The 1948 National League Division Two was the third post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Edinburgh Monarchs were new participants as the league was extended to 9 teams.[1]
| League | National League Division Two |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 9 |
| Champions | Bristol Bulldogs |
| National Trophy (Div 2 final) | Birmingham Brummies |
| Highest average | Fred Tuck |
| Division/s above | National League (Div 1) |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 3) |
Bristol Bulldogs were crowned champions, whilst Wigan Warriors were replaced by Fleetwood Flyers after just 3 away matches with their entire team transferring.[2]
32-year-old Bill Wilson of the Middlesbrough Bears was fatally injured, on 3 July at Norwich and died two days later in hospital.[3][4]
Final table edit
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Bristol Bulldogs | 32 | 23 | 0 | 9 | 46 |
| 2 | Birmingham Brummies | 32 | 20 | 1 | 11 | 41 |
| 3 | Middlesbrough Bears | 32 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 38 |
| 4 | Sheffield Tigers | 32 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 35 |
| 5 | Norwich Stars | 32 | 17 | 0 | 15 | 34 |
| 6 | Glasgow White City Tigers | 32 | 14 | 3 | 15 | 31 |
| 7 | Newcastle Diamonds | 32 | 11 | 0 | 21 | 22 |
| 8 | Fleetwood Flyers | 32 | 10 | 1 | 21 | 21 |
| 9 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 32 | 10 | 0 | 22 | 20 |
- Wigan Warriors were replaced by Fleetwood Flyers after 3 away matches
The Anniversary Cup for Division Two was run in a league format. Birmingham Brummies came out on top.
Anniversary Cup (Div 2) Final table edit
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Birmingham Brummies | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 24 |
| 2 | Sheffield Tigers | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
| 3 | Bristol Bulldogs | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 16 |
| 4 | Glasgow White City Tigers | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 16 |
| 5 | Middlesbrough Bears | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 16 |
| 6 | Norwich Stars | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 15 |
| 7 | Fleetwood Flyers | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 15 |
| 8 | Newcastle Diamonds | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 12 |
| 9 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 12 |
Top Five Riders (League only) edit
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Fred Tuck | 
|
Bristol | 10.20 |
| 2 | Frank Hodgson |
|
Middlesbrough | 9.84 |
| 3 | Graham Warren | 
|
Birmingham | 9.84 |
| 4 | Wilf Plant |
|
Middlesbrough/Fleetwood | 9.24 |
| 5 | Jack Hunt | 
|
Newcastle | 9.22 |
National Trophy edit
The 1948 Trophy (sponsored by the Daily Mail) was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.[5] 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.
Elimination Event First Round
| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19/06 | Birmingham | 79-29 | Southampton |
| 15/06 | Southampton | 41-66 | Birmingham |
| 16/06 | Glasgow White City | 70-38 | Edinburgh |
| 19/06 | Edinburgh | 62-46 | Glasgow White City |
Elimination Second Round
| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17/06 | Sheffield | 55-53 | Norwich |
| 19/06 | Norwich | 76-32 | Sheffield |
| 03/07 | Birmingham | 80-28 | Glasgow White City |
| 23/06 | Glasgow White City | 45.5-61.5 | Birmingham |
| 18/06 | Bristol | 65-43 | Fleetwood |
| 22/06 | Fleetwood | 69-39 | Bristol |
| 14/06 | Newcastle | 41-65 | Middlesbrough |
| 17/06 | Middlesbrough | 67-40 | Newcastle |
Elimination Third Round
| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26/07 | Birmingham | 75-33 | Fleetwood |
| 13/07 | Fleetwood | 49-59 | Birmingham |
| 03/07 | Norwich | 66-41 | Middlesbrough |
| 01/07 | Middlesbrough | 53-54 | Norwich |
Elimination Final edit
First leg
| Norwich Stars Aussie Powell 15 Paddy Mills 12 Ted Bravery 9 Geoff Revett 9 Sid Littlewood 9 Phil Clarke 7 Jack Freeman 3 Reg Morgan 0 | 64 – 43 | Birmingham Brummies Graham Warren 15 Charlie May 10 Doug McLachlan 6 Geoff Bennett 5 Buck Whitby 4 Arthur Payne 2 Stan Dell 1 Brian Wilson 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [6][7] |
Second leg
| Birmingham Brummies Graham Warren 15 Arthur Payne 14 Stan Dell 13 Doug McLachlan 9 Brian Wilson 9 Geoff Bennett 8 Charlie May 6 Buck Whitby 5 | 79 – 28 | Norwich Stars Paddy Mills 10 Ossie Powell 5 Phil Clarke 5 Geoff Revett 3 Ted Bravery 2 Sid Littlewood 2 Jack Freeman 1 Reg Morgan 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [8][7] |
Riders & final averages edit
Birmingham
-
Graham Warren 9.84 -
Stan Dell 8.57 - Doug McLachlan 8.26
- Geoff Bennett 7.91
- Arthur Payne 7.53
- Brian Wilson 6.79
- Charlie May 6.55
- Buck Whitby 5.94
- Roy Dook 5.46
- Dick Tolley 5.39
Bristol
- Fred Tuck 10.20
- Billy Hole 8.95
- Nobby Stock 8.60
- Mike Beddoe 8.45
- Roger Wise 7.94
- Jack Mountford 7.83
- Eric Salmon 7.40
- Cyril Quick 5.38
- Johnny Hole 4.37
- Ginger Nicholls 3.25
- Graham Hole 1.67
Edinburgh
- Bill Maddern 7.15
-
Dick Campbell 6.68 - Clem Mitchell 6.00
- Eddie Lack 6.00
- Danny Lee 5.50
- Dennis Parker 5.32
- Keith Cox 4.96
-
Bill Baird 4.74 - Bert Shearer 3.75
- Nobby Downham 3.30
- Don Cuppleditch 2.55
Fleetwood
- Wilf Plant 9.47
- Dick Geary] 9.03
- Norman Hargreaves 7.46
- Jack Gordon 6.06
- Cyril Cooper 5.68
- Reg Lambourne 5.18
- Ron Hart 4.70
- Ernie Appleby 4.54
- Percy Brine 4.14
- Dick Seers 2.40
- Jack Winstanley 1.60
Glasgow
- Joe Crowther 8.13
- Bat Byrnes 7.80
- Will Lowther 7.59
- Buck Ryan 7.20
- Harold Fairhurst 6.21
- Norman Lindsay 5.98
- Junior Bainbridge 5.57
- Gruff Garland 5.00
- Nobby Downham 4.87
- Gordon McGregor 3.83
- Angus McGuire 1.50
Middlesbrough
- Frank Hodgson 9.84
- Wilf Plant 8.88
- Jack Hodgson 8.77
- Geoff Godwin 7.77
- Benny King 6.91
- Billy Wilson 6.23
- Derick Close 6.22
- Tip Mills 5.94
- Herby King 5.45
- Frank Bettis 4.53
- Joe Arthur 4.00
- George Farmer 3.75
- Dick Tolley 3.56
Newcastle
- Jack Hunt 9.22
- Wilf Jay 8.72
- Charlie Spinks 8.17
- Norman Evans 7.41
- Ken Le Breton 6.80
- Alec Grant 6.66
- Keith Gurtner 4.80
- Rol Stobbart 4.14
- Maurice Stobbart 3.82
- Ed Pye 3.52
- Peter Lloyd 3.41
- Fred Rogers 3.17
- Danny Calder 3.09
Norwich
- Bert Spencer 8.61
- Paddy Mills (Horace Burke) 8.47
- Phil Clarke 8.10
- Ted Bravery 6.79
- Fred Rogers 6.63
- Sid Hipperson 6.50
- Ossie Powell 6.35
- Jack Freeman 6.04
- Syd Littlewood 5.49
- Geoff Revett 4.91
-
Paddy Hammond 4.00
Sheffield
- Bruce Semmens 9.09
- Tommy Bateman 8.33
- Tommy Allott 7.31
- Len Williams 7.16
- Jack Bibby 6.94
- Stan Williams 6.77
- Danny Lee 4.71
- Ken Sharples 4.55
- John Duncan White 4.21
- Bryan Gorman 2.60
Henry Long 3.50- Alf Parker 1.56
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Norwich the Firs Stadium". National Speedway Museum. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Still unconscious". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 5 July 1948. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1948 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ "Norwich feat". Weekly Dispatch (London). 1 August 1948. Retrieved 28 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "Norwich 1948 results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Speedway win for Blues". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 3 August 1948. Retrieved 28 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.