The 1948 National League Division One was the 14th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the third post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]
| League | National League Division One |
|---|---|
| Champions | New Cross Rangers |
| No. of competitors | 7 |
| National Trophy | Wembley Lions |
| Anniversary Cup | Harringay Racers |
| Highest average | Vic Duggan |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 2) National League (Div 3) |
SummaryEdit
The entrant list was the same as the previous season. New Cross Rangers won the National League for the second time.[3][4]
FatalitiesEdit
1948 proved to be the worst season so far in regard to fatalities. During the 1947 season two riders had died on the same day but 1948 saw three riders killed during the season. It started with 37-year-old Reg Craven, on his debut for Yarmouth Bloaters. Craven crashed with two Poole Pirates riders at Poole (on 26 April) during a National Trophy match and died eight days later (4 May) from a fractured skull in hospital.[5] Billy Wilson of Norwich Stars and Eric Dunn of Hastings Saxons from the lower divisions were also killed.
Final League tableEdit
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | New Cross Rangers | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 34 |
| 2 | Harringay Racers | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 32 |
| 3 | West Ham Hammers | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 29 |
| 4 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 25 |
| 5 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 25 |
| 6 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 12 |
| 7 | Odsal Boomerangs | 24 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 11 |
Anniversary Cup tableEdit
On account of the small number of teams in the league the Anniversary Cup was run in a league format. Harringay Racers finished on top.
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Harringay Racers | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 14 |
| 3 | Odsal Boomerangs | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 14 |
| 4 | New Cross Rangers | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| 5 | West Ham Hammers | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| 6 | Wembley Lions | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 7 | Wimbledon Dons | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 4 |
Top Ten Riders (League only)Edit
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Vic Duggan | 
|
Harringay Racers | 11.42 |
| 2 | Ron Johnson |
|
New Cross Rangers | 10.33 |
| 3 | Wilbur Lamoreaux | 
|
Wembley Lions | 9.71 |
| 4 | George Wilks | 
|
Wembley Lions | 9.65 |
| 5 | Max Grosskreutz |
|
Odsal Boomerangs | 9.63 |
| 6 | Aub Lawson |
|
West Ham Hammers | 9.59 |
| 7 | Alec Statham |
|
Wimbledon Dons | 9.48 |
| 8 | Jack Parker |
|
Belle Vue Aces | 9.35 |
| 9 | Eric Chitty | 
|
West Ham Hammers | 9.21 |
| 10 | Norman Parker |
|
Wimbledon Dons | 9.09 |
National TrophyEdit
The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.[6]
Qualifying and Elimination eventsEdit
The Qualifying event for Division 3 teams saw Southampton Saints win the final and qualify for the Elimination event. The Elimination event for Division 2 teams saw Birmingham Brummies win the final and qualify for the Quarter Finals proper.
Quarter FinalsEdit
| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27/08 | Harringay | 67-40 | Wimbledon |
| 26/08 | Wembley | 64-42 | Belle Vue |
| 21/08 | Birmingham | 85-23 | West Ham |
| 21/08 | Bradford | 62-46 | New Cross |
| 19/08 | New Cross | 77-30 | Bradford |
| 17/08 | West Ham | 67-41 | Birmingham |
| 16/08 | Wimbledon | 53-55 | Harringay |
| 04/09 | Belle Vue | 64-44 | Wembley |
Semi FinalsEdit
| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18/09 | Birmingham | 69-39 | New Cross |
| 10/09 | Harringay | 52-56 | Wembley |
| 09/09 | Wembley | 73-35 | Harringay |
| 09/09 | New Cross | 83-25 | Birmingham |
FinalEdit
First legEdit
Second legEdit
Wembley were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 120–96.
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Died from crash on speedway". Gloucestershire Echo. 4 May 1948. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1948 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1947 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.