1980 British League season
The 1980 British League season was the 46th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 16th season known as the British League.[1][2]
League | British League |
---|---|
Champions | Reading Racers |
No. of competitors | 17 |
Knockout Cup | Cradley Heath Heathens |
Individual | Les Collins |
Highest average | Peter Collins |
Division/s below | 1980 National League |
Summary
The league comprised 17 teams - one fewer than the previous season. Exeter Falcons had dropped down to the National League. Hackney Hawks underwent a dramatic transformation from being the bottom side in 1979 to title contenders in 1980, but their challenge faded in the last few weeks and Reading Racers were crowned champions for the second time.[3][4]
Reading's success came down to three strong heat leaders, Swedish champion Jan Andersson, their new American signing Bobby Schwartz and England international John Davis. All three produced season averages around the 10 mark, which enabled the team to constantly pick up victories.[5] Cradley Heathens successfully retained their Knockout Cup crown overcoming a huge first leg deficit in the final.
Final table
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Reading Racers | 32 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 49 |
2 | Hackney Hawks | 32 | 23 | 0 | 9 | 46 |
3 | Belle Vue Aces | 32 | 21 | 1 | 10 | 43 |
4 | Coventry Bees | 32 | 20 | 2 | 10 | 42 |
5 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 32 | 20 | 0 | 12 | 40 |
6 | Ipswich Witches | 32 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 34 |
7 | King's Lynn Stars | 32 | 17 | 0 | 15 | 34 |
8 | Swindon Robins | 32 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 34 |
9 | Poole Pirates | 32 | 15 | 2 | 15 | 32 |
10 | Halifax Dukes | 32 | 15 | 1 | 16 | 31 |
11 | Leicester Lions | 32 | 14 | 0 | 18 | 28 |
12 | Hull Vikings | 32 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 27 |
13 | Wimbledon Dons | 32 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 26 |
14 | Birmingham Brummies | 32 | 11 | 1 | 20 | 23 |
15 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 32 | 9 | 2 | 21 | 20 |
16 | Eastbourne Eagles | 32 | 9 | 1 | 22 | 19 |
17 | Sheffield Tigers | 32 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 16 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Top Ten Riders
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Peter Collins | ![]() |
Belle Vue Aces | 10.70 |
2 | Hans Nielsen | ![]() |
Wolverhampton Wolves | 10.70 |
3 | Dave Jessup | ![]() |
King's Lynn Stars | 10.52 |
4 | Bo Petersen | ![]() |
Hackney Hawks | 10.46 |
5 | Bruce Penhall | ![]() |
Cradley Heathens | 10.46 |
6 | Michael Lee | ![]() |
King's Lynn Stars | 10.17 |
7 | Chris Morton | ![]() |
Belle Vue Aces | 10.11 |
8 | Jan Andersson | ![]() |
Reading Racers | 10.08 |
9 | Scott Autrey | ![]() |
Swindon Robins | 9.97 |
10 | Bobby Schwartz | ![]() |
Reading Racers | 9.95 |
British League Knockout Cup
The 1980 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 42nd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath were the winners.[6]
First Round
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
06/05 | Leicester | 59-49 | Poole |
05/05 | Poole | 53-55 | Leicester |
Second Round
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
17/07 | Coventry | 54-54 | Birmingham |
09/07 | Cradley Heath | 60-48 | Kings Lynn |
04/07 | Wolverhampton | 53-55 | Sheffield |
09/06 | Birmingham | 56-51 | Coventry |
06/06 | Eastbourne | 52.5-55.5 | Swindon |
05/06 | Sheffield | 56-52 | Wolverhampton |
03/06 | Hull | 67-41 | Hackney |
31/05 | Belle Vue | 60-48 | Wimbledon |
31/05 | Halifax | 57-50 | Reading |
31/05 | Swindon | 62-46 | Eastbourne |
30/05 | Hackney | 45-63 | Hull |
29/05 | Wimbledon | 57-51 | Belle Vue |
29/05 | Ipswich | 66-42 | Leicester |
27/05 | Leicester | 54-54 | Ipswich |
25/05 | Kings Lynn | 58-50 | Cradley Heath |
21/04 | Reading | 62-46 | Halifax |
Quarter Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
03/09 | Birmingham | 76-30 | Sheffield |
23/08 | Belle Vue | 68-40 | Hull |
21/08 | Cradley Heath | 54-54 | Reading |
21/08 | Sheffield | 49-58 | Birmingham |
04/08 | Reading | 53-55 | Cradley Heath |
19/07 | Swindon | 63-45 | Ipswich |
17/07 | Ipswich | 55-53 | Swindon |
09/07 | Hull | 66-42 | Belle Vue |
Semi Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
01/10 | Cradley Heath | 67-41 | Birmingham |
24/09 | Belle Vue | 59-49 | Swindon |
15/09 | Birmingham | 56-52 | Cradley Heath |
30/08 | Swindon | 56-52 | Belle Vue |
First leg
Belle Vue Aces Chris Morton 14 Rob Maxfield 14 Peter Collins 13 Pekka Hautamaki 10 Louis Carr 5 Steve Wilcock 5 Dave Allen 4 Derek Richardson 2 | 67 - 41 | Cradley Heath Phil Collins 13 Alan Grahame 13 Erik Gundersen 7 Ila Teromaa 6 John Hack 1 Steve Lawson 1 Craig Featherby 0 Bruce Penhall R/R |
---|---|---|
Second leg
Cradley Heath Bruce Penhall 15 Erik Gundersen 13 Phil Collins 12 Alan Grahame 11 Andy Reid 9 Ila Teromaa 8 Steve Lawson 5 Craig Featherby 5 | 75 - 33 | Belle Vue Aces Pekka Hautamaki 10 Louis Carr 10 Tony Boyle 6 John Williams 4 Chris Morton 2 (inj) Peter Collins 1 (inj) Dave Allen 0 Mark Lohmann R/R |
---|---|---|
Cradley Heath were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 116-100.
Teams
Belle Vue Aces
-
Dave Allen
-
Nicky Allott
-
Keith Bloxsome
-
Tony Boyle
-
Louis Carr
-
Peter Carr
-
Peter Collins
-
Steve Finch
-
Pekka Hautamaki
-
Larry Kosta
-
Mike Lohmann
-
Rob Maxfield
-
Chris Morton
-
Derek Richardson
-
Emil Sova
-
Steve Wilcock
-
John Williams
Birmingham Brummies
-
Steve Bastable
-
Mark Bilner
-
Mick Blaynee
-
Wayne Brown
-
Peter Carr
-
Alan Emerson
-
John Eskildsen
-
Neil Evitts
-
Andy Grahame
-
Phil Herne
-
Ladislav Hrádecký
-
Finn Jensen
-
Ari Koponen
-
Zdeněk Kudrna
-
Kelly Moran
-
Rod North
-
Audun Ove Olsen
-
Geoff Pusey
-
Mike Spink
-
Paul Thorp
-
Mark Warren
-
Brian Woodward
Coventry Bees
-
Kris Berrigan
-
Tony Boyle
-
Alf Busk
-
Phil Cain
-
Nigel Couzens
-
Mark DeKok
-
Laurie Etheridge
-
David Gagen
-
Gary Guglielmi
-
Kevin Hawkins
-
Rob Hollingworth
-
Rod Hunter
-
Tommy Knudsen
-
Steve Lomas
-
Steve McDermott
-
Alan Molyneux
-
Ole Olsen
-
Keith Pritchard
-
Mike Spink
-
Alan Sage
-
Mitch Shirra
-
Peter Tarrant
-
Terry Tulloch
Cradley Heath
-
Paul Bosley
-
Mark Collins
-
Phil Collins
-
Craig Featherby
-
Alan Grahame
-
Erik Gundersen
-
John Hack
-
Derek Harrison
-
Robert Henry
-
Hans Albert Klinge
-
Steve Lawson
-
Glenn MacDonald
-
Bruce Penhall
-
Dave Perks
-
Andy Reid
-
Mike Sampson
-
Mark Stevenson
-
Ila Teromaa
Eastbourne Eagles
-
Jan Davidsson
-
Eric Dugard
-
Reidar Eide
-
Trevor Geer
-
Richard Greer
-
Mick Hines
-
Ted Hubbard
-
Jozef Kafel
-
Barney Kennett
-
Dave Kennett
-
Gordon Kennett
-
Niklas Klingberg
-
Kelvin Mullarkey
-
Steve Naylor
-
Kai Niemi
-
Sigvart Pedersen
-
Jan Puk
-
Les Rumsey
-
Alan Sage
-
Veijo Tuoriniemi
-
Paul Woods
Hackney Hawks
-
Karl Fiala
-
Andy Fines
-
Bob Garrad
-
Andrzej Huszcza
-
Ted Hubbard
-
Roman Jankowski
-
Barry King
-
Kelvin Mullarkey
-
Bo Petersen
-
Zenon Plech
-
Kevin Smith
-
Barry Thomas
-
Finn Thomsen
-
Keith White
-
Sean Willmott
Halifax Dukes
-
Kenny Carter
-
Ian Cartwright
-
Jorn Haugvaldstad
-
Merv Janke
-
Tormod Langli
-
Mick McKeon
-
Craig Pendlebury
-
Piotr Pyszny
-
Les Sawyer
-
Paul Sheard
-
Alan Stansfield
-
Kevin Teager
-
Ian Westwell
Hull Vikings
-
Frank Auffret
-
Carl Baldwin
-
David Bargh
-
Robbie Blackadder
-
Bobby Beaton
-
Peter Carr
-
John Cook
-
Nigel Crabtree
-
Pete Ellams
-
Paul Embley
-
Mike Fullerton
-
Ian Gledhill
-
Robert Henry
-
Rod Hunter
-
Denzil Kent
-
Ivan Mauger
-
John McNeil
-
Shawn Moran
-
Joe Owen
-
Tom Owen
-
Dennis Sigalos
Ipswich Witches
-
Tony Davey
-
Preben Eriksen
-
Nigel Flatman
-
Andy Hibbs
-
Andy Hines
-
Tim Hunt
-
Kevin Jolly
-
Mike Lanham
-
John Louis
-
Billy Sanders
-
Kevin Teager
King's Lynn Stars
-
Peter Framingham
-
Derek Harrison
-
Richard Hellsen
-
Dave Jessup
-
Michael Lee
-
Dennis Mallett
-
Bent Rasmussen
-
Pete Smith
-
Nigel Sparshott
-
Melvyn Taylor
-
Chris Turner
-
Ian Turner
Leicester Lions
-
Ian Clark
-
Les Collins
-
Colin Cook
-
Mark Courtney
-
Bob Garrad
-
Rolf Gramstad
-
Andrzej Huszcza
-
Bernd Odermatt
-
Steve Regeling
-
Chris Sully
-
John Titman
-
Phil Vance
Poole Pirates
-
Kevin Bowen
-
Mark DeKok
-
Danny Kennedy
-
Garry May
-
Neil Middleditch
-
John McNeil
-
Ron Preston
-
Peter Prinsloo
-
Benny Rourke
-
Malcolm Simmons
-
Václav Verner
-
Martin Yeates
Reading Racers
-
Jan Andersson
-
Martin Ashby
-
Tony Briggs
-
Andy Campbell
-
John Davis
-
Reidar Eide
-
Bernie Leigh
-
Mark Leslie
-
Maury McDermott
-
Ashley Pullen
-
Bobby Schwartz
-
Jiří Štancl
-
Dave Trownson
Sheffield Tigers
-
Nicky Allott
-
Eric Broadbelt
-
Neil Collins
-
Aleš Dryml Sr.
-
Nigel Flatman
-
Carl Glover
-
Arnold Haley
-
Henny Kroeze
-
Klaus Lohmann
-
Steve Lomas
-
Shawn Moran
-
Wieslaw Patynek
-
Guy Robson
-
Paul Stead
-
Phil White
-
Reg Wilson
-
Doug Wyer
-
Jan Ząbik
Swindon Robins
-
Nicky Allott
-
Scott Autrey
-
John Barker
-
Nigel Boocock
-
Louis Carr
-
Phil Crump
-
Reidar Eide
-
Mike Ferreira
-
Nigel Flatman
-
Steve Gresham
-
Malcolm Holloway
-
Bob Humphreys
-
Bob Kilby
-
Steve Koppe
-
Steen Mastrup
-
Mike Spink
-
Milan Špinka
-
Jan Verner
-
John Williams
-
Martin Yeates
Wimbledon Dons
-
Pete Bacon
-
Dave Brewer
-
Peter Framingham
-
Mick Hines
-
Edward Jancarz
-
Alan Johns
-
Peter Johns
-
Roger Johns
-
Graham Knowler
-
Rudy Muts
-
Pat Pawson
-
Sigvart Pedersen
-
Colin Richardson
-
Larry Ross
-
Stefan Salomonsso
-
Simon Wigg
Wolverhampton Wolves
-
Ivan Blacka
-
Wayne Brown
-
Arthur Browning
-
Billy Burton
-
Hans Christensen
-
Bruce Cribb
-
Steve Crockett
-
Hasse Danielsson
-
Reidar Eide
-
Paul Evitts
-
Richard Greer
-
George Hunter
-
Mark Leslie
-
Jimmy McMillan
-
Dave Morton
-
Hans Nielsen
-
Petr Ondrašík
-
Dave Trownson
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 80. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- "1979 league tables". Speedway GB.
- "1980 league tables". Speedway GB.
- "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- "1980 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.