1948 Speedway National League

The 1948 National League Division One was the 14th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the third post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]

1948 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
ChampionsNew Cross Rangers
No. of competitors7
National TrophyWembley Lions
Anniversary CupHarringay Racers
Highest averageVic Duggan
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
National League (Div 3)

Summary

The entrant list was the same as the previous season. New Cross Rangers won the National League for the second time.[3][4]

Fatalities

1948 proved to be the worst season so far in regard to fatalities. During the 1947 season two riders had died on the same day but 1948 saw three riders killed during the season. It started with 37-year-old Reg Craven, on his debut for Yarmouth Bloaters. Craven crashed with two Poole Pirates riders at Poole (on 26 April) during a National Trophy match and died eight days later (4 May) from a fractured skull in hospital.[5] Billy Wilson of Norwich Stars and Eric Dunn of Hastings Saxons from the lower divisions were also killed.

Final League table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 New Cross Rangers 24 17 0 7 34
2 Harringay Racers 24 16 0 8 32
3 West Ham Hammers 24 14 1 9 29
4 Wembley Lions 24 12 1 11 25
5 Belle Vue Aces 24 12 1 11 25
6 Wimbledon Dons 24 5 2 17 12
7 Odsal Boomerangs 24 5 1 18 11

Anniversary Cup table

On account of the small number of teams in the league the Anniversary Cup was run in a league format. Harringay Racers finished on top.

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Harringay Racers 12 9 0 3 18
2 Belle Vue Aces 12 7 0 5 14
3 Odsal Boomerangs 12 7 0 5 14
4 New Cross Rangers 12 6 0 6 12
5 West Ham Hammers 12 6 0 6 12
6 Wembley Lions 12 5 0 7 10
7 Wimbledon Dons 12 2 0 10 4

Top Ten Riders (League only)
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Vic Duggan Harringay Racers 11.42
2 Ron Johnson New Cross Rangers 10.33
3 Wilbur Lamoreaux Wembley Lions 9.71
4 George Wilks Wembley Lions 9.65
5 Max Grosskreutz Odsal Boomerangs 9.63
6 Aub Lawson West Ham Hammers 9.59
7 Alec Statham Wimbledon Dons 9.48
8 Jack Parker Belle Vue Aces 9.35
9 Eric Chitty West Ham Hammers 9.21
10 Norman Parker Wimbledon Dons 9.09

National Trophy

The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.[6]

Qualifying and Elimination events

The Qualifying event for Division 3 teams saw Southampton Saints win the final and qualify for the Elimination event. The Elimination event for Division 2 teams saw Birmingham Brummies win the final and qualify for the Quarter Finals proper.

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
27/08Harringay67-40Wimbledon
26/08Wembley64-42Belle Vue
21/08Birmingham85-23West Ham
21/08Bradford62-46New Cross
19/08New Cross77-30Bradford
17/08West Ham67-41Birmingham
16/08Wimbledon53-55Harringay
04/09Belle Vue64-44Wembley

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
18/09Birmingham69-39New Cross
10/09Harringay52-56Wembley
09/09Wembley73-35Harringay
09/09New Cross83-25Birmingham

First leg
Wembley Lions
Tommy Price 13
Bill Gilbert 13
Bill Kitchen 11
Wilbur Lamoreaux 7
Split Waterman 7
Bob Wells 6
Freddie Williams 5
Roy Craighead 2		64 – 44New Cross Rangers
Ron Johnson 12
Jeff Lloyd 11
Eric French 6
Geoff Pymar 5
Ray Moore 4
Bill Longley 3
Frank Lawrence 3
Lindsay Mitchell 0
[7]

Second leg
New Cross Rangers
Ron Johnson 18
Jeff Lloyd 10
Frank Lawrence 7
Eric French 5
Ray Moore 5
Geoff Pymar 4
Bill Longley 2
Lindsay Mitchell 1		52 – 56Wembley Lions
Bill Gilbert 15
Wilbur Lamoreaux 9
Bill Kitchen 7
Split Waterman 7
Bob Wells 6
Tommy Price 5
Freddie Williams 4
Roy Craighead 3
[7]

Wembley were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 120–96.

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  4. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  5. "Died from crash on speedway". Gloucestershire Echo. 4 May 1948. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "1948 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. "1947 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
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