| League | National League |
|---|---|
| Champions | Wembley Lions |
| No. of competitors | 6 |
| National Trophy | Belle Vue Aces |
| A.C.U Cup | Belle Vue Aces |
| Highest average | Eric Langton |
| Division/s below | Northern League |
The 1946 National League was the 12th season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain and the first post-war season.[1][2]
The league had been abandoned seven years previously due to the outbreak of World War II. Record attendances were attracted with Wembley Lions attracting an average of 50,000 and the league as a whole a total of six and a half million.[3] From the abandoned 1939 season, Southampton Saints and Harringay Tigers were no longer racing whilst Odsal Boomerangs brought National League speedway to Bradford for the first time.[4][5]
Wembley Lions won their second National League title.
On 6 July, a crowd of 34,0000 at Odsal Stadium witnessed Odsal Boomerangs lose to Belle Vue Aces. During the match Albert 'Aussie' Rosenfeld, son of Albert Rosenfeld hit the fence and was taken to St Luke's Hospital, Bradford, with a suspected fractured skull.[6] He died 10 days later, on 16 July 1946.[7]
National League Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wembley Lions | 20 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 36 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 25 |
| 3 | Odsal Boomerangs | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 19 |
| 4 | Wimbledon Dons | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 17 |
| 5 | New Cross Rangers | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 13 |
| 6 | West Ham Hammers | 20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 10 |
On account of the small number of teams in the league the ACU Cup was run in a league format. Belle Vue Aces came out on top.
A.C.U. Cup final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Belle Vue Aces | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| 2 | Wembley Lions | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 3 | New Cross Rangers | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Odsal Boomerangs | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 5 | Wimbledon Dons | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| 6 | West Ham Hammers | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
Such was the dearth of new riders caused by the war that all of the top ten riders were established pre-war riders and none were below the age of 32.
Top Ten Riders (League only)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Eric Langton | 
|
Belle Vue Aces | 11.13 |
| 2 | Jack Parker |
|
Belle Vue Aces | 11.00 |
| 3 | Bill Kitchen |
|
Wembley Lions | 10.75 |
| 4 | Ron Johnson | 
|
New Cross Rangers | 10.69 |
| 5 | Eric Chitty | 
|
West Ham Hammers | 10.30 |
| 6 | Norman Parker |
|
Wimbledon Dons | 10.12 |
| 7 | Tommy Price |
|
Wembley Lions | 10.00 |
| 8 | Alec Statham |
|
Odsal Boomerangs | 9.72 |
| 9 | Ron Clarke |
|
Odsal Boomerangs | 9.50 |
| 10 | Bill Longley |
|
Odsal Boomerangs | 9.20 |
National Trophy
The 1946 National Trophy was the tenth edition (if including the 1939 abandoned competition) or ninth edition (if not including) of the Knockout Cup.[8] Teams from the lower 1946 Speedway Northern League competed in the event.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04/05 | Birmingham | 56–48 | Norwich |
| 27/04 | Norwich | 53–51 | Birmingham |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/05 | Birmingham | 61–45 | Middlesbrough |
| 16/05 | Middlesbrough | 58–50 | Birmingham |
| 29/04 | Newcastle | 49–56 | Middlesbrough |
| 25/04 | Middlesbrough | 55–51 | Newcastle |
| 25/04 | Sheffield | 61–47 | Glasgow White City |
| 24/04 | Glasgow White City | 61–47 | Sheffield |
| 09/05 replay |
Sheffield | 63–44 | Glasgow White City |
| 08/05 replay |
Glasgow White City | 62–45 | Sheffield |
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/06 | Birmingham | 31–77 | Wembley |
| 13/06 | Wembley | 80–27 | Birmingham |
| 20/07 | Bradford Odsal | 72–36 | Sheffield |
| 04/07 | Sheffield | 48–60 | Bradford Odsal |
| 02/07 | West Ham | 55–52 | Wimbledon |
| 01/07 | Wimbledon | 63–44 | West Ham |
| 08/06 | Belle Vue | 58–49 | New Cross |
| 12/06 | New Cross | 50–57 | Belle Vue |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/07 | Wembley | 50–57 | Belle Vue |
| 13/07 | Belle Vue | 60–48 | Wembley |
| 19/08 | Wimbledon | 62–46 | Bradford Odsal |
| 03/08 | Bradford Odsal | 53–55 | Wimbledon |
Final
First leg
| Wimbledon Dons Norman Parker 13 Lloyd Goffe 10 Oliver Hart 9 George Saunders 9 Arch Windmill 6 Dick Harris 6 Mike Erskine 5 Cyril Brine 1 | 61 – 46 | Belle Vue Aces Jack Parker 13 Bill Pitcher 10 Wally Lloyd 10 Eric Langton 8 Ron Mason 2 Jim Boyd 2 Ralph Horne 1 Dent Oliver 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [9] |
Second leg
| Belle Vue Aces Wally Lloyd 18 Jack Parker 14 Bill Pitcher 11 Eric Langton 8 Jim Boyd 6 Dent Oliver 3 Louis Lawson 2 Ron Mason 1 | 63 – 45 | Wimbledon Dons Norman Parker 11 Oliver Hart 10 Dick Harris 7 Mike Erskine 7 Lloyd Goffe 3 George Saunders 3 Cyril Brine 2 Arch Windmill 2 |
|---|---|---|
| [9] |
Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 109–106.
See also
References
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ Dalling, P. (2011). The Golden Age Of Speedway. The History Press. ISBN 0-7524-5831-0
- ^ 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 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Speedway's biggest 34,000". Bradford Observer. 8 July 1946. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Injured speedway rider dies". Hull Daily Mail. 16 July 1946. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1946 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1946 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
National League seasons 1932–1964 | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
United Kingdom Speedway Seasons | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tier One League Top division |
| |
| Tier Two League Second division |
| |
| Tier Three League Third division | ||
| Champions | ||
This page was last edited on 26 December 2022, at 21:48