1953 Speedway National League

The 1953 National League Division One was the 19th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the eighth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

1953 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
Season1953
ChampionsWembley Lions
No. of competitors9
National TrophyWimbledon Dons
Coronation CupHarringay Racers
London CupHarringay Racers
Midland CupBirmingham Brummies
Highest averageRonnie Moore
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
1953 Southern League

Summary

New Cross Rangers folded in June. Wembley Lions won their fifth consecutive title and their eighth overall.[2][3][4]

Wimbledon Dons won the National Trophy for the fourth time and Harringay Racers completed a cup double winning the Coronation Cup and London Cup.

Novice rider Harry Eyre died in Poplar Hospital on 7 July 1953. He suffered fatal injuries earlier that evening at West Ham Stadium, in a second half novices match against Bradford.[5][6]

National League Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 16 11 1 4 23
2 Harringay Racers 16 11 0 5 22
3 Birmingham Brummies 16 9 1 6 19
4 Bradford Tudors 16 8 1 7 17
5 Wimbledon Dons 16 8 0 8 16
6 West Ham Hammers 16 7 0 9 14
7 Norwich Stars 16 6 0 10 12
8 Belle Vue Aces 16 5 1 10 11
9 Bristol Bulldogs 16 5 0 11 10

New Cross Rangers withdrew mid-season - record expunged.

Coronation Cup final table

The Coronation Cup was run in a league format. Harringay Racers came out on top.

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Harringay Racers 16 12 0 4 24
2 Wembley Lions 16 9 0 7 18
3 Bradford Tudors 16 8 1 7 17
4 Belle Vue Aces 16 8 0 8 16
5 Norwich Stars 16 7 1 8 15
6 Wimbledon Dons 16 7 0 9 14
7 West Ham Hammers 16 7 0 9 14
8 Bristol Bulldogs 16 7 0 9 14
9 Birmingham Brummies 16 6 0 10 12

New Cross Rangers withdrew mid-season - record expunged.

Top Ten Riders (League only)
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon Dons 10.63
2 Jack Young Australia West Ham Hammers 10.61
3 Alan Hunt England Birmingham Brummies 10.47
4 Olle Nygren Sweden Bristol Bulldogs 10.25
5 Freddie Williams Wales Wembley Lions 10.13
6 Arthur Forrest England Bradford Tudors 9.94
7 Split Waterman England Harringay Racers 9.84
8 Eric Williams Wales Wembley Lions 9.66
9 Aub Lawson Australia Norwich Stars 9.19
10 Tommy Price England Wembley Lions 9.13

National Trophy

The 1953 National Trophy was the 16th edition of the Knockout Cup.[7]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
25/04Ipswich57-51Southampton
25/04Swindon68-40Exeter
24/04Plymouth54-54Oxford
23/04Cardiff80-28St Austell
23/04Oxford66-42Plymouth
21/04Southampton74-33Ipswich
21/04St Austell55-53Cardiff
20/04Exeter60-48Swindon

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
19/05Cardiff42.5-65.5Leicester
15/05Leicester70-38Cardiff
15/05Motherwell78-30Swindon
15/05Wolverhampton71-37Southampton
14/05Oxford51-57Rayleigh
12/05Southampton49-59Wolverhampton
11/05Liverpool40-68Coventry
09/05Coventry76-32Liverpool
09/05Edinburgh47-61Glasgow White City
09/05Rayleigh67-41Oxford
09/05Stoke69-39Yarmouth
09/05Swindon62-46Motherwell
06/05Glasgow White City75-33Edinburgh
05/05Yarmouth52-55Stoke

Third round

Date Team one Score Team two
24/06Glasgow White City76-32Wolverhampton
29/05Leicester68-40Rayleigh
29/05Motherwell73-35Poole
29/05Wolverhampton49-59Glasgow White City
25/05Poole62-46Motherwell
23/05Coventry69-39Stoke
23/05Rayleigh72-36Leicester
21/05Stoke71-37Coventry

Fourth round

Date Team one Score Team two
11/07Bradford Odsal63-45Bristol
04/07Belle Vue50-58Wimbledon
04/07Harringay85-23Motherwell
04/07Norwich71-37West Ham
04/07Rayleigh64-44Glasgow White City
03/07Bristol65-42Bradford Odsal
03/07Motherwell63-45Harringay
01/07Glasgow White City69-39Rayleigh
30/06West Ham59-49Norwich
29/06Wimbledon77-31Belle Vue

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
01/08Stoke38-70Wimbledon
25/07Norwich58-49Bristol
24/07Bristol64-44Norwich
20/07Wimbledon89-19Stoke
18/07Harringay40-68Wembley
16/07Wembley60-48Harringay
15/07Glasgow White City56-52Birmingham
11/07Birmingham70-38Glasgow White City

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
10/08Wimbledon59-49Bristol
08/08Birmingham62.5-45.5Wembley
07/08Bristol46-62Wimbledon
06/08Wembley78-29Birmingham

Final

First leg

Wimbledon Dons
Ronnie Moore 17
Cyril Brine 14
Norman Parker 11
Geoff Mardon 10
Peter Moore 9
Barry Briggs 3
Don Perry 1
Reg Trott 0		68 – 40Wembley Lions
Eric Williams 11
Tommy Price 9
Bill Kitchen 5
Eric French 4
Trevor Redmond 4
Jimmy Gooch 3
Brian Crutcher 2
Freddie Williams 2
[8]

Second leg

Wembley Lions
Freddie Williams 17
Tommy Price 15
Eric Williams 8
Brian Crutcher 7
Trevor Redmond 7
Bill Kitchen 5
Eric French 4
Jimmy Gooch 3		66 – 42Wimbledon Dons
Ronnie Moore 11
Norman Parker 8
Peter Moore 7
Barry Briggs 6
Geoff Mardon 5
Don Perry 3
Cyril Brine 1
Reg Trott 1
[8]

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 110–106.

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon61–46, 56–52Wembley

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon46–58, 38–69West Ham
Harringay64–44, w/oNew Cross

Final

First leg

Harringay
Jack Biggs 1
Maury Dunn 12
Jeff Lloyd 12
Split Waterman 10
Ron How 8
Frank Lawrence 5
Ken Walsh 1
Allan Quinn 0		60–48West Ham
Jack Young 18,
Bert Roger 10
Malcolm Craven 6
Wally Green 4
Howdy Byford 4
Keith Gurtner 4
Fred Curtis 2
Pat Clarke 0

Second leg

West Ham
Jack Young 17
Bert Roger 11
Keith Gurtner 8
Malcolm Craven 7
Basse Hveem 6
Howdy Byford 4
Pat Clarke 4
Wally Green 4		58–50Harringay
Maury Dunn 11
Jack Biggs 12
Jeff Lloyd 9
Ron How 8
Split Waterman 7
Frank Lawrence 2
Arthur Atkinson 0
Alan Quinn 0
[9]

Harringay won on aggregate 110–106

Midland Cup

Birmingham won the Midland Cup, which consisted of six teams. There were two teams from division 1 and four teams from division 2.

First round

Team one Team two Score
LeicesterStoke65–31, 46–50

Semi final round

Team one Team two Score
LeicesterCoventry50–46, 43–53
BirminghamBradford73–25, 59–37

Final

First leg

Birmingham
Alan Hunt 15
Graham Warren 9
Harry Bastable 9
Arthur Payne 7
Ron Mountford 6
Ron Barrett 6
Eric Boothroyd 5
Bob Roger 4		61–35Coventry
Charlie New 13
Johnnie Reason 9
Derrick Tailby 5
Vic Emms 3
Reg Duval 2
Les Hewitt 1
Jack Wright 1
Stan Williams 1
[10]

Second leg

Coventry
Charlie New 14
Derrick Tailby 7
Stan Williams 4
Vic Emms 4
Reg Duval 4
Johnnie Reason 3
Les Hewitt 2
Jack Wright 0		38–58Birmingham
Alan Hunt 14
Ron Mountford 12
Graham Warren 9
Harry Bastable 7
Eric Boothroyd 7
Arthur Payne 6
Ron Barrett 3
Bob Roger 0
[11]

Birmingham won on aggregate 119–73

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Bradford

Bristol

Harringay

New Cross (withdrew)

Norwich

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References
  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. "Cycle Speedway Teams Down the Ages". Cycle Speedway History. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  6. "Speed-rider killed". Daily Herald. 8 July 1953. Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "1953 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  8. "1953 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  9. "Harringay beaten, but they win cup". Daily Herald. 5 August 1953. Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Bees well beaten at Birmingham". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 28 September 1953. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "Birmingham's easy win in Midland Trophy". Birmingham Weekly Mercury. 4 October 1953. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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