1937_Provincial_Speedway_League

1937 Provincial Speedway League

1937 Provincial Speedway League

British motorcycle speedway season

The 1937 Provincial Speedway League was the second season of the Provincial League. Seven speedway teams started the season. From the previous season's finishers, Plymouth Panthers had dropped out but Leicester, Birmingham (Hall Green) and Norwich Stars joined up. Leicester withdrew mid-season and their record was expunged. Liverpool Merseysiders also withdrew mid-season but their entry was taken over by Belle Vue. Bristol Bulldogs were the champions and moved up to the National League for the following season.[1][2][3]

Quick Facts League, No. of competitors ...

Due to the brevity of the season, teams also competed for the Provincial Trophy in a league format. Leicester had already folded before the competition started and as with the league, Belle Vue replaced Liverpool Merseysiders. Nottingham won the Provincial Trophy and completed a double by winning the Provincial League Coronation Cup.[4]

Stan Hart was killed during a match at Hall Green Stadium between Birmingham and Belle Vue on 25 August. He fell during a heat and was hit by a rider behind.[5][6]

Final table

Pos Team M W D L Pts
1 Bristol Bulldogs 20 15 0 5 30
2 Southampton Saints 20 13 0 7 26
3 Nottingham 20 11 0 9 22
4 Liverpool Merseysiders+
Belle Vue Merseysiders+		 20 8 0 12 16*
5 Norwich Stars 20 8 0 12 16
6 Birmingham Bulldogs 20 5 0 15 10

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

+ Liverpool scored 10 points from 11 matches, Belle Vue scored 6 from 9

Withdrawal (Record expunged) : Leicester Hounds

Leading averages (league only)

More information Rider, Team ...

Provincial Trophy final table

Pos Team M W D L Pts
1 Nottingham 10 7 0 3 14
2 Bristol Bulldogs 10 6 1 3 13
3 Southampton Saints 10 6 0 4 12
4 Liverpool Merseysiders+
Belle Vue Merseysiders+		 10 4 0 6 8
5 Birmingham (Hall Green) 10 3 1 6 7
6 Norwich Stars 10 3 0 7 6

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

+ Liverpool scored 2 points from 6 matches, Belle Vue scored 6 from 4

National Trophy

The 1937 National Trophy was the seventh edition of the Knockout Cup.[7] Southampton Saints won the Provincial Final round and therefore qualified for the quarter finals proper (the round when the tier one sides entered the competition).

Provincial League first qualifying round

More information Date, Team one ...

Provincial League second qualifying round

More information Date, Team one ...

Final

First leg

More information Bristol BulldogsRoy Dook 7Fred Leavis 7Bill Rogers 6Harry Shepherd 5George Saunders 5Rol Stobart 4Bill Maddern 4Jack Dalton 3, 41 – 42 ...

Second leg

More information Southampton SaintsBilly Dallison 12Syd Griffiths 12Bert Jones 9Ivor Creek 7Frank Goulden 4Vic Collins 3Cyril Anderson 2Jack Riddle 2, 51 – 32 ...

Southampton were the National Trophy Provincial Final winners, winning on aggregate 93-73.

Coronation Cup

The 1937 Coronation Cup was a one-off competition to mark the Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth. Nottingham won the Cup.[9]

First round

More information Team one, Team two ...

Semifinals

More information Team one, Team two ...

Final

More information Team one, Team two ...

Riders & final averages

Birmingham

  • England Malcolm Craven 8.00
  • England Les Bowden 7.88
  • England Tiger Hart 7.41
  • Australia Steve Langton 7.42
  • England Danny Lee 7.38
  • England Bob Lovell 6.17
  • England Jack Tidbury 5.33
  • England Les Gregory 5.00
  • England Bill Stanley 4.77
  • South Africa Keith Harvey 4.15
  • Australia Jack Hyland 3.00
  • England Charlie Challis 2.20

Bristol

  • Australia Bill Rogers 9.15
  • England Roy Dook 9.01
  • England Harry Shepherd 9.00
  • England Rol Stobbart 8.73
  • England Reg Vigor 8.67
  • England Fred Leavis 7.25
  • Australia Bill Maddern 6.75
  • England Reg Lambourne 5.92
  • England Jack Dalton 6.40
  • England Reg Gore 5.50
  • England George Saunders 5.42

Liverpool/Belle Vue

Norwich

  • England Wal Morton 8.87
  • Australia Bert Spencer 8.64
  • Australia Dick Wise 7.79
  • England Wilf Jay 6.65
  • England Alex Peel 5.69
  • England Paul Goodchild 5.39
  • England Chun Moore 5.14
  • Scotland Jock Sweet 4.87
  • England Charlie Dugard 4.62
  • England Jim Millward 4.34
  • England Bill Birtwell 4.00
  • England Alan Brooks Smith 3.89
  • England Charlie Lish 3.73

Nottingham

Southampton

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. [2]
    "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  3. [3]
    Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. [4]
    "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  5. [5]
    "Birmingham (Hall Green Stadium) 1937". Speedway Museum. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  6. [6]
    "Stan Hart". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  7. [7]
    "1937 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  8. [8]
    "1937 National Trophy Provincial Final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  9. [9]
    "Coronation Cup 1937". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
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