League | National League Division One |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 7 |
Champions | Wembley Lions |
National Trophy | Belle Vue Aces |
British Speedway Cup | Wembley Lions |
Riders' champion | Jack Parker |
London Cup | New Cross Rangers |
Highest average | Vic Duggan |
Division/s below | National League (Div 2) National League (Div 3) |
The 1947 National League Division One was the 13th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the second post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
Summary
Harringay Racers rejoined the league. Wembley Lions retained the title. Belle Vue retained the National Trophy.[2][3][4]
Final Table Division One
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 38 |
2 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 31 |
3 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 27 |
4 | Odsal Boomerangs | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 21 |
5 | New Cross Rangers | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 20 |
6 | West Ham Hammers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 16 |
7 | Harringay Racers | 24 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 15 |
On account of the small number of teams in the league the British Speedway Cup was run in a league format. Wembley Lions won all their matches home and away to complete a double.
British Speedway Cup
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Wembley Lions | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
2 | New Cross Rangers | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
3 | Wimbledon Dons | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
4 | Belle Vue Aces | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
5 | Harringay Racers | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
6 | West Ham Hammers | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
7 | Odsal Boomerangs | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
Top Ten Riders (League only)
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Vic Duggan | Harringay | 11.54 | |
2 | Bill Kitchen | Wembley | 10.74 | |
3 | Norman Parker | Wimbledon | 10.35 | |
4 | Alec Statham | Odsal | 10.25 | |
5 | Tommy Price | Wembley | 10.00 | |
6= | Eric Chitty | West Ham | 9.54 | |
6= | Malcolm Craven | New Cross | 9.54 | |
8 | George Wilks | Wembley | 9.46 | |
9 | Eric Langton | Belle Vue | 9.44 | |
10 | Jack Parker | Belle Vue | 9.32 |
National Trophy
The 1947 National Trophy was the tenth edition of the Knockout Cup.[5]
During the National Trophy quarter final match between Wembley and Harringay (on 15 August) the 27-year-old Wembley rider Nelson 'Bronco' Wilson received fatal injuries in the fourth heat. He died in the Prince of Wales Hospital, Tottenham, the following day from a fractured skull.[6] Remarkably another rider Cyril Anderson of the Norwich Stars was killed instantly on the same evening, during the Division Two Best Pairs.[7]
Qualifying Middlesbrough and Norwich qualified for the quarter finals by virtue of finishing 1st & 2nd in the Second Division Cup.
Quarterfinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
07/08 | Wembley | 61–45 | Harringay |
07/08 | Middlesbrough | 40–68 | Wimbledon |
09/08 | Belle Vue | 67–41 | New Cross |
11/08 | Wimbledon | 77–31 | Middlesbrough |
12/08 | West Ham | 54–54 | Bradford Odsal |
13/08 | New Cross | 61–46 | Belle Vue |
15/08 | Harringay | 47–58 | Wembley |
16/08 | Bradford Odsal | 53–55 | West Ham |
Semifinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
25/08 | Wimbledon | 59–49 | Belle Vue |
02/09 | West Ham | 55–51 | Wembley |
04/09 | Wembley | 68–40 | West Ham |
06/09 | Belle Vue | 82–25 | Wimbledon |
Final
First leg
Wembley Lions Tommy Price 14 Bill Kitchen 13 George Wilks 10 Split Waterman 6 Bill Gilbert 6 Bob Wells 5 Charlie May 1 Roy Craighead 0 | 55 – 53 | Belle Vue Aces Eric Langton 13 Jack Parker 13 Louis Lawson 8 Jim Boyd 7 Wally Lloyd 6 Wally Hull 3 Dent Oliver 2 Bill Pitcher 1 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Second leg
Belle Vue Aces Jack Parker 16 Louis Lawson 12 Eric Langton 11 Wally Lloyd 6 Dent Oliver 7 Jim Boyd 6 Wally Hull 4 Bill Pitcher 1 | 63 – 45 | Wembley Lions Bill Kitchen 14 Tommy Price 13 Split Waterman 9 George Wilks 4 Roy Craighead 3 Bob Wells 2 Charlie May 0 Bill Gilbert 0 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 116–100.
Riders' Championship
Jack Parker won the British Riders' Championship final held at Empire Stadium on 11 September. Parker won the title after a run off and also broke the halfway (2 laps) track record (37.6 secs) in heat 2.[9][10] There were three qualifying rounds, with 28 riders progressing to the Championship round, held over seven meetings.[9]
Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jack Parker | 3 3 3 2 3 | 14+3 |
2 | Bill Kitchen | 3 3 2 3 3 | 14+2 |
3 | Bill Longley | 2 1 2 3 3 | 11 |
4 | Eric Chitty | 1 2 3 2 2 | 10 |
5 | George Wilks | 2 2 2 1 2 | 9 |
6 | Vic Duggan | 3 2 3 F - | 8 |
7 | Eric Langton | 0 1 3 2 2 | 8 |
8 | Frank Hodgson | 1 3 2 1 1 | 8 |
9 | Ernie Price | 2 2 2 1 1 | 8 |
10 | Norman Parker | 3 1 1 0 3 | 8 |
11 | Ron Johnson | 2 F 1 3 F | 6 |
12 | Lionel Van Praag | 1 3 0 2 0 | 6 |
13 | Tommy Price | 0 3 1 1 1 | 6 |
14 | Les Wotton | 1 0 1 0 2 | 4 |
15 | Geoff Pymar | 0 F F 3 1 | 4 |
16 | Bill Pitcher | 1 0 0 1 F | 2 |
16 | Aub Lawson (res) | 0 0 - - - | 0 |
17 | Dent Oliver (res) | 0 0 - - - | 0 |
18 | Frank Dolan | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 |
- f=fell
London Cup
First round
Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|
New Cross | 64–44, 55–52 | Wimbledon |
Semi final round
Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|
Wembley | 69–38, 51–57 | West Ham |
New Cross | 74–34, 72–36 | Harringay |
Final
First leg
New Cross Ron Johnson 11 Bill Longley 10 Lionel Van Praag 7 Jeff Lloyd 8 Ray Moore 7 Frank Lawrence 2 Eric French 2 Geoff Pymar 2 | 49–58 | Wembley Bill Kitchen 17 George Wilks 12 Split Waterman 11 Tommy Price 7 Bob Wells 5 Roy Craighead 3 Bill Gilbert 3 Charlie May 0 |
---|---|---|
Second leg
Wembley Tommy Price 14 Bill Kitchen 12 Bill Gilbert 6 George Wilks 4 Bob Wells 4 Charlie May 3 Split Waterman 3 Roy Craighead 1 | 47–61 | New Cross Ron Johnson 15 Jeff Lloyd 13 Bill Longley 10 Geoff Pymar 8 Eric French 6 Ray Moore 5 Lionel Van Praag 4 Frank Lawrence 0 |
---|---|---|
[11] |
New Cross won on aggregate 110–105
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
- Eric Langton 9.44
- Jack Parker 9.32
- Dent Oliver 8.50
- Wally Lloyd 7.87
- Bill Pitcher 7.29
- Jim Boyd 6.68
- Louis Lawson 5.39
- Ron Mason 4.47
- Dick Campbell 4.44
- Wally Hull 3.80
- Brian Wilson 3.36
Harringay
- Vic Duggan 11.54
- Frank Dolan 8.00
- Ray Duggan 7.32
- Joe Abbott 6.53
- Wal Morton 4.78
- Buck Whitby 4.16
- Jack Arnfield 3.49
- Nobby Stock 4.20
- Norman Lindsay 3.18
- Jack Biggs 3.00
- Danny Lee 2.11
- Joe Bowkis 1.48
New Cross
- Ron Johnson 8.88
- Jeff Lloyd 7.43
- Bill Longley 7.83
- Geoff Pymar 7.71
- Lionel Van Praag 7.68
- Ray Moore 5.04
- Eric French 5.96
- Frank Lawrence 3.86
- Keith Harvey 3.20
- Mick Mitchell 4.20
Odsal
- Alec Statham 10.25
- Ernie Price 8.64
- Ron Clarke 8.51
- Max Grosskreutz 7.07
- Oliver Hart 6.90
- Ron Mason 6.29
- Fred Tuck 4.90
- Eddie Rigg 4.00
- Bill Osborne 3.48
- Bill Baird 3.24
- Fred Rogers 3.00
- Jack White 2.40
- Stan Beardsall 2.29
- George Mudgway 1.18
- Al Allison 1.00
Wembley
- Bill Kitchen 10.74
- Tommy Price 10.00
- George Wilks 9.46
- Split Waterman 7.75
- Bronco Wilson 6.21
- Bill Gilbert 5.47
- Bob Wells 4.88
- Roy Craighead 6.10
- Charlie May 3.33
West Ham
- Eric Chitty 9.54
- Malcolm Craven 9.54
- Tommy Croombs 6.09
- Bob Harrison 5.78
- Howdy Byford 5.67
- Cliff Parkinson 5.60
- Aub Lawson 5.06
- Cliff Watson 4.46
- Benny King 3.83
- Buck Whitby 3.35
- Phil Bishop 2.58
- Bill Matthews 2.55
- Jack Cooley 0.92
Wimbledon
- Norman Parker 10.35
- Les Wotton 8.50
- Lloyd Goffe 7.70
- Cyril Brine 6.00
- Mike Erskine 5.98
- Arch Windmill 5.36
- George Saunders 4.51
- Dick Harris 5.61
- Ron Howes 1.33
See also
References
- ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 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 11 August 2021.
- ↑ "Belle Vue Win". Daily Mirror. 13 October 1947. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Cricket for a Kiddies' Fund". Nottingham Evening Post. 16 August 1947. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Another Speedway rider killed". Weekly Dispatch (London). 17 August 1947. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- 1 2 "1947 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- 1 2 "1947 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ↑ "Speedway title for Jack Parker". Bradford Observer. 12 September 1947. Retrieved 3 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "New Cross make a comeback". Norwood News. 26 September 1947. Retrieved 24 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.