1955 Speedway National League (original) (raw)
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21st British motorcycle speedway season
1955 Speedway National League
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 7 |
| Champions | Wimbledon Dons |
| National Trophy | Norwich Stars |
| Midland Cup | Birmingham Brummies |
| Highest average | Jack Young |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 2)1955 Southern Area League |
| ← 1954 1956 → |
The 1955 Speedway National League was the 21st season and tenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
The league consisted of seven teams after the Harringay Racers ceased competitive speedway racing at the end of 1954. Match line-ups were reduced from eight riders to seven riders. Wimbledon won their second successive National League Championship. West Ham closed at the end of the season, blaming poor attendances.[2][3][4][5]
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 34 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 30 |
| 3 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 23 |
| 4 | Bradford Tudors | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| 5 | Birmingham Brummies | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 20 |
| 6 | Norwich Stars | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 19 |
| 7 | West Ham Hammers | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 18 |
Top Ten Riders (League only)
[edit]
| | Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------- | ----- |
| 1 | Jack Young | 
| West Ham | 10.79 |
| 2 | Ronnie Moore | 
| Wimbledon | 10.77 |
| 3 | Ove Fundin | 
| Norwich | 10.00 |
| 4 | Barry Briggs | | Wimbledon | 9.79 |
| 5 | Brian Crutcher | 
| Wembley | 9.34 |
| 6 | Arthur Wright | | Bradford | 9.14 |
| 7 | Peter Craven | | Belle Vue | 8.96 |
| 8 | Arthur Forrest | | Bradford | 8.91 |
| 9 | Ron Johnston | | Belle Vue | 8.61 |
| 10 | Ken Sharples | | Belle Vue | 8.43 |
National Trophy Stage Two
[edit]
The 1955 National Trophy was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of two stages; stage one was for the second-tier clubs, stage two was for the top-tier clubs. Norwich won the second and final stage and were therefore declared the 1955 National Trophy champions.[6]
- For Stage One - see Stage One
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04/08 | Poole | 56-52 | Birmingham |
| 16/07 | Birmingham | 56-52 | Poole |
| 16/07 | Belle Vue | 61-47 | Wembley |
| 16/07 | Bradford Odsal | 52-56 | Wimbledon |
| 16/07 | Norwich | 69-39 | West Ham |
| 14/07 | Wembley | 67-41 | Belle Vue |
| 12/07 | West Ham | 49-58 | Norwich |
| 11/07 | Wimbledon | 76-31 | Bradford Odsal |
| 18/08replay | Poole | 69-39 | Birmingham |
| 17/08replay | Birmingham | 67-41 | Poole |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29/08 | Poole | 58-50 | Norwich |
| 27/08 | Norwich | 82-26 | Poole |
| 15/08 | Wimbledon | 61-47 | Wembley |
| 04/08 | Wembley | 63-45 | Wimbledon |
First leg
Second leg
Norwich were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 109–106.
Birmingham won the Midland Cup for a third consecutive year. It consisted of four teams, there was one team from division 1 and three teams from division 2.[8]
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | Leicester | 49–53, 29–73 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Leicester | Coventry | 66–36, 51–51 |
First leg
Second leg
Birmingham won on aggregate 108–96
Riders & final averages
[edit]
Belle Vue
Birmingham
Bradford
Norwich
Wembley
West Ham
Wimbledon
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Archive: National League 1955".
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "1955 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1955 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Hunters triumph but trophy lost". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 October 1955. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.