1968 British League season

The 1968 British League season was the 34th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the fourth season known as the British League.[1][2]

1968 British League season
LeagueBritish League
Season1968
ChampionsCoventry Bees
No. of competitors19
Knockout CupWimbledon Dons
IndividualBarry Briggs
Highest averageIvan Mauger
Division/s belowBritish League (Div 2)

Summary

Edinburgh relocated to become the Coatbridge Monarchs. The Long Eaton team closed its doors, but a new team in Leicester returned to Speedway to join the League.[3]

Coventry Bees secured their first title on points difference and after they scored points in the last heat of their last match away at King's Lynn. The title win came after two consecutive years as being runner-up. Coventry's Nigel Boocock was again one of the league's leading riders with his average going well above ten for the fifth consecutive year. He was well supported by Ron Mountford and Czechoslovakian star Antonín Kasper Sr.[4] Wimnledon Dons who could only manage a mid table finish went on to win the British League Knockout Cup.

Final table
M W D L F A Pts
1 Coventry Bees 36 22 0 14 1436 1369 44
2 Hackney Hawks 36 21 2 13 1421 1383 44
3 Exeter Falcons 36 20 1 15 1556.5 1248.5 41
4 Sheffield Tigers 36 20 1 15 1463.5 1337.5 41
5 Newcastle Diamonds 36 20 0 16 1454 1350 40
6 West Ham Hammers 36 19 1 16 1454 1348 39
7 Halifax Dukes 36 19 1 16 1424 1379 39
8 Coatbridge Monarchs 36 18 1 17 1404 1397 37
9 Wimbledon Dons 36 18 0 18 1411 1384 36
10 Belle Vue Aces 36 18 0 18 1387 1417 36
11 Swindon Robins 36 17 1 18 1448 1353 35
12 Leicester Lions 36 17 1 18 1373 1430 35
13 Newport Wasps 36 17 1 18 1348 1457 35
14 Cradley Heath Heathens 36 15 4 17 1373 1430 34
15 Oxford Cheetahs 36 17 0 19 1319 1487 34
16 Wolverhampton Wolves 36 16 0 20 1388 1413 32
17 Poole Pirates 36 13 2 21 1327 1478 28
18 King's Lynn Stars 36 13 1 22 1330 1473 27
19 Glasgow Tigers 36 13 1 22 1312 1495 27

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

Leading Riders
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ivan Mauger Newcastle Diamonds 11.37
2 Barry Briggs Swindon Robins 10.87
3 Nigel Boocock Coventry Bees 10.74
4 Martin Ashby Exeter Falcons 10.72
5 Anders Michanek Leicester Lions 10.19
6 Eric Boocock Halifax Dukes 10.17
7 Charlie Monk Sheffield Tigers 10.07
8 Sverre Harrfeldt West Ham Hammers 9.78
9 Torbjörn Harrysson Newport Wasps 9.82
10 Norman Hunter West Ham Hammers 9.71
11 Ron Mountford Coventry Bees 9.62
12 Hasse Holmqvist Wolverhampton Wolves 9.58
13 Colin Pratt Hackney Hawks 9.58
14 Terry Betts King's Lynn Stars 9.45
15 Malcolm Simmons King's Lynn Stars 9.40
16 Ole Olsen Newcastle Diamonds 9.39
17 Ray Wilson Leicester Lions 9.37
18 Olle Nygren Wimbledon Dons 9.39
19 Bernt Persson Coatbridge Monarchs 9.28
20 Jim Airey Wolverhampton Wolves 9.24

British League Knockout Cup

The 1968 British League Knockout Cup was the 30th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Wimbledon were the winners.[5]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
27/04Coatbridge66-42Glasgow
27/04Halifax57-51Exeter
16/04West Ham55-52Hackney

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
01/06Belle Vue64-44West Ham
14/05Leicester52-56Coventry
20/05Newcastle77-30Coatbridge
23/05Sheffield71-37Cradley Heath
25/05Swindon58-50Oxford
23/05Wimbledon60-48Kings Lynn
22/05Poole56-52Newport
17/05Wolverhampton60-47Halifax

Third Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
17/08Belle Vue65-42Sheffield
26/07Poole54-54Swindon
27/06Wimbledon64-44Newcastle
28/06Wolverhampton58-50Coventry
23/08
replay		Swindon60-47Poole

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
20/09Wolverhampton67-40Belle Vue
12/09Wimbledon80-28Swindon

First leg
Wolverhampton Wolves
Hasse Holmqvist 15
Jim Airey 14
Peter Vandenberg 8
James Bond 6
Dave Hemus 6
Doug White 3
Mick Handley 1
Pete Jarman 0		53 - 55Wimbledon Dons
Olle Nygren 14
Trevor Hedge 12
Reg Luckhurst 10
Bob Dugard 9
Alan Cowland 4
Jim Tebby 3
Peter Murray 3
Garry Middleton 0
[6]

Second leg
Wimbledon Dons
Trevor Hedge 17
Olle Nygren 14
Reg Luckhurst 12
Garry Middleton 8
Alan Cowland 6
Bob Dugard 2
Jim Tebby 2
Peter Murray 2		63 - 45Wolverhampton Wolves
Hasse Holmqvist 12
James Bond 10
Peter Vandenberg 8
Jim Airey 7
Mick Handley 5
Pete Jarman 3
Dave Hemus 0
Doug White 0
[6]

Wimbledon Dons were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 118-98.

Teams

Belle Vue Aces

Coatbridge Monarchs

Coventry Bees

Cradley Heath

Exeter Falcons

Glasgow Tigers

Hackney Hawks

Halifax Dukes

King's Lynn Stars

Leicester Lions

Newcastle Diamonds

Newport Wasps
  • Dai Evans
  • Cyril Francis
  • Jon Erskine
  • Alby Golden
  • Jimmy Gooch
  • Torbjörn Harrysson
  • Bob Hughes
  • Stuart Riley
  • Dave Schofield
  • Terry Shearer
  • Bob Stevens
  • Norman Strachan
  • Ian Terrar
  • Dennis Wasden

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. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  3. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  5. "1968 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  6. "Season 1968" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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