1966 British League season

The 1966 British League season was the 32nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the second season known as the British League.[1] Halifax Dukes won the league and then secured the league and cup double.[2]

1966 British League season
LeagueBritish League
Season1966
ChampionsHalifax Dukes
No. of competitors19
Knockout CupHalifax Dukes
IndividualBarry Briggs
Highest averageBarry Briggs

Summary

The League expanded to 19, with a new team, the King's Lynn Stars.[3] Halifax Dukes won the league after 36 games and finished three points clear of Coventry Bees. The Halifax team success was due to the consistency of their riders, in particular Eric Boocock, Eric Boothroyd, Dave Younghusband and Tommy Roper who all scored heavily throughout the season. Halifax also completed the double winning the British League Knockout Cup. In they final they easily beat Wimbledon Dons.[4]

The four times world champion Barry Briggs topped the averages for Swindon Robins during the same season in which he sealed his fourth world title. The dangers of speedway were highlighted once again however when Welshman Ivor Hughes was killed during the league match rding for Cradley Heath Heathens against Sheffield Tigers on 20 August.[5]

Final table
M W D L F A Pts
1 Halifax Dukes 36 27 0 9 1574 1229 54
2 Coventry Bees 36 25 1 10 1548 1255 51
3 Swindon Robins 36 23 0 13 1553 1248 46
4 Wimbledon Dons 36 22 0 14 1485 1314 44
5 Newcastle Diamonds 36 20 0 16 1491.5 1304.5 40
6 Poole Pirates 36 19 2 15 1443 1356 40
7 West Ham Hammers 36 19 1 10 1499.5 1304.5 39
8 Glasgow Tigers 36 18 0 18 1395 1394 36
9 Wolverhampton Wolves 36 17 2 17 1340.5 1461.5 36
10 Exeter Falcons 36 17 1 18 1392.5 1403.5 35
11 Sheffield Tigers 36 17 0 19 1410 1394 34
12 Edinburgh Monarchs 35 17 0 18 1310.5 1413.5 34
13 Belle Vue Aces 36 16 0 20 1362 1443 32
14 Hackney Hawks 36 15 1 20 1347.5 1456.5 31
15 Oxford Cheetahs 36 14 2 20 1291 1510 30
16 King's Lynn Stars 36 15 0 21 1275 1524 30
17 Newport Wasps 36 12 1 23 1319 1486 25
18 Long Eaton Archers 36 12 1 23 1286 1516 25
19 Cradley Heath Heathens 35 10 0 25 1196 1506 20

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Leading Riders by Average
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Barry Briggs Swindon Robins 11.08
2 Nigel Boocock Coventry Bees 10.67
3 Göte Nordin Newport Wasps 10.53
4 Eric Boocock Halifax Dukes 10.41
5 Olle Nygren Wimbledon Dons 10.32
6 Colin Pratt Hackney Hawks 9.93
7 Ivan Mauger Newcastle Diamonds 9.82
8 Ken McKinlay West Ham Hammers 9.78
9 Mike Broadbank Swindon Robins 9.77
10 Sverre Harrfeldt West Ham Hammers 9.76
11 Trevor Hedge Wimbledon Dons 9.64
12 Cyril Maidment Belle Vue Aces 9.55
13 Arne Pander Oxford Cheetahs 9.53
14 Norman Hunter West Ham Hammers 9.42
15 Terry Betts King's Lynn Stars 9.41
16 Trevor Hedge Wimbledon Dons 9.39
17 Eric Boothroyd Halifax Dukes 9.29
18 Ron Mountford Coventry Bees 9.29
19 Charlie Monk Glasgow Tigers 9.27
20 Rick France Coventry Bees 9.22

Knockout Cup

Halifax Dukes won the cup and therefore secured the league and cup double.[6]

Main article: British League Knockout Cup 1966

Teams

Belle Vue Aces

Coventry Bees

Cradley Heath

Edinburgh Monarchs

Exeter Falcons

Glasgow Tigers

Hackney Hawks

Halifax Dukes

King's Lynn Stars
  • Ken Adams
  • Terry Betts
  • Brian Black
  • Howdy Byford
  • Cyril Crane
  • David Crane
  • Ray Day
  • Doug Dearden
  • Alan Jay
  • Bill Landels
  • Vic Lonsdale
  • John Mills
  • Peter Moore
  • Nils Paulsen
  • Stan Stevens
  • Alan Smith
  • Pete Swain

Long Eaton Archers

Newcastle Diamonds
  • Brian Brett
  • Alan Butterfield
  • Graham Coombes
  • Brian Craven
  • Russ Dent
  • Dave Gifford
  • Peter Kelly
  • Ivan Mauger
  • Mike Watkin

Newport Wasps
  • Jack Biggs
  • Tim Bungay
  • Jon Erskine
  • Alby Golden
  • Peter Harris
  • Bob Hughes
  • Derek Jay
  • Alan Jones
  • Ted Laessing
  • Göte Nordin
  • Geoff Penniket
  • Fred Powell
  • Ken Vale

Oxford Cheetahs

Poole Pirates

Sheffield Tigers

Swindon Robins

West Ham Hammers

Wimbledon Dons

Wolverhampton Wolves

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  4. "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  5. "Ivor Hughes". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  6. "HALIFAX DUKES". Greyhound Derby.com. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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