons Ronnie Moore 13 Ron How 12 Bob Andrews 9 Cyril Brine 3 Gerry Jackson 2 Jim Tebby 0 Leo McAuliffe 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 94–74.
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
-
Peter Craven 9.75 -
Sören Sjösten 8.23 - Cyril Maidment 7.95
- Dick Fisher 7.33
- Split Waterman 4.44
-
Bob Duckworth 4.00 - Jim Yacoby 3.67
- Bernard McArthur 3.60
- Jack Kitchen 3.27
- Peter Kelly 3.17
- Bill Powell 2.50
- Nick Nicholls 2.33
Coventry
- Ron Mountford 8.74
-
Ken McKinlay 8.63 - Nigel Boocock 8.20
- Les Owen 7.61
- Jim Lightfoot 6.33
- Bryan Elliott 6.11
- Les McGillivray 5.33
- Rick France 4.47
- Peter Brough 3.35
Ipswich (resigned mid season)
-
Peter Moore 8.73 - Split Waterman 6.63
- Colin Gooddy 6.06
- Bob Dugard 6.00
- Les McGillivray 5.85
- Leif Larsson 5.17
- Bengt Brannefors 4.44
- Sandy McGillivray 2.24
Trevor Blokdyk 3.33- John Mills 1.33
- Jack Unstead n/a
Norwich
- Olle Nygren 9.80
- Ove Fundin 9.30
- Terry Betts 6.78
- Jimmy Gooch 6.49
- Reg Trott 6.07
- John Debbage 5.56
- Billy Bales 5.48
- Trevor Hedge 4.67
-
Eric Williams 4.39 - Derek Strutt 2.74
- Ken Last 2.67
Oxford
- Ronnie Genz 6.91
- Jack Geran 6.88
- Alf Hagon 5.84
- Reg Duval 5.56
- Colin Gooddy 5.20
- Gordon McGregor 5.20
- Per Tage Svensson 4.93
- Jack Biggs 4.42
- John Bishop 2.73
Southampton
- Björn Knutson 9.89
- Barry Briggs 9.64
- Cyril Roger 7.49
- Alby Golden 7.33
-
Peter Vandenberg 7.10 - Reg Luckhurst 6.54
- Dick Bradley 6.37
Swindon
- Peter Moore 9.71
- Mike Broadbank 8.27
- Brian Meredith 8.00
- Neil Street 6.94
- Ian Williams 6.21
- Arne Carlsson 6.00
- Brian Brett 5.62
-
Tadeusz Teodorowicz 5.30 - Martin Ashby 4.45
- Buster Brown 2.67
Wimbledon
- Ronnie Moore 10.14
- Ron How 9.30
- Bob Andrews 8.82
- Gerald Jackson 7.03
- Ernie Baker 6.50
- Cyril Brine 6.00
- Roy Trigg 5.14
- Leo McAuliffe 4.82
- Jim Tebby 3.35
See also
References
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Rider killed in Speedway crash". Birmingham Daily Post. 14 April 1962. Retrieved 1 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Close-Down at Ipswich". Daily Mirror. 27 July 1962. Retrieved 1 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1962 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1962 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
