League | National League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 8 |
Champions | Wimbledon Dons |
National Trophy | Wembley Lions |
London Cup | Wembley Lions |
Midland Cup | Birmingham Brummies |
Highest average | Ronnie Moore |
Division/s below | National League (Div 2) 1954 Southern Area League |
The 1954 National League Division One was theββ20th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the ninth post-war season of the "highest tier of speedway."
Summaryβ»
Bristol dropped out of the league. And joined the National League Division Two. Wimbledon won their first National League Championship, "beginning run of 7 titles in 8 years," ending similar run by, Wembley Lions.
Final tableβ»
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)β»
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 Trophyβ»
The 1954 National Trophy was the 17th edition of the Knockout Cup.
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 |
Finalβ»
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 β 46 | Norwich 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 |
---|---|---|
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 β 62 | Wembley 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 |
---|---|---|
Wembley were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123β92.
London Cupβ»
First round
Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|
Wimbledon | 61β46, 56β52 | Wembley |
Semi final round
Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|
Harringay | 44β63, 48β60 | Wembley |
Wimbledon | 69β38, 53β55 | West Ham |
Finalβ»
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 | 69β38 | Wimbledon 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 | 47β61 | Wembley Brian Crutcher 18 Eric Williams 15 Freddie Williams 8 Eric French 8 Jimmy Gooch 5 Trevor Redmond 5 Tommy Price 2 Fred Lang 0 |
---|---|---|
Wembley won on aggregate 130β85
Midland Cupβ»
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 | 56β28, 47β49 |
Semi final round
Team one | Team two | Score |
---|---|---|
Oxford | Coventry | 61β35, 34β62 |
Finalβ»
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 | 55β40 | Coventry 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 | 55β41 | Birmingham Alan Hunt 12 Doug Davies 11 Jim Tolley 6 Eric Boothroyd 6 Vic Hall 3 Harry Bastable 1 Alan Pearce 1 Cyril Page 1 |
---|---|---|
Birmingham won on aggregate 96β95
Riders & final averagesβ»
Belle Vue
-
Peter Craven 8.47
-
Ron Johnston 8.41
-
Rune SΓΆrmander 7.60
-
Ken Sharples 7.27
-
Harry Edwards 5.66
-
Don Cuppleditch 5.20
-
Jack Parker 4.58
-
Bob Duckworth 4.25
-
Dick Fisher 3.93
-
Willie Wilson 3.28
-
Bob Fletcher 2.86
-
Peter Williams 1.71
Birmingham
-
Alan Hunt 8.68
-
Ron Mountford 7.39
-
Eric Boothroyd 6.54
-
Arthur Payne 5.60
-
Jim Tolley 5.14
-
Ivor Davies 3.72
-
Les Jenkins 3.69
Doug Davies 3.68
-
Hec Mayhead 3.33
-
Harry Bastable 3.04
-
Ron Barrett 1.84
-
Dennis Bennett 1.43
Bradford
-
Eddie Rigg 10.11
-
Arthur Forrest 10.00
-
Arthur Wright 8.83
-
Ron Clarke 5.76
-
Keith Milner 5.70
-
Dent Oliver 5.43
-
Al Allison 5.08
-
Dick Seers 3.71
-
Guy Allott 3.11
-
Wal Morton 2.00
Harringay
-
Split Waterman 9.07
-
Jack Biggs 7.42
-
Ron How 7.20
-
Ken Walsh 5.43
-
Danny Dunton 5.17
-
Frank Lawrence 4.98
-
Allan Quinn 4.82
-
Alf Hagon 4.79
-
Jeff Lloyd 4.73
Norwich
-
Billy Bales 6.90
-
Aub Lawson 8.87
-
Fred Rogers 7.58
-
Cyril Roger 7.81
-
Bob Oakley 6.52
-
Phil Clarke 6.51
-
Merv Neil 6.46
-
Fred Brand 6.48
-
Roy Craighead 5.20
-
Fred Pawson 3.43
-
Barry East 2.55
Wembley
-
Brian Crutcher 9.98
-
Eric Williams 9.79
-
Freddie Williams 9.18
-
Trevor Redmond 7.93
-
Tommy Price 7.02
-
Jimmy Gooch 6.29
-
Eric French 6.26
Fred Lang 3.66
-
George Wilks 2.67
West Ham
-
Jack Young 10.55
-
Gerry Hussey 8.16
-
Wally Green 7.35
-
Bert Roger 5.64
-
Howdy Byford 5.32
-
Pat Clark 5.03
-
Alan Smith 4.70
-
Malcolm Craven 4.77
-
Keith Gurtner 4.26
-
Terry Courtnell 3.17
Wimbledon
-
Ronnie Moore 10.59
-
Geoff Mardon 10.43
-
Barry Briggs 9.39
-
Olle Nygren 9.00
-
Peter Moore 7.08
-
Dom Perry 6.64
-
Cyril Brine 6.47
-
Bill Longley 6.09
-
Cyril Maidment 5.87
-
Reg Trott 4.68
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "1953 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ "1954 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Wembley's Cup 9 times". Daily Herald. 31 August 1954. Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Bees just failed in Midland Cup". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 18 October 1954. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.