1947 Speedway National League

The 1947 National League Division One was the 13th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the second post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

1947 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
ChampionsWembley Lions
No. of competitors7
National TrophyBelle Vue Aces
British Speedway CupWembley Lions
Riders' championJack Parker
London CupNew Cross Rangers
Highest averageVic Duggan
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
National League (Div 3)

Summary

Harringay Racers rejoined the league. Wembley Lions retained the title. Belle Vue retained the National Trophy.[2][3][4]

Final Table Division One
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 24 19 0 5 38
2 Belle Vue Aces 24 15 1 8 31
3 Wimbledon Dons 24 13 1 10 27
4 Odsal Boomerangs 24 10 1 13 21
5 New Cross Rangers 24 10 0 14 20
6 West Ham Hammers 24 8 0 16 16
7 Harringay Racers 24 7 1 16 15

On account of the small number of teams in the league the British Speedway Cup was run in a league format. Wembley Lions won all their matches home and away to complete a double.

British Speedway Cup
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 12 12 0 0 24
2 New Cross Rangers 12 8 0 4 16
3 Wimbledon Dons 12 5 1 6 11
4 Belle Vue Aces 12 5 0 7 10
5 Harringay Racers 12 5 0 7 10
6 West Ham Hammers 12 4 0 8 8
7 Odsal Boomerangs 12 2 1 9 5

Top Ten Riders (League only)
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Vic Duggan Australia Harringay 11.54
2 Bill Kitchen England Wembley 10.74
3 Norman Parker England Wimbledon 10.35
4 Alec Statham England Odsal 10.25
5 Tommy Price England Wembley 10.00
6= Eric Chitty Canada West Ham 9.54
6= Malcolm Craven England New Cross 9.54
8 George Wilks England Wembley 9.46
9 Eric Langton England Belle Vue 9.44
10 Jack Parker England Belle Vue 9.32

National Trophy

The 1947 National Trophy was the tenth edition of the Knockout Cup.[5]

During the National Trophy quarter final match between Wembley and Harringay (on 15 August) the 27-year-old Wembley rider Nelson 'Bronco' Wilson received fatal injuries in the fourth heat. He died in the Prince of Wales Hospital, Tottenham, the following day from a fractured skull.[6] Remarkably another rider Cyril Anderson of the Norwich Stars was killed instantly on the same evening, during the Division Two Best Pairs.[7]

Qualifying Middlesbrough and Norwich qualified for the quarter finals by virtue of finishing 1st & 2nd in the Second Division Cup.

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
07/08Wembley61–45Harringay
07/08Middlesbrough40–68Wimbledon
09/08Belle Vue67–41New Cross
11/08Wimbledon77–31Middlesbrough
12/08West Ham54–54Bradford Odsal
13/08New Cross61–46Belle Vue
15/08Harringay47–58Wembley
16/08Bradford Odsal53–55West Ham

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
25/08Wimbledon59–49Belle Vue
02/09West Ham55–51Wembley
04/09Wembley68–40West Ham
06/09Belle Vue82–25Wimbledon

Final

First leg

Wembley Lions
Tommy Price 14
Bill Kitchen 13
George Wilks 10
Split Waterman 6
Bill Gilbert 6
Bob Wells 5
Charlie May 1
Roy Craighead 0		55 – 53Belle Vue Aces
Eric Langton 13
Jack Parker 13
Louis Lawson 8
Jim Boyd 7
Wally Lloyd 6
Wally Hull 3
Dent Oliver 2
Bill Pitcher 1
[8]

Second leg

Belle Vue Aces
Jack Parker 16
Louis Lawson 12
Eric Langton 11
Wally Lloyd 6
Dent Oliver 7
Jim Boyd 6
Wally Hull 4
Bill Pitcher 1		63 – 45Wembley Lions
Bill Kitchen 14
Tommy Price 13
Split Waterman 9
George Wilks 4
Roy Craighead 3
Bob Wells 2
Charlie May 0
Bill Gilbert 0
[8]

Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 116–100.

Riders' Championship

Jack Parker won the British Riders' Championship final held at Empire Stadium on 11 September. Parker won the title after a run off and also broke the halfway (2 laps) track record (37.6 secs) in heat 2.[9][10] There were three qualifying rounds, with 28 riders progressing to the Championship round, held over seven meetings.[9]

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1England Jack Parker3 3 3 2 314+3
2England Bill Kitchen3 3 2 3 314+2
3Australia Bill Longley2 1 2 3 311
4Canada Eric Chitty1 2 3 2 210
5England George Wilks2 2 2 1 29
6England Vic Duggan3 2 3 F -8
7England Eric Langton0 1 3 2 28
8England Frank Hodgson1 3 2 1 18
9England Ernie Price2 2 2 1 18
10England Norman Parker3 1 1 0 38
11Australia Ron Johnson2 F 1 3 F6
12Australia Lionel Van Praag1 3 0 2 06
13England Tommy Price0 3 1 1 16
14England Les Wotton1 0 1 0 24
15England Geoff Pymar0 F F 3 14
16England Bill Pitcher1 0 0 1 F2
16Australia Aub Lawson (res)0 0 - - -0
17England Dent Oliver (res)0 0 - - -0
18Australia Frank Dolan0 0 0 0 00
  • f=fell

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
New Cross64–44, 55–52Wimbledon

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Wembley69–38, 51–57West Ham
New Cross74–34, 72–36Harringay

Final

First leg

New Cross
Ron Johnson 11
Bill Longley 10
Lionel Van Praag 7
Jeff Lloyd 8
Ray Moore 7
Frank Lawrence 2
Eric French 2
Geoff Pymar 2		49–58Wembley
Bill Kitchen 17
George Wilks 12
Split Waterman 11
Tommy Price 7
Bob Wells 5
Roy Craighead 3
Bill Gilbert 3
Charlie May 0

Second leg

Wembley
Tommy Price 14
Bill Kitchen 12
Bill Gilbert 6
George Wilks 4
Bob Wells 4
Charlie May 3
Split Waterman 3
Roy Craighead 1		47–61New Cross
Ron Johnson 15
Jeff Lloyd 13
Bill Longley 10
Geoff Pymar 8
Eric French 6
Ray Moore 5
Lionel Van Praag 4
Frank Lawrence 0
[11]

New Cross won on aggregate 110–105

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Harringay

New Cross

Odsal

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 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 11 August 2021.
  5. "Belle Vue Win". Daily Mirror. 13 October 1947. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Cricket for a Kiddies' Fund". Nottingham Evening Post. 16 August 1947. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Another Speedway rider killed". Weekly Dispatch (London). 17 August 1947. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "1947 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  9. "1947 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  10. "Speedway title for Jack Parker". Bradford Observer. 12 September 1947. Retrieved 3 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "New Cross make a comeback". Norwood News. 26 September 1947. Retrieved 24 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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