1957 Speedway National League
The 1957 National League was the 23rd season and the twelfth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| Champions | Swindon Robins |
| No. of competitors | 11 |
| Highest average | Peter Craven |
| Division/s below | 1957 Southern Area League |
Summary
The closure of Wembley Lions, Bradford Tudors and Poole Pirates left the league with only four teams, so the seven sides in Division Two merged to make an eleven-team first tier and so Division Two became defunct.[2][3]
Bradford Tudors returned to replace Birmingham Brummies mid-season (in early August)[4][5] and Swindon Robins followed up their Division Two title in 1956 with the Division One title in 1957.[6]
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Swindon Robins | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 31 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 30 |
| 3 | Wimbledon Dons | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 24 |
| 4 | Norwich Stars | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
| 5 | Leicester Hunters | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 21 |
| 6 | Southampton Saints | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
| 7 | Bradford Tudors* | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
| 8 | Coventry Bees | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
| 9 | Oxford Cheetahs | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 15 |
| 10 | Ipswich Witches | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 12 |
| 11 | Rayleigh Rockets | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 11 |
- Bradford Tudors replaced Birmingham Brummies mid-season.
Top Ten Riders (League only)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Peter Craven | Belle Vue Aces | 11.18 | |
| 2 | Ove Fundin | Norwich Stars | 10.38 | |
| 3 | Bob Roger | Swindon Robins | 10.27 | |
| 4 | Ron Johnston | Belle Vue Aces | 10.27 | |
| 5 | Barry Briggs | Wimbledon Dons | 10.00 | |
| 6 | Ken McKinlay | Leicester Hunters | 9.77 | |
| 7 | Brian Crutcher | Southampton Saints | 9.76 | |
| 8 | Aub Lawson | Norwich Stars | 9.73 | |
| 9 | Peter Moore | Ipswich Witches | 9.64 | |
| 10 | Dick Bradley | Southampton Saints | 9.48 |
National Trophy
The National Trophy was not held during 1957.
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
-
Peter Craven 11.18 -
Ron Johnston 10.27 -
Bob Duckworth 6.92 -
Eddie Rigg 6.78 -
Dick Fisher 6.00 -
Tink Maynard 5.60 -
Peter Williams 4.71 -
Slant Payling 3.73 -
Brian Craven 3.24 -
Lew Grepp 0.73
Bradford/Birmingham
-
Dan Forsberg 9.42 -
Nigel Boocock 7.92 -
Ron Clarke 7.84 -
Eric Boothroyd 7.37/6.78 -
Ron Mountford 7.23 -
Arthur Forrest 7.15 -
Al Allison 5.21 -
Guy Allott 5.19/4.93 -
Jim Tolley 5.05 -
Trevor Redmond 4.76 -
Harry Bastable 4.00 -
Derrick Tailby 3.20
Coventry
-
Per Olof Söderman 8.43 -
Ron Mountford 8.07 -
Jim Lightfoot 6.53 -
Charlie New 6.34 -
Reg Duval 6.04 -
Les Owen 4.00 -
Nick Nicholls 3.35 -
Jim Tolley 3.31 -
Eric Hockaday 3.07 -
Arthur Wright 2.81 -
Bob Mark 2.30
Ipswich
-
Peter Moore 9.64 -
Cyril Roger 9.13 -
Aage Hansen 8.17 -
Bob Sharp 6.04 -
Bert Edwards 5.36 -
Junior Bainbridge 4.67 -
Jimmy Gooch 4.09 -
Wal Morton 3.79 -
Danny Dunton 3.84 -
Johnny Fitzpatrick 3.03 -
Len Silver 2.82 -
Ken Last 1.00
Leicester
-
Ken McKinlay 9.77 -
Rune Sörmander 8.40 -
Jack Geran 8.04 -
Alf Hagon 6.71 -
Harry Bastable 6.47 -
Al Allison 4.67 -
Charlie Barsby 3.88 -
Bryan Elliott 3.31 -
Reg Fearman 3.25 -
Vic Hall 1.54 -
Des Haswell 0.62
Norwich
-
Ove Fundin 10.38 -
Aub Lawson 9.73 -
Phil Clarke 9.41 -
Billy Bales 7.60 -
Harry Edwards 5.87 -
Geoff Pymar 3.91 -
Derek Strutt 3.68 -
Dave Hankins 2.75 -
Reg Trott 2.58 -
Barry East 2.33 -
Wal Morton 2.05
Oxford
-
Jack Biggs 8.38 -
Gordon McGregor 6.92 -
Ronnie Genz 7.81 -
Dennis Newton 6.29 -
Roy Bowers 5.51 -
Howdy Byford 5.10 -
Ray Cresp 5.00 -
Maury McDermott 4.00 -
Frank Johnson 3.64
Rayleigh
-
Les McGillivray 8.00 -
Jack Unstead 6.93 -
Birger Forsberg 6.38 -
Ken Adams 5.98 -
Eric French 5.97 -
Peter Clark 5.91 -
Pete Lansdale 5.40 -
Maury McDermott 3.72
Southampton
-
Brian Crutcher 9.76 -
Dick Bradley 9.48 -
Brian Hanham 7.17 -
Alby Golden 6.00 -
Maury Mattingley 5.68 -
Bill Holden 5.54 -
Jimmy Squibb 5.03 -
Johnny Hole 5.06
Swindon
-
Bob Roger 10.27 -
George White 8.61 -
Ian Williams 8.17 -
Ken Middleditch 7.54 -
Neil Street 6.70 -
Ernie Lessiter 6.44 -
Al Sparrey 6.40 -
Mike Broadbank 5.21
Wimbledon
-
Barry Briggs 10.00 -
Ron How 8.31 -
Ronnie Moore 8.00 -
Gerald Jackson 7.29 -
Cyril Maidment 6.52 -
Cyril Brine 6.04 -
Split Waterman 5.86 -
Gerry King 4.00 -
Ivan Mauger 4.00 -
Bob Andrews 3.76
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- "This was Birmingham Speedway". Sports Argus. 3 August 1957. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Norwich depleted". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 August 1957. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
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