1979 National League season

The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.[1][2]

1979 National League season
LeagueNational League
ChampionsMildenhall Fen Tigers
No. of competitors19
Knockout CupRye House Rockets
IndividualIan Gledhill
PairsMilton Keynes Knights
FoursEllesmere Port Gunners
Highest averageTom Owen
Division/s above1979 British League

Summary

The league was reduced from 20 teams to 19 from the previous season. White City Rebels closure saw their riders move to Eastbourne Eagles who moved up to the British League. Barrow Furness Flyers dropped out and Nottingham Outlaws joined the league. Teesside Tigers changed their name to Middlesbrough Tigers. Scunthorpe Saints changed their name to Scunthorpe Stags.

Tom Owen of Newcastle topped the averages for the third consecutive year and Ian Gledhill, riding for Stoke won the Riders' Championship but both Newcastle and Stoke finished well behind Mildenhall Fen Tigers and Rye House Rockets in the league table.[3] In a season that would go down to the last match, Mildenhall won their first title in their history. The consistency of four riders, Ray Bales, Mick Hines, Melvyn Taylor and Robert Henry was the crucial factor to their success.[3]

There was a controversial end to the season when Rye House visited Mildenhall, needing a draw to win the title. Needing a 5-1 in the last heat to tie the match, Rocket Karl Fiala's exclusion prompted team-mate Bob Garrad to withdraw from the re-run in protest. Mildenhall went on to win at bottom club Scunthorpe Saints in the last match of the season to win the title by one point.[4][5][6]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 36 30 0 6 60
2 Rye House Rockets 36 29 1 6 59
3 Oxford Cheetahs 36 24 1 11 49
4 Berwick Bandits 36 21 3 12 45
5 Milton Keynes Knights 36 21 0 15 42
6 Newcastle Diamonds 36 20 0 16 40
7 Glasgow Tigers 36 19 0 17 38
8 Peterborough Panthers 36 18 2 16 38
9 Ellesmere Port Gunners 36 18 1 17 37
10 Canterbury Crusaders 36 17 2 17 36
11 Middlesbrough Tigers 36 17 1 18 35
12 Crayford Kestrels 36 16 0 20 32
13 Stoke Potters 36 15 2 19 32
14 Nottingham Outlaws 36 14 1 21 29
15 Workington Comets 36 14 1 21 29
16 Boston Barracudas 36 13 2 21 28
17 Edinburgh Monarchs 36 13 1 22 27
18 Weymouth Wildcats 36 9 1 26 19
19 Scunthorpe Stags 36 4 1 31 9

Top Five Riders

The top ten averages of the National League.[7]

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Tom Owen Newcastle Diamonds 11.09
2 George Hunter Oxford Cheetahs 10.98
3 Dave Perks Nottingham Outlaws 10.13
4 Les Rumsey Oxford Cheetahs 9.92
5 Mike Sampson Nottingham Outlaws 9.62
6 Steve Finch Ellesmere Port Gunners 9.58
7 Ray Bales Mildenhall Fen Tigers 9.56
8 Andy Grahame Milton Keynes Knights 9.47
9 John Jackson Ellesmere Port Gunners 9.45
10 Mick Hines Mildenhall Fen Tigers 9.38

National League Knockout Cup

The 1979 National League Knockout Cup was the 12th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Rye House Rockets were the winners of the competition.[8]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
29/04Rye House56-22Weymouth
22/05Weymouth34-44Rye House
20/04Edinburgh46-32Boston
10/06Boston44-34Edinburgh

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
03/06Rye House54-24Glasgow
08/06Glasgow47-31Rye House
15/06Workington46-30Middlesbrough
14/06Middlesbrough45-32Workington
10/06Mildenhall53-25Ellesmere Port
08/06Ellesmere Port41-37Mildenhall
19/06Crayford44-34Edinburgh
06/07Edinburgh39-39Crayford
09/06Berwick60-18Scunthorpe
04/06Scunthorpe38-40Berwick
14/06Oxford45-33Peterborough
08/06Peterborough34-44Oxford
18/06Newcastle57-21Canterbury
26/05Canterbury39-39Newcastle
12/06Milton Keynes50-28Stoke
09/06Stoke42-36Milton Keynes

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
15/07Rye House59-19Workington
29/06Workington49-29Rye House
25/07Mildenhall56-22Crayford
10/07Crayford39-39Mildenhall
?Berwick51-27Oxford
05/07Oxford44-34Berwick
09/07Newcastle53-25Milton Keynes
10/07Milton Keynes35-42Newcastle

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
27/08Rye House44-34Mildenhall
26/08Mildenhall38-40Rye House
22/09Berwick47-31Newcastle
19/08Newcastle46-32Berwick

Final

First leg

Rye House Rockets
Bob Garrad 10
Karl Fiala 10
Kelvin Mullarkey 10
Ashley Pullen 9
Ted Hubbard 8
Peter Tarrant 6
Simon Aindow 1		54 – 24Berwick Bandits
Wayne Brown 8
Nigel Close 6
Graham Jones 3
Mike Fullerton 3
Roger Wright 2
Phil Kynman 2
Rob Grant 0
[9]

Second leg

Berwick Bandits
Roger Wright 10
Wayne Brown 10
Nigel Close 8
Graham Jones 4
Mike Caroline 4
Rob Grant 4
Phil Kynman 0		40 – 38Rye House Rockets
Karl Fiala 11
Bob Garrad 7
Kelvin Mullarkey 7
Ashley Pullen 5
Ted Hubbard 5
Peter Tarrant 3
Simon Aindow 0
[9]

Rye House were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92–64.

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 95. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  3. "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  4. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  5. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  6. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  7. Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 96. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  8. "1979 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  9. "1979 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
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