1948 Speedway National League

The 1948 National League Division One was the 14th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the third post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]

1948 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
ChampionsNew Cross Rangers
No. of competitors7
National TrophyWembley Lions
Anniversary CupHarringay Racers
Riders' championVic Duggan
London CupWembley Lions
Highest averageVic Duggan
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
National League (Div 3)

Summary

The entrant list was the same as the previous season. New Cross Rangers won the National League for the second time.[3][4]

Fatalities

1948 proved to be the worst season so far in regard to fatalities. During the 1947 season two riders had died on the same day but 1948 saw three riders killed during the season. It started with 37-year-old Reg Craven, on his debut for Yarmouth Bloaters. Craven crashed with two Poole Pirates riders at Poole (on 26 April) during a National Trophy match and died eight days later (4 May) from a fractured skull in hospital.[5] Billy Wilson of Norwich Stars and Eric Dunn of Hastings Saxons from the lower divisions were also killed.

Final League table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 New Cross Rangers 24 17 0 7 34
2 Harringay Racers 24 16 0 8 32
3 West Ham Hammers 24 14 1 9 29
4 Wembley Lions 24 12 1 11 25
5 Belle Vue Aces 24 12 1 11 25
6 Wimbledon Dons 24 5 2 17 12
7 Odsal Boomerangs 24 5 1 18 11

National League results

Matches 1–12

Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.

Home \ Away BEL HAR NEW ODS WEM WES WIM
Belle Vue Aces — 48–36 53–31 43–41 42–42 43–41 59–25
Harringay Racers 47–37 — 37–47 54–29 39–45 44–40 49–35
New Cross Rangers 61–23 41–43 — 55–28 56–27 58–26 49–35
Odsal Boomerangs 46–35 41–43 40–42 — 38–46 43–40 41–41
Wembley Lions 52–31 31–50 40.5–43.5 51–33 — 40–44 44–39
West Ham Hammers 61–23 58–26 49–35 60–22 54–30 — 47–37
Wimbledon Dons 50–33 45–38 40–44 56–27 27–57 40–43 —
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 13–24

Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.

Home \ Away BEL HAR NEW ODS WEM WES WIM
Belle Vue Aces — 50–34 33–51 47–37 48–36 52–31 52–32
Harringay Racers 45–37 — 44–40 58–26 53–28 59–24 54–30
New Cross Rangers 38–45 40–44 — 53–29 37–47 51–32 54–30
Odsal Boomerangs 38–45 40–44 53–29 — 37–47 51–32 54–30
Wembley Lions 59–25 35–49 41–43 57–27 — 39–45 60–24
West Ham Hammers 49–35 48–36 49–35 48–36 38–46 — 64–20
Wimbledon Dons 35–47 35–49 46–38 58–26 35–49 41–41 —
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Anniversary Cup

On account of the small number of teams in the league the Anniversary Cup was run in a league format. Harringay Racers finished on top.

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Harringay Racers 12 9 0 3 18
2 Belle Vue Aces 12 7 0 5 14
3 Odsal Boomerangs 12 7 0 5 14
4 New Cross Rangers 12 6 0 6 12
5 West Ham Hammers 12 6 0 6 12
6 Wembley Lions 12 5 0 7 10
7 Wimbledon Dons 12 2 0 10 4

Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.

Home \ Away BEL HAR NEW ODS WEM WES WIM
Belle Vue Aces — 46.5–49.5 50–42 65–29 53–43 54–42 65–30
Harringay Racers 52–43 — 49–47 59–37 59–36 59–37 59–37
New Cross Rangers 57–39 49–47 — 51–44 49–46 58–38 42–54
Odsal Boomerangs 53–43 52–44 48–47 — 66–30 51–45 61–35
Wembley Lions 45–51 47–49 49–47 61–35 — 60–36 60–35
West Ham Hammers 58–38 50–45 62–34 48–47 49–47 — 60–34
Wimbledon Dons 47–48 46–50 42–53 46–49 40–56 53–42 —
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top Ten Riders (League only)
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Vic Duggan Australia Harringay Racers 11.42
2 Ron Johnson Australia New Cross Rangers 10.33
3 Wilbur Lamoreaux United States Wembley Lions 9.71
4 George Wilks England Wembley Lions 9.65
5 Max Grosskreutz Australia Odsal Boomerangs 9.63
6 Aub Lawson Australia West Ham Hammers 9.59
7 Alec Statham England Wimbledon Dons 9.48
8 Jack Parker England Belle Vue Aces 9.35
9 Eric Chitty Canada West Ham Hammers 9.21
10 Norman Parker England Wimbledon Dons 9.09

National Trophy

The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.[6]

Qualifying Competition Round 1

Date Team one Score Team two
23/04Wombwell31 77Southampton
17/04Cradley Heath66 42Plymouth
13/04Southampton89 19Wombwell
12/04Exeter81 27Tamworth
08/04Plymouth56 50Cradley Heath
07/04Tamworth82 26Exeter

Qualifying Competition Round 2

Date Team one Score Team two
29/04Stoke Hanley64 43Coventry
27/04Yarmouth47 67Poole
26/04Poole74 32Yarmouth
07/05Cradley Heath78 29Hull
05/05Tamworth46 62Southampton
04/05Southampton77 31Tamworth
01/05Coventry48 59Stoke Hanley
01/05Hull42 66Cradley Heath

Qualifying Competition semifinal

Date Team one Score Team two
21/05Cradley Heath54 50Southampton
13/05Stoke Hanley64 44Poole
11/05Southampton85 23Cradley Heath
10/05Poole49 57Stoke Hanley

Qualifying Competition final

Date Team one Score Team two
27/05Stoke Hanley43 64Southampton
25/05Southampton74½ 33½Stoke Hanley

Eliminating Competition First round

Date Team one Score Team two
19/06Birmingham79 29Southampton
19/06Edinburgh62 46Glasgow White City
16/06Glasgow White City70 38Edinburgh
15/06Southampton41 66Birmingham

Eliminating Competition Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
23/06Glasgow White City45½ 61½Birmingham
22/06Fleetwood69 39Bristol
19/06Norwich76 32Sheffield
18/06Bristol65 43Fleetwood
17/06Middlesbrough67 40Newcastle
17/06Sheffield55 53Norwich
14/06Newcastle41 65Middlesbrough
03/07Birmingham80 28Glasgow White City

Eliminating Competition semifinal

Date Team one Score Team two
26/07Birmingham75 33Fleetwood
13/07Fleetwood49 59Birmingham
03/07Norwich66 41Middlesbrough
01/07Middlesbrough53 54Norwich

Eliminating Competition final

Date Team one Score Team two
02/08Birmingham79 28Norwich
31/07Norwich64 43Birmingham

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
04/09Belle Vue64 44Wembley
27/08Harringay67 40Wimbledon
26/08Wembley64 42Belle Vue
21/08Birmingham85 23West Ham
21/08Bradford62 46New Cross
19/08New Cross77 30Bradford
17/08West Ham67 41Birmingham
16/08Wimbledon53 55Harringay
04/09Belle Vue64 44Wembley

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
27/08Harringay67-40Wimbledon
26/08Wembley64-42Belle Vue
21/08Birmingham85-23West Ham
21/08Bradford62-46New Cross
19/08New Cross77-30Bradford
17/08West Ham67-41Birmingham
16/08Wimbledon53-55Harringay
04/09Belle Vue64-44Wembley

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
18/09Birmingham69-39New Cross
10/09Harringay52-56Wembley
09/09Wembley73-35Harringay
09/09New Cross83-25Birmingham

Final

First leg

Wembley Lions
Tommy Price 13
Bill Gilbert 13
Bill Kitchen 11
Wilbur Lamoreaux 7
Split Waterman 7
Bob Wells 6
Freddie Williams 5
Roy Craighead 2		64 – 44New Cross Rangers
Ron Johnson 12
Jeff Lloyd 11
Eric French 6
Geoff Pymar 5
Ray Moore 4
Bill Longley 3
Frank Lawrence 3
Lindsay Mitchell 0
[7]

Second leg

New Cross Rangers
Ron Johnson 18
Jeff Lloyd 10
Frank Lawrence 7
Eric French 5
Ray Moore 5
Geoff Pymar 4
Bill Longley 2
Lindsay Mitchell 1		52 – 56Wembley Lions
Bill Gilbert 15
Wilbur Lamoreaux 9
Bill Kitchen 7
Split Waterman 7
Bob Wells 6
Tommy Price 5
Freddie Williams 4
Roy Craighead 3
[7]

Wembley were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 120–96.

Riders' Championship

Vic Duggan won the British Riders' Championship final held at Empire Stadium on 16 September, in front of nearly 90,000 spectators.[8][9]

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1Australia Vic Duggan2 3 3 3 314
2Australia Ron Johnson3 2 3 2 313
3England Alec Statham3 3 3 3 113
4England Split Waterman3 2 2 1 210
5England Bill Gilbert2 1 3 3 110
6England Jack Parker2 E 3 1 39
7England Oliver Hart3 2 2 29
8Australia Bill Longley0 1 2 2 38
9United States Wilbur Lamoreaux2 2 0 0 26
10England Malcolm Cravenf 3 2 1 06
11England Jeff Lloyd1 3 0 0 15
12Canada Eric Chitty1 0 1 2 15
13England Lloyd Goffe0 1 1 1 25
14England Tommy Price1 2 0 1 F4
15England Norman Parker0 1 0 1 02
16England Dent Oliver1 0 0 0 01
16England Jack Hodgson (res)0 - - - -0
  • f=fell

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
New Cross65–43, 43–64Harringay

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon57–51, 27–80New Cross
West Ham61–46, 40–67Wembley

Final

First leg

Wembley
Wilbur Lamoreaux 15
Bill Gilbert 14
Bill Kitchen 10
Tommy Price 10
Split Waterman 7
Freddie Williams 4
George Saunders 3
Bob Wells 2		65–40New Cross
Ron Johnson 16
Frank Lawrence 5
Ray Moore 4
Bill Longley 4
Cyril Roger 3
Eric French 3
Jeff Lloyd 3
Geoff Pymar 2

Second leg

New Cross
Cyril Roger 15
Ron Johnson 14, Geoff Pymar 10
Jeff Lloyd 5
Ray Moore 5
Eric French 4
Frank Lawrence 4
Bill Longley 1		58–50Wembley
Bill Gilbert 14
Bill Kitchen 13
Freddie Williams 8
Tommy Price 5
Split Waterman 5
Wilbur Lamoreaux 3
Bob Wells 1
George Saunders 1
[10]

Wembley won on aggregate 115–98

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Harringay

New Cross

Odsal

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  4. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  5. "Died from crash on speedway". Gloucestershire Echo. 4 May 1948. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "1948 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. "1947 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  8. "1948 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  9. "Speedway title for Jack Parker". Daily News (London). 17 September 1948. Retrieved 3 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Wembley Capture London Cup". Daily News (London). 25 September 1948. Retrieved 16 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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