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1953 Speedway National League

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1953 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
Season1953
ChampionsWembley Lions
No. of competitors9
National TrophyWimbledon Dons
Coronation CupHarringay Racers
London CupHarringay Racers
Midland CupBirmingham Brummies
Highest averageRonnie Moore
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
1953 Southern League

The 1953 National League Division One was the 19th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the eighth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

Summary

New Cross Rangers folded in June. Wembley Lions won their fifth consecutive title and their eighth overall.[2][3][4]

Wimbledon Dons won the National Trophy for the fourth time and Harringay Racers completed a cup double winning the Coronation Cup and London Cup.

Novice rider Harry Eyre died in Poplar Hospital on 7 July 1953. He suffered fatal injuries earlier that evening at West Ham Stadium, in a second half novices match against Bradford.[5][6]

National League Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 16 11 1 4 23
2 Harringay Racers 16 11 0 5 22
3 Birmingham Brummies 16 9 1 6 19
4 Bradford Tudors 16 8 1 7 17
5 Wimbledon Dons 16 8 0 8 16
6 West Ham Hammers 16 7 0 9 14
7 Norwich Stars 16 6 0 10 12
8 Belle Vue Aces 16 5 1 10 11
9 Bristol Bulldogs 16 5 0 11 10

New Cross Rangers withdrew mid-season - record expunged.

Coronation Cup final table

The Coronation Cup was run in a league format. Harringay Racers came out on top.

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Harringay Racers 16 12 0 4 24
2 Wembley Lions 16 9 0 7 18
3 Bradford Tudors 16 8 1 7 17
4 Belle Vue Aces 16 8 0 8 16
5 Norwich Stars 16 7 1 8 15
6 Wimbledon Dons 16 7 0 9 14
7 West Ham Hammers 16 7 0 9 14
8 Bristol Bulldogs 16 7 0 9 14
9 Birmingham Brummies 16 6 0 10 12

New Cross Rangers withdrew mid-season - record expunged.

Top Ten Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon Dons 10.63
2 Jack Young Australia West Ham Hammers 10.61
3 Alan Hunt England Birmingham Brummies 10.47
4 Olle Nygren Sweden Bristol Bulldogs 10.25
5 Freddie Williams Wales Wembley Lions 10.13
6 Arthur Forrest England Bradford Tudors 9.94
7 Split Waterman England Harringay Racers 9.84
8 Eric Williams Wales Wembley Lions 9.66
9 Aub Lawson Australia Norwich Stars 9.19
10 Tommy Price England Wembley Lions 9.13

National Trophy

The 1953 National Trophy was the 16th edition of the Knockout Cup.[7]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
25/04 Ipswich 57-51 Southampton
25/04 Swindon 68-40 Exeter
24/04 Plymouth 54-54 Oxford
23/04 Cardiff 80-28 St Austell
23/04 Oxford 66-42 Plymouth
21/04 Southampton 74-33 Ipswich
21/04 St Austell 55-53 Cardiff
20/04 Exeter 60-48 Swindon

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
19/05 Cardiff 42.5-65.5 Leicester
15/05 Leicester 70-38 Cardiff
15/05 Motherwell 78-30 Swindon
15/05 Wolverhampton 71-37 Southampton
14/05 Oxford 51-57 Rayleigh
12/05 Southampton 49-59 Wolverhampton
11/05 Liverpool 40-68 Coventry
09/05 Coventry 76-32 Liverpool
09/05 Edinburgh 47-61 Glasgow White City
09/05 Rayleigh 67-41 Oxford
09/05 Stoke 69-39 Yarmouth
09/05 Swindon 62-46 Motherwell
06/05 Glasgow White City 75-33 Edinburgh
05/05 Yarmouth 52-55 Stoke

Third round

Date Team one Score Team two
24/06 Glasgow White City 76-32 Wolverhampton
29/05 Leicester 68-40 Rayleigh
29/05 Motherwell 73-35 Poole
29/05 Wolverhampton 49-59 Glasgow White City
25/05 Poole 62-46 Motherwell
23/05 Coventry 69-39 Stoke
23/05 Rayleigh 72-36 Leicester
21/05 Stoke 71-37 Coventry

Fourth round

Date Team one Score Team two
11/07 Bradford Odsal 63-45 Bristol
04/07 Belle Vue 50-58 Wimbledon
04/07 Harringay 85-23 Motherwell
04/07 Norwich 71-37 West Ham
04/07 Rayleigh 64-44 Glasgow White City
03/07 Bristol 65-42 Bradford Odsal
03/07 Motherwell 63-45 Harringay
01/07 Glasgow White City 69-39 Rayleigh
30/06 West Ham 59-49 Norwich
29/06 Wimbledon 77-31 Belle Vue

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
01/08 Stoke 38-70 Wimbledon
25/07 Norwich 58-49 Bristol
24/07 Bristol 64-44 Norwich
20/07 Wimbledon 89-19 Stoke
18/07 Harringay 40-68 Wembley
16/07 Wembley 60-48 Harringay
15/07 Glasgow White City 56-52 Birmingham
11/07 Birmingham 70-38 Glasgow White City

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
10/08 Wimbledon 59-49 Bristol
08/08 Birmingham 62.5-45.5 Wembley
07/08 Bristol 46-62 Wimbledon
06/08 Wembley 78-29 Birmingham

Final

First leg

Wimbledon Dons
Ronnie Moore 17
Cyril Brine 14
Norman Parker 11
Geoff Mardon 10
Peter Moore 9
Barry Briggs 3
Don Perry 1
Reg Trott 0		68 – 40Wembley Lions
Eric Williams 11
Tommy Price 9
Bill Kitchen 5
Eric French 4
Trevor Redmond 4
Jimmy Gooch 3
Brian Crutcher 2
Freddie Williams 2
[8]

Second leg

Wembley Lions
Freddie Williams 17
Tommy Price 15
Eric Williams 8
Brian Crutcher 7
Trevor Redmond 7
Bill Kitchen 5
Eric French 4
Jimmy Gooch 3		66 – 42Wimbledon Dons
Ronnie Moore 11
Norman Parker 8
Peter Moore 7
Barry Briggs 6
Geoff Mardon 5
Don Perry 3
Cyril Brine 1
Reg Trott 1
[8]

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 110–106.

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon 61–46, 56–52 Wembley

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon 46–58, 38–69 West Ham
Harringay 64–44, w/o New Cross

Final

First leg

Harringay
Jack Biggs 1
Maury Dunn 12
Jeff Lloyd 12
Split Waterman 10
Ron How 8
Frank Lawrence 5
Ken Walsh 1
Allan Quinn 0		60–48West Ham
Jack Young 18,
Bert Roger 10
Malcolm Craven 6
Wally Green 4
Howdy Byford 4
Keith Gurtner 4
Fred Curtis 2
Pat Clarke 0

Second leg

West Ham
Jack Young 17
Bert Roger 11
Keith Gurtner 8
Malcolm Craven 7
Basse Hveem 6
Howdy Byford 4
Pat Clarke 4
Wally Green 4		58–50Harringay
Maury Dunn 11
Jack Biggs 12
Jeff Lloyd 9
Ron How 8
Split Waterman 7
Frank Lawrence 2
Arthur Atkinson 0
Alan Quinn 0
[9]

Harringay won on aggregate 110–106

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Bradford

Bristol

Harringay

New Cross (withdrew)

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. ^ "Cycle Speedway Teams Down the Ages". Cycle Speedway History. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Speed-rider killed". Daily Herald. 8 July 1953. Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "1953 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  8. ^ a b "1953 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Harringay beaten, but they win cup". Daily Herald. 5 August 1953. Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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