1954 Speedway National League Division Two

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1954 Speedway National League Division Two
LeagueNational League Division Two
No. of competitors11
ChampionsBristol Bulldogs
Riders' ChampionshipKen Middleditch
Highest averageKen McKinlay
Division/s aboveNational League (Div 1)
Division/s belowSouthern League

The 1954 National League Division Two was the ninth post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

Summary

The

Southern League was replaced by the Southern Area League which resulted in Division Two taking in teams from the defunct Southern League. Only St Austell Gulls declined to step up to the national level, whilst from the previous season Yarmouth Bloaters were not issued a racing licence and Stoke Potters withdrew. Bristol Bulldogs moved down from Division One to make 15 teams starting the season.[2] However, Glasgow White City Tigers[3] and Wolverhampton Wasps both suffered a series of poor results in the Northern Shield and both withdrew before the league campaign started.[4]

Bristol Bulldogs won the title

Plymouth Devils withdrew after one league fixture and Edinburgh Monarchs withdrew mid-way through the 1954 season citing financial losses and their Managing Director Frank Varey also resigned.[5]

Final table

Pos Team M W D L Pts
1 Bristol Bulldogs 20 14 0 6 28
2 Poole Pirates 20 12 0 8 24
3 Swindon Robins 20 11 0 9 22
4 Leicester Hunters 20 11 0 9 22
5 Ipswich Witches 20 10 0 10 20
6 Exeter Falcons 20 10 0 10 20
7 Oxford Cheetahs 20 10 0 10 20
8 Coventry Bees 20 10 0 10 20
9 Southampton Saints 20 9 0 11 18
10 Lanarkshire Eagles 20 9 0 11 18
11 Rayleigh Rockets 20 4 0 16 8

Top Five Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ken McKinlay Scotland Leicester Hunters 10.88
2 Dick Bradley England Bristol Bulldogs 10.58
3 Ken Middleditch England Poole Pirates 10.03
5 Tommy Miller Scotland Coventry Bees 9.90
4 Bob Roger England Swindon Robins 9.58

Riders' Championship

Ken Middleditch won the National League Division Two Rider's Championship. The final was held at Hyde Road on 16 October.[6][7]

Pos. Rider Pts
1 England Ken Middleditch 14
2 Wales Ian Williams 13
=3 England Bob Roger 11
=3 England Terry Small 11
=3 England Peter Robinson 11

National Trophy

For the National Trophy see the 1954 Speedway National League.

Midland Cup

For the Midland Cup see the 1954 Speedway National League.

Riders & final averages

Bristol

Coventry

Edinburgh (withdrew)

Exeter

  • Australia Jack Geran 8.57
  • England Goog Hoskin 8.20
  • Australia Hugh Geddes 7.67
  • England John Hart 6.86
  • Australia Neil Street 6.55
  • England Alf Webster 5.94
  • England Vic Gent 5.93
  • England Don Hardy 5.13
  • England Johnny Sargeant 5.03
  • New Zealand Kevin Bock 3.33

Ipswich

Lanarkshire

Leicester

Oxford

  • England Peter Robinson 8.85
  • England Ronnie Genz 8.10
  • England Bob Baker 6.34
  • New Zealand Bill Thatcher 6.30
  • England Kid Curtis 5.73
  • England Bill Osborne 5.71
  • England Bob Wells 5.45
  • England Frank Johnson 5.24
  • England Jim Gregory 4.87
  • New Zealand Bob McFarlane 4.86
  • England Dennis Newton 4.44

Plymouth (withdrew)

  • England Pete Lansdale 9.00
  • England Alan Smith 8.50
  • England Vic Gent 7.33
  • New Zealand Bill Thatcher 7.00
  • England Ken Holmes 7.00
  • England George Wall 5.14
  • Australia Harold Bull 4.79
  • New Zealand Kevin Hayden 4.26
  • Australia Jack Gates 4.00
  • New Zealand Hec Mayhead 4.00
  • New Zealand Kevin Bock 3.80

Poole

Rayleigh

Southampton

  • England Charlie May 7.33
  • England Brian Hanham 6.92
  • New Zealand Brian McKeown 6.82
  • Guernsey Johnny Fitzparick 6.62
  • England Ken Adams 6.46
  • England Ernie Rawlins 6.22
  • England Maury Mattingley 5.59
  • Australia Ernie Brecknell (Ernest Blight) 5.41
  • England Gerald Pugh 1.33

Swindon

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

  1. ^ "1954 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  3. ^ "Speedway promoters receive another blow". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 24 April 1954. Retrieved 25 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Speedway Club out of League". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 24 May 1954. Retrieved 25 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Meadowbank closing down". Edinburgh Evening News. 5 July 1954. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Last Night's Speedway". The People. 17 October 1954. Retrieved 13 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "CLUB HISTORY: 1950S". Swindon Speedway. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
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