1974 British League season

The 1974 British League season was the 40th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the tenth season known as the British League.[1][2]

1974 British League season
LeagueBritish League
ChampionsExeter Falcons
No. of competitors17
Knockout CupSheffield Tigers
IndividualPeter Collins
Highest averageOle Olsen
Division/s belowBritish League (Div 2)

Summary

The 1973 Champions Reading didn't compete as they no longer had a stadium, following the closure of Reading Stadium and Hull Vikings replaced them. The league was reduced to seventeen teams when the Coatbridge Tigers dropped down to Division Two. Overseas riders that rode in other leagues abroad were banned which meant that top Swedish riders such as Anders Michanek, Bernt Persson, Tommy Jansson and Christer Löfqvist didn't compete.[3]

The Exeter Falcons won their first title. They were headed by the legendary four time world champion Ivan Mauger and backed up well by Scott Autrey (8.32), Tony Lomas (7.29) and Kevin Holden (7.26).

At the end of the season Oxford Rebels finished four points above the Hull Vikings courtesy of a protest over Hull's victory against the Rebels.[4] Hull were later re-awarded the points after a close season hearing and moved above the Rebels.

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Exeter Falcons 32 25 1 6 51
2 Belle Vue Aces 32 23 0 9 46
3 Ipswich Witches 32 22 1 9 45
4 Sheffield Tigers 32 21 0 11 42
5 King's Lynn Stars 32 20 1 11 41
6 Newport 32 17 3 12 37
7 Halifax Dukes 32 14 3 15 31
8 Wimbledon Dons 32 14 1 17 29
9 Hackney Hawks 32 13 2 17 28
10 Leicester Lions 32 13 1 18 27
11 Wolverhampton Wolves 32 13 1 18 27
12 Swindon Robins 32 12 2 18 26
13 Cradley United 32 12 1 19 25
14 Poole Pirates 32 12 1 19 25
15 Coventry Bees 32 12 0 20 24
16 Hull Vikings 32 10 0 22 20
17 Oxford Rebels 32 10 0 22 20

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

Leading riders
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ole Olsen Wolverhampton Wolves 11.39
2 Peter Collins Belle Vue Aces 10.98
3 Ivan Mauger Exeter Falcons 10.88
4 Phil Crump Newport 10.79
5 John Louis Ipswich Witches 10.79
6 Terry Betts King's Lynn Stars 10.32
7 Dag Lövaas Hackney Hawks 10.17
8 Martin Ashby Swindon Robins 10.09
9 John Boulger Cradley United 10.06
10 Bob Valentine Sheffield Tigers 9.92
11 Malcolm Simmons King's Lynn Stars 9.78
13 Sören Sjösten Belle Vue Aces 9.72
14 Jim McMillan Hull Vikings 9.71
15 Dave Jessup Leicester Lions 9.66
15 Eric Boocock Halifax Dukes 9.61
17 Reidar Eide Newport 9.42
18 Billy Sanders Ipswich Witches 9.34
19 Ray Wilson Leicester Lions 9.34
20 Barry Briggs Wimbledon Dons 9.30

British League Knockout Cup

The 1974 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 36th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Sheffield were the winners.[5]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
20/04Cradley United40-38Wolverhampton
19/04Ipswich50-28Oxford
12/04Wolverhampton48-30Cradley United
21/03Oxford40-37Ipswich

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
07/06Wolverhampton36-42Kings Lynn
04/06Wimbledon38-40Ipswich
30/05Ipswich52-26Wimbledon
29/05Hull38-40Sheffield
25/05Coventry42-36Leicester
22/05Belle Vue53-25Halifax
18/05Kings Lynn45-33Wolverhampton
17/05Hackney40-38Poole
15/05Poole42-36Hackney
13/05Halifax35-43Belle Vue
09/05Sheffield52-26Hull
07/05Leicester43-35Coventry
27/04Swindon40-38Newport
26/04Newport42-36Swindon

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
31/07Poole38-40Kings Lynn
20/07King's Lynn38-40Poole
16/07Leicester38-40Ipswich
08/07Sheffield46-32Newport
06/07Belle Vue44-32Exeter
05/07Newport35-43Sheffield
20/06Ipswich42-36Leicester
10/06Exeter46-32Belle Vue
24/08Kings Lynn42-36Poole
21/08Poole45-32Kings Lynn

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
09/09Sheffield46-32Poole
04/09Poole37-40Sheffield
29/08Ipswich50-28Exeter
19/08Exeter42-36Ipswich

First leg
Ipswich Witches
John Louis 11
Billy Sanders 10
Tony Davey 6
Mick Hines 5
Ted Howgego 3
Alan Sage 2
Trevor Jones 0		37 - 41Sheffield Tigers
Arnie Haley 13
Bob Valentine 11
Doug Wyer 8
Reg Wilson 6
Craig Pendlebury 2
Bob Paulson 1
Carl Glover 0
[6]

Second leg
Sheffield Tigers
Bob Valentine 11
Arnie Haley 8
Doug Wyer 8
Craig Pendlebury 8
Reg Wilson 7
Carl Glover 6
Bob Paulson 1		49 - 29Ipswich Witches
John Louis 13
Tony Davey 9
Billy Sanders 3
Mick Hines 2
Ted Howgego 1
Mike Lanham 1
Alan Sage 0
[6]

Sheffield Tigers were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 90-65.

Teams

Belle Vue Aces

Coventry Bees
  • Robin Adlington
  • Nicky Allott
  • Pete Bailey
  • Nigel Boocock
  • Roy Carter
  • Tony Gillias
  • John Harrhy
  • Roger Hill
  • Alan Jay
  • Jens Krause-Kjaer
  • Ronnie Moore
  • Olle Nygren
  • Matti Olin
  • Jeff Shirley
  • Frank Smith

Cradley United

Exeter Falcons

Hackney Hawks

Halifax Dukes

Hull Vikings

Ipswich Witches

King's Lynn Stars

Leicester Lions

Newport

Oxford Rebels

Poole Pirates

Sheffield Tigers

Swindon Robins

Wimbledon Dons

Wolverhampton Wolves

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  5. "1974 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  6. "Season 1974" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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