Wikipedia

1954 Speedway National League

The 1954 National League Division One was the 20th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the ninth post-war season of the highest tier of speedway.[1]

1954 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
No. of competitors8
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
National TrophyWembley Lions
London CupWembley Lions
Midland CupBirmingham Brummies
Highest averageRonnie Moore
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
1954 Southern Area League

Summary

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Bristol dropped out of the league and joined the National League Division Two. Wimbledon won their first National League Championship, beginning a run of 7 titles in 8 years, ending a similar run by Wembley Lions. [2][3][4]

Final table

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Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 28 21 2 5 44
2 Wembley Lions 28 20 0 8 40
3 Bradford Tudors 28 15 0 13 30
4 Norwich Stars 27 14 0 13 28
5 West Ham Hammers 28 11 1 16 23
6 Harringay Racers 28 10 1 17 21
7 Belle Vue Aces 27 9 0 18 18
8 Birmingham Brummies 28 9 0 19 18

Top Ten Riders (League only)

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Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ronnie Moore   Wimbledon 10.59
2 Jack Young   West Ham 10.55
3 Geoff Mardon   Wimbledon 10.43
4 Eddie Rigg   Bradford 10.11
5 Arthur Forrest   Bradford 10.00
6 Brian Crutcher   Wembley 9.98
7 Eric Williams   Wembley 9.79
8 Barry Briggs   Wimbledon 9.39
9 Freddie Williams   Wembley 9.18
10 Split Waterman   Harringay 9.07

National Trophy

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The 1954 National Trophy was the 17th edition of the Knockout Cup.[5]

Qualifying first round

Date Team one Score Team two
01/05 Edinburgh 60-48 Leicester
01/05 Rayleigh 65-43 Motherwell
30/04 Bristol 59-49 Oxford
30/04 Leicester 59-48 Edinburgh
30/04 Motherwell 64-44 Rayleigh
29/04 Ipswich 71-35 Southampton
29/04 Oxford 40-68 Bristol
29/04 Plymouth 45-63 Poole
27/04 Southampton 72-36 Ipswich
26/04 Exeter 59-49 Swindon
26/04 Poole 69-38 Plymouth
24/04 Swindon 65-43 Exeter
11/05
replay		 Southampton 62-46 Ipswich
06/05
replay		 Ipswich 56-52 Southampton

Qualifying second round

Date Team one Score Team two
25/05 Southampton 61-47 Coventry
22/05 Coventry 64-44 Southampton
22/05 Edinburgh 65-43 Rayleigh
22/05 Swindon 69-39 Wolverhampton
21/05 Bristol 61-47 Poole
21/05 Rayleigh 55-52 Edinburgh
21/05 Swindon w/o Wolverhampton
17/05 Poole 63-45 Bristol

Qualifying Final Round

Date Team one Score Team two
14/06 Poole 67-41 Swindon
12/06 Edinburgh 50-57 Coventry
12/06 Swindon 53-55 Poole
05/06 Coventry 56-52 Edinburgh

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
05/07 Coventry 41-66 Bradford Odsal
03/07 Belle Vue 71-37 Poole
03/07 Bradford Odsal 84-24 Coventry
28/06 Poole 46-62 Belle Vue

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
24/07 Belle Vue 61-47 Wimbledon
22/07 Wembley 70-37 West Ham
21/07 Harringay 54-54 Bradford Odsal
20/07 West Ham 50-58 Wembley
19/07 Wimbledon 76-32 Belle Vue
17/07 Bradford Odsal 78-30 Harringay
10/07 Birmingham 62-46 Norwich
08/07 Norwich 74-34 Birmingham

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
28/08 Bradford Odsal 63-45 Wembley
28/08 Norwich 64-44 Wimbledon
23/08 Wimbledon 51-57 Norwich
05/08 Wembley 63-44 Bradford Odsal

Final

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First leg

Wembley Lions
Brian Crutcher 15
Eric Williams 12
Tommy Price 10
Freddie Williams 8
Fred Lang 7
Trevor Redmond 5
Eric French 4
Jimmy Gooch 0		61 – 46Norwich Stars
Fred Brand 10
Cyril Roger 8
Aub Lawson 7
Bob Oakley 7
Fred Rogers 5
Phil Clarke 4
Merv Neil 3
Billy Bales 2
[6]

Second leg

Norwich Stars
Merv Neil 14
Aub Lawson 11
Bob Oakley 8
Phil Clarke 6
Fred Rogers 4
Billy Bales 2
Cyril Roger 1
Fred Brand 0		46 – 62Wembley Lions
Brian Crutcher 14
Trevor Redmond 12
Freddie Williams 10
Eric Williams 8
Tommy Price 6
Fred Lang 6
Eric French 5
Jimmy Gooch 1
[6]

Wembley were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123–92.

London Cup

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First round

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

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Harringay 44–63, 48–60 Wembley
Wimbledon 69–38, 53–55 West Ham

Final

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First leg

Wembley
Freddie Williams 17
Tommy Price 12
Eric Williams 12
Brian Crutcher 10
Trevor Redmond 8
Eric French 6
Fred Lang 3
Jimmy Gooch 1		69–38Wimbledon
Peter Moore 11
Ronnie Moore 11
Geoff Mardon 4
Cyril Maidment 4
Don Perry 3
Reg Trott 3
Barry Briggs 2
Cyril Brine 0

Second leg

Wimbledon
Geoff Mardon 13
Ronnie Moore 8
Peter Moore 7
Barry Briggs 6
Cyril Brine 6
Cyril Maidment 5
Reg Trott 1
Bill Longley 1		47–61Wembley
Brian Crutcher 18
Eric Williams 15
Freddie Williams 8
Eric French 8
Jimmy Gooch 5
Trevor Redmond 5
Tommy Price 2
Fred Lang 0
[7]

Wembley won on aggregate 130–85

Midland Cup

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Birmingham won the Midland Cup, which consisted of four teams. There was one team from division 1 and three teams from division 2.

First round

Team one Team two Score
Oxford Leicester 56–28, 47–49

Semi final round

Team one Team two Score
Oxford Coventry 61–35, 34–62

Final

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First leg

Birmingham
Ron Mountford 12
Alan Hunt 11
Doug Davies 11
Hec Mayhead 7
Jim Tolley 6
Eric Boothroyd 6
Harry Bastable 2
Vic Hall 0		55–40Coventry
Charlie New 11
Tommy Miller 9
Jim Lightfoot 5
Johnnie Reason 4
Reg Duval 4
Derrick Tailby 4
Vic Emms 2
Bob Mark 1

Second leg

Coventry
Charlie New 11
Tommy Miller 9
Bob Mark 8
Johnnie Reason 7
Les Tolley 7
Derrick Tailby 6
Vic Emms 6
Jim Lightfoot 1		55–41Birmingham
Alan Hunt 12
Doug Davies 11
Jim Tolley 6
Eric Boothroyd 6
Vic Hall 3
Harry Bastable 1
Alan Pearce 1
Cyril Page 1
[8]

Birmingham won on aggregate 96–95

Riders & final averages

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Belle Vue

Birmingham

Bradford

Harringay

Norwich

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

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References

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  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. ^ "1953 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. ^ a b "1954 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Wembley's Cup 9 times". Daily Herald. 31 August 1954. Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Bees just failed in Midland Cup". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 18 October 1954. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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