1951_Speedway_National_League_Division_Two

1951 Speedway National League Division Two

1951 Speedway National League Division Two

British speedway season

The 1951 National League Division Two was the sixth post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

Quick Facts League, No. of competitors ...

Summary

The League was extended again with 18 teams starting the season. New entrants were Motherwell Eagles and there were again three teams promoted from Division Three - the champions Oxford Cheetahs,[1] third place finishers Leicester Hunters and Liverpool Chads (despite finishing 8th). Plymouth Devils moved back down in the opposite direction.[2]

Norwich Stars retained their title. However after the season had finished a fourth rider in five years was killed at their Firs Stadium. 21-year-old Bob Howes died after hitting the fence during a training practice race on 10 November 1951.[3][4]

Southampton Saints and Sheffield Tigers resigned in mid-season and their records were expunged.

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Norwich Stars 30 24 0 6 48
2 Leicester Hunters 30 19 0 11 38
3 Edinburgh Monarchs 30 18 0 12 36
4 Coventry Bees 30 16 3 11 35
5 Walthamstow Wolves 30 17 0 13 34
6 Halifax Dukes 30 17 0 13 34
7 Motherwell Eagles 30 16 1 13 33
8 Ashfield Giants 30 16 0 14 32
9 Hanley Potters 30 15 0 15 30
10 Glasgow White City Tigers 30 14 1 15 29
11 Yarmouth Bloaters 30 13 1 16 27
12 Oxford Cheetahs 30 12 2 16 26
13 Liverpool Chads 30 12 1 17 25
14 Fleetwood Flyers 30 9 2 19 20
15 Cradley Heath Heathens 30 9 0 21 18
16 Newcastle Diamonds 30 7 1 22 15

Top Five Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Jack Young Australia Edinburgh 11.72
2 Bob Leverenz Australia Norwich 10.84
3 Derick Close England Newcastle/Motherwell 10.71
4 Tommy Miller Scotland Glasgow Tigers 10.70
5 Arthur Forrest England Halifax 10.30

National Trophy Stage Two

The 1951 National Trophy was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third division clubs, stage two was for the second division clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Norwich won stage two and therefore qualified for stage three.[5]

Second Division qualifying first round

More information Date, Team one ...

Second Division Qualifying Second round

More information Date, Team one ...

Second Division Qualifying quarterfinals

More information Date, Team one ...

Second Division Qualifying semifinals

More information Date, Team one ...

Second Division Qualifying final

First leg

More information Norwich StarsPhil Clarke 17Bob Leverenz 16Paddy Mills 11Fred Pawson 10Jack Freeman 10Alec Hunter 9Fred Rogers 6Bill Codling 4, 83 – 25 ...

Second leg

More information Walthamstow WolvesJim Boyd 12Benny King 12Archie Windmill 7Reg Reeves 6Harry Edwards 5Pete Lansdale 4Sid Clarke 2Jimmy Grant 2, 50 – 58 ...

Midland Cup

Leicester won the inaugural Midland Cup, which consisted of eight teams. There was one team from division 1, five teams from division 2 and two teams from division 3.

First round

More information Team one, Team two ...

Second round

More information Team one, Team two ...

Semi final round

More information Team one, Team two ...

Final

First leg

More information BirminghamGraham Warren 14 Alan Hunt 11 Ron Mountford 10 Eric Boothroyd 7 Lionel Watling 3 Cyril Page 2 Roy Browning 1 Jim Tolley 0, 48–48 ...

Second leg

More information LeicesterLen Williams 13 Lionel Benson 10 Fred Perkins 9 Johnny Carpenter 7Les Beaumont 3 Harwood Pike 2 Laurie Holland 4Jock Grierson 2, 50–46 ...

Leicester won on aggregate 98–94


Riders & final averages

Ashfield

Coventry

  • Australia Les Hewitt 8.48
  • England Bob Fletcher 8.21
  • England Johnny Reason 8.04
  • England Stan Williams 6.99
  • New Zealand Charlie New 6.24
  • England John Yates 5.91
  • England Derrick Tailby 5.63
  • England Jack Wright 5.85
  • England Cyril Cooper 5.58
  • England Peter Brough 5.26
  • England Wilf Plant 4.73

Cradley Heath

  • England Brian Shepherd 9.00
  • England Laurie Schofield 6.76
  • England Gil Craven 8.56
  • England Phil Malpass 7.86
  • England Guy Allott 6.55
  • England Les Tolley 6.51
  • England Harry Bastable 6.14
  • England Dick Tolley 5.15
  • England Dennis Hitchings 4.43
  • England Wilf Willstead 4.00
  • England Bill Clifton 3.52
  • Australia Don Prettejohn 1.74

Edinburgh

  • Australia Jack Young 11.72
  • England Don Cuppleditch 8.45
  • New Zealand Dick Campbell 8.15
  • Scotland Bob Mark 7.36
  • England Harold Fairhurst 7.11
  • England Johnny Green 5.74
  • England Eddie Lack 5.38
  • Scotland Jim Turner 3.45
  • England Harold Booth 3.00
  • Scotland Jackie Campbell 2.53
  • Scotland Jimmy Cox 2.45

Fleetwood

  • England Norman Hargreaves 8.00
  • England Wilf Jay 7.93
  • England Don Potter 7.13
  • England Alf Parker 6.25
  • England Ray Harker 3.88
  • Scotland Angus McGuire 3.40
  • England Jeff Crawford 3.04
  • England Ray Moore 2.51
  • England Russ Pursehouse 2.09

Glasgow

Halifax

  • England Arthur Forrest 10.30
  • England Vic Emms 9.03
  • England Jack Hughes 7.70
  • England Al Allison 6.08
  • England Bill Crosland 5.71
  • England Ray Johnson 5.18
  • England Dyson Harper 4.86
  • Wales Jack Dawson 4.59
  • England George Stringer 2.71

Hanley

  • England Ken Adams 8.71
  • Australia Lindsay Mitchell 7.10
  • England Gil Blake 6.65
  • Australia Bill Harris 6.65
  • Guernsey Johnny Fitzparick 6.36
  • England Brian Pritchett 6.34
  • England Les Jenkins 6.32
  • England Ray Harris 5.80
  • England Bill Bridgett 1.00

Leicester

  • England Len Williams 9.42
  • Australia Lionel Benson 8.43
  • England Les Beaumont 8.24
  • England Harwood Pike 7.93
  • England Fred Perkins 6.86
  • England Joe Bowkis 6.55
  • Scotland Jock Grierson 6.17
  • England Cyril Page 5.30
  • England Ron Wilson 4.92
  • England Johnny Carpenter 4.65
  • England Vic Pitcher 3.45
  • New Zealand Laurie Holland 3.30

Liverpool

Motherwell

Newcastle

  • England Derick Close 10.25
  • England Son Mitchell 6.80
  • England Wal Morton 6.10
  • England Herby King 6.00
  • England Don Wilkinson 5.49
  • Australia Jack Chignell 5.46
  • Australia Don Lawson 4.56
  • England Peter Orpwood 4.45
  • England Norman Johnson 4.20
  • England Johnny Green 4.19
  • Australia Ernie Brecknell (Ernest Blight) 4.00
  • England Roy Dook 2.93
  • Canada Mike Tams 2.91

Norwich

Oxford

  • England Pat Clark 9.10
  • England Bill Kemp 7.23
  • England Roger Wise 7.15
  • England Bill Osborne 7.06
  • England Ernie Rawlins 7.03
  • England Harry Saunders 6.62
  • New Zealand Frank Boyle 5.53
  • England Cyril Quick 5.52
  • England Eric Irons 5.49
  • New Zealand Bob McFarlane 5.35
  • England Herby King 3.64

Sheffield (withdrew mid-season)

  • England Guy Allott 8.60
  • England Tommy Allott 8.00
  • England Len Williams 7.24
  • England Peter Orpwood 6.10
  • England Bill Dalton 5.89
  • New Zealand Charlie New 5.40
  • England Johnny Green 4.40
  • England Jack Winstanley 4.32
  • England Les Howe 2.60

Southampton (withdrew mid-season)

Walthamstow

Yarmouth

  • England Fred Brand 9.57
  • England Bob Baker 9.28
  • England Reg Morgan 6.53
  • England Cyril Quick 5.63
  • England Tip Mills 4.75
  • England Vic Ridgeon 4.45
  • England Sid Hipperson 4.23
  • England Stan Page 3.80
  • England Johnny White 3.70
  • England George Flower 2.59
  • England Alby Thomas 1.73

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The History of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
  2. [2]
    "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  3. [3]
    "Speedway death". Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail. 10 November 1951. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. [4]
    "Norwich The Firs Stadium". National Speedway Museum. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. [5]
    "1951 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. [6]
    "Walthamstow Are Swamped". Weekly Dispatch (London). 29 July 1951. Retrieved 30 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. [7]
    "Norwich 1951 results" (PDF). Speedway researcher. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  8. [8]
    "Sport Summary". Daily News (London). 31 July 1951. Retrieved 30 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. [9]
    "Hunters' Cup Win in Last heat". Leicester Daily Mercury. 20 October 1951. Retrieved 5 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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