Wikipedia

1955 Speedway National League

The 1955 Speedway National League was the 21st season and tenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

1955 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
No. of competitors7
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
National TrophyNorwich Stars
Midland CupBirmingham Brummies
Highest averageJack Young
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)
1955 Southern Area League

Summary

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The league consisted of seven teams after the Harringay Racers ceased competitive speedway racing at the end of 1954. Match line-ups were reduced from eight riders to seven riders. Wimbledon won their second successive National League Championship. West Ham closed at the end of the season, blaming poor attendances.[2][3][4][5]

Final table

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Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 24 16 2 6 34
2 Belle Vue Aces 24 15 0 9 30
3 Wembley Lions 24 11 1 12 23
4 Bradford Tudors 24 11 0 13 22
5 Birmingham Brummies 24 9 2 13 20
6 Norwich Stars 24 9 1 14 19
7 West Ham Hammers 24 8 2 14 18

Top Ten Riders (League only)

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Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Jack Young   West Ham 10.79
2 Ronnie Moore   Wimbledon 10.77
3 Ove Fundin   Norwich 10.00
4 Barry Briggs   Wimbledon 9.79
5 Brian Crutcher   Wembley 9.34
6 Arthur Wright   Bradford 9.14
7 Peter Craven   Belle Vue 8.96
8 Arthur Forrest   Bradford 8.91
9 Ron Johnston   Belle Vue 8.61
10 Ken Sharples   Belle Vue 8.43

National Trophy Stage Two

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The 1955 National Trophy was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of two stages; stage one was for the second-tier clubs, stage two was for the top-tier clubs. Norwich won the second and final stage and were therefore declared the 1955 National Trophy champions.[6]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
04/08 Poole 56-52 Birmingham
16/07 Birmingham 56-52 Poole
16/07 Belle Vue 61-47 Wembley
16/07 Bradford Odsal 52-56 Wimbledon
16/07 Norwich 69-39 West Ham
14/07 Wembley 67-41 Belle Vue
12/07 West Ham 49-58 Norwich
11/07 Wimbledon 76-31 Bradford Odsal
18/08
replay		 Poole 69-39 Birmingham
17/08
replay		 Birmingham 67-41 Poole

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
29/08 Poole 58-50 Norwich
27/08 Norwich 82-26 Poole
15/08 Wimbledon 61-47 Wembley
04/08 Wembley 63-45 Wimbledon

Final

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First leg

Wembley Lions
Brian Crutcher 15
Eric Williams 9
Freddie Williams 6
Ken Adams 4
Jimmy Gooch 4
Tommy Price 3
Trevor Redmond 2
Eric French 0		43 – 64Norwich Stars
Ove Fundin 16
Cyril Roger 11
Aub Lawson 10
Billy Bales 10
Harry Edwards 6
Phil Clarke 6
Fred Brand 4
Don Lawson 1
[7]

Second leg

Norwich Stars
Phil Clarke 15
Cyril Roger 9
Fred Brand 6
Harry Edwards 4
Reg Trott (guest) 5
Billy Bales 3
Don Lawson 2
Malcolm Flood 1		45 – 63Wembley Lions
Tommy Price 13
Brian Crutcher 11
Trevor Redmond 11
Eric French 8
Jimmy Gooch 8
Freddie Williams 5
Ken Adams 4
Eric Williams 3
[7]

Norwich were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 109–106.

Midland Cup

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Birmingham won the Midland Cup for a third consecutive year. It consisted of four teams, there was one team from division 1 and three teams from division 2.[8]

First round

Team one Team two Score
Oxford Leicester 49–53, 29–73

Semi final round

Team one Team two Score
Leicester Coventry 66–36, 51–51

Final

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First leg

Birmingham
Ron Mountford 15
Alan Hunt 13
Eric Boothroyd 13
Jim Tolley 12
Dennis Newton 6
Harry Bastable 6
Derrick Tailby 1		66–36Leicester
Ken McKinlay 16
Len Williams 8
Charlie Barsby 4
Ron Phillips 4
Barry East 2
Derek Close 1
Gordon McGregor 1

Second leg

Leicester
Ken McKinlay 18
Len Williams 12
Gordon McGregor 12
Ron Phillips 6
Fred Brand 5
Barry East 4
Charlie Barsby 3		60–42Birmingham
Junior Bainbridge 14
Jim Tolley 6
Alan Hunt 6
Eric Boothroyd 6
Harry Bastable 5
Dennis Newton 2
Derrick Tailby 3

Birmingham won on aggregate 108–96

Riders & final averages

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Belle Vue

Birmingham

Bradford

Norwich

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "Speedway Archive: National League 1955".
  3. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  4. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  5. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  6. ^ "1955 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. ^ a b "1955 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Hunters triumph but trophy lost". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 October 1955. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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