1964 Provincial Speedway League
LeagueProvincial League
ChampionsNewcastle Diamonds
No. of competitors12
Knockout CupNewport Wasps
IndividualIvan Mauger
Highest averageIvan Mauger
Division/s above1964 National League

The 1964 Provincial Speedway League was the fifth and final season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom.[1] Twelve speedway teams took part. A second division of British speedway would not return until 1968.[2][3][4]

Season summary

The 1964 season started in controversy which led to the Provincial League running 'black'. Officially the 1964 Provincial League season did not exist.

Wolverhampton Wolves refused to move up to the National League after winning the Provincial League title in 1963. The two leagues could not agree about the situation which led to the Provincial League being outlawed by the Speedway Control Board.

All National League riders were forbidden to ride on Provincial League tracks. Provincial League riders were warned by the Speedway Control Board that they were in breach of ACU regulations and could be suspended from all competitive racing. They were also barred from the Speedway World Championship.

The Stoke Potters, St Austell Gulls and Rayleigh Rockets all withdrew from the league for various reasons before the season started. The Sunderland Stars joined the league but then withdrew after riding only three matches. However Glasgow Tigers and the Newport Wasps joined and completed the season.

Newcastle Diamonds won the final Provincial League and their first title.[5]

Final table

Pos Team M W D L Pts
1 Newcastle Diamonds 22 17 0 5 34
2 Hackney Hawks 22 15 1 6 31
3 Wolverhampton Wolves 22 12 1 9 25
4 Newport Wasps 22 11 1 10 23
5 Edinburgh Monarchs 22 10 2 10 22
6 Exeter Falcons 22 10 1 11 21
7 Poole Pirates 22 10 1 11 21
8 Sheffield Tigers 22 9 2 11 20
9 Middlesbrough Bears 22 9 2 11 20
10 Cradley Heath Heathens 22 8 1 13 17
11 Long Eaton Archers 22 8 0 14 16
12 Glasgow Tigers 22 6 2 14 14

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Top Five Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ivan Mauger New Zealand Newcastle 11.54
2 Charlie Monk Australia Glasgow 10.88
3 Ivor Brown England Cradley 10.39
4 George Hunter Scotland Edinburgh 10.31
5 Colin Pratt England Hackney 10.19

Provincial League Knockout Cup

The 1964 Provincial League Knockout Cup was the fifth edition of the Knockout Cup for the Provincial League teams. Newport Wasps were the winners.[6]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
18/05Cradley Heath51–45Edinburgh
15/06Newcastle53–43Poole
16/06Long Eaton54–42Middlesbrough
17/06Glasgow White City59–37Sheffield

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
03/07Hackney50–46Exeter
13/07Newcastle62–34Wolverhampton
17/07Glasgow White City46–49Newport
18/07Cradley Heath51–45Long Eaton

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
21/08Newport56–40Hackney
19/09Cradley Heath54–42Newcastle

Final

first leg

Newport Wasps
Peter Vandenberg 13
Dick Bradley 13
Jon Erskine 10
Alby Golden 8
Bob Hughes 5
Vic White 5
Geoff Penniket 4		58–38Cradley Heath
Ivor Brown 12
Harry Bastable 7
George Major 6
John Hart 6
Alan Totney 4
Eric Hockaday 3
John Edwards 0
[7]

second leg

Cradley Heath
Ivor Brown 15
John Edwards 13
John Hart 12
Harry Bastable 7
Eric Hockaday 5
Alan Totney 5
Matt Mattocks 0		57–39Newport Wasps
Peter Vandenberg 11
Dick Bradley 9
Alby Golden 8
Jon Erskine 4
Geoff Penniket 4
Bob Hughes 3
Vic White 0
[8]

Riders' Championship

Ivan Mauger won the Riders' Championship for the second successive year. The final was held at Hyde Road on 26 September.[9]

Pos.RiderPtsTotal
1New Zealand Ivan Mauger2,3,2,3,313+3
2Australia Charlie Monk1,3,3,3,313+2
3England Roy Trigg3,2,2,2,312+3
4England Peter Kelly3,3,2,2,212+2
5England Peter Jarman1,2,3,2,311
6England Ivor Brown1,1,3,3,19
7England Ken Sharples2,3,1,1,29
8New Zealand Bill Andrew3,0,2,3,08
9England Colin Pratt3,0,0,2,27
10England Jimmy Squibb2,1,0,1,26
11New Zealand Trevor Redmond0,2,1,1,15
12Australia Peter Vandenberg1,0,3,1,05
13Scotland George Hunter0,2,1,0,14
14Australia Norman Storer2,0,0,0,13
15Australia Bluey Scott0,1,1,0,02
16England Jon Erskine0,0,0,0,00

Riders & final averages

Cradley Heath

Edinburgh

Exeter

Glasgow

  • Australia Charlie Monk 10.88
  • New Zealand Trevor Redmond 7.74
  • England Maurie Mattingley 7.53
  • England Chris Julian 6.67
  • Scotland Red Monteith 4.00
  • New Zealand Graham Coombes 3.64
  • Scotland Bill McMillan 3.59
  • Australia Bruce Ovenden 3.05
  • England Terry Stone 2.70
  • England Vic Ridgeon 2.12

Hackney

Long Eaton

Middlesbrough

  • England Dave Younghusband 9.07
  • England Eric Boocock 8.50
  • Australia Bluey Scott 7.37
  • England Clive Hitch 5.68
  • England Ray Day 4.84
  • Australia Kevin Torpie 4.00
  • England John Butterfield 3.95
  • England Ken Handscombe 2.91
  • England Slant Payling 2.83
  • England Fred Greenwell 2.57
  • England Jack Swales 1.47

Newcastle

Newport

Poole

Sheffield

Wolverhampton

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Championship History". Poole Speedway. 2008. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  2. ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 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 13 August 2021.
  5. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  6. ↑ "1964 Provincial League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "1964 Cradley results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Brave Cradley just fail". Birmingham Weekly Mercury. 25 October 1964. Retrieved 16 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Mauger keeps his title after a decider". Birmingham Weekly Mercury. 27 September 1964. Retrieved 13 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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