1938 Speedway National League Division Two
The 1938 National League Division Two was the inaugural season of British speedway's National League Division Two albeit a continuation of the Provincial League from the previous season in all but name.[1][2][3][4]
| League | National League Division Two | 
|---|---|
| Champions | Hackney Wick Wolves | 
| No. of competitors | 9 | 
| Provincial Trophy | Norwich Stars | 
| National Trophy (Div 2 final) | Norwich Stars | 
| Highest average | Max Grosskreutz | 
| Division/s above | 1938 National League (Division One) | 
The list of teams had several changes. Bristol Bulldogs had moved up to the National League and Hackney Wick Wolves had moved down to take their place. They also swapped licences and riders as well as divisions. Other new entrants were Lea Bridge Cubs, Newcastle, Sheffield and West Ham Hawks (West Ham's reserve team). Belle Vue Merseysiders who had replaced Liverpool in the previous season were also absent.[5]
Nottingham withdrew just after the start of the league season and were replaced by Leeds Lions.[6]
Hackney Wick Wolves won the title.
Final Table Division Two
    
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts | 
| 1 | Hackney Wick Wolves | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 
| 2 | Norwich Stars | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 
| 3 | Southampton Saints | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 
| 4 | West Ham Hawks | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 
| 5 | Lea Bridge Cubs | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 
| 6 | Newcastle Diamonds | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 
| 7 | Sheffield | 16 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 
| 8 | Birmingham Bulldogs | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 
| 9 | Leeds Lions | 16 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 
Leading averages (league only)
    
| Rider | Team | Average | 
|---|---|---|
| Max Grosskreutz | Norwich | 10.89 | 
| George Greenwood | Leeds | 10.77 | 
| Frank Goulden | Southampton | 10.19 | 
| Charlie Spinks | West Ham | 10.11 | 
| Frank Hodgson | Hackney | 10.06 | 
Provincial Trophy
    
The 1938 Provincial Trophy was the third edition of the Trophy, which was won by Norwich Stars.[7]
First round
    
| Team one | Team two | scores | 
|---|---|---|
| Norwich | Hackney | 75–33, 44–62 (119–95 agg) | 
| Birmingham | Leeds | 61–46, 58–48 (119–94 agg) | 
| Sheffield | Newcastle | 68–38, 47–60 (115–98 agg) | 
| Southampton | West Ham Hawks | 82–26, 43–63 (125–89 agg) | 
Semifinals
    
| Team one | Team two | scores | 
|---|---|---|
| Norwich | Birmingham | 72–34, 59–47 (131–81 agg) | 
| Sheffield | Southampton | 58–49, 53–53 (111–102 agg) | 
Final
    
| Team one | Team two | scores | 
|---|---|---|
| Norwich | Sheffield | 74–32, 53–54 (127–86 agg) | 
National Trophy
    
The 1938 National Trophy was the eighth edition of the Knockout Cup.[8] Norwich Stars won the Division 2 Final round and therefore qualified for the quarter finals proper (the round when the tier one sides entered the competition).
First qualifying round
    
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 17/05 | Nottingham+ | 60-48 | Hackney Wick+ | 
| 21/05 | Hackney Wick+ | 59-49 | Nottingham+ | 
| 18/05 | Birmingham | 77-26 | Sheffield | 
| 19/05 | Sheffield | 51-56 | Birmingham | 
| 23/05 | Newcastle | 53-55 | Norwich | 
| 28/05 | Norwich | 75-33 | Newcastle | 
| 04/06 | Hackney Wick | 72-36 | Leeds | 
| 06/06 | Leeds | 36-72 | Hackney Wick | 
+ Nottingham withdrew from league replaced by Leeds resulting in Hackney's result becoming void.
Second qualifying round
    
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 15/06 | Birmingham | 57.5-49.5 | Hackney Wick | 
| 18/06 | Hackney Wick | 66-42 | Birmingham | 
| 15/06 | Southampton | 76-30 | Norwich | 
| 18/06 | Norwich | 77-31 | Southampton | 
Final
    
First leg
| Norwich Stars Max Grosskreutz 14 Bert Spencer 14 Wal Morton 14 Bill Bertwell 9 Jock Sweet 8 Dick Wise 7 Wilf Jay 5 Paul Goodchild 1 | 72 – 36 | Hackney Wick Wolves Doug Wells 8 George Saunders 8 Frank Hodgson 7 Arch Windmill 4 Tommy Bateman 3 Jim Baylais 3 Ken Brett 3 Jack Tidbury 0 | 
|---|---|---|
| [9] | 
Second leg
| Hackney Wick Wolves Doug Wells 16 Frank Hodgson 10 Arch Windmill 10 George Saunders 9 Tommy Bateman 9 Jack Tidbury 3 Jim Baylais 1 Ken Brett 0 | 58 – 49 | Norwich Stars Wal Morton 12 Bert Spencer 9 Bill Bertwell 8 Max Grosskreutz 6 Alan Smith 6 Jock Sweet 3 Wilf Jay 3 Dick Wise 2 | 
|---|---|---|
| [9] | 
Norwich were the National Trophy Div 2 winners, winning on aggregate 121-94.
Riders & final averages
    
Birmingham
-   Tiger Hart 8.82 Tiger Hart 8.82
-  .svg.png.webp) Steve Langton 8.22 Steve Langton 8.22
-   Danny Lee 6.28 Danny Lee 6.28
-   Stan Lemon 6.19 Stan Lemon 6.19
-  .svg.png.webp) Jack Hyland 5.51 Jack Hyland 5.51
-   Jeff Lloyd 5.39 Jeff Lloyd 5.39
-   Bob Lovell 5.22 Bob Lovell 5.22
-   Les Trim 5.17 Les Trim 5.17
.svg.png.webp) Keith Harvey 4.52 Keith Harvey 4.52
-   Lionel Stanger 3.30 Lionel Stanger 3.30
-   Charlie Challis 3.20 Charlie Challis 3.20
Hackney
-   Frank Hodgson 10.06 Frank Hodgson 10.06
-   Doug Wells 9.78 Doug Wells 9.78
-   Arch Windmill 7.74 Arch Windmill 7.74
-   Nobby Stock 6.91 Nobby Stock 6.91
-   George Saunders 6.71 George Saunders 6.71
-   Tommy Bateman 6.48 Tommy Bateman 6.48
-   Jim Baylais 6.29 Jim Baylais 6.29
-   Stan Dell 6.29 Stan Dell 6.29
-   Jack Tidbury 6.27 Jack Tidbury 6.27
.svg.png.webp) Charlie Appleby 5.00 Charlie Appleby 5.00
Lea Bridge
-   Lloyd Goffe 9.80 Lloyd Goffe 9.80
-   Dick Harris 8.67 Dick Harris 8.67
-   Gus Kuhn 7.20 Gus Kuhn 7.20
-   Will Lowther 6.76 Will Lowther 6.76
-  .svg.png.webp) Frank Dolan 6.58 Frank Dolan 6.58
-   Bob Wells 6.48 Bob Wells 6.48
-   Ed Pye 6.29 Ed Pye 6.29
-   Ron Clarke 5.69 Ron Clarke 5.69
Leeds
-   George Greenwood 10.77 George Greenwood 10.77
-   Fred Strecker 6.00 Fred Strecker 6.00
-   Alex Peel 5.68 Alex Peel 5.68
-   Fred Tuck 5.60 Fred Tuck 5.60
-   Geoff Godwin 4.76 Geoff Godwin 4.76
-   Wilf Plant 4.55 Wilf Plant 4.55
-   Les Bowden 4.48 Les Bowden 4.48
-  .svg.png.webp) Don Hemingway 3.33 Don Hemingway 3.33
-   Roy Barrowclough 2.91 Roy Barrowclough 2.91
-   George Dykes 2.67 George Dykes 2.67
Newcastle
.svg.png.webp) George Pepper 7.94 George Pepper 7.94
-   Rol Stobbart 6.81 Rol Stobbart 6.81
.svg.png.webp) Bruce Venier 6.62 Bruce Venier 6.62
.svg.png.webp) Bob Sparks 6.50 Bob Sparks 6.50
-   Kid Curtis 6.41 Kid Curtis 6.41
-   Norman Hargreaves 6.35 Norman Hargreaves 6.35
-  .svg.png.webp) Reg Hay 6.31 Reg Hay 6.31
.svg.png.webp) Elwood Stillwell 5.07 Elwood Stillwell 5.07
-   Maurice Stobbart 5.02 Maurice Stobbart 5.02
Norwich
-  .svg.png.webp) Max Grosskreutz 10.89 Max Grosskreutz 10.89
-   Wal Morton 8.41 Wal Morton 8.41
-   Bert Spencer 9.42 Bert Spencer 9.42
-   Jock Sweet 7.09 Jock Sweet 7.09
-  .svg.png.webp) Dick Wise 6.95 Dick Wise 6.95
-   Bill Birtwell 6.29 Bill Birtwell 6.29
-   Wilf Jay 6.20 Wilf Jay 6.20
-   Paul Goodchild 5.87 Paul Goodchild 5.87
-   Alan Smith 5.25 Alan Smith 5.25
-   Alex Peel 4.39 Alex Peel 4.39
-  .svg.png.webp) Syd Littlewood 3.24 Syd Littlewood 3.24
Sheffield
-  .svg.png.webp) Billy Lamont 8.88 Billy Lamont 8.88
-   Ted Bravery 8.33 Ted Bravery 8.33
-   Don Houghton 8.00 Don Houghton 8.00
-   Stan Williams 7.46 Stan Williams 7.46
-   Colin Watson 7.00 Colin Watson 7.00
-   Tommy Allott 6.07 Tommy Allott 6.07
-   Paddy Mills (Horace Burke) 4.27 Paddy Mills (Horace Burke) 4.27
-   Les Gregory 3.76 Les Gregory 3.76
-   Eric Blain 3.73 Eric Blain 3.73
-   Harold Brailsford 3.05 Harold Brailsford 3.05
-   Lionel Stanger 3.30 Lionel Stanger 3.30
-   Harry Watson 2.67 Harry Watson 2.67
-  .svg.png.webp) Cliff Watson 2.55 Cliff Watson 2.55
Southampton
-   Frank Goulden 10.19 Frank Goulden 10.19
-   Billy Dallison 9.67 Billy Dallison 9.67
-  .svg.png.webp) Bert Jones 8.27 Bert Jones 8.27
-   Syd Griffths 8.17 Syd Griffths 8.17
-   Ernie Rickman 8.06 Ernie Rickman 8.06
-   Jim Boyd 6.33 Jim Boyd 6.33
-   Mike Erskine 5.33 Mike Erskine 5.33
-   Cyril Anderson 5.11 Cyril Anderson 5.11
-   Ron Howes 4.53 Ron Howes 4.53
-   Alf Kaines 3.30 Alf Kaines 3.30
-   Jack Adams 2.00 Jack Adams 2.00
West Ham
-  .svg.png.webp) Charlie Spinks 10.11 Charlie Spinks 10.11
-   Colin Watson 9.36 Colin Watson 9.36
-   Phil Bishop 8.98 Phil Bishop 8.98
-   Broncho Dixon 8.17 Broncho Dixon 8.17
-   Ossie Powell 6.13 Ossie Powell 6.13
-   Dick Geary 5.38 Dick Geary 5.38
-  .svg.png.webp) Moff Jones 5.00 Moff Jones 5.00
-   Len Steward 3.65 Len Steward 3.65
-   Cyril Browning 3.47 Cyril Browning 3.47
-   Butch Williams 3.17 Butch Williams 3.17
-   Eddie Barker 3.09 Eddie Barker 3.09
References
    
- "Home". speedwayresearcher.org.uk.
- "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- Bamford, Robert & Jarvis, John (2001) Homes of British Speedway, Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-2210-3, p. 193-4
- "1938 Provincial Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- "1938 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- "1938 National Trophy Provincial Final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
