The 1953 National League Division Two was the eighth post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
| League | National League Division Two |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 9 |
| Champions | Coventry Bees |
| Highest average | Tommy Miller |
| Division/s above | National League (Div 1) |
| Division/s below | Southern League |
Summary edit
The League was reduced at the start of the season again to 10 teams with Oxford Cheetahs dropping down to the Southern League whilst Ashfield closed and Liverpool folded mid-season. Cradley Heath 'merged' with Wolverhampton from the Southern League but used the Wolverhampton Wasps moniker, so to all intents and purposes they had closed.[2][3]
Coventry Bees clinched their first title by a single point.[4]
Wolverhampton rider Mike Rogers died on 6 June 1953, the day after receiving critical injuries at Monmore Green Stadium racing against Liverpool. The 22-year-old lost control of his bike and fell heavily before being transported to the Royal Hospital in Wolverhampton.[5]
Final table edit
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Coventry Bees | 32 | 19 | 1 | 12 | 39 |
| 2 | Poole Pirates | 32 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 38 |
| 3 | Yarmouth Bloaters | 32 | 18 | 0 | 14 | 36 |
| 4 | Glasgow White City Tigers | 32 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 34 |
| 5 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 32 | 15 | 1 | 16 | 31 |
| 6 | Motherwell Eagles | 32 | 15 | 0 | 17 | 30 |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wasps | 32 | 13 | 1 | 18 | 27 |
| 8 | Leicester Hunters | 32 | 13 | 1 | 18 | 27 |
| 9 | Stoke Potters | 32 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 26 |
Liverpool Chads withdrew mid-season - record expunged.
Top Five Riders (League only) edit
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Tommy Miller | 
|
Glasgow | 10.81 |
| 2 | Don Cuppleditch | 
|
Edinburgh | 10.36 |
| 3 | Fred Brand |
|
Yarmouth | 9.97 |
| 4 | Derick Close |
|
Motherwell | 9.92 |
| 5 | Len Williams |
|
Leicester | 9.78 |
National Trophy edit
For the National Trophy see the 1953 Speedway National League.
Midland Cup edit
For the Midland Cup see the 1953 Speedway National League.
Riders & final averages edit
Coventry
-
Charlie New 9.08 -
Peter Brough 8.00 - Johnny Reason 7.72
-
Les Hewitt 7.71 - Vic Emms 6.60
- Stan Williams 6.11
- Reg Duval 6.73
- Derrick Tailby 6.04
- Jack Wright 5.51
Edinburgh
- Don Cuppleditch 10.36
- Dick Campbell 8.32
-
Bob Mark 7.38 - Harold Fairhurst 7.17
Roy Bester 7.05- Eddie Lack 5.89
- Jeff Crawford 3.62
- Wilf Jay 3.34
- Harry Darling 3.20
- Jimmy Cox 2.85
Glasgow
- Tommy Miller 10.81
- Junior Bainbridge 8.04
- Ken McKinlay 8.94
- Alf McIntosh 6.67
- Peter Dykes 6.18
- Larry Lazarus 6.11
- Don Wilkinson 5.13
- Bob Sharp 4.79
- Harry Welch 4.77
- Doug Templeton 2.67
Leicester
- Len Williams 9.78
- Reg Fearman 6.20
- Dennis Parker 5.71
- Charlie Barsby 5.69
- Alf Parker 5.56
- Fred Perkins 5.48
- Jack Mountford 5.33
- Roy Browning 5.22
- Bill Griffiths 5.04
- Lionel Watling (James Goldingay) 4.81
- Harwood Pike 2.56
- Ivor Brown 2.10
Liverpool (withdrew)
- Peter Robinson 8.69
- Bill Griffiths 7.19
- Tommy Anderson 5.81
- Harry Welch 5.64
- Fred Wills 5.61
- Gil Blake 5.57
- Tommy Allott 4.84
- Cyril Cooper 3.51
- Stan Bradbury 2.84
- Johnny Greenwood 0.31
Motherwell
- Derick Close 9.92
- Gordon McGregor 8.55
- Cyril Cooper 8.50
- Ron Phillips 7.32
- Noel Watson 6.92
- Johnny Green 6.60
- Guy Allott 5.80
- Scott Hall 4.77
- Bluey Scott 4.07
- Jimmy Tannock 3.20
Poole
- Ken Middleditch 9.59
- Terry Small 9.06
- Brian Crutcher 8.80
- Bill Holden 7.01
- Tony Lewis 7.38
- Jimmy Squibb 7.63
- Buster Brown 5.95
- Allan Kidd 5.51
- Johnny Thomson 5.18
- Norman Strachan 4.00
Stoke
- Ken Adams 8.44
- Reg Fearman 7.90
- Don Potter 7.68
- Jack Hughes 7.41
- Les Jenkins 6.31
- Ron Peace 6.17
-
Johnny Fitzparick 6.08 - Fred Wills 5.60
- Ray Harris 5.05
- Bill Dalton 4.85
- Alf Parker 4.00
- Paddy Mills 3.71
- Allan Hailstone 2.21
- Joey Peck 1.26
Wolverhampton
- Harry Bastable 8.04
- Brian Shepherd 8.00
- Jim Tolley 7.75
- Derek Braithwaite 6.78
- Ivor Davies 6.38
- Eric Irons 5.77
- Les Tolley 5.59
- Benny King 4.54
- Phil Malpass 3.17
- Harry Saunders 2.86
- Bill Jemison 2.22
- Harry Wardropper 1.67
Yarmouth
- Fred Brand 9.97
- Johnny Chamberlain 8.67
- Reg Reeves 8.60
- Bob Baker 7.88
- Danny Dunton 7.20
- Roy Bowers 6.58
- Ronnie Genz 5.73
- Arthur Bush 5.41
- Terry Courtnell 5.13
- George White 4.40
- Reg Morgan 3.90
- Gundy Harris 3.18
- Vic Ridgeon 4.00
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Speedway rider dies after fall". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 8 June 1953. Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.