1987 British League season
The 1987 British League season was the 53rd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 23rd known as the British League.[1]
League | British League |
---|---|
Champions | Coventry Bees |
No. of competitors | 12 |
Knockout Cup | Cradley Heath Heathens |
League Cup | Coventry Bees |
Individual | Hans Nielsen |
Pairs | Oxford Cheetahs |
Highest average | Hans Nielsen |
Division/s below | 1987 National League |
Summary
Coventry Bees comfortably won the league finishing 16 points clear of Cradley Heath. The same five main riders who made up the 1986 team rode through the 1987 season but crucially four of them improved on their 1986 averages. Tommy Knudsen and Kelvin Tatum both hit over 10, while Rick Miller and David Bargh both improved by about 2 points on average. John Jørgensen also remained consistent for the Bees. Coventry also won the League Cup but lost to Cradley in the final of the Knockout Cup.[2] The double defending champions Oxford Cheetahs were forced to release Simon Wigg to Hackney and Per Sorensen because of the 45 point limit. They finished second from bottom despite Hans Nielsen topping the averages once again.[3]
Final table
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | BP | Pts |
1 | Coventry Bees | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 52 |
2 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 36 |
3 | Swindon Robins | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 33 |
4 | Sheffield Tigers | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 32 |
5 | Bradford Dukes | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 30 |
6 | Ipswich Witches | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 29 |
7 | Reading Racers | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 28 |
8 | Belle Vue Aces | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 26 |
9 | Hackney Kestrels | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 20 |
10 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
11 | Oxford Cheetahs | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 16 |
12 | King's Lynn Stars | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 11 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Leading averages
Rider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
![]() | Oxford | 11.38 |
![]() | Cradley Heath | 10.44 |
![]() | Coventry | 10.25 |
![]() | Coventry | 10.06 |
![]() | Wolverhampton | 9.86 |
![]() | Ipswich | 9.67 |
![]() | Swindon | 9.61 |
![]() | Cradley Heath | 9.60 |
![]() | Sheffield | 9.47 |
![]() | Hackney | 9.38 |
British League Knockout Cup
The 1987 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 49th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath Heathens were the winners for the second successive year if including the tied 1986 final.[4]
First Round
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
10/07 | Hackney | 48-42 | Bradford |
10/07 | Oxford | 51-39 | Belle Vue |
04/07 | Kings Lynn | 41-49 | Sheffield |
13/06 | Swindon | 47-43 | Wolverhampton |
04/06 | Sheffield | 51-39 | Kings Lynn |
01/06 | Wolverhampton | 44-46 | Swindon |
30/05 | Belle Vue | 47-43 | Oxford |
30/05 | Bradford | 49-41 | Hackney |
Quarter Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
15/09 | Bradford | 41-49 | Cradley Heath |
15/08 | Swindon | 43-47 | Reading |
07/08 | Oxford | 48-42 | Ipswich |
06/08 | Ipswich | 47-43 | Oxford |
05/08 | Cradley Heath | 55-35 | Bradford |
27/07 | Reading | 48-41 | Swindon |
13/07 | Sheffield | 48-42 | Coventry |
11/07 | Coventry | 51-38 | Sheffield |
Semi Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
30/09 | Coventry | 48-42 | Reading |
30/09 | Oxford | 47-43 | Cradley Heath |
16/09 | Cradley Heath | 39-33 A | Oxford |
07/09 | Reading | 47-43 | Coventry |
First leg
Coventry Bees Tommy Knudsen 17 John Jørgensen 8 David Bargh 8 David Clarke 6 Wayne Broadhurst 3 Rick Miller 3 Kelvin Tatum 0 (inj) | 45 - 45 | Cradley Heath David Walsh 12 Erik Gundersen 11 Jan O. Pedersen 11 Simon Cross 8 Jan Jakobsen 2 Paul Fry 1 Nigel Leaver 0 |
---|---|---|
[5] |
Second leg
Cradley Heath Erik Gundersen 11 Jan O. Pedersen 11 David Walsh 11 Simon Cross 9 Paul Fry 4 Jan Jakobsen 2 Nigel Leaver 1 | 49 - 41 | Coventry Bees Tommy Knudsen 16 Kelly Moran (guest) 7 David Bargh 7 John Jørgensen 5 David Clarke 3 Rick Miller 3 Wayne Broadhurst 3 |
---|---|---|
[5] |
Cradley Heath were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 94-86.
League Cup
The League Cup was contested as a league format. Coventry Bees won the final over two legs defeating Belle Vue Aces 84-72 on aggregrate. It was the last time that the competition was contested.[6]
Qualifying table
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Coventry Bees | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 43 |
2 | Oxford Cheetahs | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 39 |
3 | Belle Vue Aces | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 38 |
4 | Cradley Heathens | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 36 |
5 | Sheffield Tigers | 22 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 33 |
6 | Reading Racers | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 31 |
7 | Swindon Robins | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 26 |
8 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 23 |
9 | Bradford Dukes | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 22 |
10 | Hackney Kestrels | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 17 |
11 | King's Lynn Stars | 22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 12 |
11 | Ipswich Witches | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 10 |
Semi finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
14/08 | Oxford | 42–36 | Belle Vue |
22/08 | Belle Vue | 44–34 | Oxford |
31/08 | Coventry | 45–33 | Cradley Heath |
31/08 | Cradley Heath | 36–42 | Coventry |
Final
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
15/09 | Coventry | 41–37 | Belle Vue |
18/10 | Belle Vue | 41–37 | Coventry |
Final replay
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
24/10 | Coventry | 46–32 | Belle Vue |
01/11 | Belle Vue | 40–38 | Coventry |
Teams
Belle Vue Aces
-
Carl Blackbird
-
David Blackburn
-
Bernie Collier
-
Glenn Doyle
-
Glenn Hornby
-
Kenny McKinna
-
Steve Lawson
-
Chris Morton
-
Peter Ravn
-
Jon Roberts
-
Andy Smith
-
Paul Thorp
-
Gordon Whitaker
Bradford Dukes
-
Steve Bastable
-
David Clay
-
Neil Evitts
-
Michael Graves
-
Randy Green
-
Gary Havelock
-
Anthony Hulme
-
Lance King
-
Sean Willmott
Coventry Bees
-
David Bargh
-
Wayne Broadhurst
-
David Clarke
-
Miles Evans
-
Andy Hackett
-
John Jørgensen
-
Tommy Knudsen
-
Rick Miller
-
Neville Tatum
-
Darren Slater
-
Kelvin Tatum
Cradley Heath
-
Dean Barker
-
John Bostin
-
Simon Cross
-
Martin Dugard
-
Paul Fry
-
Wayne Garratt
-
Alan Grahame
-
Erik Gundersen
-
Jan Jakobsen
-
Nigel Leaver
-
Jan O. Pedersen
-
Alan Rivett
-
Darren Sumner
-
Rob Tilbury
-
David Walsh
Hackney Kestrels
-
Roland Danno
-
Mike Fitzpatrick
-
Andy Galvin
-
Allan Johansen
-
Mark Loram
-
Alan Mogridge
-
Malcolm Simmons
-
Barry Thomas
-
Jamie White
-
Paul Whittaker
-
Simon Wigg
Ipswich Witches
-
Mark Blackbird
-
David Blackburn
-
Louis Carr
-
Armando Castagna
-
Jeremy Doncaster
-
Alan Farmer
-
Nigel Flatman
-
Robbie Fuller
-
Martin Hagon
-
Andy Hines
-
Jamie Luckhurst
-
Kai Niemi
-
Lee Potter
-
Gerd Riss
-
Mark Woods
King's Lynn Stars
-
Ian Barney
-
Andy Campbell
-
John Cook
-
Stephen Davies
-
Martin Goodwin
-
Jamie Habbin
-
Richard Knight
-
Einar Kyllingstad
-
Ray Morton
-
Mick Poole
-
Steve Regeling
-
Brett Saunders
-
Bobby Schwartz
-
Adrian Stevens
-
John Stokes
-
Glyn Taylor
-
Stuart Thompson
Oxford Cheetahs
-
Troy Butler
-
Mark Carlson
-
Marvyn Cox
-
Nigel De'ath
-
Andy Grahame
-
Nigel Greenhalgh
-
Peter Lloyd
-
Neil McCarthy
-
Hans Nielsen
-
Jens Rasmussen
-
Wayne Ross
-
Kevin Smart
-
Nigel Sparshott
-
Alastair Stevens
-
Jon Surman
Reading Racers
-
Jan Andersson
-
Nigel Crabtree
-
John Davis
-
Miles Evans
-
Peter Glanz
-
Malcolm Holloway
-
Dave Jackson
-
Per Jonsson
-
Dave Mullett
-
Tony Olsson
-
Gary O'Hare
-
Rodney Payne
-
Gary Tagg
Sheffield Tigers
-
David Blackburn
-
Peter Carr
-
Neil Collins
-
Wayne Elliott
-
Glenn Doyle
-
Derrol Keats
-
Kelly Moran
-
Shawn Moran
-
Ian M Stead
-
Adrian Stevens
-
Rob Tilbury
-
Sean Wilson
-
Rob Woffinden
Swindon Robins
-
Nikc Bates
-
Gary Chessell
-
Martin Chessell
-
Matthew Cross
-
Richard Hellsen
-
Conny Ivarsson
-
Brian Karger
-
Darren Knapman
-
Jimmy Nilsen
-
Stephen Rose
-
Alun Rossiter
-
Andy Sell
-
Mitch Shirra
-
Andrew Silver
-
David Smart
Wolverhampton Wolves
-
David Blackburn
-
Carl Bodley
-
Chris Cobby
-
Ronnie Correy
-
Preben Eriksen
-
Sam Ermolenko
-
John Eskildsen
-
Paul Evitts
-
Torben Hansen
-
Steve McDermott
-
Lars Munkedal
-
Rob Pfetzing
-
Andy Phillips
-
Peter Schroeck
-
Dean Standing
-
Richard Smith
-
Jan Stæchmann
-
Andy Sumner
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- "1987 league tables". Speedway GB.
- Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The Story of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
- "1987 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- "Coventry Bees 1987 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- "Coventry Bees results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 July 2021.