1983 British League season

The 1983 British League season was the 49th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 19th known as the British League.[1]

1983 British League season
LeagueBritish League
ChampionsCradley Heath Heathens
Knockout CupCradley Heath Heathens
League CupBelle Vue Aces
IndividualErik Gundersen
Highest averageHans Nielsen
Division/s below1983 National League

Summary

Cradley Heath Heathens won the league and cup double.[2] Despite losing their double world champion Bruce Penhall to retirement the Cradley side performed just as well. Erik Gundersen, Simon Wigg and Lance King were now some of the world's leading riders and backed up by Phil Collins, Alan Grahame and Peter Ravn they were a formidable team. Even Penhall's replacement, a new signing from Denmark Jan O. Pedersen was already showing signs of a bright future.[3]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Cradley Heath Heathens 28 26 0 2 52
2 Ipswich Witches 28 22 1 5 45
3 Coventry Bees 28 19 0 9 38
4 Reading Racers 28 17 0 11 34
5 Belle Vue Aces 28 15 3 10 33
6 Wimbledon Dons 28 15 1 12 31
7 Hackney Hawks 28 14 0 14 28
8 King's Lynn Stars 28 12 1 15 25
9 Birmingham Brummies 28 12 0 16 24
10 Sheffield Tigers 28 10 2 16 22
11 Halifax Dukes 28 10 1 17 21
12 Leicester Lions 28 9 2 17 20
13 Poole Pirates 28 9 0 19 18
14 Eastbourne Eagles 28 7 1 20 15
15 Swindon Robins 28 7 0 21 14

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

Leading averages
Rider Team Average
Hans NielsenBirmingham10.82
Dennis SigalosIpswich10.75
Chris MortonBelle Vue10.30
Kenny CarterHalifax10.28
Erik GundersenCradley Heath10.23
Michael LeePoole10.16
Phil CrumpSwindon10.03
Mitch ShirraReading10.02
Tommy KnudsenCoventry9.87
Billy SandersIpswich9.70
Ole OlsenCoventry9.56

British League Knockout Cup

The 1983 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 45th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath Heathens were the winners.[4]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
09/07Belle Vue56-22Halifax
30/06Wimbledon46-32Swindon
25/06Halifax41-37Belle Vue
25/06Swindon34-44Wimbledon
19/06Eastbourne34-43Kings Lynn
11/06Coventry45-33Sheffield
11/06Cradley Heath46-32Hackney
11/06Kings Lynn47-31Eastbourne
09/06Sheffield37-41Coventry
30/05Birmingham43-35Reading
30/05Reading44-34Birmingham
27/05Hackney35-43Cradley Heath
24/05Leicester40-38Ipswich
19/05Ipswich43-34Leicester

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
21/08Kings Lynn45-33Belle Vue
20/08Belle Vue58-20Kings Lynn
23/07Coventry44-34Wimbledon
21/07Wimbledon38-40Coventry
18/07Reading40-38Ipswich
13/07Poole35-43Cradley Heath
09/07Cradley Heath53-25Poole
07/07Ipswich39-39Reading

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
09/10Belle Vue38-40Coventry
08/10Coventry44-34Belle Vue
24/09Cradley Heath47-31Reading
19/09Reading32-46Cradley Heath

First leg
Coventry Bees
Ole Olsen 10
Gary Gugliemi 8
Sam Nikolajsen 7
Steve Bastaple 5
Rick Miller 4
Finn Thomsen (guest) 3
Kevin Hawkins 2		39 - 39Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 13
Simon Wigg 11
Phil Collins 8
Alan Grahame 3
Peter Ravn 2
Jan O. Pedersen 2
Lance King R/R
[5]

Second leg
Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 13
Alan Grahame 9
Peter Ravn 7
Simon Wigg 7
Phil Collins 6
Jan O. Pedersen 5
Lance King R/R		47 - 31Coventry Bees
Ole Olsen 10
Gary Gugliemi 10
Bo Petersen (guest) 7
Steve Bastaple 2
Rick Miller 1
Kevin Hawkins 1
Sam Nikolajsen 0
[5]

Cradley Heath were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 86-70.

League Cup

The League Cup was split into North and South sections. The two-legged final was won by Belle Vue Aces beating Coventry Bees in the final 86-70 on aggregate.

South Group
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 14 11 0 3 22
2 Ipswich Witches 14 9 0 5 18
3 Reading Racers 14 8 0 6 16
4 Poole Pirates 14 8 0 6 16
5 Hackney Hawks 14 8 0 6 16
6 King's Lynn Stars 13 6 1 6 13
7 Eastbourne Eagles 14 2 1 11 5
8 Swindon Robins 13 2 0 11 4

North Group
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Coventry Bees 12 9 1 2 19
2 Belle Vue Aces 12 8 0 4 16
3 Cradley Heathens 12 7 1 4 15
4 Halifax Dukes 11 5 0 7 10
5 Leicester Lions 12 4 0 8 8
6 Sheffield Tigers 12 4 0 8 8
7 Birmingham Brummies 12 4 0 8 8

Final
Date Team One Score Team Two
22/10Coventry39–39Belle Vue
23/10Belle Vue47–31Coventry


Teams

Belle Vue Aces

Birmingham Brummies

Coventry Bees

Cradley Heath

Eastbourne Eagles

Hackney Hawks

Halifax Dukes

Ipswich Witches

King's Lynn Stars

Leicester Lions

Poole Pirates

Reading Racers

Sheffield Tigers

Swindon Robins

Wimbledon Dons

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "1983 league tables". Speedway GB.
  3. "1983". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  4. "1983 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  5. "Coventry Bees 1983 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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