League | National League Division One |
---|---|
Champions | Wembley Lions |
No. of competitors | 10 |
National Trophy | Harringay Racers |
Highest average | Ronnie Moore |
Division/s below | National League (Div 2) 1952 Southern League |
The 1952 National League Division One was the 18th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the seventh post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
Summary
Norwich Stars joined the league. Wembley Lions won their fourth consecutive title and their seventh overall. Birmingham recorded their highest league finish to date by taking the runner-up spot.[2][3][4]
While riding for Wimbledon, on 22 July 1952 the American Ernie Roccio was killed after crashing into the fence at high speed at West Ham Stadium, it has been reported that he died instantly but the newspaper report states he died in hospital.[5]
Final table
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Wembley Lions | 36 | 28 | 1 | 7 | 57 |
2 | Birmingham Brummies | 36 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 46 |
3 | Harringay Racers | 36 | 21 | 3 | 12 | 45 |
4 | West Ham Hammers | 36 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 38 |
5 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 36 |
6 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 36 |
7 | New Cross Rangers | 36 | 15 | 1 | 20 | 31 |
8 | Bristol Bulldogs | 36 | 13 | 0 | 23 | 26 |
9 | Bradford Tudors | 36 | 11 | 1 | 24 | 23 |
10 | Norwich Stars | 36 | 10 | 2 | 24 | 22 |
Top Ten Riders (League only)
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Ronnie Moore | ![]() |
Wimbledon Dons | 11.27 |
2 | Jack Young | ![]() |
West Ham Hammers | 10.88 |
3 | Bob Leverenz | ![]() |
Norwich Stars | 10.29 |
4 | Alan Hunt | ![]() |
Birmingham Brummies | 10.00 |
5 | Split Waterman | ![]() |
Harringay Racers | 9.96 |
6 | Freddie Williams | ![]() |
Wembley Lions | 9.76 |
7 | Tommy Price | ![]() |
Wembley Lions | 9.31 |
8 | Cyril Brine | ![]() |
Wimbledon Dons | 9.00 |
9 | Eddie Rigg | ![]() |
Bradford Tudors | 8.82 |
10 | Bert Roger | ![]() |
New Cross Rangers | 8.79 |
National Trophy Stage Three
The 1952 National Trophy was the 15th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third tier clubs, stage two was for the second tier clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Harringay won the third and final stage and were therefore declared the 1952 National Trophy champions.[6]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
19/07 | Norwich | 74-34 | Poole |
12/07 | Birmingham | 79-29 | Bristol |
04/07 | Bristol | 46-62 | Birmingham |
05/07 | Bradford Odsal | 67-40 | West Ham |
01/07 | West Ham | 66-42 | Bradford Odsal |
Second round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
11/08 | Birmingham | 69-39 | Belle Vue |
26/07 | Belle Vue | 59-49 | Birmingham |
26/07 | Bradford Odsal | 58-50 | Wembley |
26/07 | Poole | 72-36 | New Cross |
23/07 | New Cross | 75-33 | Poole |
21/07 | Wimbledon | 57-51 | Harringay |
18/07 | Harringay | 57-50 | Wimbledon |
17/07 | Wembley | 66-41 | Bradford Odsal |
Semifinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
21/08 | Wembley | 59-49 | Birmingham |
16/08 | Birmingham | 69-39 | Wembley |
15/08 | Harringay | 57-51 | New Cross |
13/08 | New Cross | 43-64 | Harringay |
Final
First leg
Birmingham Brummies Arthur Payne 17 Graham Warren 11 Eric Boothroyd 9 Ron Mountford 7 Ivor Davies 7 Cyril Page 5 Ron Mason 1 Cecil Hookham 0 | 57 – 51 | Harringay Racers Ken Walsh 11 Jack Biggs 10 Ron How 8 Arthur Atkinson 7 Maury Dunn 5 Danny Dunton 4 Split Waterman 3 Jeff Lloyd 3 |
---|---|---|
[7] |
Second leg
Harringay Racers Jack Biggs 17 Ron How 12 Jeff Lloyd 11 Maury Dunn 10 Arthur Atkinson 10 Ken Walsh 6 Danny Dunton 5 Split Waterman 3 | 72 – 35 | Birmingham Brummies Arthur Payne 15 Eric Boothroyd 6 Nobby Stock 6 Ivor Davies 2 Howdy Byford 2 Cyril Page 1 Ron Mason 1 Cecil Hookham 0 |
---|---|---|
[7] |
Harringay were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123–92.
See also
References
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Speed Track Star Dies". Western Daily Press. 23 July 1952. Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1952 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1952 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
