1936 Provincial Speedway League

The 1936 Provincial Speedway League was the first season of the Provincial League, introduced as a second tier to the National League. It was formed after Mr B. Southouse (the Cardiff speedway manager for the Greyhound Racing Association) proposed that a new league be formed and organised a syndicate, including Nottingham and Liverpool speedway.[1]

1936 Provincial Speedway League
LeagueProvincial League
No. of competitors5
ChampionsSouthampton Saints
Provincial League TrophySouthampton Saints
National Trophy
(provincial final)
Southampton Saints
Highest averageGeorge Greenwood
Division/s above1936 National League

Six speedway teams started the season but Cardiff White City speedway withdrew after just nine matches and had their record expunged. Their star riders, Cliff Parkinson, George Greenwood, Tommy Price and Ted Bravery, all joined Nottingham.[2]

Southampton Saints were the champions on race points difference over Bristol Bulldogs.[3][4][5][6]

Due to the brevity of the season, teams also competed for the Provincial Trophy in a league format. Cardiff had only completed one fixture before folding and their record was expunged. West Ham Hawks which was West Ham Hammers' reserve side, also competed, but raced home meetings at Southampton. Southampton Saints won the Provincial trophy to complete the double.

Provincial League Final table

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Pos Team M W D L Pts
1 Southampton Saints 16 10 0 6 20
2 Bristol Bulldogs 16 10 0 6 20
3 Nottingham 16 9 0 7 18
4 Liverpool Merseysiders 16 9 0 7 18
5 Plymouth Panthers 16 2 0 14 4

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

Withdrawal (Record expunged) : Cardiff White City speedway

Provincial Trophy Final table

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Pos Team M W D L Pts
1 Southampton Saints 10 8 0 2 16
2 Bristol Bulldogs 10 7 0 3 14
3 Liverpool Merseysiders 10 5 0 5 10
4 Plymouth Panthers 10 4 1 5 9
5 Nottingham 10 4 0 6 8
6 West Ham Hawks 10 1 1 8 3

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

Withdrawal (Record expunged) : Cardiff White City speedway

National Trophy

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The 1936 National Trophy was the sixth edition of the Knockout Cup.[7] Southampton Saints won the Provincial Final round and therefore qualified for the quarter finals proper (the round when the tier one sides entered the competition).

Provincial League First Round

Date Team One Score Team Two
04/05 Liverpool 35-34 Nottingham
14/04 Nottingham 34-38 Liverpool
13/04 Cardiff 33-38 Southampton
10/04 Southampton 38-33 Cardiff

Final

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First leg

Southampton Saints
Frank Goulden 10
Billy Dallison 9
Alec Statham 7
Bert Jones 7
Fred Strecker 6
Tiger Lewis 3
42 – 28Liverpool Merseysiders
Ernie Price 8
Eric Blain 6
Jack Hargreaves 5
Oliver Hart 4
Tom A Price 3
Stan Hart 2
[8]

Second leg

Liverpool Merseysiders
Eric Blain 10
Stan Hart 7
Tom A Price 6
Tommy Allott 4
Syd Plevin 4
Ernie Price 3
Oliver Hart 3
Jack Hargreaves 2
39 – 31Southampton Saints
Billy Dallison 12
Fred Strecker 6
Bert Jones 4
Syd Griffiths 3
Tiger Lewis 3
Frank Goulden 2
Alec Statham 1
[8]

Southampton were the National Trophy Provincial Final winners, winning on aggregate 73-67.

Riders & final averages

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Bristol

Liverpool

Nottingham

Plymouth

Southampton

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dirt track racing in Nottingham again". Nottingham Journal. 15 January 1936. Retrieved 3 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "Speedway Shuts Up". Gloucestershire Echo. 5 June 1936. Retrieved 3 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  4. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  5. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  6. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  7. ^ "1936 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  8. ^ a b "1936 National Trophy Provincial Final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 August 2021.